Blue Ridge Parkway and Natchez Trace Ride on New V7 Stone

[Dave Bell]

  I purchased Sunbrother's 2013 Stone which was in Charlotte, NC.  I flew there on American Airlines and he picked me up at the airport on Friday the 26th of June.  We went to his beautiful home and I quickly loaded up the bike with the small amount of clothing that I had brought.  My goal for the day was to get out of Charlotte and start up to Virginia and the Northern Terminus of the Blue Ridge Parkway. I stopped for the night in High Point, N.C.  which is a town near Winston Salem and Greensboro.  The ride was uneventful and the bike worked well for me.  I'm new to Guzzi but there were no surprises.  I stayed in a rather cheap motel and again no surprises.  I sorted out my gear in the room, checked the weather, and turned in for the night.



The next morning my goal was Staunton, Va, where the BLP starts at milepost 0.  I had always wanted to do the whole thing having had a taste of it when picking up my new (to me) BMW Dakar in Asheville a few years back and riding it home to Wills Point, Tx in 2 days.  I headed up 220 past Martinsville and stopped in Bedford, VA for my first taste of Southern (as opposed to Texas) BBQ and got the slaw, since I had never had slaw on BBQ.  There was a little taste of Murica in Bedford.  The little country store's hostess and evidently owner was an Asian lady whom I would guess to have Viet Nam roots, but she called me "Honey" and chatted away in a typical friendly southern attitude.  They had hundreds of jars of Jelly, Jam, Chutney, syrup, Cider, and other such potions as well as hundreds of fried pies for sale.  I also went by the Booker T Washington memorial.  I have always been a fan of Booker T ever since reading as a child:  .  Typical Pig pen or corn crib or something: 

I accidentally got on the BRP for a while later on my way to Staunton, Va, where I checked into the Knights Inn, a cheap and bedraggled place where my neighbors spoke some sort of Spanish sounding language but it was not Spanish.  They spoke it in loud, drunken voices, played loud music, and drank beer.  Occasionally one of them would turn the music down but then back up.  I myself had gone over to a food store and bought some basic deli stuff and a couple of Buds to drink.  Next day I got up at 5 AM, and was outa there by 6, headed for Mile 0 of the BRP. 

(pictures uploading)

[Kev m]

    


Gorgeous bike if I don't say so myself. 

[Haze]

What is the BLP? I have been to Staunton a few times, mostly for ribs at the Depot restaurant, but I am not sure what runs through there other than Rte. 81 and the Blue Ridge Parkway. Gorgeous drive you took. Any other great roads between the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Natchez Trace?

[Dave Bell]

BLP:  typo, should have been BRP.

[Haze]

BLP:  typo, should have been BRP.

Got it. Half the time I can't type my name.

[Dave Bell]

  My buddy texted me after I posted the picture on FB and said he and his wife were in traffic one day and she misread a bumper sticker and suddenly said out loud:  "Vagina is for Lovers".  His reply was "Yes, everyone wants a little every now and then, but it's "Virginia".I entered Virginia at Martinsville and headed up to Bedford.  .  I would like to say I bought gas at this station, but it was closed permanently.  Anyway, the general store at Bedford was way cool.  A very nice Asian woman owned or ran it, and they had fried pies like Mamaw used to make.  . 

[Dave Bell]

...and numerous, I mean hundreds, of jams, jellies, potions, syrups (My wife says "surp") etc.  I ate the traditional chopped to mush bbq with slaw and it was alright.  .  It started raining.........but there were numerous beautiful sights to see, including a girl from San Antonio.  , and yes, she is about to hit a golf ball into a beautiful valley with a lake.  I didn't care because she was wearing one of the greatest inventions of all times:  Yoga Pants.

[Kev m]

there were numerous beautiful sights to see, including a girl from San Antonio. 

<snip>

I didn't care because she was wearing one of the greatest inventions of all times:  Yoga Pants.

So Jenn and I are walking out a store a week or two ago and I remarked to her the irony of what was right in front of us.

A few paces ahead was THE GOOD THING about YOGA PANTS.... just a few steps behind THE BAD THING ABOUT YOGA PANTS.

I DID NOT TAKE A PIC!

Jenn laughed...

[Lannis]

  I didn't care because she was wearing one of the greatest inventions of all times:  Yoga Pants.

