Quote:
Originally Posted by vtbme  Installed National Cycle Hand Deflectors (which seem to hang too low); Washed and waxed in anticipation of mountain overnighter Friday/Saturday. Plan to pickup the parkway at Little Switzerland take it to the end. Saturday I roll back on a more southerly route - maybe Cashiers, Hendersonville, etc. |
I know, I know...finally got a couple shots of deflectors.
BRP Little Switzerland/Ashville/Hendersonville Trip:
Friday was definitely colder than Saturday. With Olympia Monsoon gloves and NC hand deflectors, my fingers were chilled in 20 minutes. Stubborn as I am, I kept riding for a couple hours...maybe all the way to Little Switzerland before I added the silk liners. That helped but obviously there was still a chill. I'm guessing temps were in the low - mid 50s...sometimes I'd rather not know because it tricks my mind into thinking I'm colder than I am. However I craved hot beverages and soup whenever I stopped. I miss the grip heaters that I added to my 250...might have to just do that to the M.
Friday - 9am start...one hour later than planned. Hwy 74 out of Charlotte to Shelby. Then 226 to Little Switzerland, opting for the twisty 226A at the last leg. Super fun...but wet, with wet leaves and fog that reduced visibility to about 10-20.' I almost rode directly past the LS Cafe which is about 12' off the road!
Onto the Blue Ridge Parkway heading south. Plan was over night in Bryson City...I got no where near that. With the wet, fog and cold...and Parkway closing around MP 394 or so. Seriously, there were a couple times I had to turn around making left turns and I was terrified. Visibility was so bad that a car could be up on me by the time I turned to check the other direction...just kinda had to go for it on faith and luck...I took 191 into Hendersonville, found a hotel around 7pm, ate dinner and that was about it. Oh - the first time I used Ultraguard half cover...Tank and seats were definitely wet the next morning. But it's hard to say if it was the cover or the fact that the bike was already wet (condensation, etc). I dried it off best I could but it was still drizzling. The inside of the cover seemed dry, so I think there was just no way to prevent that.
Saturday - hmm same drizzle as the end of my ride the night before. More stuff coming, so I opted for the leisurely ride back to Charlotte in an attempt to stay ahead of it. As I'm packing up, a gentleman in the room above mine asks about the PIAA lights on the front. Turns out he is an M50 rider..exact same as mine - '08 Limited Black/Silver/Blue. After agreeing that the M is incredible and strapping everything down, I layered up: Lined, semi waterproof pants, Olympia Airglide over pants, Jack liner and Jacket, Frogg Toggs (1st time for those too...seemed to do fine. Although the bottom of my base layer pants were a little damp, which surprises me given the 2 layers on top of them). If I had gone down, there was no way I would have had any abrasions. Even with all that, I was surprisingly comfy on the bike. Yes, I looked like the Michelin Man, but I was dry. Gloves did get a little dampish but they were okay. Little dampness inside helmet, but I had to ride with the shield cracked much of the time to abate the fog. Much warmer today, so I stripped the Insulated jacket liner after a lunch stop in Blacksburg SC. After that stop the drizzle actually stopped and the roads were drier. Up to that point, fog in my Shoei was a nightmare.
Anywho - 176 out of Hendersonville...which would have been super fun without the fog in AND outside my helmet, wet roads, wet leaves on roads, etc. But was still beautiful and lots of fun curves, twisties. From there it was over to SC-11 in Gaffney, then 29, 5, 55, 557 and 49...All pretty boring but better than the interstate. Plus any scenery for the first half of the trip was vailed by the fog.
So, there ya go. Not the trip I planned but still fun and a good training run for next summer's pilgrimage and intro to rain riding. Just drizzle, but that was fine by me. At the hotel, I kept thinking how much it would suck to have been camping. All total 350 miles...most on the first day that I managed to stretch over the course of 10 hours or so.
Washed the bike upon arrival back home...waiting for sun.
Sorry - no BRP pix. I set the camera to hi res and don't have software to shrink them so that they will post.