This was sort of an unplanned adventure, but sometimes those are the ones that make the best memories. I had just returned from my Arkansas trip, but that trip was cut short thanks to the nasty spring storm that battered half of the country. As amazing as it was, the Arkansas trip didn’t quite satisfy the riding bug. Plus I’m going back to school in a few weeks so my riding time is going to take a hit.
This was supposed to be a quick three day ride through the Appalachian mountains…but it ended up being an epic week long adventure!
I didn’t have much of a plan, I just wanted to ride and camp. I chose the BMW R1250RT for this one…she’s been my go-to lately. It’s such a great bike!
DAY 1
I pulled the RT out of the garage and quickly looked over all of my gear. I always like to double check all of my straps, my tires, riding equipment and anything else that could cause a safety issue.
I was getting a late start. It was almost 9am and the sun was already high in the sky. Typically I’d be at least 100 miles away by now.
It was unusually warm for late April so I dressed accordingly. I decided to leave the Aerostitch Roadcrafter in the closet. My Aerostitch is usually my first choice but it was supposed to be warm for the next several days so I decided to take the Klim Marrakesh jacket instead. It’s lightweight, breathes well, and very comfortable. That being said, I would be in trouble if it gets cold or it rains.
I kissed the wife goodbye and fired up the RT. I hit the road with a smile on my face…the weather was perfect, the RT was eager to roll, and the mountains were waiting for me!
I had three days to go wherever I wanted, and the plan was to meet up with the wife on the third day and possibly stay a night at a hotel or something. We would play it by ear.
For tonight I decided I would just camp out at the Two Wheels of Suches motorcycle campground. It’s a campground I’m quite familiar with and it’s nestled in pristine riding country in the north Georgia mountains. It was about a six hour ride…an easy day on the RT.
I took the route I usually take to Suches…I take the back roads all the way to Augusta, stop for lunch and gas, and continue on to the campground. I’ve done this ride several times now, yet I still manage to see something new every time.
The ride to Suches was uneventful…I ate a steak at the Longhorn in Augusta, and made it to the campground around 6pm. I was surprised how many people were there…especially for a Wednesday! I quickly snagged one of the vacant camp sites that were left…it was in the corner of the property and sidled up against the small creek that runs through the campground. Not bad at all!
I shut down the RT and set up camp as the temperature cooled considerably. It was supposed to dip into the 40s tonight…a common theme in the mountains. I don’t mind that at all…I prefer the cool weather over the sweltering heat of the summer.
Home for the night
After I set up camp I brewed a cup of camp coffee and listened to the creek bubble and gurgle. Occasionally I would hear the burst of laughter from a nearby campsite as fellow riders told motorcycle stories. I suppose those stories are a lot like fishing stories…the truth might be stretched a little as years pass by. Either way it was a relaxing way to spend an evening.
This beautiful creek works its way through the campground…the sound of the rushing water lulls you to sleep.
As I was enjoying my coffee and relaxing I heard a familiar sound of a bike approaching the campground. The sound was similar to that of a sewing machine…I immediately recognized the make and model. The only bike that sounds like that is the Honda ST1300. Sure enough…a beautiful blue Honda ST1300 rolled into the campground! The rider pulled up across the campground where I was surprised to see a bunch of other Honda ST1100s and ST1300s.
Little did I know there was a Honda ST rally this coming weekend…I had no idea! I spent some time meeting and chatting with the ST riders and it made me long for my old 2007 ST1300…it was a fantastic bike!
I also had the privilege of meeting Joe, the organizer and administrator of www.stowners.com. A site I used often when I owned my Honda ST.
A Honda ST1300 and ST1100 showed up a couple days early for the rally.
A couple more Honda ST1300’s waiting to hit the road
I called it a night long after it turned dark. I decided against a fire since I was able to enjoy the fire of the ST riders while visiting with them.
After chatting with my fellow long riders I took a hot shower and crawled in to my Zenbivy sleep system. Sleep came quickly thanks to the sound of the creek.
DAY 2
I woke up to the sound of a couple of bikes firing up and leaving camp. I checked the time and was surprised to see that it was almost 8am…I usually don’t sleep that late but the cool air and the sound of the creek was a perfect recipe for slumber.
