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4th of July Mountain Ride- 2019

3K views 16 replies 7 participants last post by  garyculb 
#1 ·
:vhappy:4th of July Mountain Ride- 2019:vhappy:

Dates: Thursday 4th July to Sunday 7th July (4th of July is on a Thursday);
some arriving on the 3rd of July, Wednesday

Location: Skyline Village Inn & Tavern (SVIT) ( http://www.skylinevillageinn.com ), Little Switzerland, NC;
BLOCK COMPLETELY BOOKED/ Waiting List

Reservations at SVIT for:
qbird66- Kevin & Stephanie
alstrickand55- Al & Jan
Memphomanic- Bob & Jim
JR3- Jim & Amy
ZX10toK16- Keith
Dwarak
Pat Evenich
Scoop- Larry
GaryCulb-Doc



Area is one of the
:cool:"Best Kept Secrets" in Appalachian Mountain Riding:cool:
(Devils Whip-NC80, DiamondBack-NC 226A, The Snake-TN 421, Spiral Staircase- NC 281, Murder Mountain Row, Revere Rd, Back of the Dragon-VA 16, etc.).

Alternative sites- consider:
Big Lynn Lodge- Rooms| Big Lynn Lodge - Little Switzerland
Alpine Inn- Alpine Inn, Little Switzerland NC - the best views on the Parkway, family run friendly service!
Switzerland Inn- https://www.switzerlandinn.com

Yes, you can see the fireworks from the balcony.

Best,

Doc:tb:tb
 
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#8 · (Edited)
Links to download routes in GPX format:

Spirited Routes

Regular Routes

All routes begin with 2019 July 4.

There are 8 spirited routes (4 AM and 4 PM, so 4 total days of riding – gives us an extra route so we have options depending on weather).

There are 6 regular routes (3 AM and 3 PM, there is no regular option for the Tazewell route as that’s a 300+ mile day from Little Switzerland).

Other than the Tazewell route (Back of the Dragon), the spirited and regular routes have the same lunch stop. The spirited routes range from 260 – 285 miles (except for Tazewell, which is 320 miles), and the regular routes range from 125 – 160 miles.
 
#9 ·
So I got home about two hours after leaving the gas stop. I'm sure I missed a lot of good roads in the afternoon portion, but I did slip over to Hwy. 178 on the way back, just to get in a last few curves. Had a great time. Great routes, great roads, and great people. Thanks for letting me hang with you. By the way, I ran into about 3 hours of rain during a fifteen minute period on the way home. I pressed thru it, and managed to stay drier than the fifteen minute period we spent at the pullout on the parkway.
 
#10 ·
I just made it back to Atlanta. My only regret is that I couldn’t spend more time with the group. Great job Kevin for leading us and to Jan for pointing out the gravel in the road. Thanks to all for treating me like an old friend. ✌?
 
#11 ·
Had a blast! Thanks to Doc for organizing, and Kevin & Stephanie for leading. Can't wait for the next one! And thanks a lot for the BirdStrike award :grin: It's proudly displayed in my office for all to see. I hope I never have to pass it on, and it's not because I love it and want to keep it forever ...
 
#13 ·
It may have been fortunate that we didn't run the Tazewell route. I mentioned that it contains a couple of new-to-me roads; I took the long way home from Little Switzerland and rode most of the AM portion of the route, which included 2 road closures and 3 gravel roads. If anyone plans on using that route, just stay on Hwy 194 from Boone to Lansing (skip the Castle Ford Rd and Buck Mountain Rd sections between Boone and West Jefferson). The Big Horse Creek Rd section between Lansing and US 58 includes 1/2 mile of gravel when you turn onto Whenlin Ridge Rd, but it's in very good shape. If you don't want any gravel, stay on Hwy 194 in Lansing, bypassing Big Horse Creek Rd. 194 becomes Rugby Rd at the VA state line; turn left (west) on US 58 to rejoin the route.

The PM route back to Little Switzerland is fine.
 
#17 ·
4th July Mountain Ride Report- 2019

:bmw:4th July Mountain Ride Report- 2019:bmw:

NO WREAKS/ NO DROPS/ NO TICKETS/ Some Rain

Location: Skyline Inn & Tavern (SIT) in Little Switzerland, NC

Participants:

JR3 & Amy-K1600GT
GaryCulb-KTM SDGT
qbird66 & Stephanie-K1600-GTL
Memphomanic-R1250GS
Jay-K1300S
alstricland55 & Jan-K1200S
Seneker-K1600GTL
KayGee-K1600GTL
Kizzle-S1000XR
Dwarak-F800GS
Scoop-F6B

3rd July- Meet up with Jim & Amy at Eurosports in Asheville, NC. Kevin joined & we took off for an afternoon ride through downtown then up & north east of the Asheville area

4th July- Memphomanic, Jay, GaryCulb, Seneker, JR3 & Amy and bird & Stephanie headed out up to the Snake and had a >300 mile day. Lunch was at the Boondocks Brewing in West Jefferson. Cloudy with rain in the night so, fireworks were hard to see.



5th July- Everyone except Scoop & Dwarak took off after Roadmap (Glenn Wheeler) arrived. Gabe joined us at the first gas top. Lunch was at Scott’s Farm Market in Unicoi, TN. No rain all day. Went back early to ride up & down Roan Mountain with Dwarak.





6th July- Everyone took off and we had Lunch at the Stack House in Mars Hill, NC. My GPS mount broke just before lunch so I headed back to the SIT. alstrickland55 & Jan got back & their rear tire was toast.



7th July- Memphomanic received the “Bird Strike Award” for the turkey he took out on his brand new BMW R1250GS.
Yes, qbird66 won this award at the 2019 TTD.
Rules require the fowl be at least as big as a full grown wild turkey to qualify.





JR3 & Amy put altrickland55 & Jan's bike on their trailer, Al road Jims GT and they took off to Blairseville, GA

:crying:Everyone then departed.:crying:



:stew:I did not put the routes/ roads because after the 1,000th turn/ twisty on the second day I just did not care anymore.:stew:


:grin:Kevin (qbird66) did a fantastic job:grin:
>:)Leading the rides, Making the Routes & Determining the Lunch Stops.>:)


:cheers:Great too see & ride with everyone.:cheers:

Thanks for participating.

Best,

Doc:tb:tb
 
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