FBAD: Life on the Blue Ridge

[Fast Ferris]

...and then some little-bit-of-everything weather:

I made it to Laurel Springs, North Carolina, the southern end of the current Parkway closure, and wanted to aim west-ish for Sparta but the sky was absolutely black in that direction, and I could hear constant rumbling thunder. My only other option was to run away from the weather, down NC 18 to North Wilkesboro and on out to I-77. This meant losing several thousand feet in altitude and immersing myself in the sultry heat of the Piedmont afternoon, and slicing and dicing with the big rigs on the Interstate, but it was late and I needed to get my bad self home.

[dfishman]

It is bad azz.Great pics of very familiar subjects.

[Fast Ferris]

Originally Posted by dfishman

It is bad azz.Great pics of very familiar subjects.

I bet it blows them plastic bottles a mile high when they pop it off! ;-)

Thank you. :-):-)

[Fast Ferris]

Are y'all sick of "from-the-cockpit" shots yet? No??

It's late, gettin' dark (note the long exposure effects), I've just slugged my way north through the heat on Interstate 77 a'ways, and am now finally climbing into some blessed mountain coolness on ********* Road, which Denise and I fondly refer to as the "Go-Kart Trail."

[Fast Ferris]

It always feels good to come back to the Blue Ridge.

[Mr. Magoo]

Originally Posted by Fast Ferris

Are y'all sick of "from-the-cockpit" shots yet? No??

Run those wires and stuff through the bars. You'll love the look from the seat!

[Fast Ferris]

Originally Posted by Mr. Magoo

Run those wires and stuff through the bars. You'll love the look from the seat!

...may just do that one of these days, maybe this winter when the snows come. :-)

[Fast Ferris]

Idling up to the Parkway for the final push, I came face-to-face with a simple, home-spun act of patriotism:

[Fast Ferris]

The install isn't very elegant, but I dug it anyway.

[Fast Ferris]

[Fast Ferris]

One last look back at what I've been running from for the past hundred miles, then home to a hug and Happy Hour, in that order.

We hope you enjoyed.

[Fast Ferris]

I thought I'd take a minute and spotlight our adventure machine for y'all. Yeah, it doesn't look like your typical ADV bike, but don't let the pretty facade fool you. It's been real good to us, and has gotten us in and out of places it was never meant to go. We bought it new in April 2006, and the last time it was out of the garage it turned over 55,000 miles. We w*rk from home, i.e. no commuting, so these are all "want to" miles, not "have to" miles.

"Geez, Ferris, blah, blah, frikkin' blah!"

Sorry. On with the shoe. :-)

Looking down from the infamous Lion's Trail over the Kern River Valley and Isabella Lake, California, USA, April 2006, first time out after bringing the bike home from Santa Barbara Harley-Davidson.

[Fast Ferris]

Route 66, Alanreed, Texas, USA

[Fast Ferris]

Ferris State University, Big Rapids, Michigan USA

[Fast Ferris]

James Dean's gravesite at dusk, Fairmount, Indiana USA