Doing the Ton
 

I am finally getting around to posting about my 5 day, 2000+ mile trip I took in August of this year. I explored Eastern KY, WV, Western VA, and NC on my '98 Superhawk. I didn't stop and take many pics, the pics I did take start on day 4.

Day 1: I got a late start... I left out of Chattanooga at 1pm. I hauled ass up Hwy 27 until I got in KY. I've explored most of TN and just wanted to get to KY. 5 miles over the KY border, I hit back roads and never touched another 4 lane until returning to TN. I took a night run through Red River Gorge near Slade KY. I stayed at Lil' Abners Hotel in Slade. Red River Gorge is one of the largest rock climbing sites in the East. Really neat area. Traveled 340 miles in a 8 hour day.

Day 2: I got going a little earlier and hit the road around 10am. I traveled on the curviest roads I could find going East to WV. KY has some incredible roads in the eastern part of the state. This is coal mining country! I saw ghost towns, huge mining equipment, and no traffic. It was a lt of fun to make good time on curvy roads. I finally got in WV and nearly ran out of gas. I saw tiny towns that didn't even have gas stations. There was a large power outage that had 2 towns with gas shut down. I stayed in Beckley WV. Traveled 361 miles in a 10 hour day.

Day 3: I got going around 10am and headed towards the Gauley River Gorge. This is one of the roughest white water rivers in the country when the flow is up. There is an absolutely gorgeous bridge standing 876ft above the river. It was a cool little ride down the canyon to watch the rafters at the bottom.
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From there I followed the New River around and then headed West towards The Pocahontas Forest. These are some of the best roads a rider could hope for. 100's of miles of twisty 2 lane roads with no traffic. I found an awesome B&B in Marlinton and got a great country meal. I took the luggage off the bike and went for a ride after dinner. This is over looking Blue Bend.
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I continued on to Williamsburg WV.
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I decided to take a 20 mile dirt road as a short cut. Turns out my map was wrong and what it said was paved roads were dirt roads. I was a little lost, and spent 2 hours on dirt roads. Here I am in bumble WV on a sportbike, on dirt roads, about out of gas at 10pm!
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I just followed my gut and used my map reading skills to get me back. I finally returned to Marlinton and my B&B after a 393 mile and 13 hour day.

Day 4: Another 10am start. I loved the roads in the Pocahontas Forest so much I spent the morning playing on them. I would literally just see a clearing large enough for a road surrounded by forest. I will return to this area!
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I continued South into VA to pick up the Blue Ridge Parkway at Stauton VA.
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I stayed on the BRP all day. I didn't see one officer, and rarely followed the speed suggestions. Right at dusk I saw my first officer. He saw me pulled over taking these pics and made sure I was OK. He told me about a great place to stay, and gave me directions there.
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My battery ground vibrated loose, and I started loosing electricals intermittently on the way to the hotel. While in town I pulled over to find the problem. The same officer rolls up again to offer assistance! I forget his name, but I really appreciate him holding the flash light. :bowdown By the time I got everything straightened out the town had shut down, and I couldn't get a room. I moved on, cold, tired, and fearing Bamby!! Sleep arrived after 437 miles and 11 hours.

Day 5: I set off at 11am. I picked up BRP and headed for NC. I stayed on BRP until it ended in Cherokee. Another great day, with only slight traffic, and no officers to tell me to slow down! I saw this hilarious sign in a few spiral corners on the BRP.
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I went as high as 6,684ft around Mnt Micheil. There is a really neat tunnel laying almost inconspicuous in the mountain top.
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I continued on to TN, ran through the gap for the 5th time this year, and over one of my favorites, The Cherohala Skyway. At 5235ft I decided to take a picture to show my friends how I dressed for 5 days straight.
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Further down the Skyway I stopped to watch the sunset.
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I continued on to Chattanooga on great curvy back roads. I arrived home after 473 miles and 11.5 hours.

This makes for a total of 2004 miles. It was a hell of a fun trip. I had no plan. I bought maps when I got in the respective states. I looked for the curviest roads, and then found the curviest way to get to those roads. I don't think I would have made it without my camelbak. I was drinking around 1.5 gallons a day on the bike. Temperatures were right around 100F the whole time. It was cooler in the mountains though. It was an absolute blast of a trip!

Awesome photos..... What a great trip!

Great pics! Love the helmet shot with the bugs.

Very Nice! The road sign made me laugh.

Awesome pics. Did you walk to the bottom of the stairwell at the New River Gorge? I'm glad to see that you enjoyed WV. I often argue that it is one of the most beautiful states.

This is how you want it to be, this is those moments that stays well after your trip is over, I can still remember when I slept on a closed gas station porch out of gas so tired that I did not even take my helmet off.

Glad to hear that and it looks like it, very nice photography and writeup, with a foot of snow here up north, this was chicken broth for my biker soul !!

Sounds like an awesome trip !

Very thoughtful of you to post the photographs and describe a fantastic trip. It's gotten pretty cold here (Ontario, Canada), my VTR's in storage and March, when the riding season starts, seems a long way off. Learning about great destinations and planning a trip or two helps get me through the winter.

Did the same thing - except was on my Beemer in NYC doin after work drinks - all of a sudden the alcohol hit me - So I went outside put my half helmet on & fell asleep on the sidewalk. Woke up sober & rode home. Note: Don't drink & ride.

Hater excellent story - sounds like a great road trip

I'm goin to MotoGP in Indy in Sept. Maybe I'll cut thru WVa. & make it a week trip :)

Nice.

Tight!!! :headbang:

Great pics and story but one question:
Did you do all that riding on the stock seat?? I can't go over 2 hours without the stock seat killing my ass.

Yep, stock seat. So does that make me an iron butt rider regardless?

What the stock seat lacks in padding I make up for with ass...

Great pics, thanks for sharing. I have been on some of the same roads. Especially the BRP. That tunnel can get tricky at speed if its cold up there. Sometimes the dripping water freezes and its dark in there.

I like the Helmet / Sunset pic, oh i see you had the Skyway black bugs for extra effect.

great photos, so jealous

Yeah man, looks great. All in my back yard and I never do it!

Helmets actually make pretty good pillows...:)

And you should be glad it was a half helmet or you would have choked on your own fumes...:) I tried being a pillion after a few drinks... Even tho the GF swears she was going slow, my enduring memory of that ride was that the only thing distracting me from the scariest ride of my life, was my own breath making my eyes water in the full face helmet...

I have never piloted any vehicle after drinking, and since I will never go close to a bike while remotely drunk...