Last night we received a text message from MikeBike4 telling us to come on over, but we had already set up our tent and was ready for bed, so we opted to go over to his place first thing the next morning.
Casa MikeBike4
The stable with all the bells and whistles
When we got to MikeBike4’s place in Albemarle, North Carolina, Amanda and I chipped in to help prepare breakfast and got to know one another while chomping down on bacon and eggs.We learned that MikeBike4 ran his own business (here comes the plug-in), so the next time any of you ADV’ers are in town; drop by to Mr. Hainey’s Variety and say hi.I’m sure you’ll find something useful for your trip.Shortly after introductions and getting the tour around the place, MikeBike4 asks us a question:“What do you guys wanna do?”Our response: “Whatever you normally do on this particular day, we’ll just tag along and help out whenever we can if that’s cool.”MikeBike4 replies: “Well, we can ride out to the store and take a look around and then we can go hang out with my buddy Richard.”Cool.
Checking out each other's ride in the back of the store
Later on that afternoon we rode out to MikeBike4’s good friend Richard.As we’re riding up to his driveway, which was in the middle of nowhere, we noticed bear sculptures carved out of wood.The only thing was…their heads were chopped off.Ok, we’re out in the middle of nowhere…headless bear sculptures…interesting.As we approached the house, we see a man wielding a chainsaw and making short work out of a chunk of wood.It turns out that Richard is an artist and makes a living by carving sculptures.Bears are his specialty; the ones we saw leading up to his driveway were the ones he messed up on.The 4 of us spent the rest of the afternoon kicking it back, ate southern barbeque chicken for the first time and had a blast.I remember laughing a lot.One of many hilarious moments that stick out in my memorywas what Richard had told us: “The amount of travelling you guys are doing…you’re bound to see some sh*t!”Isn’t that the truth!I just hope it’s the sh*t that doesn’t get us into trouble.
Riding MikeBike4's steed to pick up some chicken at the grocers
Bear sculptures with heads intact
Cooking up a feast! Thanks Richard!
Teddy...you're my only friend.
Finger lickin' gooooood!
We got back to MikeBike4’s place later on in the evening and ended the day with some pulled pork sandwiches and some really nice deserts from Mikebike4s’ sons’ girlfriends’ dad.It was home-made fudge and it really hit the spot.Too bad I forgot to take pictures; my brain must’ve been wandering.It was a loooooooooooong day.
It was calling for rain the next couple of days in Albemarle, so we spent the days hanging out and doing some maintenance work on the bikes, but first; another visit at Richards.
I was having so much fun I couldn't hold myself together
It's nice that I have the ability to sleep anywhere
Adjusting the rear brake with MikeBike4's son
R1100Rick graciously invited us all over to his cabin for Thanksgiving.He also threw out an open invitation to all ADV’ers in the area to come hang out with us.They don’t call R1100Rick the “Party Boss” for nothing.We were a little apprehensive at first because there was a post by Canuman that read something like this: “Who’s gonna fork out the bill for rehab when the trip is over for Will & Amanda?”R100Rick’s response was: “I don’t fix’em, I only corrupt’em.That’s somebody else’s job.”Wow.This trip is getting more interesting the further south we go.
With everything packed, Mikebike4, Amanda, and I rode out to R1100Rick’s cabin in Hot Springs, North Carolina.The game plan was to ride out as far as we can and camp somewhere in between.It was really nice knowing that we were going back on the Blue Ridge Parkway.We felt like we had a score to settle after being chewed up and spat out the last time we were on it.
Dinner time!
Mmmm Mmmm good! I can feel the arteries clogging already!
With the sun going down fast and the cold setting in, MikeBike4 decided it was best to rent out a teepee at a place called Betsy’s Ole Country Store & Trout Pond.It was located in a tiny town called Mortimer.Population: 3.
The cost of renting a cabin was not much more than the cost of renting the teepee, so MikeBike4 opted for the cabin instead.
