Dave Coyner’s Appalachian Highways

If you are like me and like to research information on traveling this great land of ours you might be interested in a pretty cool website called “Dave Coyner’s Appalachian Highways” at:

http://www.appalachianhighways.com/index.html

The site is pretty nice and features information on Dave’s trips through the Appalachian regions. He as a newsletter you can subscribe too. I just did. He also has great book and a gallery of photos on the website. I like the book. He gave us a free copy when I bought my new Escape trailer for Big Red a few months ago. The book has some great routes, it is a fun and easy read and some really nice maps to plan your next trip. I am already planning some trips for Slick and I next year.

So if you like to read about trips in the Appalachian region or want to plan for one, you would be doing yourself a big favor by checking the website, newsletter and book out.

Until next time and remember that life begins at the end of the off ramp.

Pappy

Great Book on NC Scenic Rides

A good buddy of mine, Craig "Goober" Virden just hooked me up with a very nice book on NC scenic byways. Check it out at:

http://www.ncdot.org/doh/Operations/dp_chief_eng/roadside/scenic/

By the way, below is a picture of my buddy Craig. He was born to ride.

Until next time and remember, life starts at the end of the off ramp.

Pappy

Quite Country Road

Saturday was a nice day to ride through the country. I was looking for a website earlier in the week that had some suggestions for some motorcycle routes I could take. I was a little tired of riding the same routes in the Triad so I need to find some other places to explore. I found a little website that mentioned a couple of nice routes that other bikes had taken. Then I talked Jordan into going with me. Slick was a little under the weather and besides it was a little too hot for her to ride on Saturday. Below is the site and route of the trip Jordan and I took:

http://www.motorcycleroads.com/routes/SouthEast/NC/NC_11.shtml

The ride stared out pretty boring because Jordan and I took interstate 40 to get to our beginning point in Efland. From home we headed east on I-40 and took the Mebane exit. There we filled up because we read that there were no gas stations, stores and rest rooms on the country route. Once we filled up in Mebane we hit US 70 east and then started our trip into the country.

Once on the country roads, it was nice. There were a lot of farm lands, old farm houses, and it actually felt like going back in time about 20 years. The road was in great condition all the way through route 157 north. Once we hit US 501 we ran into just a little bit of traffic. I actually messed up on the end of the route because I was supposed to turn off on Mason Road and head east back to 70. I missed the road and we continued south down to Durham NC. I didn’t want to go that way because I hate riding the interstates. Interstates are so boring.

Once Jordan and I got back on the interstate from Durham we headed west to Burlington where Jordan and I jumped off onto route 62 and on a nice stretch of country roads. We continued from there back home.

All-in-all the trip was nice and I plan to go back with Slick to do the whole thing back over again. But this time not miss Mason Rd. The trip lasted about 4.5 hours. I am sure Slick will like the trip because she is like me and enjoys the country roads.

If anyone reads the blogs takes the route, let me know how you like it. I am also looking for other routes that I could ride too.

Until next time and remember, life begins at the end of the off ramp.

Pappy

Real Bikers...NOT!

So everyone thinks they can ride a bike, do cool tricks on them and like to show their motorcycle skills. Well, some people can ride and some people can't. These poor souls don't have a clue. Enjoy!

Real Bikers...NOT!

Be safe out there.

Until next time and enjoy the ride!

Pappy

Old Age

Old Age, I decided, is a gift.I am now, probably for the first time in my life, the person I have always wanted to be. Oh, not my body! I sometime despair over my body, the wrinkles, the baggy eyes, and the sagging butt. And often I am taken aback by that old person that lives in my mirror (who looks like my mother!), but I don't agonize over those things for long. I would never trade my amazing friends, my wonderful life, my loving family for less gray hair or a flatter belly. As I've aged, I've become more kindto myself, and less critical of myself. I've become my own friend.I don't chide myself for eating that extra cookie, or for not making my bed, or for buying that silly cement gecko that I didn't need, but looks soavante garde on my patio. I am entitled to a treat, to be messy, to be extravagant.I have seen too many dear friends leave this world too soon; before they understood the great freedom that comes with aging.Whose business is it if I choose to read or play on the computer until 4 AM and sleep until noon?I will dance with myself to those wonderful tunes of the 60&70's, and if I, at the same time, wish to weep over a lost love ... I will.I will walk the beach in a swim suit that is stretched over a bulging body, and will dive into the waves with abandon if I choose to, despite thepitying glances from the jet set . They, too, will get old.I know I am sometimes forgetful. But there again, some of life is just as well forgotten. And I eventually remember the important things.Sure, over the years my heart has been broken. How can your heart not break when you lose a loved one, or when a child suffers, or even when?somebody's beloved pet gets hit by a car? But broken hearts are what give us strength and understanding and compassion. A heart never broken ispristine and sterile and will never know the joy of being imperfect.I am so blessed to have lived long enough to have my hair turning gray, and to have my youthful laughs be forever etched into deep grooves on my face. So many have never laughed, and so many have died before their hair could turn silver.As you get older, it is easier to be positive. You care less about what other people think. I don't question myself anymore. I've even earnedthe right to be wrong.So, to answer your question, I like being old. It has set me free. I like the person I have become. I am not going to live forever, but whileI am still here; I will not waste time lamenting what could have been, or worrying about what will be. And I shall eat dessert every single day. (IfI feel like it)MAY OUR FRIENDSHIP NEVER COME APART ESPECIALLY WHEN IT'S STRAIGHT FROM THE HEART! MAY YOU ALWAYS HAVE A RAINBOW OF SMILES ON YOUR FACE AND IN YOUR HEART FOREVER AND EVER!

Until next time and enjoy the ride!

Pappy