Coast to Coast (and back?) with an Italian Supermodel

[NitroRoo]

Originally Posted by AntiHero

Hey Reuben--we did the same ride yesterday! (I came from Brevard, through Asheville to Charlotte, where I am now.) 39 degrees when I left, lots of frost inside my helmet.

Alas, I must confess my "ride" was in the confines of a mini-van, on our way back from touring the Biltmore Estate with my mother. We had a lot to ponder on the drive back after seeing what someone had chosen to do with $6,000,000 at the turn of the century.

Originally Posted by rico2072

What is up Nitoroo! It is Rico from Tampasportbikes.com! Hope you are doing well.
This guy Antihero is the man. Hope you have gotten a chance to read the full RR.

Antihero, great stuff!

Yup, following along with keen interest and a tinge of envy (okay, maybe more than a tinge )

[CaliforniaKid]

Hey Dennis,

Coyotes will make some REALLY strange noises, that may be what you heard. Have family in Charlotte, let me know if you need a hand or place to stay? (its Randy)

[Blader54]

The wolves in Virginia all got jobs as lobbyists and moved to the beltway! More likely coyotes, but the screaming could possibly have been a loon. Will have to check Peterson to see if they get down that far south, but the call of a loon at night can sound like the most unearthly scream. Nice spooky post close to Hallowe'en!

[AntiHero]

I think I needed to be a little clearer--the howling and the UFO sounds were coming from a Haunted House in the distance -- one of those pay $10 to have the shit scared out of you places in the middle of a cornfield.

[Blader54]

no, I got it....I meant that if you hear stuff like that and it's not around Hallowe'en it could be coyotes or loons...sorry...I wasn't clear. Digging your report, as always. Where might you be off to next?

[AntiHero]

After a warm Virginia sendoff by Ken and Deanie, I set off for Knoxville. It was a little bit cold and a little drizzly, but the scenery made up for it.







I arrived in Knoxville on Saturday and I only planned on staying a night. When I arrived there was another Ducati parked in the entrance to the hotel. Turns out one of the guys on staff was a huge Ducati enthusiast, so I got front row parking, too.



I'd never been to Tennessee before (unless you count the airport)--and I think most of us have images of what it--and the people--are like. Wow, was I wrong. Everywhere I went people were friendly and polite. I even heard a 12 year old kid address a woman as "ma'am". Even more shocking was I found a Malaysian restaurant close by. Malay/Singaporean/Indonesian food is difficult to come by even in big cities. The owner had only been in Tennessee for a year, but was doing his best to be an ambassador of some of the best Asian cuisine you can get. Take the aromatic flavors and spice of Thai, the richness of Indian and the diversity of Chinese cuisine and there you have it. So damn good.

[gregdee]

All I can say is Thank You! You inspire me. This site in general has changed my life but this RR has been fantastic. Keep it coming.

If you eventually come through Albuquerque, NM and are after some tasty Asian cuisine try the green curry at Tara Thai. You won't regret it.

[erockmapquest]

Originally Posted by AntiHero

Take the aromatic flavors and spice of Thai, the richness of Indian and the diversity of Chinese cuisine and there you have it. So damn good.

[iyaoyas98]

I got a spare bed and room in the garage if you swing through Nashville. Loving the report!

[sunset_ryder]

Last night in the harbor:


I' m thinking a spare room over the gay-rage is not quite the accommodations our Antihero is accustomed to

But awfully nice of you to offer.

[CaliforniaKid]

Originally Posted by AntiHero

After a warm Virginia sendoff by Ken and Deanie, I set off for Knoxville. It was a little bit cold and a little drizzly, but the scenery made up for it.







I arrived in Knoxville on Saturday and I only planned on staying a night. When I arrived there was another Ducati parked in the entrance to the hotel. Turns out one of the guys on staff was a huge Ducati enthusiast, so I got front row parking, too.



I'd never been to Tennessee before (unless you count the airport)--and I think most of us have images of what it--and the people--are like. Wow, was I wrong. Everywhere I went people were friendly and polite. I even heard a 12 year old kid address a woman as "ma'am". Even more shocking was I found a Malaysian restaurant close by. Malay/Singaporean/Indonesian food is difficult to come by even in big cities. The owner had only been in Tennessee for a year, but was doing his best to be an ambassador of some of the best Asian cuisine you can get. Take the aromatic flavors and spice of Thai, the richness of Indian and the diversity of Chinese cuisine and there you have it. So damn good.

