Two Wheel Travelers: PISSING RAIN

A sad sight. Two competent, able bodied, two wheeled machines
sitting idle on a weekend. Pity.

Sunday, May 19, 2013
I have been lazy. After not posting all winter on this blog, I let that blogging apathy spill over into the beginning of this riding season. Shame on me. But, we're back. That's me, MyST, and "Betty", the beautiful, kick-ass, "On Any Sunday" thumper.
This weekend is a wet one. In fact, it has been so wet here in the south I sometimes think we have been transported to the Pacific Northwest. So, I took advantage of getting things done around the house now, because this season will find me and MyST on the roads more often than not. I'll highlight some of those below, but first, here's what went down so far:

February: Interrnational Motorcycle Show-Charlotte, NC. I did this one solo, Ruth was feeling under the weather. Great show, although the crowd seemed thinner than last year. Lot's of new model bikes to gawk at. I fell in lust with Motto Guzzi's new V7 Stone.
March: No traveling in March. In fact, it rained so much, my riding was significantly less than I usually do this time of year.
April: ST Owners Club (STOC) North Georgia Gathering. Yes, rain again. But this was a club event, so come hell or high water I was going. Beautiful run out to Suches, GA on Day1. Rain began that night around the campfire and continued all night and all day next. Riding home in the rain was a breeze and actually fun (proper gear a must on any trip), but unpacking wet camping gear at home sucked.
April: Poker Run, Harley Davidson of Greenville, SC. I love poker runs. They're just fun and most are for a good cause. My bike of choice for this ride was "Betty", Roo's Suzuki TU250. I did a slight mod by removing the pillion, which makes her look very much like a "cafe" style bike of the 60's. Riding the ST here in Harleyville just wouldn't do. My kit for this ride was full leathers, as wearing hi-viz textile wouldn't work either. Off I went to the Harley sacred ground. Let me tell you, I got more attention on this motorbike than any of the Harleys that were all around me. It felt reeeaaaalll good!
May: CampSTOC-Meadows of Dan, VA. Ma Nature faked me out! All week the weather prediction was 70% rain everywhere down here. I checked two times daily right up to 8 PM the night before departure. So I told Roo I was staying home, and proceeded to unpack the ST and sleep in late the next day. Lo and behold, we awaken to a beautiful, sunshiny day and it stayed that way all weekend! How does that happen? 70% rain to 0 overnight? It worked out great though, as I reconnected with an old riding buddy and we spent a fantastic day on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

My Southeast tour destination map. My current goal is to
tour all the southern states east of the Mississippi. The colored
states are the ones I have completed. Two to go: Missippi and Florida.
Actually, half of Florida is done, as I have toured in North Florida,
but to get the whole state, the must do trip is to Key West.

Below are highlights of trips I have upcoming:

June: No moto trips this month. I will be doing one or two moto camping weekend trips this month, but our big trip is flying up to Massachussetts to celebrate my Dad's 90th birthday! Can you believe that! Neither can he!
July: Two biggies this month-The Roadrunner Touring Weekend in Maggie Valley, NC. Should be great fun. Then, two weeks later, the Motorcycle Sport Touring Association (MSTA), of which we are members, has a weekend rendezvous in Little Switzerland, NC, right on the Blue Ridge Parkway and NC 226, dubbed The Diamondback Motorcycle and Sports Car Route. Looking forward to riding with our MSTA group again. www.ridemsta.com
August: Ride For Kids-Asheville, NC. A great charity ride to benefit the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation. We usually do the Atlanta RFK as well in June, but can't make it due to our Mass trip. I make this a camping weekend as well at Blue Ridge Motorcycle Campground in Cruso, NC, just down the road from Asheville.
October: STOC Blue Ridge Gathering- Balsam, NC. This is a great weekend with the ST Owners Club in mid October. It's usually pretty chilly up there this time of year, but the fall colors are beautiful!
November: FLSTOC. The Florida chapter of the ST Owners Club is meeting in Live Oak, FL this year. Camping at the Suawnee River State Park. This is a beautiful area of North Florida where I have visited many times when living in Gainesville. Absolutely wonderful time of year also.

That's it! If anyone wants to join me on any of these please let me know. The ST Owners Club (www.stowners.com) is open to all. MSTA is a membership only club. Details on the link above.

To finish up, here are a few pics from the ST's stable. Eat your heart out Jay Leno!