Not much to write about today. The weather was nice and I did a 200 mile ride with some of the other attendees. With all the twists and turns here I couldn’t begin to tell you where we went.
Had a nice happy hour before dinner then some visiting around the campfire. No pictures although we road along a nice rushing stream that would rival some of Colorado's rivers.
Well I made it to my North Carolina destination, the Iron Horse Motorcycle Lodge. It was a pleasant day of riding. I rode up the road nicknamed The Tail of the Dragon. It has 318 curves in 11 miles.
After arriving Janet let me know that her sister Jodi's son–in–law was in the state somewhere riding a motorcycle. I texted him and it turned out he’s stay at this lodge so we had a beer and ate supper together. He’s leaving tomorrow and moving to another place but at least we connected today.
Attached are some pictures taken at the end of the Dragon road and of the lodge I’m staying at.
I woke up and looked at the motel clock that showed 4:30. I wanted to get up at 5:00 so I got up. After dressing I looked at another clock and it showed 3:45. I then checked my phone and sure enough it was 3:45. So I was back on the road at 04:00 again.
The temperature was 55-60 most of the morning with mid strength winds. By afternoon it was 70-80 and little wind. All and all a nice day for a ride.
By starting out early my gas stops were extended and I had a nice sit down breakfast at a Denny’s. I arrived in Jackson, TN at 3:30pm.
Only 350 miles tomorrow and the weather looks to be favorable.
Tree lined highway today.
I shoved off at 04:01 this morning and had an uneventful day of riding for 823 miles landing in Elk City, OK. at 6:15 pm local time so a little over 12 hours. It was a little chilly most of the morning but I had my heated jacket liner and the bike has a heated seat and hand grips. After lunch I shed the warm gear and donned my mesh jacket.
It got fairly windy in the panhandles of Texas and Oklahoma and the temperature got up into the low 90s.
I’ll try and get another early start tomorrow and put a bunch of miles behind me.
So imagine looking at this view for 12 hours with lots of semis thrown in.
It's Saturday and the bike is packed, riding clothes laid out, checked the weather for tomorrow and now it's wait time. I probably won't get much sleep tonight, I usually don't before any kind of trip. I'm looking forward to getting out on the open road even if it is suppose to be windy across I-40.
The plan is to make it to Elk City, OK tomorrow night (823 miles) then somewhere in Tennessee Monday night and finish on Tuesday.
So it's that time of year again, the first long distance ride. Early, early Sunday morning I'll be hitting the open road heading to a gathering of BMW K1600 motorcyclists in North Carolina. We will be staying at the Iron Horse Motorcycle Lodge near the famous section of highway known as The Tail of The Dragon. As of today there are 33 bike owners signed up to be there along with many spouses. This is the 5th year for this gathering so it's well organized and a lot of fun. There will be daily guided tours of the surrounding area rain or shine. I've met many of the folks, who will be attending, at other get togethers so after last years bust for rides it will be nice to catch up.
After this event I will ride to Iowa to spend some time with my Mom and Dad then down to brother Steve's in Kansas City and finally back home. I'll be gone for about 2 weeks.
I'll try and post some pictures and write ups during this ride so keep watching.
