I just decided to go for a ride.

[klaviator]

I got up to another beautiful day in the mountains. I took my time packing everything up.

This is the creek that runs by the campground.




I headed up 276 towards the BRP. It was cool enough that I had to stop and put on a light jacket under my mesh jacket. Traffic was light on the Parkway. I did stop and talk to three guys riding on 50cc scooters.



One of them said he tried but was unable to exceed the speed limit. 50cc is too slow IMO but I'd love to ride the BRP on my Kymco. 

More BRP.



I got off the BRP on to 215 then took some of my favorite twisty roads eventually ending up on 64.



My chain was really noisy and I could feel it pulsing due to uneven wear. I decided to just head home rather than push my luck with another day of twisty roads. At least I got to ride some more twisty roads and see some nice scenery.



.



.



The ride from BRMC to home was 339 miles. My normal route is closer to 400 miles and includes some of the twistiest roads around.

[wweaver11]

Excellent ride report.   Has me wanting to head north.   I have some time off at the end of the month.   You may have just inspired me!!!

[klaviator]

Excellent ride report.   Has me wanting to head north.   I have some time off at the end of the month.   You may have just inspired me!!!

It's a fantastic area to ride.  I hate that I ended up coming home early.  I think I will head up up to the mountains early tomorrow morning.  This ride report may not be finished yet.

[kylepeterson]

I got up to another beautiful day in the mountains. I took my time packing everything up.

This is the creek that runs by the campground.

wow, thank you for sharing this, all of it but mostly this

[Nice Goat]

wow, thank you for sharing this, all of it but mostly this

You can hang a hammock about two feet from that creek at Ironhorse Motorcycle Lodge.  It's very nice.

[klaviator]

wow, thank you for sharing this, all of it but mostly this

You can hang a hammock about two feet from that creek at Ironhorse Motorcycle Lodge.  It's very nice.

That pic was at BRMC, not Iron Horse. 

[Nice Goat]

That pic was at BRMC, not Iron Horse.

Oh well ... they have a nice little creek at Ironhorse also.

[klaviator]

Iron Horse, BRMC and TWoS all have creeks and are great places to camp.  CMTC also has a creek but it's not as scenic.  It's great having so many campgrounds to choose from. 

[klaviator]

I had a nice ride today.  It was nice and cool, and sometimes cold, at higher elevations. 

Look at who I ran into on the ride.



It was Maydaymike.

I'm camping tonight a CMTC. 



Weather is not looking good for tomorrow so I don't know if I'll ride or just head home.  I'll do a more complete ride report later.  A couple of preview pics.



.

[klaviator]

I left Huntsville early Saturday morning, around 5 AM, and headed East.  I saw a bunch of Harley's on the road, most likely headed for the Trail of Tears ride.  I hope they enjoyed it.  Riding in a huge parade like that is not my idea of fun.  My idea of fun is more like this:



Since I was on a scooter I guess I could just ignore that sign 8)

I pulled over at a scenic viewpoint where there were a bunch of bikes.



Maydaymike and his wife were with that group.  I think they were there for an annual Triumph gathering in the area.  I'm sure he wasn't expecting to see me there on my scooter.

I headed over the Skyway and then left through Joyce Kilmer to 129.  If you have never ridden that way it's a real twisty road but pretty rough.  Then I headed towards Deal's Gap on 129.  Made a couple of stops for pics.



I took a pic of my Versys at this same spot.



There was quite a crowd at Deal's Gap.

[klaviator]

Had lunch at DGMR then hung out a bit.  Despite the huge crowd in the parking lot traffic on 129 didn't seem that heavy so  I rode down to the overlook.  I only got stuck behind one car and it used a pullout and let me by.  I hung out at the overlook for a while.



.



The run back up 129 was fun but there was more traffic so I pulled over a few times to let slower traffic get ahead so I could enjoy the road.  With 10.3 HP passing wasn't really a safe option.

My Super 8 only has a 1.3 gallon tank and gets about 70 MPG.  I also brought along a gallon gas can bungeed to the rear seat.  I would soon need gas.  I was willing to pay the nearly four bucks a gallon at Deal's Gap but the line to pay for it inside was really long so I decided to head to Fontana for gas.  They fact that 28 from Deal's Gap to Fontana is a great ride made that an easy choice.

I gassed up at Fontana and then headed down one of those local roads that the tourists don't know about and has virtually no traffic.



Then another local road less than 2 miles from the Gap for some pics.



.



Then back up to DGMR and hung out a bit. It seems that Saturday is tourist day while more of the regulars show up on Sunday. I headed back towrds the Skyway on 129. Took a little detour on some more fun roads.



Back on 129.



Then right on 143 with a stop here for something refreshing.



Then it was back over the Skyway.  There are a few spots where the leaves are changing color.



I stopped at the Tellicafe for dinner then back to Cherohala Mountain Trails Campground for the night.

[KrisCook]

Stunning photography.  I think this post shows some of your best work yet.  Thanks for this thread! 

[klaviator]

I got up early Sunday morning and thought about heading to Deal's Gap but decided not to because I wanted to get back and heading home before the predicted thunderstorms arrived. I headed out to Bald River Falls. I've never seen it with so little water.



I continued up the road and took a left on the forest service road that goes up to Stratton Meadows on the Skyway. 



.



This road is mostly smooth gravel but has a few paved sections.  I was able to maintain a pretty good speed despite being on a scooter with 14 inch wheels.  You don't need a dual sport with knobbies to ride this road.



It was very peaceful back here and there was no other traffic, just a few campers at the numerous campsites along this road.



.



In a few spots as the roads go uphill there is some rough washboard which made me slow way down. 



12 miles and I was back at the Skyway.



I went down the Skyway for a while. Rain was in the forecast so traffic was very light. I was thinking of how great it was to be able to cruise the Skyway without getting stuck behind slow traffic when I came up behind a slow moving parade of cruisers and a Spyder.  Oh well, there are some nice side roads off of the Skyway so I took one.



.



There is one great section of tight twisties that I turned around and rode again

[klaviator]

Stunning photography.  I think this post shows some of your best work yet.  Thanks for this thread!

Thanks Kris.  When I'm riding my small scooter I tend to be more inclined to stop and take pics.  In many cases I would see what looked like a nice picture spot and would whip a quick U turn to get the pic.  It's just easier to do this on a small scooter than a bigger bike.  Also I tend to be going a little slower so I don't miss as much of the scenery.

[Shakyshane]

New to Dual sporting and this looks like a nice place to ride. Can you please tell me where in Alabama this is at? Thank you