2010 Bike Trip

2010 Bike Trip

All loaded and oil and tires checked. Kinda foggy at 7:30 am. 8/8/2010

I had a real enjoyable ride up La105 and La 15 into Natches,Ms.
I arrived at the  Natches Trace Parkway around noon.

There was almost no traffic,but plenty of deer crossing in front of me,I had to really watch both sides of the woods.
The trace would more bike friendly in the colder months,all the pull-offs had NO shade,and it was HOT!

The scenic overlook pull-off had no photo opps,and down the road,there are no shoulders,only a grassy rounded shoulder,not the place to try to park a fully loaded motorcycle.

That's all the shots I could get of this humongous lake.
I traveled 371 miles the first day and spent the night in Lewisville,Ms

Day 2.....no pics of today's  ride,I am now in Tennessee and they have good shoulders to pull over on.
Problem was the rain started! Rain gear for many miles. I am now about 35 miles west of Nashville on I40. still heading east and sometimes NE.
Humidity is much better here in Tn.

I lied,one pic...I convinced my neighbor from Auburndale,Florida to move his rig far enough away for me to park in front of my room.
I feel safer now,no one can side swipe my bike now.
I hope the center stand doesn't sink in the hot asphalt!
Did I mention that theese Givi detachable hard bags are the cats meow? or  the dogs bark? Glad I went with them!

Day three.....I let Mz Garmin lead me for awhile and she brought me through some scenic hilly and curvy roads!

The rains came...I stayed dry,but the road spray and the crazy 18 wheeler drivers,convinced me to shut it down about 3:30 pm.
A couple shots of the wet mountain outside my room:

I paid extra for a room with a scenic view,fellow NH'ers will appreciate!

Got a late start today 8/13/2010,maybe cause it was Friday the 13th?
This is how that mountain looks in the morning.

Steve,this one's for you...a Burlington train was playing above my room on the hill.

I rode over to Smoky Mountain National Park,getting there was only half the fun!

It threatened to rain,but I rode on....

I had a rough time in these twisties with the load I am carrying,but once I found my groove,I had a hell of alot of fun!
The plan is to leave the bags in the room and really have some serious adrenalin rushes.

Speaking of Friday the 13th...I got the last smoking room on the first floor,the handicapped suite! Man,I hope that's not a sign!
Nice room tho,it has a front door and a back door leading to a sun porch with 2 rockers.

Here's the view from the back yard.

I took a break from riding Saturday and got the laundry done,watched TV and rested up.

Sunday,I rode over to the Blue Ridge Parkway......
Some scenery from the backraoad getting there

Here are some from the BRP...Click the image for a larger one,then use the back button.

It was very foggy and I drove almost blind in some of it!

There are many tunnels along the way and I discovered that I get very claustrophobic
 on the bike! What a weird feeling.
It's supposed to rain here in NC all week and the next weekend,so I'm heading west next.

OK many interstate miles later,I ended again at the  trace parkway,almost at the northern end,near Nashville.

I'm glad that I gave the Trace a second chance....after all those rat race interstate miles in NC and E Tn,
this is so relaxed and enjoyable.

I missed quite a few places that required walking.....

The Trace goes through a very small portion of Alabama.

The Tennessee River sure looks different than the Mighty Mississippi!
This is looking upstream

Not very high,I guess all the get is barge traffic.

Looking downstream,what's all that green goo in the water?

I did walk when it was level ground!
It rained a few times,but I was either ahead or behind it and stayed dry.
I made it to Tupelo,Ms,just before a heavy rain.
Today(Wednesday) they are calling for 80%,so my luck may be running out.
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Yep,my luck ran out!! It started pouring down as I was loading up about 7am,no prob,stay another night in the room and try again the next day right?
Nope,they were booked up solid, due to some event going on in town.
I figured all the near by motels had the same thing,so I donned the rain gear and headed out in the rain.
I did about 65 miles before the sky opened up and I couldn't see...rain drops on my glasses,rain drops on my visor and BIG rain drops in front of me!
I pulled over at a pull off and stood there like an idiot in the down pour.
That collapsible umbrella in my van will be on board the bike from now on(lesson learned the hard way,as usual!)
I headed east,away from the rain front and got a room in Starkville,Ms.
I will try again tomorrow,50% rain,verses today's 80%

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I made the ride from Starksville,Ms to the Maison in 9 hours and 347 miles,I stopped for 1 hour and 45 mins acording to my GPS,max speed was 83 MPH
that was trying to outrun heavy rain on La15 from Vidalia to Lettsworth.

I will upload the final pics in the morning,I am ready for some of my own cooking,rice and a THICK brown gravy,with plenty of seasoning!!lol

Here is the trail

And in case you're stupid.......

Random Trace pic..

Just Talley'ed up the miles,only 2130. I guess I'm getting burned out...I did 4700 lastyear and 3500 the year before.
Average mpg's was 53.4,not too shabby!
It was great to get away and as soon as it gets cooler,I'll take another ride.

Here is a screen shot pic of the Garmin Mapsource tracks.