I crawled out of my tent and brewed some coffee. It was chilly but the sun was peeking over the mountains and warming everything it touched.
I took my time packing up camp. Most of my gear was wet from the dew so I let it dry in the sun before shoving it into my bags. While waiting for my gear to dry I came up with a riding plan. I decided I would take Hwy 60 north towards Blue Ridge, and then work my way towards Chattanooga.
I’ve seen most of what Chattanooga has to offer, but I’ve never been to Honda Southern Powersports www.southernhonda.com. It’s the largest Honda shop in the country and the largest Gold Wing dealer in the world. I figured it was worth checking out.
I fired up the RT, turned on the heated grips and seat, and pulled out of the campground. I love riding the roads in northern Georgia. Great scenery and lots of leans. The temp was hovering around 50.
Rolling through some of the prettiest riding country a rider can find
Traffic was light, and the warmth from the sun felt amazing. I put the RT in “Dynamic Mode” and let it do what it was designed to do! I hammered the curves and appreciated the capability of the BMW…she was built for this type of riding…and she does it very well!
The views were stunning and the riding was perfect, I don’t take these moments for granted!
Beautiful and quiet morning ride to Chattanooga
I rode non-stop all the way to East Ridge, TN. East Ridge is just outside Chattanooga and is the home of Honda Southern Powersports. Before going to the dealership, I filled up the RT with gas and ate lunch at a southern chicken joint. It was good but not great.
I pulled into the Honda dealership and was greeted by the friendly staff. I have experience working in dealerships as a motorcycle tech and I really liked what I saw here. They KNOW their products and have the biggest collection of Goldwings I have ever seen.
If you’re in the market for a new Goldwing, head to Honda Southern Powersports! Ask for Stephen and he’ll take care of you.
I looked seriously at one of the leftover 2025 Tour models. I have serviced and rode several Goldwings over the years and they are fantastic machines!
Stephen offered me a very fair price for my RT in exchange for the Goldwing but I just couldn’t part with my BMW. I was definitely tempted. I called my wife while mulling it over and she reminded me of how much I love my RT and how I have it set up perfectly for me. She’s right…I would miss my RT too much. Instead I’ll just make some extra room in the garage and rock both the RT and the Goldwing! Besides, can a guy ever have too many bikes?
This beautiful Goldwing would be in my stable if I didn’t love my RT so much. Someday soon…
After spending too much time at the dealership I decided to hit the road to find a place to camp for the evening.
I wanted to ride through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park so I headed northeast. It was already 4pm so the Chattanooga traffic was pretty heavy as I rolled out of the dealership. I stuck to the back roads and was thankful that I kept the RT. She does so well on the back roads!
I rode for about two hours until I arrived at a KOA near Tellico Plains. I paid for a tent site, bought some firewood, and set up camp. It was a quiet campground and I enjoyed the solitude. I lit a fire once it got dark and spent the evening relaxing while gazing at the moon and stars. It was a great night for camping!
The evening was cool and quiet..the moon and stars were bright. A perfect evening to camp
The warmth of the fire made it easy to relax
When I finally ran out of firewood I took a shower and crawled into my sleep system. It was another cool night and sleep came quickly.
DAY 3
It was downright chilly and the sun was just starting to peek over the mountains when I woke up. I brewed some coffee and warmed up in the camp store.
I got to thinking about where I could meet up with my wife. I remember riding through Little Switzerland last year and kept thinking about how much my wife would love up there. It’s a little town that sits on top of a mountain with stunning views.
So I decided to surprise my wife…I called up the Inn and booked a two night stay. What’s an extra day or two going to hurt? My wife works hard and deserves a break…and the one on one time without kids is always a treat.
Little Switzerland is about a three hour ride that would take me right through the Smoky Mountain National Park. It was about a two hour drive for her since she was currently in Greenville.
I stuck to the backroads and worked my way towards the national park. Once I entered the park I was hit with a bit of traffic. I’ve ridden through here during late autumn and there was almost no traffic. The Great Smoky Mountain National Park is a blast to ride when you’re not fighting traffic…plenty of twisties where a rider can get their leans in.
But the heavy traffic today meant crawling along slowly with no opportunity to pass. As a long rider cars and big rigs begin to feel like slow moving hippos and elephants while you’re a cheetah. You get used to it and you become really skilled at safely passing. But passing wasn’t an option here…traffic was heavy both ways.
