Cool Trip Recording Tool...TrailGuru

Do you have an iPhone? If so, you can download a free and really cool application so you can track the stats of your motorcycle trips. I have used it a couple of times and it is really cool. So if you travel, go on hikes, cycle and like most of us, ride a bike, take a look at the application. To read more on it go to:

http://www.trailguru.com/ui/tour/iphone.php

Basically, the application allows you to track your travels, post the results to your own TrailGuru web page and even post the results to others if you want to share your stats. You and also have your post emailed directly to you. You can even use the iPhone to take photos of your trip along the way, so they can be posted as well.

Of course, you need an iPhone and if you lose your GPS coverage, it will not record the trip. But hey, it works most of the time and if you are like me (a part-time geek), you will enjoy TrailGuru. So check it out and let me know what you think. Who knows, you may see my motorcycle trips posted one day.

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

Pappy

New Features

As you can probably tell I have started adding some new gadgets to the blog. I just found out Blogger had some cool ones that I am exploring and thinking about putting on the blog. For now, check out the "Dragon Tail Ride" slideshow. I will update the slideshows so you won't get bored if you are one of the readers that visit the site on a regular basis.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the new look and features. Keep checking back. I will probably add some other stuff.

Until then, remember life starts at the end of the off ramp.

Pappy

Pilot Mountain State Park Ride

Sunday was another nice day to ride. The weather held up for most of the trip. Slick and I were accompanied this time by Jordan and his girl friend Sara. Sara is new biker. Actually, it was her second time on a bike. Jordan is slowly trying to break her in into the joys of motorcycle riding.


Jordan and Sara showed up at the house around 11 am and the weather was great. The temps were in the upper 50's and were supposed to reach near 70 by the end of day. The sky was clear and we were ready to ride. Slick was packing the bike like we were going camping and I thought I was going to have to take the trailer.


Once on the road, we all headed on the same route I took on Saturday toward Hanging Rock State Park. On highway 52, we thought we were going to run in to rain (of course the weather man didn't mention that). Lucky for us, it did not rain, but it did get kind of cool as a front was coming in as we approached the base of the state park. Once at the park the clouds moved out it started to warm up a little.


Once we entered the park, we headed up the mountain and it was a pretty curvy road. I think the girls got a little worried about the road, but they did fine. They were very quite, but hung in there. I can always tell when Slick is a little nervous, she gets very quite.


As we reached the top of Pilot Mountain State Park we were greeted with a parking lot full of people taking pictures and hiking. I guess everyone had the same idea we had. We did see a few other bikers there enjoying the park. We decided to take a few photos from the top of the mountain. Check them out:





After taking some photos and doing a mini hike, we headed down the mountain. The girls got quite again because of the curves. For them, they were glad the ride down didn't take too long. Once down from the mountain, we headed south on highway 52 toward home and to get some food. You know, food always taste better when you on a ride and when someone else pays (thanks Japper!).


All-in-all, the ride was great and took about 3.5 hours. Now it is time to plan our next ride which will probably be another state park. I figure Lake James State Park sounds good.


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


Pappy

Nice Harley for Sale...$15,000

Yes, there is a Harley for sale, and no, I don't have one. But, I do have a buddy that is selling his. It is a 2006 FLCTCI Electra Glide Classic and it is fuel injected. The bike is still under a warranty until September 2009. My buddy is asking $15,000 for it. Believe me, it is in great shape and has very low mileage. The running joke between he and I is he never rides it. If you are interested check out the photo of the bike.




If you are interested contact Eric "Tough Guy" Smith at 704-450-4625.


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


Pappy

Hanging Rock State Park Ride

Today was a great day to ride. I took a little ride to Hanging Rock State Park near Pilot Mountain. It was a very nice day to ride. The temperature at the beginning of the ride was in the low 50’s and the sky was clear as a bell. Slick decided to stay home and dog sit. So I took advantage of the great winter weather and took off for the mountains and country side.

I decided to head out on highway 311 from Jamestown NC. I headed east to highway 52 in Winston Salem and then north to Pilot Mountain. The traffic wasn’t too bad. I did see a lot of other bikers taking advantage of the nice weather too. As I got to exit 134 on highway 52, I decided I was getting a little too low on gas. So I decided to fill up. Thankfully I did, because getting to Hanging Rock State Park was a little further off of highway 52 than I thought.

My map (not GPS) showed I needed to head on 268 East. Little did I know that I would be out in the country and it would be very remote. I actually rode east on 268 for what seemed like forever. I decided to pull over to use my GPS. Of course, that didn’t work out in the country. So I rode, and rode and rode some more. Then I found a school parking lot that I could pull into so I could check the paper map. The funny thing is I thought I was lost and was heading in the wrong direction. When I stopped to check the map I stopped at exactly the road for the Hanging Rock State Park entrance. If I would have stopped earlier; I would have probably turned around and went in the wrong direction thinking that I missed a road along the way. Actually, I wasn’t too worried about getting lost, because as my old biker buddy Craig says, if you have a full tank of gas you are never lost.

After I finally found the entrance to the park I headed to the top of mountain. I was pretty nice there. They have some very nice hiking trails, a man-made lake and the scenery was very nice. I took a few photos of some of the stuff at the top. I am planning to take another trip back there later in the year to do some hiking. It was that nice.

After taking a few pictures and a little break I headed down the mountain and toward home. The road to the park on 268 is very curvy and it was fun to ride. When I departed the park I decided to head east on route 8 east bound (no need to take the same route, right?). I had been on that part of the road before. It is a nice country route with lots of curves. I stayed on route 8 until it finally linked back up with highway 52 in Winston Salem. Below is the photo of the route I took and some photos of the park.

All-in-all the route was very nice and took about 4 hours. I could have not asked for a better day as far as the weather. Today was a nice sole trip. Tomorrow Slick will join me on a ride to Pilot Mountain State Park. It is supposed to be around 68 degrees and sunny tomorrow. Take a guess where Slick and I will be?

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

Pappy