Sasquatch Jim has taught you well, paduan.   When you get one to come with you on the bike, your journey to the Dark Side will be complete.

Lannis

[Dave Bell]

After the night in Staunton with the rude neighbors, I entered the upper mouth of the Blue Ridge Parkway nearby after asking a couple of fellow geezers how to get there.  I am always amused when asking locals for directions:  They tell you, then they tell you a lot more detail, and then they tell you several other ways to go a half mile on the same street you're already on, or they throw in a bit of local Humor that you don't get.  Anyway, I was on my way South and home, the long way.  .  By the way,     

DISCLAIMER:  If you notice that my picture is maybe out of sequence, please don't worry.  I'm trying to present a writeup of the flavor of the trip, not an engineering document (Apologies to all Engineers).

Blue Ridge Scenes:

[Dave Bell]

Scenes from Booker T:

[Lannis]

Scenes from Booker T:

History.   You don't get a sense for it unless you travel and make notes.   Looking at the state of inner-city schools today, and the attitudes toward learning, you'd think these laws were still in effect today.   The results don't seem much different.   

We never seem to learn ....

[Dave Bell]

Here's the facts:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Ridge_Parkway

and here's a map:  http://www.virtualblueridge.com/maps/

[Dave Bell]

I rented cabins along the way.  The first was in Mt. Airy, North Carolina and was brand new and very luxurious: 

 

If anyone wants the reference, I'll provide it.  The owner was nice and helpful and has 6 cabins available, only one of which was rented.

[PJPR01]

Great pictures and story flow...

Not to derail the thread, but I couldn't help but notice that girl from San Antonio is using a Big Bertha 10 degree driver, one of the best drivers ever made (I still play mine after 6 years).  Nice setup too, properly addressing the ball before it goes for a swim in the river below!  :)

[Dave Bell]

Great pictures and story flow...

Not to derail the thread, but I couldn't help but notice that girl from San Antonio is using a Big Bertha 10 degree driver, one of the best drivers ever made (I still play mine after 6 years).  Nice setup too, properly addressing the ball before it goes for a swim in the river below!  :)

Ha!  You see that girl and think about her club?  Well done.  You just taught me more about golf than I knew up to this point. 

Anyway, the next night, in Asheville, I got another cabin, this one not so luxurious but twice, nay three times as fun:





  Two basic food groups!

This movie was filmed here.  Partly in these cabins.  It was one of my favorites as a child and I considered running whiskey for a living after seeing it `13X.  In the days before video tape, dvd, flash drive, red box, or youtube.  I went to the drive in.  13 times.

[Dave Bell]

There was a **** (4 star) German restaurant on the grounds of the Asheville Cabins:

  No Vagina, Weiner Schnitzel is not a hot dog!

This guy was on the wall:



Interior of the restaurant:

[Lannis]

Looking forward to the rest of the trip.   Never been on the ride from the BRP to the Natchez Trace, nor down the Trace itself.

Some people tell me it's one of their favorite roads.   Others warn to stay away, it's so boring you'll go to sleep.   Be interesting to see your take, and photos.

Lannis

[Bill N]

I'm loving this travel log. I too have heard the "Trace" is boring. Hope the OP tells it like it is.
Bill

[toaster404]

Thanks, brings back memories.  I bicycled once from Charlottesville to Cherokee on the BRP. Long way!!!   Glad you're enjoying it.  We might hit it Sunday.

[Dave Bell]

I'm a fan of the old US Highway system.  Roads like Rt. 66, US 50, US 80, and US 64 are some of my favorites.  i do not really like making good time by getting on an interstate like 20, 35, etc.  I took US 64 after Asheville and headed West.  Passed through Cleveland (Tn, not Oh), and Chattanooga, on into a little surprise of a town, Fayetteville.  (Tn, not Ar).  I called the lady at the desk Honey and she liked my Guzzi.  She sent me downtown to a place called Tammy's Outback which looked like a bar:





Well, I guess if was a bar, so I had a couple of Buds and ordered a Porkloin Sammich.  *****.  Went to Walmart to consider some boots, anticipating rain tomorrow, but just couldn't spend the $49.95 for Hermans made in China.  I figured a day or two with damp feet wasn't that bad of a deal. 

The next day I passed through Pulaski, famous for something, and got onto the Natchez Trace, or "The Trace". 

