V-Strom Meet Up- East - Iron Horse Lodge: Robbinsville, NC - May 2008
Ξ May 19th, 2008 | → 2 Comments | ∇ Uncategorized |
This isn’t much of a bonafide ‘ride report’ but it’s an ever-so-brief account of my trip, so as not to bore those of you with shorter attention spans…
It was actually a ‘meet-up’ of riders of the type of motorcycle I own (Suzuki V-Strom) from the Eastern side of the US and Canada. The group met up for the weekend at the Iron Horse Lodge in Robbinsville, NC, where we all had the option to either stay in one of the private or group bunk houses or camp out. I chose to use my ‘jungle’ hammock in lieu of a tent, and aside from being a bit chilly in the wee hours of the morning, I slept well. I left early Friday morning and arrived in the middle of the afternoon to some soggy weather and a complete lack of cell phone service, but had the time to leisurely set up my hammock and arrange my gear. I brought everything from emergency repair equipment to propane fuel and a camping stove, but I neglected to respect how cold in gets in the mountains, and as such, I ended up wearing all of my warm clothes (which wasn’t much) for the entire trip… to ride, to sleep, to walk around in… but for a three-day trip, it actually ended up working out almost ideally.
Though the weather kept me from making it back out on the bike to explore the surrounding areas on Friday, I struck up many lively V-Strom-inspired conversations and formed a couple of great friendships that made for outstanding ride partners for what turned out to be a beautiful Saturday. My new friends, Jeff and Don, and I found our way to a proposed 300-mile, 4-state loop of some of the best and most scenic roads that the region has to offer, and we stopped in awe at the fascinating petroglyph known as Judaculla Rock. After riding all day on Saturday, we returned to another delicious Iron Horse Lodge meal and a night of catching up on stories and sharing tips and tricks and v-strom info galore. Sunday brought about a cooler, dewy morning and saw most participants scrambling to get themselves ready to get back on the road towards home with rainy skies heading in from most directions.
Total mileage: ~550
CLICK HERE FOR PICTURES FROM THIS TRIP
And next up… my mega-trip up north in July… which has now been expanded to include stops in Bloomington, IN, Minneapolis, MN, and a trek across several cities in Canada on may way to my annual ‘Andy’s Hike to Galehead’ trip in New Hampshire… I’ll keep you all posted and thanks for letting me share!
Later!
AY
