Month: October 2019

Interestingly, my time in North Carolina was made very comfortable due to friends mainly because of and through Social Media. Two people from different backgrounds and segments of my life and it’s history.

First was Ian Schmeisser, a former Ambassador of the BMW Owners group and  BMW Friend of the Marque that’s been in the ADV community for a long time. You could even say he was one many that have helped build the ADV community in the US.  We had crossed paths in 2015 when the PNW hosted a March Moto Madness rally out in the Capitol Forest. It was a great excuse to get really dirty(muddy) while raising a few dollars for charity.  We had stayed in contact on Facebook since then and vowed to actually meet up and hopefully ride together when I was in his part of the country. He and his wife Dee Dee welcomed me into their beautiful home on a mountain top in the Smokies.

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As it turned out, a bad storm blew through while there which killed the ride but not the conversation.  Spending the better part of two days listening to his stories was a treat. Learning the history of the BMW Adventure community and the “ins and outs” of the goings on behind the curtain was extremely informative.  Topping off my stay was watching the John Penton movie and hearing a lot of background about Johns amazing life. Thank you Ian and DeeDee for your hospitality! 

The other person that made my time in North Carolina very special was a friend that had lived in Tacoma back in 2007. Amanda Josiah was out of college, figuring out her life and looking for adventure. We had met up on one occasion but life pulled us in different directions. We said we’d stay in touch, and have over the years on social media. She’s now an amazing solo mother of 2 lovely girls and a home care registered nurse outside Charlotte. Her wanting and yearning for adventure is still there, which is great to see! She is also quite the mother hen with her kids and growing  chicken coop, thank you so much for the eggs!

I was lucky to get to hang out with them on two different occasions. Once at their home then again a few days later after visiting Ian and Dee Dee. Amanda and her kids asked me to join them on their mini vacation at a cabin deep in the Smokies. ( it was actually 17 miles from Deals Gap and “Tail of the Dragon” 😉) It wasn’t hard not to accept an offer like that!

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I took them on the Dragon in their car, the girls said it was better than a roller coaster, we even got their pictures taken by Killboy.

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The next day, I planned a nice loop on the bike across the Cherohala Skyway to Telico Plains Tennessee and back to Deals Gap in North Carolina. Such amazing pavement and views! I’m already making plans to return to the original March Moto Madness in Tellico Plains next year. If the pavement is that spectacular, I have to imagine the dirt fire roads are even better!

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Because of my great time in North Carolina, This might just be my route back west after Mardi Gras which will take me Northeast to Tennessee then west to Denver and finally the PNW.  Life is an adventure! 

One of my few non motorcycle involved posts…..

The AMC museum at Dover AFB is a great to spend a couple hours when you are in the area. A good place, especially for a retired Aerial Porter after spending 22 years loading, unloading and servicing these aircraft. The big 3 here I  mainly worked were the C-5, C-141 and C130. Lots of memories were brought on by the smell of the inside, as each model has it s own unique “fragrance”. Though each model smells differently from the other, hard to explain I guess.

The C-5 “Galaxy”

The C-141 A and B model “ Starlifter”

The C-130 “Hercules”

There are lots of memories with this simple block of concrete, it was loaded inside airplanes as ballast to simulate heavy cargo for crew training. Each platform  weighed 7000lbs to 9000lbs. When I was a young airman, it was my job to put on and take off these heavy platforms .

The rest of the aircraft on display have been used by the USAF at various points in its history to move people and cargo around the world.

The museum is free and open to the public, you don’t even have to get access to the base. Lots of history there to    see if you are in the area.

 

This trip to get here to see the fall colors has been so beautiful! I’m so glad I drove across the country to see this! I spent a couple days in the Catskills and NE Pennsylvania riding through the colors. So much more time could have been spent in both of those areas! The weather was perfect, cool sunny days and chilly nights.

