Ottawa - Blue Ridge Parkway Jaunt

[George R. Young]

Leaving Saturday heading for Cherokee NC via the Skyline Drive, Blue Ridge Parkway, and back roads of PA and NY. Back the following Sunday. If all goes well, I'll be camping near good restaurants. The bike is newly cleaned and waxed, so if you see a shiny red 2001, wave.

[556ALPHA]

Gonna be on the Parkway heading south from Boone Tuesday AM.   Gonna be a little chilly in the early AM.  Staying in Asheville Tuesday and then heading north to south Roanoke for the night.  Hitting West VA Thur am to Afton VA and back home Friday.

[George R. Young]

Tues. I'll be heading south from Floyd VA to Asheville NC, camping at Lake Powhattan Tues. night. I'll keep my eyes open.

[George R. Young]

Ah, the yearly trip is over. Great riding weather except for NY on the way down AND on the way up. The front tire is worn to the nubs down the middle and on the sides, the rear is close. Tried a new restaurant in Floyd VA, Mickey D's Bistro, good Italian and close to the Rocky Knob campground. Didn't see too many motorcycles, don't think I saw any C10s.

Stats:
2535.2 Miles
58.004 US gal
43.7 mi./ USG

Edit: had the stats wrong

[gPink]

Glad you had a good trip and a safe return.

[George R. Young]

A fex pix:

[George R. Young]

Camping every night takes a toll on the tent and the one I've had for (quite) a few years has given up the ghost. The lower door zipper has been repaired a number of times and I decided total replacement was called for.

The old Eureka Timberline is an A-frame tent and technology has progressed, so this time I chose a dome.

Ledge Tarantula 2-person tent:
http://www.amazon.ca/Ledge-Sports-Tarantula-42-Inch-6-9-Pounds/dp/B004JJN1PY/ref=sr_1_10?s=sports&ie=UTF8&qid=1414718617&sr=1-10&keywords=tent
Free-standing, seems to have room for me, air mattress and gear, and the potential to keep me dry.

It's not terribly light but folds up into 22" x 8". Step 1 was to chuck the dinky-toy aluminum tent pegs and replace them with spare steel ones I have (adding a bit more weight). Successfully pitched in the basement, outdoor trial scheduled for the weekend.

The next time you see the Concours with the ground sheet/mattress/tent rolled up on the back seat, it'll be the Tarantula.