Your Favorite Ride of 2013

The year still has a few days left in it, but what would you say was your favorite ride of the year just past?

Kim and I met up with two other couples and rode to the National Banana Pudding Festival in Centerville, TN in October. It was a classic fall day with crisp temps as we set out, but the sun was out in a clear sky giving us nice mid day temps and the roads from Huntsville, AL to Centerville, TN were dry and in good shape. We had a blast with our friends and on the ride itself, through the Cumberland River watershed area. The ride up US-31 from Ardmore to Columbia, TN is so nice as it winds through the rural countryside. We came back home on the Natchez Trace. Beautiful day spent with great friends.

In May Kim and I went over to Warm Springs, GA to ride two of the loops of a Shamrock tour. We met our son and his family and stayed at the Warms Springs Hotel Bed & Breakfast. So much history and so many things to see and do in that area. My son and I rode the two loops while Kim and our daughter-in-law and our grandchildren played tourist. That was a special time as it was the first time I'd ever ridden with my son. We had so much fun hanging out with our family.

Easy, my trip to Skyline drive in June

Hard to say which ride was my favorite. I always enjoy going down to the Knoxville area. We find different roads to ride each year some great others not so great. Same with our first ride down to Texas. Southwest WI has great roads too. All depends on the condition of the road, scenery, technical difficulty, weather and of course who your riding with. Good part of the time I am having a ball.

For me it would have to be the trip I made in March to Monument Valley and Zion National Park!

https://www.silverwing600.com/t5964-monument-valley-zion-national-park-the-actual-ride

Sorry, I'm not so eloquent as Dale, but here's my big ride for 2013; Aerostich's Very Boring Rally at Duluth, MN:

Up and rolling at 04:00 I left my home near Philadelphia and headed northwest thru the mountains of central Pennsylvania. I met my buddy Jeff from Pittsburgh in eastern Ohio for a late breakfast and we then rode across Ohio on the turnpike, then north up thru Michigan. And after a 775 mile day, stopping for the night at very hospitible mom 'n pop motel in the town of Grayling.

The next morning we up at a more reasonible hour and after stopping for fuel and a McBreakfast we were off again. About an hour later we crossed the Mackinac Bridge to Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Finally off the super slab routes we headed west on local roads. Skirting the northern end of Lake Michigan we stopped at local smoke house and picked up some great smoked lake trout, smoked white fish and some buffalo jerky as well. Another couple of miles further down the road and we stopped again. This time to pick up some locally made, hot out of the oven, pasties (pass-tees), which are meat pies, mind you, not the ones you oogle at certain adult establishments. Then it was north for another 20 miles or so, and west along the bays and coast of Lake Superior.

We stopped at a road side park near Marquette, along the shore of Lake Superior and spread out our fare. So it was a beggars banquet of smoked lake trout, white fish and pasties accompanied by a fine bottle of Belgian ale extraced from deep within someone's travel bag.

A short while later refreshed and refueled we were on our way again. We were soon into flat lands of the UP and travelling down seemingly endless arrow straight roads interrupted by the occasional cross road village --always with a speed trap carefully tucked aside one of the bulidings. And while we saw virtually no other cars, the specter of being awarded a 'performance certificate' certainly did add quite a bit to the day's travel time.

Along about 5:30P were finally reached the eastern reaches of Superior, Wisconsin and then our destination of Duluth, Minnesota. After a few wrong turns we finally reached our hotel --a nice classy joint immediately next to Rally HQ which was located at a ski resort with a stunning birds eye view of the western end of Lake Superior and the cities of Duluth/Superior.

After a quick rest & shower we were downstairs and out on the deck for end-of-ride celebratory beers & cigars. Then it was round the corner to rub shoulders with the hoi polloi of the Long Distance and Adventure Riding crowd.

Though laid back, the rally was a very nice affair with a few notables of the riding world as guest speakers and an all weekend long display of trials riding by several teams. It was a honor for me to meet, my personal hero, John Ryan, holder of a record 86hrs, 31min almost non-stop ride of 5640 miles from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska to Key West Florida. Unfortunately John was killed a short time in October on a 'normal' ride. We also got to meet the famous Dr Greg Frazier who has ridden round the world 5 or 6 times on several different motorcycles. I'm not quite sure what his "Dr" title represents though; I dont believe that he is a physician as he did mention to us that he has a Phd in Economics from a large university here in Philadelphia. But it does appear that he's been able to take that "Dr" for quite a ride though. We also got to talk with "Long Haul Paul" Pelland, a really dedicated rider who has MS and, commiting himself to riding a million miles, isn't going down without a fight. Quite an inspiration.

On Sunday it was back on the road again. We headed south thru Wisconsin then into northwestern Illinois, bypassing the traffic nightmare that is Chicago. Eventually we picked up I-80 and headed east. We stopped for the night at a hotel in western Indiana. The next morning we were on the Indiana Turnpike and about noon we were on the Ohio Turnpike. Late in the day we made it to western Pennsylvania where Jeff swung south toward Pittsburgh and I continued east on I-80 for another hundred miles before swinging southeast to pick up the PA Turnpike at Harrisburg for the final leg. I made it home about 10:00 that evening, weary but quite satisfied with my adventure.

FWIW My fuel economy for the high speed trip averaged about 45 MPG, with the highest being ~55 MPG after a fill up along I-80 in western PA and Harrisburg. With that route varying between the level stretches of I-80 along the top of the mountains and then down hill to the mostly flat farm lands of east central PA at Harrisburg.  With the final fill being a bit west of Harrisburg I made it back home with ~1/2 tank to spare.

Tim

Exciting rides!

Fun to reminisce isn't it? - How about the rest of you?

We have a go to ride when we just need to get out and clear the cobwebs. We ride east out of Huntsville on US-72 to AL-65 just east of Gurley, AL. AL-65 goes north and becomes TN-97 at the border. There is a nice burger and pie place in Huntland, TN and depending on our mood we stop for the appropriate treat before winding our way back home.

So no matter how magnificent or mundane you may think your ride is, tell us about it. Come on share.

My favourite ride of 2013 was a group ride (6 of us, 3 Beemers, 2 Kawi's and me) from Calgary through northern Idaho and Washington down to NE Oregon to Rattlesnake Grade and Hell's Canyon and returning via Lolo Pass and Glacier National Park.  The best part of the ride was we missed the massive flooding in southern Alberta in late June.  A highly recommended trip.

Happy Holidays to all

Bill,
 
We have plotted a route through the Canadian Rockies and the Kootenay region with a loop through the Glacier National Park, and that is on our long range plan.  Sounds like a good time.

GHM-PM wrote:

For me it would have to be the trip I made in March to Monument Valley and Zion National Park!

https://www.silverwing600.com/t5964-monument-valley-zion-national-park-the-actual-ride

I tent camped at Goulding's back in 2011 & went on both tours of Monument Valley. Soon after the tour vehicle left the lodge, it got stuck so deep in the sand that the guide had to call back for a 4WD to pull us out. The tour wasn't cheap, but was worth it to me.

Our favorite ride in 2013 had to be Colorado. http://scooteradventures.blogspot.com/

Rode to the Sturgis Rally last August. The Black Hills never looked so beautiful.

My wife and I rode around upstate New York from Canada on our 25th wedding anniversary. Awesome trip!
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year everyone!

Fun adventures. Upstate New York doesn't get enough attention, but that may be how the local riders want it. I've read many articles that make me want to ride those hills.

Yes I agree before going to Colorado Up State New York and beyond to Acadia National Park was our favorite ride. I must give Alex credit for planning this ride.We followed our gps turn by turn for the complete ride.

http://scooteradventures.blogspot.com/search/label/New%20England

Wow, I hope that folks are clicking on the links that have been placed into the posts here. great narratives.

Keep the stories coming, I'm getting excited for the next posts.