[Dave Bell]

.  The Trace is a bunch of miles of this.  I did not find it boring, I found it awesome.  Cruising along at about 55-60 slow enough to really enjoy some tunes, I listened to Randy Newman sing about Birmingham and his crazy wife, mile after mile.  Little or no traffic, and I saw a wolf by the road.  I swear I did. 

  There are fairly frequent signs like this one.

  and like this one.  Not much else.  As I said, not boring, just peaceful and smooth.  Pavement was perfect all the way to Jackson via Tupelo.  No I did not stop at the Hardware store where Elvis bought his first guitar.  I been there and don't like him anyway. 

I had left at 5:30 AM to miss the rain, and I did.  At Jackson, which I don't care for, I took a detour through Canton and Flora, and on to Vicksburg for the night.  I pulled into Exit 5B, the first one with motels, and pulled into a cheap looking one, which was cheap, but which had a ***** steak place next door.  Got an excellent steak which the rather large cook came out and asked about.  My review was "You knocked it out of the park".  Big 

[Dave Bell]

Since I was now on I20, which is a few miles from my house, I decided to slab it rather than stick to my guns and ride all the way in on US 80.  As far as I'm concerned I've seen North Louisiana about as much as I can stand.  I20 is in bad shape and Guzzi Shocks are evidently born horrible.  I stopped every 50 miles to stretch but otherwise kept it at 70 or so.  I do not like riding with the behemoth 18 wheelers, the cell phone talking yuppies (you know who you are) and the red neck work crews with Sh*t falling off their crappy flatbeds while they get to their next beer (especially when I 'm getting to MY next beer.  So, this could not have come too soon:

  If you live in Monroe, W. Monroe, or Shreveport, I'm sorry and no I don't need to stop and visit Duck world.

[Lannis]

Well, the Trace sounds like it might be fun then.   I don't listen to tunes on my bike, but any road with trees that I can run 60 on will entertain me no end ....

Lannis

[Dave Bell]

More pictures from the trip:

  This is how much clothes I wore when it was cold.  All summer weight, 2 sets of long johns, 3 extra t shirts and some mixed outerwear........

  looking off my porch in Asheville.

  This here's "livermush".  My lovely server, whom I addressed as Honey, said it's best eaten on white bread with mayonnaise.  I had mine straight up.  It's "all the parts of a pig they don't use on sumpin else". 

[Dave Bell]

Well, that's it.  I'll do it again if I live long enough.  I am considering riding down to Natchez direct, and going north on the Trace to Nashville to see my war hero nephew and listen to some music, and see if they have any good food there.....

[Lannis]

Well, that's it.  I'll do it again if I live long enough.  I am considering riding down to Natchez direct, and going north on the Trace to Nashville to see my war hero nephew and listen to some music, and see if they have any good food there.....

Thanks for the travelogue!

As far as I can tell, "Livermush" is the word for "Scrapple" when south of the Virginia/NC line.    Best eaten straight up; I've been eating it all my life, my Mom's ancestors were "Pennsylvania Dutch" Weimers and Klines and that lot invented the stuff.

And isn't it amazing how the stuff you wear and pack on one single motorcycle on a wet day can fill a motel room to absolute capacity?   I've noticed it several times - "You mean all this came off our motorcycle?"

Lannis

[Cam3512]

Nice trip, congrats on the V7.  Wait a minute, you're not supposed to tour on a smallblock.  It's only a 750 with either 48 or 50 hp!

 

[Lannis]

Nice trip, congrats on the V7.  Wait a minute, you're not supposed to tour on a smallblock.  It's only a 750 with either 48 or 50 hp!

 

Dave's obviously a guy who can remember the days when the standard transcontinental touring bike was something like a Suzuki Titan or a Honda CB550 or a Yamaha TX500 with a Windjammer fairing and Bates panniers, and nobody worried about the horsepower numbers, they just got on the bike and rode it .....

Lannis

[Cam3512]

Dave's obviously a guy who can remember the days when the standard transcontinental touring bike was something like a Suzuki Titan or a Honda CB550 or a Yamaha TX500 with a Windjammer fairing and Bates panniers, and nobody worried about the horsepower numbers, they just got on the bike and rode it .....

Lannis

Amen. That's my philosophy.