I guess I will be the first to jump into the arena and post my ride report on the 2019 Blue Ridge Parkway Rally. This rally was my first of the year and I really needed the break from work and all of that nonsense. It's been so crazy that I had 48 hours of work logged from Sunday to Wednesday, so this trip was managed without taking any paid time off. More vacation later in the year!!
I spooned on some Stinko's that Eric and BillG have been raving about. Because of my hectic schedule I didn't have time to scrub them in so really didn't know how they were going to perform. That would be remedied lickity split since the plan was for Ken and me to meet Curt and Gary on the BRP. More on that later.
Locked and loaded!
Ken had graciously offered up breakfast and I gladly accepted. I rode the 50 or so miles to his house in beautiful temps, if not just a tad bit chilly. The sun was out though and that was enough for me.
Some bridge work on TN92 over Douglas Lake
Some of the wide open space around Ken's place. Mountains looming large in the background.
Ken and his lovely bride, Her Majesty P Jiggy, Queen of the MF'ers, were waiting on my arrival and breakfast was served! Thanks so much, Ken for the wonderful hospitality. No pictures were taken to protect the innocent (meaning you folks).
Now the fun really started. Fancy Gap was the destination for our rendezvous with Curt and Gary. We had been texting back and forth with Curt and they were running a bit late due to late arrival in Maggie Valley the night before. I am definitely looking forward to his ride report because they did a hell of a trip.
The route Ken and I took to Fancy Gap was created on the fly. It was changed en route a few times which made for some interesting missed turns. At one point we traveled south by many miles just to realize we missed a turn. But, in true adventure fashion, we adjusted the route and kept on pressing. Instead of hitting the BRP at Fancy Gap, we jumped on at the Linville access point and proceded to tear it up a bit. I had texted Curt our changes in arrival time to find out they were also off a bit. Not a problem, we were on the BRP!
Finding shade for a safety meeting
The BRP parkway is amazing, and so are the vistas. What a great resource we have here on the East coast of the US and I'm glad the government set aside this land for such an awesome park.
.
We didn't have the opportunity to meet up with Curt and Gary. Their schedule was off and ours was off a bit. Sometimes these things happen so I dropped a text saying we would meet up at the hotel. Lunch was fantastic there in Fancy Gap so there was some consolation.
We finally arrived at the Wattstull, a great venue for this rally. We've been there for several years now and they don't seem to have problems with us for the most part. And they now have a restaurant that is pretty decent and serves liquor. I had a wrap one night, fish another and chicken salad the last night there. I'd definitely say this was an upgrade over previous years.
The Wattstull Inn
Friday we woke up with the weather looking kind of crummy. The weatherman said it was going to rain until noon then clear up for the rest of the day. That was fortunate for me because I could use a bit more recovery time from the night before. It did give me a chance to take some pictures of bikes, of the smoke coming off the mountains and generally get my head straight. While a little frustrating, the weather did clear about 10 am and I think we were on the road by 10:30.
The mission for Friday was to hit the BRP, go north to some exit then jump off for lunch at Devils Backbone Brewery. The ride began with Ken, JimmyZ, Wes, Tim Buyse, THE Eddie Layton and myself. This was the first of two GPS episodes that were a little shaky for KentheMF'ingGrass. More on that later. Needless to say, the GPS dropped me off the BRP early and we had to deal with less than stellar roads. Not bad mind you, but not 30 miles of BRP. Once we arrived at DB Brewery lunch was great and so was the liquid refreshments.
After lunch, Eddie needed fuel and Jimmy went with him in search of fuel. Unfortunately, they headed off in the wrong direction which took them both away from the BRP and the closest fuel. We got a call saying it was going to take longer than expected and we should just move out, meeting them back at the hotel. So off we go to take another run at the BRP, more specifically on the area that I had missed when the GPS persuaded me to leave it.
We met back up with Eddie and JimmyZ at this spot while we were stopped for a break. Back together again we headed back to the hotel and the end of the day.
I spooned on some Stinko's that Eric and BillG have been raving about. Because of my hectic schedule I didn't have time to scrub them in so really didn't know how they were going to perform. That would be remedied lickity split since the plan was for Ken and me to meet Curt and Gary on the BRP. More on that later.
Locked and loaded!
Ken had graciously offered up breakfast and I gladly accepted. I rode the 50 or so miles to his house in beautiful temps, if not just a tad bit chilly. The sun was out though and that was enough for me.
Some bridge work on TN92 over Douglas Lake
Some of the wide open space around Ken's place. Mountains looming large in the background.
Ken and his lovely bride, Her Majesty P Jiggy, Queen of the MF'ers, were waiting on my arrival and breakfast was served! Thanks so much, Ken for the wonderful hospitality. No pictures were taken to protect the innocent (meaning you folks).
Now the fun really started. Fancy Gap was the destination for our rendezvous with Curt and Gary. We had been texting back and forth with Curt and they were running a bit late due to late arrival in Maggie Valley the night before. I am definitely looking forward to his ride report because they did a hell of a trip.
The route Ken and I took to Fancy Gap was created on the fly. It was changed en route a few times which made for some interesting missed turns. At one point we traveled south by many miles just to realize we missed a turn. But, in true adventure fashion, we adjusted the route and kept on pressing. Instead of hitting the BRP at Fancy Gap, we jumped on at the Linville access point and proceded to tear it up a bit. I had texted Curt our changes in arrival time to find out they were also off a bit. Not a problem, we were on the BRP!
Finding shade for a safety meeting
The BRP parkway is amazing, and so are the vistas. What a great resource we have here on the East coast of the US and I'm glad the government set aside this land for such an awesome park.
.
We didn't have the opportunity to meet up with Curt and Gary. Their schedule was off and ours was off a bit. Sometimes these things happen so I dropped a text saying we would meet up at the hotel. Lunch was fantastic there in Fancy Gap so there was some consolation.
We finally arrived at the Wattstull, a great venue for this rally. We've been there for several years now and they don't seem to have problems with us for the most part. And they now have a restaurant that is pretty decent and serves liquor. I had a wrap one night, fish another and chicken salad the last night there. I'd definitely say this was an upgrade over previous years.
The Wattstull Inn
Friday we woke up with the weather looking kind of crummy. The weatherman said it was going to rain until noon then clear up for the rest of the day. That was fortunate for me because I could use a bit more recovery time from the night before. It did give me a chance to take some pictures of bikes, of the smoke coming off the mountains and generally get my head straight. While a little frustrating, the weather did clear about 10 am and I think we were on the road by 10:30.
The mission for Friday was to hit the BRP, go north to some exit then jump off for lunch at Devils Backbone Brewery. The ride began with Ken, JimmyZ, Wes, Tim Buyse, THE Eddie Layton and myself. This was the first of two GPS episodes that were a little shaky for KentheMF'ingGrass. More on that later. Needless to say, the GPS dropped me off the BRP early and we had to deal with less than stellar roads. Not bad mind you, but not 30 miles of BRP. Once we arrived at DB Brewery lunch was great and so was the liquid refreshments.
After lunch, Eddie needed fuel and Jimmy went with him in search of fuel. Unfortunately, they headed off in the wrong direction which took them both away from the BRP and the closest fuel. We got a call saying it was going to take longer than expected and we should just move out, meeting them back at the hotel. So off we go to take another run at the BRP, more specifically on the area that I had missed when the GPS persuaded me to leave it.
We met back up with Eddie and JimmyZ at this spot while we were stopped for a break. Back together again we headed back to the hotel and the end of the day.
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