Despite being restrained to the speed limit due to the traffic, it was still a nice ride. The scenery and the smell of the blooming spring flowers made it worth it.
Plenty of stunning views like this can be found all throughout the Smoky Mountain National Park.
Riding through the park was slow but relaxing. Once I got out of the park I was able to pick up the pace and finish my journey to Little Switzerland.
I pulled into the Inn around dinner time. The Little Switzerland Inn sits on top of a mountain and provides some stunning views. I checked in and unloaded the RT. I ordered a cup of freshly brewed coffee and sat on the patio while I waited for my wife.
The view from the patio of the Little Switzerland Inn
My wife showed up just before dark and I was glad to see her! We enjoyed a nice dinner, and spent some quality time together relaxing and enjoying the view of the valley below. It was a perfect evening!
Enjoyed dinner at a Bavarian themed restaurant in Little Switzerland
Hanging out on the patio together for a nice evening
The night view of the valley below
DAY 4
It was overcast with a light drizzle when we woke up. We had planned on taking a little ride on the Blue Ridge Parkway with the RT but the weather suggested otherwise.
Instead we decided to get breakfast and go explore the little town of Spruce Pine. Luck would have it Spruce Pine was celebrating their heritage and it was their annual “Blacksmith” weekend.
We had fun walking around the town and checking out how metal was forged centuries ago.
The Blacksmith Heritage Festival in Spruce Pine
These folks were making all sorts of tools out of metal the old fashioned way
Plenty to see and nice people in Spruce Pine.
After we explored Spruce Pine we decided to take a little drive to Burnsville…another nice little southern town tucked away in the mountains. We walked around and checked out the little shops. It was a perfect day for that sort of thing since it was raining the majority of the time.
This statue of Otway Burns (hence the town name Burnsville) stands tall in the town square
We stayed in Burnsville for the rest of the day, and enjoyed dinner at an old bed & breakfast.
Enjoyed a delicious dinner at this bed and breakfast
Once we finished our dinner date we retreated back to our hotel in Little Switzerland and called it a night. I didn’t even touch the bike, yet it was the best day of the trip so far!
DAY 5
Today is Sunday and the day we originally planned on returning home. The morning was perfect…sunny and cool and yesterday’s rain seemed to make everything a shade greener.
While packing our stuff my wife and I gave each other a knowing look…we didn’t want the weekend to end. We had such an amazing time together!
She grabbed her phone and looked at our schedule…”you know we could stay another night…the kids are fine.” That’s all I needed to hear, and just like that our little adventure was extended.
We decided to stay in Banner Elk near Grandfather Mountain. It wasn’t very far from Little Switzerland but there was an epic 120 mile loop we could take if we took the long way there. The loop would take us by a few waterfalls and bring us along the Blue Ridge Parkway.
We headed back to Burnsville for breakfast, and then made the 30 minute ride to Roaring Fork Falls for our first hike of the day.
The hike was only about a mile to the falls, and definitely worth it!
My favorite kind of day with my favorite adventure partner!
Once we finished the hike we continued our journey towards Banner Elk. The weather was amazing, and it’s tough to beat the beauty of the mountains. My wife drove the car and I rode the RT. I usually don’t like to be stuck behind a car when I’m on the bike but that’s never an issue with my wife. She straight up hauls ass and releases all of her stress into that gas pedal.
We zipped along the beautiful mountain roads…alternating between leading and following. It was a great ride!
It was nice rolling through the mountains with my knees in the breeze!
The Blue Ridge Parkway…peaceful and quiet on a Sunday afternoon
View from the Blue Ridge Parkway
On our way to Banner Elk we decided to stop and check out Linville Falls. I’m glad we did! This ended up being one of the coolest adventures of our trip.
We pulled into the trail head parking lot and looked for a bathroom. Unfortunately, Hurricane Helene destroyed the bathroom facility a couple years ago, and the Park Ranger on duty directed us to a bathroom facility about 1/2 mile down the road.
It was a dirt road so my wife and I decided we would take the bike instead of the car. The RT is not an offroad bike. It is strictly a pavement princess but she is perfectly capable on gravel roads.
