Fall Loop Ride

0800 hours, Friday, October 19, 2018. Temp, 48. Reallllly foggy this morning.  Suppose to warm up to mid 60s.  Great day to ride.  My squeeze was called in to work on her day off so I was going to meet biker friend Ken at the 407 Exit of I-40 at 9:00 a.m.  He apparently didn't get my FB message early this morning.  So, like a good biker, I just took off on a solo ride.

Hit I-40 East until I got to the exit for US 276 over to Maggie Valley.  Really foggy when I left the house at 8 a.m. but cleared up before I got to the Interstate.

 Map of the route for today.

8:00 a.m. in the street in front of my house.

The next two shots is of the French Broad River from Interstate 40 East.

The sun was well on its way to a bright and beautiful day.

Sweet Thang was just humming along in the cool early morning air.  Throaty sound, rearing to go.

The white wispy clouds looked so white this morning against the blue sky.

And a few tinges of color are appearing.  This is on the TN side of the mountains.

Big Wheels Rollin, knees in the breeze, roll on, roll on.

Running through the mountain gaps between TN and NC.  Love that stretch but have to keep a sharp eye out for LEOs.

Coming out of the shadows you can see splashes of color in the trees.  This is on the NC side of the mountains.

And then I hit a stretch of fog again, not bad, mostly high in the air and over the land rather than the highway.

Seems Mother Nature can't make up her mind, foggy or clear.  Makes for some nice pics anyway.

A low mountain top sticking out of the morning fog bank.

Rode on through Maggie Valley.  It was decorated nicely with little hay piles, pumpkins and dolls spaced along the main drag through town.

Then I hit the Blue Ridge Parkway.  Cool, not much traffic but still not much color.

A look off at the mountains on my left side.  Use point and shoot method for pics.  Some good, some bad and some really nice.  Basically a pig in the poke.

One of the many tunnels on the BRP.

I did make a pull-off and took this pic.

And this one also.

But turned to the left and this is the scene you see.  Cloud blanket laying in the valley with some mountain tops sticking out.

A far off shot of the same.

Love the serenity of these pics.

I was at the Lickstone Ridge Overlook, Elev. 5150" above sea level.  Quite a sight.

Sweet Thang at the above overlook. Bathed in the shadows of the mountain across the highway.

A very sweet Lady.

I know, you're tired of these pics but they just really intrigue me.

Looks like a soft white cotton blanket pulled over the landscape.

But we roll on heading to Cherokee, NC.  Need a coffee break.












Ending of the BRP at the Cherokee end.

After a coffee break took the back road around the town to head toward Deals Gap, NC, the Tail of the Dragon.




Ran US 19 out of Cherokee through Bryson City, NC.

The courthouse in Bryson City.  Quaint little town with an amazing RR ride that I must take one day.

From Bryson City I continue SW toward Robbinsville and then to the Dragon.

Trees are getting prettier but spaced out.

Stopped at Deals Gap, grabbed a burger and pop, talked to a L.A. County retired deputy sheriff and his friend and then hit the road again.

It was a great day to ride and a lot of bikes were out on the roads.  Fueled up at Walland and then motored on to the house, arriving about 4 p.m.

Met some nice folks, saw some pretty scenery and did a 214 mile ride.  Can't complain.  Well, yes I can.  Tomorrow it's suppose to rain all day.  But then again, I had today to play.




So until the next Valkyrie Adventure, you maintain the Faith, don't forget to vote in a couple of weeks, and do whatever you do, SAFE.  Otherwise, it hurts.