Chattanooga, Charleston, Birmingham, and the Appalachian Mountains twice.

Nothing like an 1800 mile motorcycle ride to clear out the cobwebs. Chattanooga, Charleston, Birmingham, and the Appalachian Mountains twice.  The first step riding to Chattanooga.  I've been on this stretch of road a dozen times. It never gets old.  Climbing the plateau then dropping into the backside of Chattanooga is my favorite route there.  This is my first stop to see my younger Son and Daughter-in-law.  Tomorrow my son and I will ride down to Birmingham and back to visit Barbers Motorsports Museum.

To Barbers, we road 367 miles there and back, alongside the Cumberland Plateau that runs down to Birmingham along the Tennessee River. Starting in Chattanooga we road thru 4 states in about 40 minutes. First Tennessee, Georgia, back into Tennessee, then into Alabama. For any gear head, the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum is a must. A great ride there and back. Tomorrow will be the start of my long trek to Charleston.

After leaving Chattanooga the cool air of the Shenandoah was refreshing. Getting ready to cross over the Appalachian Mountains into North Carolina, Georgia, then South Carolina. Going to Charleston to fly kites with my Grandkids on the beach.

Well, it was another long day but well worth it. Rode a lot of roads for the first time today. Took Bootlegger 28 out of the Mountains it is a very technical motorcycle ride. Used to be the preferred moonshine running route out of the Mountains of North Carolina. When you start in Franklin NC, it says sharp curves and limited shoulders for the next 40 miles. Towards the end I was asking myself will this road ever fricken straighten out.

It does then the heat hits me, 3 hours running on South Carolina 28 through Pine tree farms in 90 plus heat. Can anyone say blast furnace? Sitting in front of my Hotel Air Conditioning will be nice.  Aiken, Aiken, Aiken; I love this town. I road 350 miles from Chattanooga today. Parked my Motorcycle at a great downtown hotel, The Hotel Aiken. I now have a choice of Restaurants to walk too, in a very eclectic place that you don’t find very often in the south. 

Got up early and beat the heat into Charleston. Its a nice straight stretch on US 78 from Aiken. No motorcycle for a few days, it’s out of heat tucked away in my son's garage resting. How does the song go? Whiskey for my men and beer for my horses (Harley Davidson). In this case some carnauba wax. Eating lunch watching hummingbirds in the backyard while Grace took the kids to a doctor appointment.  Life is good.

After a few days in Charleston, on the beach and at the pool with my grandkids.  Its time to make my way back to Tennessee. Up early and on the road by 6AM to beat the heat to Spartanburg and the mountains. A quick blast through the coastal plain and the sandhills.  Then spent the rest of the day on South Carolina 11 and crossing over Appalachia Mountains on the Blue Ridge Parkway.  These are some of the best motorcycle roads in the country.  I make it to my hotel in Maryville Tennessee shortly before dark, the last push home is tomorrow.

The final day was just a short 200-mile blast from south Knoxville on Interstate 40. I usually don’t like riding on the interstate but today it was kind of fun, especially on the plateau. When I closed on Nashville you could feel the city heat Island build. When the traffic went from 2 lanes to 6 it got kind of crazy. It was like the movie The Matrix, everything seemed to slow down even at 80 miles an hour. You could actually predict what the cars were going to do next. On a motorcycle, your senses are heightened. You don’t get that riding in a cage. It's good to be home.  Now, I got to go cut my yard that has become a jungle.