ROAD TRIP!!!!!! These are probably two of the best words in a guy’s vocabulary along with “more beer” and “pizza’s here” (OK, there are more but this is a family oriented website).
It all started when fellow motorcyclist Duane Parks and I decided that Texas roads were a little on the flat side. We needed some curves with 3 dimensions but like the curse states: “be
careful what you ask for”.
So the planning for the trip began along with a little help from the Garmin GPS software; OK, so a lot of help.
The NC, TN, GA mountains seemed like a great place to start; Duane was from Tennessee and I can almost spell it. I used to live in the Charlotte, NC area and rode some of these roads
many years ago so it was going to be like a home coming .... of sorts. We will get to see if we remember how to go around a corner!
GAME ON
Using the Garmin GPS software I plotted routes for each day and a little ride after getting to the hotel (if there was enough time left).Picking the routes also helped define which towns we
stayed in; finding a hotel in those towns was another issue. My Zumo 550 is about to be put to the test!
LET'S GO
Route plotted, checklist made and re-checked, bikes serviced …. We’re ready to go. Now if we could get U-haul to find the size trailer we reserved 6 weeks earlier, but that’s another story
(with U-haul there's always another story).
Load ‘em up and tie ‘em down; 850 miles later we arrive in Chattanooga, TN and leave the RAV4 and trailer in Thrifty Car Rental's long term parking lot. This really made a good starting
and ending point.
Here are our routes through the mountains by the different days.
It all started when fellow motorcyclist Duane Parks and I decided that Texas roads were a little on the flat side. We needed some curves with 3 dimensions but like the curse states: “be
careful what you ask for”.
So the planning for the trip began along with a little help from the Garmin GPS software; OK, so a lot of help.
- Game plan: Ride curvy road
- Strategy: Find curvy roads
- Execution: Stay ON the curvy roads!
- AND there will be NO crying for your Mama!
The NC, TN, GA mountains seemed like a great place to start; Duane was from Tennessee and I can almost spell it. I used to live in the Charlotte, NC area and rode some of these roads
many years ago so it was going to be like a home coming .... of sorts. We will get to see if we remember how to go around a corner!
GAME ON
Using the Garmin GPS software I plotted routes for each day and a little ride after getting to the hotel (if there was enough time left).Picking the routes also helped define which towns we
stayed in; finding a hotel in those towns was another issue. My Zumo 550 is about to be put to the test!
LET'S GO
Route plotted, checklist made and re-checked, bikes serviced …. We’re ready to go. Now if we could get U-haul to find the size trailer we reserved 6 weeks earlier, but that’s another story
(with U-haul there's always another story).
Load ‘em up and tie ‘em down; 850 miles later we arrive in Chattanooga, TN and leave the RAV4 and trailer in Thrifty Car Rental's long term parking lot. This really made a good starting
and ending point.
- BTW there is nothing more entertaining (on a long trip it doesn't take much to be entertaining!) than hearing the GPS say "Turn right in 123 miles"
Here are our routes through the mountains by the different days.
| Motorcycle Road Trip |
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