I was travelling along on my M/C when....

[RideOn]

My wife and I went to The Biltmore Estate last year for the BMW Rally. All I can say is that was one of the most beautiful rides I have been on, when it wasn’t raining. When we left Baltimore the Monday of our trip, we took the scenic route (of course what other type is there) to North Carolina. We went 95 South to 66 then to 340 where we went through Front Royal and entered Skyline Drive at the North Station. When we first entered where we paid our money for the park, a deer was the first thing to greet us standing on the side of the road just eating and watching. If you have the time to ride Skyline drive, do it, you will not be disappointed. We were not planning on this detour, but after all it was our vacation. The overlooks are just what you see in the magazines you look at saying "I would love to ride there".

Once out of Skyline drive, we rode 81 South to Bristol Tennessee and rode 77S to 26W, a new part of road. When we got on 26W, you would not believe the ride. We were heading to Asheville, NC on 26 where the clouds were in 3D as we rode through them. There was not a lot of traffic to tend with, which was great, since it was around 7:30-8:30 at night. They call the mountains the Blue Ridge Mountains for a reason, and riding there you will know. We would stop and look over at the valleys and what a sight it was with the river of clouds cascading through the bottom of the mountains. At one point, looking at the ridge, the sun was setting and it looked as if someone took a floodlight and dropped it behind the mountains, just highlighting the tips of the ridge.

We also went to Deal's Gap where Tail of the Dragon is. If any of you have not heard of or been to the Tail, that is worth the ride in itself. We went from Asheville, NC to Knoxville, TN to get to the Tail. We took 19 out of Knoxville to route 28 that takes you to Fontana Dam. When you are on 28, you are riding along at the bottom of the river basin where you see huge boulders with the white water raging, what a great site. When you get to the top of Fontana Dam, turn right on 129 and that will take you to Deal's Gap. When we rode the Dragon, I strapped my video camera on top of my tank bag and off we went.

When leaving Deal's Gap, if you want to take another nice scenic route go straight down 129S that will take you around and through Santeetlah and lead you back to 19.

We took a week off to do this trip, but the first day we were on the bike about 17hrs with stopping to eat and fuel up. We rode a total of 1950 miles that trip and it was well worth it.

Thanks for reading!

[CentralOzzy]

Hey, thanks for sharing that wicked ride story, you Lucky, Lucky people!

[Ladymx]

Thanks for that Post, I thought this Thread was DEAD before it even started....or peoples M/C experiences are 'On Leave' right now.

BTW, I ride a Harley & wave to EVERYONE....most don't wave back

Funny cause once you hit the 'open road' everyone waves!

Funny, I wave at Harleys and they dont wave back

[Buelligan]

Me too Chels

Whats with that anyway?

[poppygene]

My wife and I went to The Biltmore Estate last year for the BMW Rally. All I can say is that was one of the most beautiful rides I have been on, when it wasn’t raining.

That's what I'm sayin'! If heaven don't remind me of it, I think I'll ask for a return voucher!

About the rain... we do get quite a bit here in the Appalachians and it can often cause disappointment for visiting riders. I fuss about it from time to time, as well, but I must confess it can be enjoyable too. For one thing, the traffic is always lighter. The worst part is cleaning up the bike afterwards.