It was here that we had our first Sun Drop experience
Stoking up the fire for dessert
Amanda living in luxury
Watching the owner Bruce Gray feeding the trout in his pond
We woke up to cold, fog, and a light drizzle.Good thing we camped underneath the pavilion or we’d all be packing wet tents.I hate packing wet tents.We rode over to a place close by and had breakfast.I was so tempted to get the country buffet lunch for $5, but opted instead for eggs & ham.Bloochdog & Banshee were going to do a little riding back home via West Virginia and so we said our goodbyes.Amanda and I proceeded onwards down the Blue Ridge Parkway and noticed the fog started to get thicker and the drizzle became rain.It was hard to see 5 feet in front of me and I kept losing sight of Amanda in my rear view mirrors.This doesn’t look good.We need to get off this road.Amanda pulled over to the side of the road and demanded that we do not proceed any further.I on the other hand wanted to at least get off this mountain we were on and regroup.Amanda eventually convinced me that there were too many factors that could go terribly wrong: Slippery road, terrible visibility, and then you add deer and other cars into the mix; you might as well jump off the cliff and end it right then and there.Besides, I will not drag Amanda into something she’s not fully confident in.We pulled into a scenic viewing area that was literally 4 or 5 miles south from where we had breakfast; that’s how slow we were going.It must’ve felt like half an hour!Groundhog Mountain it was called; it was gated up and was closed for the season.Perfect.This means we can sneak our bikes around the fence, pitch a tent, and nobody will bother us because cars can’t drive in.Also, we’ll be hidden by the heavy fog.Screw it; let’s do it.If the cops or park rangers come hassling us, we’ll just tell them we’ll be dead if we continue down that road.So we rode in, scoped the place out, and started setting up our tent.It just happens that there was this old civil war watchtower we could huddle in to keep out of the rain and cook our meals.With everything set up, we spent the rest of the day snuggled up in our tent playing cards, listening to the radio, and watching movies on our iPod.
The next morning we got up only to see nothing but fog and rain.Looks like we’re stuck here for another night.We got out of the tent and into the watchtower to cook up some oatmeal for breakfast when all of a sudden from a distance, Amanda noticed someone coming over.Sh*t.We immediately ducked down to hide.Is it a cop?Ranger?Custodian?Who could be out here in this nasty weather?Especially when it’s already closed for the season!The suspense was killing us.We kept poking our heads up to get a better look at who it was.It turns out it was an elderly woman taking pictures.This could be bad.If she spots us or our tent, surely she would report us…wait a minute…she’s not suppose to be here also!Let’s sit and wait.An eerie silence surrounded us as we waited for the photographer to do her business and leave.Then she started to walk closer.Here we go.We heard footsteps approaching the entrance to the watchtower.By now we figure she’s seen the tent and motorbikes.Do we say something so we don’t freak her out as she’s coming up the stairs or do we sit tight and hope she just leaves?What do we do?What do we do?What do we do?Think damn it!Next thing we know, we hear her footsteps walking away from the watchtower.Phew!That was close.We just hope she doesn’t report us.Well, back to the tent to kill some time playing cards, listening to the radio, and watching more movies on the ipod I guess.As we were walking out, all of a sudden the fog lifted like magic!The sun was shining bright and we can see down the valley; it was gorgeous.It’s the perfect opportunity for us to get off this mountain! We didn’t get let off that easy.5 minutes later we saw the thick fog roll back in; it was crazy.Back to the tent we went.
Sun!
Grrrrrrrrr
That night must’ve been the craziest night we’ve ever slept in a tent.We could hear the thundering wind churning up on the right side of the tent and then blast us over on the left.For the longest time I had no clue and continued sleeping, but Amanda on the other hand had the top of the tent pressing down on her face because the wind was blowing so hard.I forgot to set up the guy lines.Stupid mistake.We ended up taking turns holding up the tent with one hand while the other tried to sleep.I remember my hand freezing whenever it was my shift.Of all the craziness, we got to experience a beautiful moment.Amanda had to go tinkle and as she did we looked up in the sky and saw the brightest stars we’ve ever seen in our lifetimes.It didn’t look real; as if it was some kind of special effect from a movie.I just wish I knew how to take pictures at night.I didn’t know you needed a tripod and the aperture set to soak the light in.Oh well, hopefully there’s a next time.
