Austin MotoGP Final Days 11-15 Toronto, ON, Can to Austin, TX, USA Apr 2013

[PaulG]

Day 11 Wednesday April 24, 2013
Robbinsville, NC – Simpsonville SC, 408 km (254 mi)
NC 143/TN 165 West (Cherohala Skyway) – TN 68 South – GA 60 South – US 64/74 East –
US 129 East– US 76/GA 2 East – SC 24 East – I 85 East


The Cherohala Skyway. What can I say but one of the best rides of my life.  The destination for the day were friends in Simpsonville, NC whom I haven't seen in seven years since they moved there.  Instead of heading south-east, we did the proper thing and headed west first to do the Skyway.  It rises from about 2,000 ft. in Robbinsville, NC to over 5,000 ft. as you cross into Tennessee before descending into Tellico Plains, TN.  As the elevation increases the seasons go backwards.  Reaching the summit, the leafy green foliage disappeared, and everything had a grey hue, much like the thick cloud cover.  It now felt like February, and out came the cold weather gear again.  A stiff breeze added to the sudden chill, but we new it was temporary as we began the descent into the picture perfect village of Tellico Plains for lunch.  If you took the 11 miles of the Tale of the Dragon, and stretched it to over 50 miles you get the idea.  The road was traffic free and smooth, except for that short section that fell 1,000 ft. into the valley after the previous Christmas and was still under repair.







VIDEO Day 11 Part 1

http://youtu.be/KCEYbvhzPE4





VIDEO Day 11 Part 2

http://youtu.be/UBBPF5gk6_Q


After lunch it was to be a relatively quick 4 hr. cruise to Simpsonville, SC to get there by 4pm.  The only time of this two week journey that I wanted to get there relatively on schedule.  But that fickle finger of fate poked us in the eye.  "We" somehow ended up farther west and south rather than east and south when we crossed into Georgia (I somehow missed the state sign) and were toodling along for a while before we realized ... (ominous music) ... we were lost!     After numerous turn-arounds and swearing, I asked the guy behind the counter at the gas station, "Can you show me on the map where we are?".  He replies (in a thick South Asian accent) "I don't know where we are, I just arrived from Atlanta yesterday."  I kid you not.  Figures, don't it?  I then ask a customer and he shows me, and I tell him our destination and he says another 4 hrs.  That means a post 7pm ETA, and little time to catch up and relax..  By this time the memory chip on my camera had already filled up, so no more video.  (Oh No! You gasp - Really!?  ) Oh yeah, it started to rain to get me in an even pissier mood.   


VIDEO Day 11 Part 3

Note: This video is titled as part 3, but on the video it says part 2 - cuz I don't want to edit anymore! 

http://youtu.be/hdOuLDOY2v0



After finding our bearings (GPS!? We don' need no stinking GPS!), we headed eastward through the Chatuge State Park and the Lookout Mountain Scenic Highway.  An otherwise beautiful drive, if it weren't for the rain on the twisty and hilly road and my foul mood that I could not shake.  We eventually arrived just after seven, and enjoyed one of those huge American barbequed steaks,some beer, and a hockey game on the TV.  But we did get a rainbow out of it.







Day 12 Thursday April 25, 2013
Simpsonville, NC – Newport News, VA, 696 km (432 mi)
I 85 North – US 58 East – I 664 North – I 64 West – Magruder Blvd.

Next morning, my mood had improved a little.  I slept in late and decided to do a small load of laundry.  It was after 11 am when we left, and we just slabbed it to Virginia to visit my brother and his wife.  After calling him in the morning, I found out he had already booked and paid for a room in a Marriott hotel a few minutes from his apartment.  Good ol' southern hospitality.     We arrived around 7 pm and had a quick BBQ (steaks again), then sat down to consider what to do the next day.  That was more difficult than you think, since we only had a day.  They both tried to get us passes to see where they work, but being foreigners (?!) the answer was "hell no!".  They both work on the civilian side of navy/air force contractors and it would have been a treat.  But since this area of Virginia has some of the largest air force and naval bases in the world there's got to be something to see ...





Day 13 Friday April 26, 2013
Newport News, VA

So what does one do with little time in one of the largest concentrations of naval history in the world?  You go to the museum of course.  This was the floating museum of the USS Wisconsin.  First launched on December 7, 1943 (first anniversary of Pearl Harbour), she was decommissioned after the Korean War.  Then she was modernized with Cruise and Harpoon missiles and reactivated on August 1, 1986 and served active duty during the Gulf War in 1991.  You can check more out here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Wisconsin_%28BB-64%29

http://www.nauticus.org/exhibits/battleship-wisconsin

Here are some pics of the museum and the ship.

