Curses to the posters

[atss2006]

My life was simple before I started reading everyone's posts about their trips.
Then I started reading about the different rides and places.. I was blissfully unaware of places like the Barber motorsports museum, Deals Gap or the Blue Ridge Parkway. But oh No..you guys have to post your trips and pictures..ARGH.
For some insane reason, my friend and I have decided to follow in the footsteps of so many others.
The Plan:
May 20th after work, we depart the GTA and flat top it to the Barber Museum in Alabama. Having never ridden more than 5 hours straight, I figure this should just about kill me. I'm hoping to get there late Saturday. So we're going to camp. Oh yeah..forgot to add that I can't just do it the lazy/smart way. Gonna camp it the whole trip. I'd like to find the guy that says camping is so cheap. HA. Not when you have to buy all new camping equipment. To justify spending all this money on camping gear, I've told the wife I have to go twice a year now for 5 years (oddly she saw right through it!). Okay..back to the plan. Saturday night, set up camp somewhere between Birmingham AL and Deals Gap. Chill Saturday night and do the run to the museum. Of course Sunday is a race day at the park so now I have to spend the day watching races. It just gets worse and worse. End of the day on Sunday, we return to our base camp and try to recover. (thank god advil packs small)
May 23-24 or 25: Tear through the Deals Gap area and any other roads we can find that will scare/thrill/scare/awe-inspire us.
May 25-27 We're going to slow cruise along the Blue Ridge Parkway then return home to our happy families.
Funny how no one ever mentions how mad their wives are about the trips..or the cost of the equipment, the 15 changes to the plans and of course the final realization that the plan means nothing and will probably not be followed at all.
I'm looking forward to doing my follow up giving all the wonderful details and convincing the next rider!

[gcrouse]

LOL great post , have a safe trip . However I wouldn't camp it's almost cheaper to split a rm with your buddy. Microtel in robinsville is like 59 bucks ( 2 years ago) and split that and your golden. either way take lots of pics, and you will defimetly go back again and again ... well for 5 years anyway lol

[shanekingsley]

Sweet trip. Barber is awesome. So many great camping options around for your trip and I personally prefer camping to motels - awesome people to meet in the campgrounds, whereas I feel very detached in a motel. Just be wary of camping at elevation at this time of year. Most campgrounds have their elevations posted on the interwebz somewhere.

There's a place called the 'Tellico plains motorcycle campground' or something that's at the end of the Cherohala Skyway right in Tellico Plains. That would be about a 4-5 hours ride to Barber from there - and an awesome ride at that!

get yourself a crampbuster if you don't have a throttle lock or cruise control on your bike. Your wrist will thank you.

[afelotreyu]

do remember to post pics and videos, describe with details and soon enough someone will be cursing at you too .. best of luck, enjoy your trip!! and promise the wife a weekend out camping with the new gear and without the kids

[Pete5000]

Looking forward to your photos. Don't forget to stay up late and take some shots of the UFO's/ghosts/reapers/aliens around Brown Mountain!

[Rotten_Ronnie]

I don't envy you that ride down, I've done it in two days, and last year three days down. By far I prefer the lazy route.

Have a great time and post up some pictures!

[homme de fer]

There's a place called the 'Tellico plains motorcycle campground' or something that's at the end of the Cherohala Skyway right in Tellico Plains. That would be about a 4-5 hours ride to Barber from there - and an awesome ride at that!

I suggest Iron Horse motorcycle campground in Stecoah http://www.ironhorsenc.com/ . If you're sore, you can rent a bed in one of the bunkhouses just to get off the ground. The food is outstanding and you pay for breakfast and supper up front. Just don't forget to bring your own beer as the county is dry.

[atss2006]

