brazos parker
What??
Not really...but it was an international group.
Shown below are Penny & Mike (Canada), Stef (Italy), Travis & Jim (USA)
Penny & Jim were visiting Tennessee. They went to WFO and then back across country to TN...almost 3 weeks on the road. Stef was visiting his friend Jim from NC.
Stef and Jim rode from Fontana Village and Penny, Mike and I rode from Johnson City, TN. We all hooked up in Asheville, NC. From there, we headed north on the Blue Ridge Parkway in pleasant, sunny weather. We stopped at a vista point (below) to enjoy the view and Stef deployed his helmet cam...which later fell off only to become a "hand-cam."
We stopped for lunch in Switzerland...Little Switzerland...Blue Ridge Parkway...USA. Here's a classic "Michaelangelo" pose to document the event.
From there, we continued up the BRP as the weather got worse. Finally, we stopped to don rain gear and Penny included her thermal liner. It rained until we exited the BRP and rode thru Boone, NC. As the sun came out, we were getting very hot in all the rain gear and stopped at a convenience store to stow the gear and get a soda. The kind ladies in the store took pity on us sweaty riders and took us back to the "cold room" where we soaked up the frigid air! :yahoo:
We departed Boone and had an uneventful ride up to Mountain City and hit the eastern end of 421...aka Shady Valley...aka "The Snake." :yahoo: :clapping: :yahoo:
After a spirited ride on the eastern leg of 421 (the asphalt was dry), we stopped at The Country Store at Shady Valley crossroads for a short break. Stef and Jim still had a long ride in front of them as they had to get back to Fontana Village that evening. After consulting a map, we decided to finish off The Snake's western leg and then head back to Johnson City. After a brief stop at the motel where Mike and Penny were staying, I led Stef and Jim on some back roads to connect to the highway taking them back toward Fontana.
It was a long day, with varying weather conditions, but, I think, all enjoyed the roadways of NC and TN.
And, I probably shouldn't mention this...so don't tell anybody about this last picture. It's Stef's ride for the day... :lol:
:blink: h34r: :yahoo:
It was really embarassing to have this "thing" tagging along, scraping hard parts in an effort to keep up w/ the magnificent FJR's but, alas, we did let him catch up...on occasion...as long as he maintained decent separation so no one would know he was w/ our group. :yahoo:
Shown below are Penny & Mike (Canada), Stef (Italy), Travis & Jim (USA)
Penny & Jim were visiting Tennessee. They went to WFO and then back across country to TN...almost 3 weeks on the road. Stef was visiting his friend Jim from NC.
Stef and Jim rode from Fontana Village and Penny, Mike and I rode from Johnson City, TN. We all hooked up in Asheville, NC. From there, we headed north on the Blue Ridge Parkway in pleasant, sunny weather. We stopped at a vista point (below) to enjoy the view and Stef deployed his helmet cam...which later fell off only to become a "hand-cam."
We stopped for lunch in Switzerland...Little Switzerland...Blue Ridge Parkway...USA. Here's a classic "Michaelangelo" pose to document the event.
From there, we continued up the BRP as the weather got worse. Finally, we stopped to don rain gear and Penny included her thermal liner. It rained until we exited the BRP and rode thru Boone, NC. As the sun came out, we were getting very hot in all the rain gear and stopped at a convenience store to stow the gear and get a soda. The kind ladies in the store took pity on us sweaty riders and took us back to the "cold room" where we soaked up the frigid air! :yahoo:
We departed Boone and had an uneventful ride up to Mountain City and hit the eastern end of 421...aka Shady Valley...aka "The Snake." :yahoo: :clapping: :yahoo:
After a spirited ride on the eastern leg of 421 (the asphalt was dry), we stopped at The Country Store at Shady Valley crossroads for a short break. Stef and Jim still had a long ride in front of them as they had to get back to Fontana Village that evening. After consulting a map, we decided to finish off The Snake's western leg and then head back to Johnson City. After a brief stop at the motel where Mike and Penny were staying, I led Stef and Jim on some back roads to connect to the highway taking them back toward Fontana.
It was a long day, with varying weather conditions, but, I think, all enjoyed the roadways of NC and TN.
And, I probably shouldn't mention this...so don't tell anybody about this last picture. It's Stef's ride for the day... :lol:
:blink: h34r: :yahoo:
It was really embarassing to have this "thing" tagging along, scraping hard parts in an effort to keep up w/ the magnificent FJR's but, alas, we did let him catch up...on occasion...as long as he maintained decent separation so no one would know he was w/ our group. :yahoo:
