Hanging Out in Asheville, NC

These are some photos from the two days I spent with Aunt Martha and my cousin Stephen, his wife Colleen and their kids in Asheville.

We went to a park by the French Broad River, which was very high. The little trail next to the river was flooded. Stephen and boys decided to wade it.
A river of chocolate milk.
This little spider climbed along her barely visible thread just above the rushing water. I caught this pic just as she reached her destination, high and dry.
Kayakers putting in for a little fun in the high water.


After the park, Martha, Stephen and I headed downtown to an art show. I caught this very bad photo of a very cool coffee shop as we walked by.
Asheville Area Arts Council where the show was held.
We also checked out Minerva Gallery, where I was introduced to the fantastic art of Chris Sedgwick.
I had a great beefalo burger and a couple glasses of Highland Oatmeal Porter (the best beer in the world) at Barley's.
And off into the sunset, back to Martha's.
More inspiring than the art galleries was getting to be around my uncle's art again at Aunt Martha's house. Her brother died in his mid-thirties, but his art inspires me and I often refer to it in my own work. Here are a few of Zahn's pieces.



An unfinished painting, but beautiful as is.
To top off the visit, I left with this little crazy beauty. An acquaintance of my aunt's gave it to her, and she passed it on to me to be cherished.

Next installment: Blue Ridge Parkway and Cherohala Skyway on the way back to Nashville.

Franklin - Chattanooga - Asheville

I decided to take a motorcycle trip to Asheville to visit family. Since I've been in the I-40 area way too many times, I went south to Chattanooga, and then east through national forest. Here's the route:
The bike all packed for touring.
Road, sweet road.
Crossing the Tennessee River near Chattanooga.

I took a break at Taco Bell, which happened to be occupied by the local fire department. This kind gentleman warned me about the police in the next county and told me about the Ocoee River area.
Dam
Peaceful lake
The Ocoee was home to the Olympic whitewater competition, and rafting/kayaking is advertised for miles and miles along it.
Kayakers
Taken on the fly -- a lot of the river was very low, mostly rocks. The road along the river was a lot of fun. Unfortunately my video camera turned itself off, so no helmet cam footage here.
Goforth Creek - a waterfall near the roadside.
Lunch at Burger King with the Star Trek crew.
This pink Fleetwood made me pull over. Then I noticed the store had hand-dipped ice cream.
This gentleman told me the legend of the pink Cadillac -- supposedly it belonged to Elvis. I doubt it. But the rocky road ice cream was good.
Smith Powersports in Hayesville, NC. Nice Aprilias and SVs.
Someone was trading in a Buell Ulysses. I'd like to test drive one.
Beautiful KTM 990 Super Duke.
More sweet road.
Canton, NC -- almost there.
Finally, Aunt Martha's house.
And here she is...
A great ride, all in all. The ride home was better. More on that after I blog about my visit to Asheville.

Rain rain rain rain rain

To those of you who have noticed the lack of updates, it has been raining here every time I've planned to ride. Quirky Tennessee spring weather. But, dear readers, have faith -- the next chapter will come soon.

To Hwy 85 with the Tennessee Riders

Total miles: 328
Weather: High 70's F.
Route: approximate
Click the map to go to an interactive version.

The Tennessee Riders have been meeting every Sunday for years. They are skilled riders with many many miles on their tires--riding with them stretches me and I learn crucial lessons each time. You can join them on a ride, just don't show up in shorts and a t-shirt: this is an ATGATT crowd.

Meeting at McDonalds on Sunday at 8 a.m.

Bikes: 2 Suzuki SV650's, 3 Yamaha FJR's, 1 Yamaha FZ1, 1 Suzuki DL1000 V-Strom, and 1 Honda ST1100

Cato Coati gets some love
This gentleman no longer rides a bike, but follows the group in his Mustang.
Phyllis: pillion rider extraordinaire.
Riding the green road...

Stopping to rest at a beautiful spot: Granville Veteran's Park

To missing heroes


Playground for the kids...

This is some of what we came for: lots of twists and turns on TN-85/TN-52 between Livingston and Jamestown TN. I'm a new street rider, so this was a challenging road for me. I've made a lot of progress, but I still have tons of work to do to confidently speed up my cornering. Here's a little video from my helmet cam.

I split off from the group on the way home and stopped by Dale Hollow Dam and Lake - posted separately.