okay here's a little update.
I went out and got my tent, bout the nomad tent..thing is HUGE when put together. I wasn't keen on getting a tiny tent. This thing lets me stand up inside and it still rolls pretty small.
Bought the smallest rolling sleeping bag I could find..Although now I'm getting scared after reading how cold it gets...might be buying a bigger one on the road me thinks.
I'm riding a BMW R1150RT-P. Its the police version so I don't have a back seat but instead a small radio box...great for storing a had and small tools..not so great for anything else. After trying to test mount my gear for what seemed like forever, i got the stupid idea of shoving it all in a packpack and strapping it on the radio box. Shockingly it fits on perfectly with straps and connection points all over the place. For once something I planned actually worked and seemed easy. This should mean that later in the trip, it will fall off the back or cause me some other sort of problems.
My friend and I decided it might be a good idea to be able to talk while on the road. I decided to buy a set of those cheap b2b communicators from ebay/china. Arrived last night. Of course it won't work with my helmet..thats fine though, I decided to mount the main unit on the bike and just run a wire..but no..the bloody wire is just different enough that no one around here has them. Thank god they sell them in china for a buck..too bad I'd be back from my trip before the damn thing gets here! Oh well..I figure I'll find something locally..just have to dig for it.
Thanks for the camp site recommendations! I've hunted around online, looking at a bunch of them now. Still not sure where I'll end up as they all pretty much look good.
I can't believe I'm still looking forward to this...my wrist is getting sore just from typing..I figure 10hr rides should be no problem...still no crampbuster..ARGH!

[Lightcycle]

Funny how no one ever mentions how mad their wives are about the trips

Marry one who rides.

But don't make my mistake and marry one who rides faster than you do...

[Rotten_Ronnie]

A canoe bag from mec, bass pro, le baron is waterproof and easy to tie onto the bike.

Go with a Cardo Scala set, either the older Q2 or the newer G4. They're a bot pricey, but you'll love the reliability and convenience.

[shanekingsley]

A canoe bag from mec, bass pro, le baron is waterproof and easy to tie onto the bike.

Go with a Cardo Scala set, either the older Q2 or the newer G4. They're a bot pricey, but you'll love the reliability and convenience.

^^Agreed - the Q2 multiset is on sale at motorcyclegear.com (http://www.motorcyclegear.com/parts/..._intercom.html). Seems to be a good option for what you are looking for at a price that isn't unreasonable.

Make sure that your knapsack is also waterproof or you at least have your items in plastic bags inside the knapsack in case it rains.

[atss2006]

I actually bought a parrot headset which is designed the same. The problem I have with them is they won't mount to my helmet properly. I have the BMW system 6 and it just won't connect. I even tried modifying the unit but in the end it was no good. I ended up buying a cheapo chinese unit because I could mount the unit to the bike and just plug into it (if I can find an extension..grrr). I've now surrendered to the fact that I'll have to just make a cable myself.
Thanks for the advice everyone is sending..I should've posted earlier so I'd have more time to investigate things.
Next on my list is a chair...that should be fun.

[Aminal]

I've always said that if you can find a woman who will tolerate you.... marry her quick!
Sounds like a great adventure, have a hoot and give us some details upon your return.
Cheers
Aminal

[kiley]

Just a couple of thoughts here.
I'm suppose to do a similar trip as this leaving tomorrow morning.
Unfortunately the weather is not cooperating and it looks like i may have to cancel.
I've done a couple of long trips this year already.
Riding in decent weather after 10 hours i felt pretty good.
We pushed on another 2 1/2 hours to get to our destination and i was screwed.
I had to get help to get off the bike....couldnt swing my leg across the seat.

We tied a backpack onto the passenger seat and the back bar.....this turned out to be a blessing as i could use it as a back rest.
And i agree about the motel thing....there's Super 8's all over the place down there.
It may be just me but after riding all day the last thing i want to do is climb into a tent.....can you say "where's the hot tub?"

[RetroGrouch]

I can never understand why people camp on motorcycle trips. More gear to carry, set up and dismantle, not to mention crappy weather. Roadside motels are around $50/night, split between 2 and you're laughing. At the end of a 10 hour riding day, a hot shower, clean bed and television can't be beat.

[atss2006]

I can never understand why people camp on motorcycle trips. More gear to carry, set up and dismantle, not to mention crappy weather. Roadside motels are around $50/night, split between 2 and you're laughing. At the end of a 10 hour riding day, a hot shower, clean bed and television can't be beat.

I have to agree and disagree with this one. For the ride down, we're going to hotel it, but just because we're riding our ***** off then stopping as late as we can to sleep then off again. This is perfect for staying in a hotel, but if you're not just b-lining it someplace then camping sounds cool. Yeah no AC but then again, I'll be sitting by the fire relaxing at night with a cold one, shooting the ****. If the weather goes south on me, I can always book a hotel. Camping makes the ride more of an adventure..I must be getting old.

[Pete5000]

Camping makes the ride more of an adventure..I must be getting old.

That's interesting, the older I get the more I want the luxurious bed, private shower and A/C