The next morning was a pain in the butt to break camp.The wind never let up and it was freezing cold.My fingers kept getting numb and I couldn’t move them.I had to take multiple breaks to warm them up again.Eventually we got everything packed and got our butts off the mountain.We rode to Mt. Airy to a library to regroup.We decided to head to Albemarle, North Carolina because someone had offered to let us stay there—MikeBike4.What a difference in temperature off the mountain!It was sunny and warm.
My contempt for Groundhog Hill
Interesting camping store. I believe we have made it into the bible belt.
We arrived at Albemarle late afternoon and tried to get in contact with MikeBike4 with no luck.I managed to find a backcountry campsite in the Uwharrie National Forest as a backup plan.In the meantime, we stayed in town to enjoy the Christmas parade.There were marching bands, food, and Santa!
Lighting of the tree
Caroling
Can it be? Is he really here?
Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!
Later on in the evening we rode out to Uwharrie National Forest, set up camp, and called it a night.
The morning was cold and clammy.TheDudeHimself was going to ride with us to Whites Ferry and see us off.He took us through some nice country roads; traffic was nearly non-existent.When we got there, we said our goodbyes and watched TheDudeHimself ride off with his GS.We were on our own again.
A moment to shake out our legs while we wait for the ferry
We’re riding to Elkton, VA where Bloochdog and Banshee had offered us a patch of grass to pitch our tent.Bloochdog mentioned a care package he had prepared for us when we arrived there.He also mentioned neither him nor Banshee will be there for the next few days because he had to take care of his other home in Norfolk while Banshee is at work.By the time we got to Shenandoah NP it was raining with heavy fog.Our initial game plan was to ride down skyline drive, but the park ranger advised us not to; we wouldn’t be able to see anything anyway.We stuck with the main roads and finally reached our destination in Elkton.
We didn’t expect anyone to be home, but we noticed that there were, which could only mean two things:Someone’s robbing the place or it’s Bloochdog.It was the latter and we caught him just in time!After getting to know one another, Bloochdogdecided it was alright for us to use the cabin.He also requested that we stay a few nights so that the 4 of us; Bloochdog, Banshee, Amanda, and I could hang out.We didn’t really have a time restraint and were well below the Mason/Dixon line.Why the heck not!So for the next couple of days, Amanda and I sat back and soaked in the Virginia sun.
Enjoying a glass of wine (an item from the care package) at sunset
The hammock might be a bit cozier
Keeping Beatrix entertained
Catching up on the ride report and going out for a jog earlier in the day
Starting a campfire
Chicken medallions hot off the grill
End of the day
Bloochdog came home one evening and spent the evening talking about the Blue Ridge Parkway over a nice salmon dinner.
Banshee was coming home from work that evening and we were contemplating whether or not it was possible for the 4 of us to ride down the Blue Ridge Parkway and camp for a night and the next day; part ways while we continued south along the BRP.If Banshee was in, the rest of us were definitely in.When Banshee came home, Bloochdog proposed the idea to her and she was in.Time to celebrate!We spent the rest of the evening laughing and getting to one another.Bloochdog and Banshee shared a wonderful story about how they first met at a BMW dealership.If you happen to come across a BMW ad in a motorcycle magazine, chances are you’ve seen the two of them already.Then later on in the evening we were initiated into the BWDR—The BullWinkle Death Riders.Bloochdog and Banshee did an amazing job in capturing that moment on video.It’s on one of the two threads we started up here on ADV.We finished off the night by watching funny YouTube videos on the internet.
The next day we were in no shape to go out camping.We needed some time to recover from last night’s festivities.We started the day off with a nice breakfast.
I think this was some kind of liver patty...Mmmm Mmmm good!
We rode out to Charlottesville...
...had a meal at the Mellow Mushroom!
Mmmmmmmmmmmm!
Woah! Purple haze!
The next day we were well rested and ready for camping along the Blue Ridge Parkway.Weather was a bit chilly, but that was to be expected.
Packed and ready to go!
On route...
...we made it! So it begins...
Riding the BRP was excellent!Wonderful views, great asphalt, and zero traffic…except for the family of deer that was waiting for us in the middle of a sweeper.
We bumped into Will from Willville Motorcycle Campground and he hooked us up with a place to camp
We had a great evening eatin up boil-in-the-bags, wine & cheese, and warm cozy campfire.It was calling for rain the next day so we pitched our tents underneath a pavilion.