Enjoy the pics😁

The Catskills of New York

 

The Northeast corner of Pennsylvania and Lake Como.

Last week, I hopped on a ferry out to Long Island NY from New London Conn. to visit a fellow ADV traveler and blogger Leslie Saforelli.  Sadly she’s retired from the ADV life due to medical issues but after spending some time with her that day, the fire is still there!

Three years ago, she was kind enough to host me as I passed through the Northeast after exchanging messages about our various adventures. I had followed her very popular blog here ADVGrrl

I wish her well and hope she overcomes the issues keeping her off two wheels 🌹

I’ve been able to stick to my route to see the colors turn  this fall. It has been really spectacular!
It started in eastern Ohio with Steph and Mike in Columbus, there I was lucky to attend the AIMExpo to see friends in the motorcycle industry. Thanks Erik from Twisted Throttle for the pass!  Meeting Long haul Paulwas a highlight as was seeing John again from Heidenau USA. (Really looking forward to those Scout II’s!)

 

 

 

I made my way east to ride with Mark in Parkersburg WV who is an old AF riding buddy. He showed me his favorite curves in Eastern Ohio (555) and WV. Those were some great roads, the covered bridges and HUGE “Musky” bucket were a nice surprise to roll up on.  Getting me hooked up with Bob Wark at the Warkshop for those nights was very kind.  THANKS!

 

 

 

Continuing Northeast through West Virginia and into Pennsylvania, I had to stop at the Flight 93 memorial. I had come within 3 miles of it back in 2016 but there wasn’t enough time in my day to make it. I promised myself I’d get back.  Quite a somber place, we need not to forget what happened that day.

 

 

 

That night was at my second “Harvest Host” stay. I gotta say sipping wine looking over the Starr Hill Winery was quite lovely ☺️

 

 

 

Passing through Pennsylvania and into New York is where I started to see the colors change,  just a hint of what was to come! I stayed with my old boss Glenn and his wife Donna Owen then went into New York the next day. That morning I had breakfast with a friend from the Internet, Ms Jennifer Steele who’s following my journey and is ready for her own adventures as soon as possible. GOOD LUCK JEN!

 

 

 

The next few nights was with Gary and Susie Rankins in Upstate New York. Gary is a PNWSTOG member that stationed out here for a few years finishing out his enlistment and looking forward to retirement soon(and warmer weather). He’s recovering from shoulder surgery from a Hare scramble crash on the DRZ earlier this summer, so we hopped in the truck to go see some of the sights. I was blown away at the beauty in his area!

 

After multiple trips through the Adirondacks, I had never seen any chairs🙄 well, I finally found some!

Making my way east into  Vermont and New Hampshire , the more beautiful it got. 😍😍

 

 

My goal was to make it to New Hampshire and ride Mt Washington before it got too cold.  I picked a beautiful sunny day but the gate keeper said they had frost up on the gravel section and weren’t allowing motorcycles. My van was also too tall so I wasn’t making it up this trip. 😔 I did however, set my GPS to “walking”  for a route less traveled and was not disappointed!  Finding Jefferson Notch on about 10 miles of dirt road and it being the highest through road in New Hampshire was a nice surprise! Returning back to the parking lot at Mt Washington I was “greeted”🙄😳 by more than a mile back up on the highway to go up the mountain.

 

 

I packed up my bike and being so close to Maine, I couldn’t resist passing through to get to my next night back in Southern New Hampshire with Super Tenere owner Kate Murphy. Kate took me for a nice little ride into northern Massachusetts.  She’s also a contributing writer for RideApart, its an online motorcycle blog/magazine with a very large following. ( see my previous post for the link😉😁) THANKS KATE!

 

 

Other then not making it up Mt Washington, it’s been an amazing trip so far! The old and new friends I’ve seen plus the fall colors sure make this life so enjoyable!

Thanks Kate for hosting me and the article!

http://www.rideapart.com/articles/375074/ride-the-world-glen-comeaux