I put her in “Rain Mode” for maximum traction control and suspension travel, and told my wife to hop on. We took it slow.
This old building survived the hurricane.
We made the 1/2 mile trek to the bathroom on the bike and decided that we should continue down the dirt road to see where it goes. We were able to ride about three miles before the road became too rough and washed out for the RT. But we saw some amazing sites along the way!
Adventures like this create lifelong memories…and when you’re lucky enough to do them with the ones you love they become part of you. I’m a lucky man indeed!
The RT handled just fine during our little 6 mile dirt road rendezvous. I didn’t push it and never got her out of 2nd gear.
It was already early evening by the time we got back to the trail head parking lot so we decided to call it a day and head to our hotel. We still had about a 40 minute ride to the hotel.
We pulled up to the Banner Elk Courtyard by Marriott and was pleasantly surprised to learn that the hotel literally opened four days earlier. In fact, we were the first guests to stay in our room!
We checked in and spent the evening relaxing and reminiscing over our adventures.
DAY 6
We had a great evening relaxing in the new hotel, but today is Monday and both of us had some work to do this morning.
We spent the morning completing our work, and it was mid afternoon by the time we finished.
It would take us about five hours to get home, and we had yet to explore the Banner Elk and Boone area.
And so it happened again…we both decided that we simply weren’t ready for our amazing adventure to end…so we extended our stay for one more night!
We decided to drive up to Grandfather mountain…but missed the time limit so we had to turn around before getting to the top. I suppose this gives us a reason to return!
The earlier the better if you want to drive up to the summit
Since we couldn’t drive to the summit, we decided to drive to Boone for dinner and to check out the town. My wife was able to do some shopping…which always puts her in a good mood, and I got to enjoy a delicious steak for dinner. A win win!
The most beautiful dinner date in the world belonged to me!
We retreated back to the hotel and called it a night after we checked out what Boone had to offer.
DAY 7
It was overcast and the clouds hung low in the sky when we woke up. We were both bummed that our amazing adventure had to come to an end. Yet at the same time we were excited because it was time to start planning our next adventure!
My wife decided to take the most direct route home, and I decided to take the long way home so I could take advantage of the epic riding roads in the area.
We ate breakfast, packed up our stuff, and hit the road around mid-morning. I decided to take 221 from Linville to Blowing Rock. NC 221 is an unbelievable road that twists and winds through the mountains with insane elevation changes.
The low hanging clouds should have served as a warning for me. Here in the smokies low clouds mean that visibility could be near zero once you gain a little elevation.
I experienced it first hand once I turned on to 221. Before I knew it I was riding through the middle of a cloud. It was sketchy to say the least…at times the visibility was so bad I could barely make out the center line.
The visibility was horrible
There are sections of 221 where it drops off sharply just beyond the shoulder. I have no idea how far it dropped off since all I could see was a giant wall of white mist.
I white-knuckled my way towards Blowing Rock…creeping along at almost walking speed. I had my emergency flashers on and prayed no one would come speeding from behind and push me into the abyss below. There’s no way they would be able to see me.
Thankfully, I was the only fool on the road, and the thick fog began to dissipate as I rolled into Blowing Rock.
The dense fog put me way behind schedule. I wanted to meet up with the wife somewhere near Charlotte for lunch…but now she would beat me there by a long shot.
I rapidly descended in elevation as I pulled out of Blowing Rock. This meant two things…the dense fog lifted and the temperature warmed. Both were a nice change!
I put the hammer down once I could finally see and let the RT munch the miles. It’s not hard to make up time on this bike…she’s nimble and quick and enjoys a spirited riding pace.
My wife and I met for lunch just south of Charlotte, and the rest of our journey home was uneventful.
I arrived home just a few minutes before her..and I smiled as I parked the RT. A week earlier I left the house thinking I would only be gone a few days…sometimes the best adventures end up that way…no plan, just let the adventure take the lead.
I’ve traveled all over the country on my motorcycle. Most of my trips are solo and I’m fine with that. In fact I always thought I preferred it that way. Just me, my bike, and my thoughts. But this trip made me realize that I have a lot more fun when I’m with the ones who matter most.
Looking forward to our next adventure…perhaps the northeast…and I reckon I won’t be solo!
Sport Touring Cycle Adventures 