My favorite this year was a solo ride to Sapulpa, Ok for a reunion with my brothers. Took the southern route out, visited the Pickers Nashville store and got to see my 2nd great-grandbaby along the way. Came back the northern route. Although I fought severe thunderstorms coming back it was a great ride. Not quite the adventure as last years 74 day ride Pat & I took but any day we roll out of the driveway it's going to be great.
Merry Christmas and God Bless to everyone.

This can't be it?

How about all of the daily riders that commute? Have you identified a favorite route that takes you out of the traffic and creates a little joy on the way in or away from work?

Anyone else?

The B3081 from Shaftesbury to Christchurch in Dorset... A trip I take when I deliver training down there. It's got winding routes, some nice long straights, fabulous views across the Dorset / Wilts borders and golden stone villages. About 38km of biker joy.

The second week of June a buddy and I put our scoots on my trailer [sorry John] and headed for the Black Hills in the teeth of a 30 mph wind all the way to Rapid City. Set up residence in Custer, SD at a Days Inn and spent 4 days riding those great Black Hills roads again and again. Took one day and headed out to Devils Tower and looped back through Deadwood to Custer. We had plans to trek out to the Badlands and back but decided instead to re-ride some roads in reverse and check out some different roads. We ate some Buffalo burgers and had a very enjoyable time. My riding buddy was on his Burgy 650 Exec. and I decided to ride my 2006 Aprilia Scarabeo 500 GT vs the 2002 Silverwing. Shot some video on my Hero camera which was mounted on the front fender - collected some pics from the video but so far haven't posted them anywhere.

In addition the the Black Hills, made it down to the STO in Eureka Springs for the 3rd time and spent two days before the rally riding some great roads my buddy and I had picked out - especially over South of Jasper on Hwy 7 and the 120 mile loop with no gas stops available. The temps showed 100 degrees a number of times but we managed the heat and the scoots never went above the normal range. The rally was also very good and there are some great pics/videos out on the STO site for viewing - if you haven't attended this rally it is well worthwhile.

Finally, our local "Minn-Max" scooter group went on a 4 day overnight ride to LaCrosse, WI this year and spent the time riding the local WI roads in that area as well as checking out the food at some great local restaurants. About 15 scoots attended this ride and had a great time, except for a little rain on the trip back to Minneapolis.

OK, I have run out of words - but this was the major events in my 2013 riding season.

Rick V

Hello Rick, Thanks for the inspiring trip reports. I met you and several members of the Minn-Max group at the Iron Range Rally a few years back, and was hoping to see some of you all again at the Aerostich Rally in Duluth. Evidently there were less boring places for you to ride that week, but you missed a good time.

Before the recent changes to the Yahoo forums I used to follow the goings-on of the Minn-Max group, but now I've been cut out of the show. Say hello and remember me to Col Bob and the Chevalier d' Fairbo.

Tim

Seattle Wa.
400 miles Cascade Loop.

Mount Raineer - Had to turn back at the gate cause it started to snow prtty bad.

Seattle to Neah Bay. The most 5 to 20 miles twistees I have ever encounter in my life.
You will get sick of it. Is like a coaster that never ends.

Breath taking. Life changing, beautiful !

Happy New Year !

LN wrote:

Mount Raineer - Had to turn back at the gate cause it started to snow prtty bad.

Mrs M and I drove through Mount Rainier National Park on a journey from Seattle to Portland OR in October 2009. At first I thought this would be a great place to ride but the majority of the time you can't admire the scenery for concentrating on the road ahead, and I can imagine it's much worse in summer stuck behind convoys of slow moving RV's.

Maintenance crews were repainting yellow lines on the roads that day, so our hire car and lots other car going had yellow paint streaks on one side of the tyre sidewalls and wheel arches. It took a visit to Home Depot and a lot of hard work to remove the paint before we handed the hire car back.

The last time I'd seen lines being painted on a road was in East Germany back in the Eighties. 

Next time , drive to Neah Bay or to the Hot Springs in Mount Olympic. A breath taking life changing experience ! I went there in May.