Have2BeFree's Kentucky Trip

[Have2BeFree]

Did you recieve any "Preformance Awards" in Ohio? I hope not!! John almost got one while going thru Wyoming, but thankfully the officer just gave us a finger shaking!
And did I understand you right? You don't like the seat? LMAO!

Have a great time with your family Cheryl, so glad your son is home safe.

Thanks Brenda. Sorry to hear about John's ticket! I was trying very hard to be good and fortunately there were faster cars around me. Of all the vehicles I saw pulled over, there wasn't one motorcycle.

the signs when you go into ohio should read "welcome to americas speed trap" and a holiday weekend makes it worse.

You mean Ohio's like that all the time?

I downloaded a pic from last years trip (in the car). This is where the biggest speed trap was.

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A motorcycle cop was actually standing on the white line on the left shoulder flagging down the car in front of me! Fortunately I was about 6-7 car lengths back so I slowed down and moved to the far right lane very quickly! I stayed close to the speed limit after that!

 

[VEGASRIDER]

Not saying that you will, but just in case you drop your bike again and there aren't any good samaritans around, I've dug up an old thread from the Archives.

You should be able to do this even with al your gear on the bike.

http://www.600riders.com/forum/how-tos/209-how-pick-up-dropped-bike.html

 

[Have2BeFree]

I got home last night at 10pm. The traffic coming out of Baltimore was wicked. I got stuck in stop and go traffic for almost two hours in 90 degree heat and full gear. A woman behind me in a minivan got out and offered me a bottle of water. A few miles up the road another woman in a Camaro next to me rolled down her window to chat. Her lane moved a little before stopping again and she then rolled the window back down to hand me some juice boxes and a water. I literally put the side stand down in the middle of I-95, walked over and accepted the offerings. A juice box never tasted so good and after this trip my faith in the kindness of strangers has been restored.

I will update with a ride report and pics within the next couple of days.

 

[Motogiro]

I got home last night at 10pm. The traffic coming out of Baltimore was wicked. I got stuck in stop and go traffic for almost two hours in 90 degree heat and full gear. A woman behind me in a minivan got out and offered me a bottle of water. A few miles up the road another woman in a Camaro next to me rolled down her window to chat. Her lane moved a little before stopping again and she then rolled the window back down to hand me some juice boxes and a water. I literally put the side stand down in the middle of I-95, walked over and accepted the offerings. A juice box never tasted so good and after this trip my faith in the kindness of strangers has been restored.

I will update with a ride report and pics within the next couple of days.

Glad you're home safe and hope you had a great visit with the family!

 

[Adirondack Jack]

Welcome home, Cheryl. Glad it worked out safely for ya! When you get your next urge to travel (not far) come north and we'll get a crew together for a day trip!

 

[VEGASRIDER]

I got home last night at 10pm. The traffic coming out of Baltimore was wicked. I got stuck in stop and go traffic for almost two hours in 90 degree heat and full gear. A woman behind me in a minivan got out and offered me a bottle of water. A few miles up the road another woman in a Camaro next to me rolled down her window to chat. Her lane moved a little before stopping again and she then rolled the window back down to hand me some juice boxes and a water. I literally put the side stand down in the middle of I-95, walked over and accepted the offerings. A juice box never tasted so good and after this trip my faith in the kindness of strangers has been restored.

I will update with a ride report and pics within the next couple of days.

If lane splitting were legal, would you have done it? I think that is one of the reasons why they invented the motorcycle.

 

[lytehouse]

Isn't it great to be home??? IMO, the best part of a trip is walking thru your own front door. Looking foward to hearing all about it though!

 

[Have2BeFree]

Welcome home, Cheryl. Glad it worked out safely for ya! When you get your next urge to travel (not far) come north and we'll get a crew together for a day trip!

Funny you mention an Adirondack ride, I was thinking about that last week. I'd love to do that!

If lane splitting were legal, would you have done it? I think that is one of the reasons why they invented the motorcycle.

My friend John met me in Baltimore for the business conference so he was in front of me in his car. Otherwise..........uh.......even if it wasn't legal......

Isn't it great to be home??? IMO, the best part of a trip is walking thru your own front door. Looking foward to hearing all about it though!

I wasn't so glad to be home LOL. I could have ridden forever!

Stay tuned for pics

 

[Have2BeFree]

So in the interest of space and time, I will spare you the family pics and start on Day 5 of my vacation.

I decided to take I-24 through TN to NC cause I've never been on it before. Bad move - next time I'll take I-40. This reservoir was about the only sight that was worth stopping for a pic. I was so hot I wanted to jump in!

