Map - The Best Roads North and South of Asheville, NC - the revision is so close to being done.

I’ve resigned myself to the fact it’s going to take at least one more day on the road to investigate some roads for the revision of America Rides Maps “The Best Roads North and South of Asheville, NC“. I’ve already added more than a dozen new roads to the hundreds of miles of great motorcycle rides I’d already charted, roads which link the existing great rides together and expand the options to stay out on the two lane back roads enjoying the twisty bliss of carving through the tallest mountains in the east. I’ve got at least a dozen more yet to be evaluated and judged.

I systematically go through each of the dozen maps I now produce, re-evaluating each of the roads by riding them again, noting any changes along the way to insure you get the most up to date and best ride info I can produce. I’ve been reworking this Asheville map for well over a month now and thought I was closing in on wrapping it up. I sat down to knock off the last chunk of it today, and as the clock now approaches midnight my efforts have only yielded yet more possibilities that must be explored. The devil is in the details, and I too often find as I get down to the final detail work I start to ask questions. Has this road been paved? Is there a way to find a link between these two great rides? If this road was so good, what about this one nearby? The questions just keep coming and I research them as best I can then pencil in the ones I can’t rule out. There are enough unanswered to warrant another long day in the saddle, maybe two.

I’ll spend tomorrow getting things as close to finished as I can. Then, I’ll go out on the road and spend the day or two that’s needed to ride each and every one of them to see if they measure up. Though my last trip was very rewarding, this time I suspect it will be mostly disappointment – that’s the norm. Still, if one or two of them pan out, I’ll come home happy. These are the last of the last, kind of like sifting through the tailings at a gold mine to see if any small nuggets were missed. A real bonus is finding another reliable out of the way gas station. Maybe, just maybe, I’ll stumble across a real jewel. You never know until you ride it.

A couple more days on the road should do it. I'm really excited to get to the next map, I have some big plans for expansion.

Addendum: This region north of Asheville is one of the most undiscovered areas of great mountain motorcycle rides. Few venture into this area though there are a wealth of fabulous motorcycle rides through the tallest mountains in the east virtually devoid of any traffic. This time of year, when leaf peepers clog most of the backroads, you can ride all day through this area and count the cars on one hand. This map will give you a vacations worth of great rides and you’ll still come back for the ones you didn’t get to.

America Rides Maps – nobody covers the Smoky Mountains as comprehensively so you can make the most of your precious riding time.

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