Burger Bus
February 2, 2019 – Ball Ground, GA – Fun group chowing down some great burgers after a fun ride in the mountains! No bear sightings this trip though but the weather might have woke them up!
Mount Pisgah
May 15-16, 2019 – Postcard Ride – This was more fun than you could shake a stick at! Five of us Atlanta Highway IMRG members rode up to the Blue Ridge Parkway and enjoyed the great amenities at Pisgah Inn!
And talk about views! I had as much fun off the bike as on thanks to the great group of riders I was with! A diverse bunch that all shared the goal of a good time and a safe ride. If you ever get the chance… you should ride the Blue Ridge Parkway. Every inch we experienced was a postcard!
Little Switzerland, NC
June 26-28, 2019 – If you’ve ever ridden the Blue Ridge Parkway you won’t be surprised to hear that I had an awesome experience. If heaven has roads for touring oriented motorcycle riders I expect they are very similar to the BRP. It’s so easy to ride and beautiful to look at… it’s also very much a stress reducer… it feels like it was designed for motorcycling. I am now spoiled and hope to eventually ride the entire parkway. It stretches in sweeping curves from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, North Carolina to Shenandoah National Park, Virginia.
Topping things off the Switzerland Inn has a resident bear statue named “Ed”!!! How many bears do you think have my namesake?
Y’all know I like bears right? I was fortunate to see four bears while riding in the Georgia mountains over the course of my first year back on a motorcycle after a 30 year hiatus. That was incredible. Well I was seven months into my second year back and finally spotted a momma bear and her cub in North Carolina. As I rounded a curve about a half hour from the Inn I came upon a momma standing on the edge of the parkway. She was standing in my lane looking at me and then toward the short bank leading into the woods then back at me. That clued me in to look up the bank where I spotted the cub. I gave them a wide berth pulling my clutch in to quiet my Thunderstroke. No reason to stress a momma bear anymore than necessary. I very much enjoyed the close up encounter but wished I had a video camera mounted on Yona. Maybe next time I will!
Dragon Ride
August 6, 2019 – Jim L. and I rode up to Robbinsville, NC spending the night at River’s Edge Treehouse Resort and rode The Dragon. It was a blast! Such a beautiful road. I had to pay close attention to the 11 miles of 318 curves keeping an eye out for wacky doodles. We only encountered one crotchety rocket that went zooming past us. I stayed on the right side to leave him room. The Dragon was great fun! I hope to ride it again soon!
Cherohala Skyway
August 7, 2019 – Jim and I rode from Robbinsville, NC back home via the Skyway. What a beautiful motorcycle friendly road. Parts of it reminded me of the BRP.
Unfortunately we didn’t spot any bears on this ride but we did get to meet some at the Cherohala Skyway Visitor Center. We watched a video about the conservation efforts surrounding our wild bear population. It was very interesting. The most poignant point regarding the bears is that we should NOT feed them… no legs no arms… not even a crumb. Feeding the bears is usually a death sentence for them because they will quickly learn a too dangerous for humans habit and likely wind up having to be euthanized.
This is a picture from Jim L. of me and my new buddy Fred. I asked Fred where he got the cool vest but he wouldn’t tell me. Maybe I don’t want to know!
Murder Mountain & Diamondback
September 20-22, 2019 – Jerry, Jim and I headed up the Blue Ridge Parkway to Little Switzerland for a weekend of great motorcycle weather in the Appalachian mountains. Friday we had a fun uneventful ride up and ended the day with a relaxing evening at the Switzerland Inn.
I was disappointed that the “Ed the Bear” sign was missing but at least Ed the metal bear was still there! I asked around but no one knew what happened to the sign… maybe they removed it because it prompted photos of Ed the Bear’s behind… I don’t know about you but if I’m walking in the woods… that’s the end of a bear I’d rather see!)
Saturday morning after a good breakfast we rode out on to a local route called the Murder Mountain Run. It’s 114 miles of North Carolina and Tennessee mountain roads. It started out twisting through the beautiful highland forests on a perfect riding day. At Roan we stopped for lunch then we headed south on 143 toward Roan Mountain State Park. Unfortunately my GPS wanted to take a shortcut and steered us around the park. Next time I’m adding a stop at the park to the GPS route plan so we don’t wind up in that wacky shortcut. Dang shortcut got us lost! We eventually meandered our way back to the Inn for a great dinner and some good old biker buddy talk!
Sunday morning we capped off our weekend adventure by heading out onto the Diamondback… a popular 38 mile route with 12 miles of 190 steep climbing curves. The ride takes just a little over an hour and starts and ends at the Switzerland Inn where we were staying. After Diamondback we headed home via the BRP but detoured down 215 toward Rosman to refuel. 215 turned out to be good riding fun with lots of mountain forest lined twisties! We wound up going through the nice towns of Cashiers and Highlands on the way back. I can’t wait to do the whole trip again!
Left to right, Jim (Gadget), Ed (Bear), that’s me (how do you like my antlers?) and Jerry (Jammin)
Talking Rock
June 7, 2020 – Yona and I rode to one of my favorite stops at Talking Rock Town Park. The rocks were exceptionally gabby today and kept making cracks about being stoned. Of course, I had no idea what they were talking about and wasn’t going to let them chisel me into a debate. So I kept my distance. Once you start talking to rocks there’s no turning back. Seriously speaking, the people of Talking Rock are much easier to get along with. It’s a very relaxed, quaint, quiet, and friendly place.
Taking a break at Talking Rock … Yona and I are on an excursion to the Georgia Dragon AKA Suches Loop… not in a hurry and taking a long way around route to get there! – Pareidolia – In my right mirror I can see my guardian angel’s eyes! I am sure they are telling me to not make their job any more difficult than is necessary! You see, I had given them a run for their money in my younger days.
Blue Ridge Parkway 2020
October 6-9, 2020 – Gadget and I rode a fantastic four day trip up and back starting the BRP near Dillsboro, NC spending the first and third nights at the beautiful Switzerland Inn and Chalet Restaurant in Little Switzerland, NC and riding the parkway north to Fancy Gap Virginia spending the second night at the friendly, gorgeous and very comfortable Volunteer Gap Inn and Cabins in Hillsville, VA. The parkway forest was beginning to color and the weather was perfect motorcycle conditions. What a blessed Fall adventure in the mountains!
Back to Diamondback
May 15, 2021 – Jim, Jerry, Brad and I rode up from our Northern area Georgia homes for some weekend motorcycling fun in the North Carolina mountains!
Saturday was an all day trip where we rode from Alpharetta to Sylva, NC where we picked up the Blue Ridge Parkway the rest of the way to Little Switzerland. We stayed at the Switzerland Inn where the people are friendly and the atmosphere is open and hospitable. We greatly enjoyed their delicious food and comfortable accommodations!
The Inn is a great location to base from for riding the Diamondbackand Murder Mountain Run gorgeous mountain road adventures. Sunday we combined both routes for a great day of mountains and motorcycles. Our Indians were very much up to the task giving us a Thunderstroking good time!
Fall Foliage Fun
October 31- November 2, 2021 – I rode solo up to the North Carolina mountains to celebrate my upcoming 70th birthday!
Fall Foliage Fun 2
October 13-16, 2022 – Jerry, Jim and I rode our Indians up to the North Carolina mountains for a Fall vacation at the Switzerland Inn’s Diamondback Cabin.
Ed’s Website – Rides page 4
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