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I finally reached Cherohala Skyway in the early afternoon. It was very pretty and a great ride with nice sweeping curves and a few tight curves toward the end. I would definitely recommend it!

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[Have2BeFree]

Re: Have2BeFree's Kentucky Trip - updated with pics

I had ridden around 400 miles by the time I reached the end of the Skyway but was feeling in my groove with the bike so decided to ride Deals Gap that evening. I didn't get many pics because - uh - I WAS RIDING! LOL It was a total blast, even with a fully loaded bike. I scraped the toe of my boot in one corner and scared the daylights out of myself :thumbup: :

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This is where I had to turn around due to a rock slide on the TN entrance to the Dragon. I heard that the road was re-opened last weekend though.


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I took pics of the dam while I waited for the slower bikes to get ahead of me

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Thursday morning I was going to ride the Gap again but I was early and TN still had the road closed. I didn't feel like waiting cause I had a long ride ahead so I went to the campground and took the requisite pics of the tree of shame (glad I didn't contribute to this!):

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Waiting for the road to open

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[Have2BeFree]

I decided to ride Route 28S next and this was the best decision of the ride and my fondest memory. Picture this: early morning, temp is cool but not cold, riding a twisty road with no one else in sight, sunlight dancing through the leaves on the trees and a beautiful mist covered river to your right. It was so peaceful and a memory I will cherish:

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I finally made my way to the BRP about 60 miles south of Ashville, NC after passing through many small towns and avoiding the highway (yeah!):

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[Have2BeFree]

My pics certainly don't do it justice, the views were magnificent! The best views though were definitely from my seat and not the overlooks. I kept thinking that if a deer were to jump out in front of me I would have to take my chances with hitting the deer because many times there was just a guard rail "protecting" you from falling hundreds if not thousands of feet:

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I arrived in Roanoke, VA that night (430 miles) at 8:30pm. Just in time for the skies to let loose. It stormed for about two hours and I counted my blessings to be safe in my hotel room!

 

[Have2BeFree]

Friday morning it was very hazy still in Roanoke but I took my chances and headed back to the BRP. Eventually I got above the clouds but wasn't able to get a good pic of Roanoke - I finally stopped about 30 miles north and took these pics:

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I rode the BRP to Skyline Drive - arriving there around 1pm:

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I was very sad to see this part of my trip end.

 

[Have2BeFree]

I forgot my camera in my hotel room so didn't get pics of Baltimore.

I have to say that I am impressed with the kindness of strangers I met along the way, from getting help with getting the bike on the centerstand, to people offering to take pics of me with my bike, to having water and juice boxes given to me while stuck in the traffic jam on the way home. My faith in humanity has been restored.

The pic of the beginning mileage is blurry:

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it says 16,967

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ending mileage 19,599

I'm back to work and exhausted but what a great trip! :thumbup:

 

[lytehouse]

Cheryl....BOTM!!! ENTER!!!!

 

[Have2BeFree]

Cheryl....BOTM!!! ENTER!!!!

That's Zelda's "best side" Brenda

 

[necrotimus]

Shortly after I got my TS seat I did 600 miles in one day twice. The seat definetly helped but I did learn that if you wear over pants you shouldn't wear jeans under them. I had pocket imprints on my backside for a few days after. The worst part was I couldn't put anything in them.

Glad you had a great trip and thanks for sharing the pics!!

 

[Motogiro]

Cheryl,
Great photos and I really like the ones with the mist on the lake. I remember my mom and dad taking us camping in upstate New York and Vermont. Magical stuff on those trips and a lot of your photos remind me of those fond times.
Thanks!

 

[Have2BeFree]

Shortly after I got my TS seat I did 600 miles in one day twice. The seat definetly helped but I did learn that if you wear over pants you shouldn't wear jeans under them. I had pocket imprints on my backside for a few days after. The worst part was I couldn't put anything in them.

Glad you had a great trip and thanks for sharing the pics!!

I had bike shorts on under the riding pants. They helped a little as did the beads and when I stopped I could take the riding pants off to cool down. I normally wear jeans under the riding pants but it was just too hot and too far!

TS seat is definitely high on my mod list!

 

[Ryan T]

OUTSTANDING! I know you had an wonderful time and I salute you. These are some beautiful pictures. It's nice to hear about the kindness of strangers. I'm on 95 every day and it amazes me how some peopler are so rude.

Glad to hear that you had a great trip and you've returned safely. :welcome: back.

Yeah, the whole going back to work thing is a bummer.