Tennessee is awesome. Very friendly folks and great roads, beautiful scenery. I would be pretty happy retiring there.

[musicman]

There is a family-owned small chain called "Panang" with small restaurants all across the country. Every one of them them is owned by a relative. They are quite good... and quite authentic for someone who has visited Malaysia a few times.

[iyaoyas98]

Originally Posted by sunset_ryder

Last night in the harbor:


I' m thinking a spare room over the gay-rage is not quite the accommodations our Antihero is accustomed to

But awfully nice of you to offer.

I know it. He's living the dream.

Just tossing it out there.

[AntiHero]

Originally Posted by iyaoyas98

I know it. He's living the dream.

Just tossing it out there.

Thanks, guys--I'm unfortunately out of Knoxville now and won't make it back to Tennessee. Too bad, because I really enjoyed the short time I spent there. Just had my TN to SC portion all written up, but I lost it due to a submission error (I waited to long to hit send). Starting over....

[AntiHero]

I left Knoxville on the Sunday Sandy rolled into town, bringing 40 deg. temps and lots of rain.





A Ducati guy in Asheville offered to take me on some of the best roads the area had to offer and fortunately when I called him in the morning he said it was sunny and the temps were in the 60s where he was. Excellent. So I headed off for the Tail of the Dragon knowing that the further I got the warmer and drier it would be. Only it just got colder and wetter. And I kept getting lost. To make matters worse, I couldn't just pull my phone out and check how far off I was due to the rain. I'd check my phone, memorize three turns, then take off. 20 minutes later I'd check the directions again and the little blue dot indicating my location would be far away from the blue line indicating my intended route. But the trip time would remain the same, as if time was stopping just so I could enjoy the gifts mother nature showered me with. I have no idea how I kept getting so far off base, but that's the way the morning went.



The doc in NY gave me a set of winter gloves (thank god) and believe it or not I had 3M waterproofed my boots. Both kept me protected for about a half hour. The winter gloves turned out to not be waterproof (doh!) and the 3M treatment probably extended the water protection of my Doc Martins for exactly 14 seconds longer than had I not treated them. In short, I was soaked. My hands and feet were painfully cold and I still had at least an hour to go before the Tail. (Ah yes, and my Sidi 1 piece rainsuit somehow allowed water to leak into my crotch.) The one adjustment I could make, (turning up the Ohlins steering damper up to deal with all the shivering) made zero difference on my dropping core temp.

(At this point of misery I could also hear all of the ADVers who right now reading this are saying, 'uh huh--you should have taken our advice and prepared better, buddy. You're an idiot! Heated jacket doesn't sound so bad now, eh? Yeah yeah yeah.)

Leading up to the Tail of the Dragon, the roads were fantastic (other than the road being covered in water and wet leaves of course), but I could only care about 5% of the time. I crossed over into NC where my GPS was telling me was the start of the Tail...



...ad it was the start of the Tail--had I been going in the other direction. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, it was only after your pruney narrator had completed 318 curves in 11 miles that he realized what road he'd been on. C'es la vie.



I had no cell phone coverage and couldn't get a hold of the dude I was going to meet up with in Sylvan(?). I headed that direction anyways (after strongly considering heading back to a hotel in Knoxville). When I finally got a hold of him he relayed that the weather in/around Asheville had turned ugly, too, and that there's no way we could do the rides he'd planned. At this point of the journey I was envious of kids in the back of warm minivans--riding any more than I had to was not high on my list of priorities, but that the weather was only getting worse the farther east I rode was a bit crushing. I finally succumbed to the cold and pulled over so I could remove my boots/wet socks and heat my feet with the exhaust. I've been cold before, but I was seriously concerned that there could be a chance of frostbite. (70mph + 41 dec = windchill somewhere between 12-25 deg F).



I had to be very careful because my feet (and hands) were so numb I wouldn't have even felt nails being pounded into them. Sticking them directly into hot exhaust with no nerves to relay messages back on just how hot it was could have easily burned me before I knew it. The thawing process was exercise not unlike being starving, but having to eat very very slowly. But once blood was gushing again I realized no matter how bad things got in the future (today or later) that low slung exhaust could spare me physical damage. Adaptation!

When I reached the Ducati dude in Asheville I was greatly relieved--until he explained it was another half hour to his place. Gotta love it. 6 hours after I'd begun I reached my hosted home for the night.