Shells and Powder Kegs



They weigh as much as a VW Beatle



So huge it needs four pictures to fit in









I suddenly feel ... inadequate ...



One link would build that VW



Puts things into perspective



That was probably the most impressive piece of engineering I have seen.  Despite it's fearsome purpose and devastating capabilities that spanned nearly 60 years, one cannot help but be impressed by the scale of it, it's history, and the men (and women) who served on her.  If you ever get a chance to see one of these vessels, don't pass it up.

That evening it was beer, then an all-you-can-eat seafood "restaurant".  I'm not a small guy, but the people in this place put those 1 ton shells to shame.  I mean, when your ass and thighs spill out from underneath the back and arms of the chair ...    Then more beer, then the "seafood" came back on me (or was it the trauma of the fear of being crushed at the gravy bowl?   ) and left me with a sleepless night of me gutty-wutties doing the rumbly-wubblies. 


Day 14-15 Saturday April 27 – Sunday April 28, 2013
Newport News, VA to Winchester, VA, to Scarborough, ON, CAN
I 64 West – I 81 North (Winchester, VA) – US 522 North – I 70 West – I 99 North – US 322 West – US 219 North – I 90 East – I 190 West (Buffalo/Niagara border) – QEW East – Hwy 403 East – Hwy 401 East - HOME!

Unable to leave in the morning due to the oysters, my brother departed for the last leg home.  I think he made it by 10 pm that night.  I didn't leave until about 3 pm and only made it as far as Winchester, VA about four hours away.  I considered driving into the night but decided to rest up and try and get away early Sunday morning.

Well that didn't happen.  By the time I left it was 9 am and partly sunny.  Looked like a good day at the start, for about an hour.  Then it started to drizzle ... then light showers ... then it pissed rain for the next 10 hours.  The Allegheny Mountains through Pennsylvania are another spectacular ride, when its not a downpour, and you're itching to get home.  If I had another day I would have laid up and took a more relaxed trip home and enjoyed it more.





And wouldn't you know it, the worst downpour of the trip was the last two hours home from Niagara to Scarborough.  For those of you who don't frequent southern Ontario, the drivers here like to drive three abreast on the freeways (at the speed limit of course) for some reason.  Must be that multicultural make-up where everyone still drives wherever they like.  I had to talk to myself to calm down, as I didn't need any incidents so close to home, in a driving rain so thick at times you could barely see.  But I made it home by 8 p.m., sore beyond belief and soaked.  My dogs were ecstatic (the wife too... ) and we settled into vegging out on the couch for the next few hours.




We could have waited later in the year and gone to Indy, as it would only take about 10 hrs. to get there.  But the Indy road course sucks in comparison for spectating from what I could tell from researching it.  And the roads are flat.  'Nuff said.

The old FJ ticked over like a fine Swiss (or Japanese?) watch, and didn't miss a beat the whole trip.  With over 90,000 km (>56,000 mi), I've never had a bike with this much mileage perform so well.  As of posting this, my odometer had already turned over the 100K mark, and now she's brand new - again!

Me?  My head is still full of clutter, my shins hurt for days from being compressed in the riding position for two weeks (thats a new one), my ass was even uglier than before (if thats possible).

Would I do it again? ABSOLUTELY!   

So thats it.  Hope you enjoyed it.  Winter is approaching, and five months of hibernation until Spring.  Now I can sit back and enjoy everyone elses trip reports.

Now where to go next ... hmmmm ... I've never been to California ... specifically Laguna Seca ... why it's only 4,415 km or 2,760 mi - one way ...   

[The General]

Outstanding Paul. I`m buggered if I know how I can afford to make it across the pond, but thanks to reports like this I`ll find a way.
Inspiraional! - I guess the only way ta find the best ride of ya life is to get out there and ride!  Many Thanks, 

[PaulG]

I forgot to mention in my trip reports some of the on-line resources I came accross.     These are N.Amer. based, but maybe there are sinilar sites for other parts unknown.

Both of these use Google based technology, so its familiar enough to use.

This site has almost everything rquired to plan a trip.  A little cumbersome at first trying to figure it out, but a vast database to gleen from for sites, accomodations, etc..

http://www.myscenicdrives.com/About/


This one is geared specifically to motorcycles, and is where I found some of the routes through Arkansas and N.Carolina.  Even has a few "foreign" routes.

http://www.motorcycleroads.com/