Philly to Cave City...and back on a KTM 625

[eSONG]

My first ride report. It's going to be mostly pics. Here goes nothing.


Packed and Ready to go. Here's my stuff.



My gear / ride all packed and ready to go...





the Route...




Trip Pics!!! :ride:

Day 1. Friday, May 1.

Green Ridge State Forest. We camped the first night. It looks a lot darker than it really was. We had about 2 solid hours of day light to setup camp and try to get a fire going. My riding buddy's lantern fuel did the trick.







Day 2. Glorious WV. Weather was cloudy, but dry, which is the most important thing.





we rode through those clouds...the thickest i've ever been through. visibility was about 10 yards at most! :help:







This stretch of road in WV is awesome! I was having way too much fun to stop to take pics of the actual twisties..








Day 3. Light rain all day long. Left WV and onto Kentucky. Bleh. We did meet this one local fellow at a gas station. He said about 30 words and I swear the only words I understood was KTM and 125! lol. I guess he thought it looked like a KTM 125 dirt bike... My friend who was also listening to this guy talk just turns to me with this blank look on his face like, wtf did he just stay?!?!? He was starting to turn red from trying to hold back from bursting out loud laughing!









Day 4. A very light riding day. Breakfast at Waffle House. Checked out
the grave site of Daniel Boone and then onto the Buffalo Trace Distillery
tour.





a nice view from Daniel Boone's grave site.





Freddie, our tour guide. Very knowledgeable about all things Bourbon.





The aroma as soon as you walk in this building was simply amazing!





Everything is still done all by hand. Awesome.







Day 5. Another non riding day. We checked Cave City's random
attractions. Took in a tour of Mammoth Cave, the largest cave system in
North America. We went about 400 feet under ground.





















My junk is THIS big.. lol.



kennedy had to be the worst one...he looked like a plastic mannequin.





my jovial riding buddies



hey, it was only a dollar.. we soon found out why. lol.



site of isobutane campfire explosion. lol. good thing the campground was mostly empty.





Day 6. More rain. Light rain most of the day.

Don't buy cheap gloves that bleed when wet...



Wet roads all day long, but not too bad. The tornado like winds on the other hand was another story. The winds would shift my 3-4 feet and then the sudden gust would stop and I'd swerve suddenly back from my countersteering. Not fun while traveling by semi's on Kentucky's highways. We were trying to hightail it to clear skies which we were promised on the radar.. Took awhile to see clear skies but we finally did as we approached Tennessee.




Interstate Rest area...We took shelter here to take a break and try to warm up.




Day 7. Great Smokey National Park. Checked out the White Man's Guilt
Museum, aka Cherokee Museum. Then took a ride around the area, though
Deal's Gap, and back to the KOA cabin we were staying at. Absolutely
perfect weather.











Deal's Gap! Rt 28 was gorgeous, they must've recently paved it. Sweet! Rt 129 on a weekday is supurb.











rt 129 is superb until you see one of these...



...or even worse, one of these...



Amazing weather today. Mid 70s. Light breeze. Sunny with scattered clouds. Perfect riding weather.











Day 8. We start heading towards home via the Blue Ridge Parkway. Weekday riding is spectacular. Little to no traffic. We were moving pretty nicely at a *spirited* pace.











road closed d/t mudslide ahead. we were going to attempt it until a worker
came from the other side and let us know that people are still working on
it. our detour was pretty cool as there are so many nice roads in the area.



There was a threat of rain by some ominous dark clouds to our west which followed us most of the day. We managed to stay ahead of it though. Another great day of riding.







Day 9. We rode from MD to home via crappy interstate. No pics.



Overall, a great trip. Next trip will be July's trip to Nova Scotia.

[GB]

Very nice trip! Thanks for the report and panoramic colorful pics! hard to believe those big rigs are allowed on those twisty roads!

[nickgindy]

Originally Posted by eSONG

My first ride report. It's going to be mostly pics. Here goes nothing.


Packed and Ready to go. Here's my stuff.

What did you fit the dog into?

[eSONG]

Originally Posted by fetuss10

What did you fit the dog into?

i *wish* i could've taken my dog, Ronin, on all my trips. He passed away in February this year. Really f*cking miss him, he was an awesome dog.

[nickgindy]

Originally Posted by eSONG

i *wish* i could've taken my dog, Ronin, on all my trips. He passed away in February this year. Really f*cking miss him, he was an awesome dog.

Sorry to hear that. Its a shame dogs wont live as long as humans. Most the time there the onlu loyal friend you will have throughout life.

[houndawgg]

Originally Posted by eSONG

i *wish* i could've taken my dog, Ronin, on all my trips. He passed away in February this year. Really f*cking miss him, he was an awesome dog.

Your pal was with you every last mile bro', that's what a man's best friend does.