Southeast Loop - 5 days riding with my sons

[ElevenFifty]

Pics are here.

 

Atlanta to Savannah to Wrightsville Beach to Kill Devil Hills to Roanoke to Asheville to Atlanta ... ~1700 miles.

 

THINGS THAT WORKED:

- All three bikes. The RT turned 50K on a south VA back road. Marvelous machine that gets better by the mile!

- GPS (Garmin 76c) navigation was never a problem

- Starcom + Sirius + iPod = great tunes and talk.

THINGS THAT DIDN'T WORK

- The PTT button on my Starcom. I've already repaired the one on my son's bike - the case is too small for the button assembly and the wiring is apparently cramped. Got back home to find a broken wire, easily repaired ... but it meant hand signals on the road. It's the only real weakness of the Starcom system.

WORST RIDING: Myrtle Beach - miserable traffic. Hwy 64 across north GA on a weekend, also miserable traffic.

BEST RIDING: NC from Wrightville Beach to Cedar Island is a delightful ride ... Hwy 40 across southern VA ... BRP ...

 

LESSONS LEARNED:

This was the first long ride for my younger son, Matt. His brother Josh and I did an ATL to Denver trip last year and we know how to knock out the miles. For the first couple of days, Matt was much more casual about rest stops and we were humpin to get to our accomodations as a result. Tension around the difference in travelling styles could have been avoided if I had served the role of 'coordinator' rather than 'ride leader'. My 25 and 29 year old boys are pretty strong willed and we all ended up butting heads while we worked out the best ways to get things done and to have a great time doing it! We agreed that next year, we'll all plan the ride together.

 

We also agreed that we would have more fun riding long the first day, settling in and riding from that accomodation in big loops for several days before heading home. Unpack once and ride for the fun of it without having to get closer to home every day.

 

I am very fortunate to have this time with the boys - they are both married and a couple of years away from having a family. They both plan to give up riding as the obligations of family grow (something a lot of us did) so the window of time to share these memories is closing.

[ashleybiker]

Sweet! I know the Carolina coast well. It is flat but has its own type of beauty.

 

Nice job, come back real soon ya here!

[OoPEZoO]

Thats great. I'm sure they will appreciate those trips even more as they get older.

 

Back in '05 I rode to Califonia (from PA) and back with my Dad. We ended up riding about 8500 miles in 20 days. I wouldn't trade that experience for anything. I was 26 at the time. Now we are talking about New Foundland and Alaska. My Dad has already done both on his Goldwing, but he keeps telling me that he wants to do them again. Our biggest stumbling block is trying to leave the girls at home so we can camp out and keep the trips more affordable. Sleeping in a tent isn't my Mom's idea of an ideal vacation I guess....

[Kinsley]

Sounds like a good trip, but maybe a little warm for me now.

 

I have family in Va, so I ride there at least once a year. I used to ride 40, but I've found many other roads (mostly smaller and even less traveled) that I prefer.

 

When you start your future trip planning let me know and I'll send you some of my routes for the area.

 

Ken

[W8NONU]

Nice! I have just started riding with my youngest son. We hit the trails and dirt roads since he is not licensed yet and we have a great time.

[keithb]

1150

Your Outer Banks pics are just killing me man. I have been on the Cedar Island and Ocracoke to Hatteras ferries many times during my life. It is a special place with a lot of fond memories for me. Sure would be nice to retire there someday but who knows. My sister lives in Morehead so I try to get there at least once or twice a year. Glad you had a great ride and bonded with your two sons. That's awesome.

Happy holidays.

KB