Copyright: Jurgen Brauer, Augusta, Georgia, USA

My wife and I did a two-week motorcycling/camping tour. Starting in Augusta, Georgia, we traveled north to SC to visit friends for the afternoon, then to Asheville, NC, where we spent the night with friends. Next day we hoped onto the Blueridge Parkway at about mile 395 and then went all the way to mile 0 at Waynesboro, VA, and continued on for another 105 miles on the Skyline Drive to Front Royal, VA. Down the mountains into the Shenandoah Valley we went, this time south, then west into West Virginia. Then over into Ohio and all the way to northwest Ohio. Then back via Kentucky and Tennessee, over the Great Smoky Mountains to Cherokee, where we picked up the Blueridge Parkway again to Asheville before heading home to Augusta, GA. In all, we traveled for two weeks. Here are some photographs and stories.

1. The picture above shows us at home, ready to leave. I am on the right, sitting on my Honda ST1100 (1996) bike. I have my new FirstGear Kilimanjaro all-weather jacket on (rain pants are in the tank bag). Right behind my back (not visible on the photo) is our mess kit. Visible are the tent (in a dry bag), the tarp, and the sleeping bag (also in a dry bag). The saddle bags are loaded with gear as well. On my wife's Honda CB750 Nighthawk (1991) are the saddlebags by the side, and a sleeping bag in a dry bag on the back. It turns out that we packed well, with little excess backage and little we forgot to take.

2. Somewhere on the Blueridge. My wife, Roswitha, is in full raingear. The first week we had rainstorms virtually every afternoon and evening. Most nights we managed to put up the tent just in time before the rains hit. The 8x8 dome tent stayed dry, with occasional seepage just around the edge. I had sprayed the rainfly ahead of time with water repellent. We later resealed the seams with a sealer we had brought along, just in case.

3. Here is a typical setup for the night. The TourMaster tailbag held our entire mess kit (two pots, two cups, spoons, cooker, cooking gas, water purifier, and a good bit of dry food and cans.) We picked up grocery items at gas stations or grocery stores almost every day. Proved to be very easy and convenient.

4. The Blueridge/Skyline Drive - close on 600 miles in all - is an unbeatable ride. We took several days enjoying the lack of traffic, the many other motorcyclists, and the scenery.

5. Mawbry Mill on the Blueridge. This is a restoration of southern Appalachian living. The mill is in working order, and you can have your wheat or rye or corn ground. The blacksmith also was in and had his irons in the fire.

6. Colorful flowers.

7. Still at Mawbry Mill.

8. Otter Creek campground, near mile 60. We managed to set up the tent just a minute or two before a tremendous hailstorm washed over us. Next morning, other (car) campers glanced pittingly at us ("got wet?"). I pitty them in return. How much people miss, sitting in cars. The picture above was taken the next morning, the air thoroughly cleared and clean.

9. I had reversed camp sites such that we could take a hot shower every other day or two. At Otter Creek, without hot shower, we had recourse to refreshing creek water (picture above).

10. Thunderstorm clouds on the Skyline Drive, VA. We dodged this one as well, simply by hanging back and letting the storm rain itself out ahead of us. Nonetheless, we got in plenty of rain during the rides as well, and the raingear held up well.

11. Big meadow on the Skyline Drive.

12. Free-roaming deer. Note the photographer across the street.

13. Spectacular overviews all along the nearly 600 mile ride along the mountain ridge.

14. No problems whatsoever with the trusty Honda bikes. The ST1100 is shaft-driven with no maintenance needs; the 750 Nighthawk is chain-driven, so we oiled the chain every few hundred miles and checked to ensure the chain remained properly tightened.

15. After a day's long, long ride, a cup of hot chocolate is near-heaven.

16. The ride's most beautiful campsite was at Holly Bay Recreational Area in Daniel Boone National Forest in southern Kentucky, near London, KY.

17. A direct view onto the lake. This was the day after a 100 or so tornadoes swept through Indiana and Kentucky. The night before, one tornado sailed over our campground without touching down. The tent shook quite a bit, and the streets were flooded the next morning, so that - after trying three different routes south - we were eventually forced to take the Interstate to Lexington and then down toward Berea, KY, before hopping onto country roads again.

18. A walk around Holly Bay Lake, right off the campsite.

19. Late evening colors reflecting off the lake surface.

20. Clouds, clouds, clouds. A couple days before we crossed the Ohio river from Ohio into Kentucky at Portmouths. Next to the bridge was a baseball stadium. The river had flooded and all we could see of the stadium was the floodlight poles, the upper bleaches, and the advertisement boards. The lower bleaches and the entire field was completely flooded from the overflowing river. A low-level road along the river was flooded and partially washed out. Crossing into Kentucky, a number of roads were blocked, and we needed to take an unplanned detour before hitting our campsite near Salt Lick, KY.

21. This little guy took a liking to our sunny morning campsite.

22. An example of what storm winds can do. (The four people inside escaped unharmed.)

23. A little river underneath a street at the Elkmont campground in the Great Smoky Mountains. Altogether we cover a little over 2,600 miles in two weeks.