Our Dragon Trip

[Gingersdaddy_imp]

We had a great time on our trip to Black Mountain this year. My brother-in-Law rents the cottage and family comes in from all over to spend the week. My original plan was to take off on my own and ride the Dragon and come back to Black Mountain and just make it a day trip. When my wife found out my plan she said she wanted to go too, but she wanted to stay overnight. So I started planning and with input from you guys on the forum I wanted to include the Cherohala Skyway.
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Pack up ready to leave Hertford, NC.
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So we started out from Black Mountain, it was a little chilly at about 8:30am taking 40 west to 74 west with a stop off at Maggie Valley and the Wheels Through Time Museum. Me and Sarah, aka Cupcake.
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It’s a great place to learn about the history of American motorcycling. The museum has a few cars and other things that were interesting. While we were there, Dale’s son Matt fired up one of the old Indians and talked to a group of us about it. If you go, plan some extra time for this stop. We grabbed a quick lunch (fast food) and jumped back on 74 west and picked up 28 on into Deals Gap. Hit a rain storm on 74 when we left Maggie Valley that lasted about 25 minutes . We had our liners in our coats and my pants were dry from the heat off the engine by the time we turned on to 28.
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We stopped at one of the overlooks on 28 and met a couple that had traveled down from Wisconsin with another couple. Chatted for a while and stretched our legs and took a few pictures.
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We pulled into Deals Gap and a guy on a Harley Tike pulled in and parked beside us, a huge fellow from Iowa. He had just finished a run on the Dragon and said that it wasn’t that bad, he’d seen worst roads in Iowa. We traded cameras and he took some pictures for us and we of him at the tree of shame. We spent about an hour getting shirts and checking things out and then started our run of the Dragon. No police on the Dragon. We caught up to a couple of dressed Harleys who eventually pulled to the side and lets us go. The CB handled it like a dream, it was great!
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We stopped after we finished snapped a couple more pictures. From there we picked up 72 over to 33/411 down Madisonville, TN and took 68 towards Sweetwater to the Days Inn. We were pretty beat by then, pulled in the parking lot at 5pm. 232 miles so far. After we rested for a while, started looking for dinner and found a Cracker Barrel in Athens about 13 miles away.
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Stopped in Robbinsville and had lunch at Lynn’s Place, great food nice people! Topped the bike off with gas and headed off on 143 to 28 back to 74 and 40 east back to the Cottage to end the trip.
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On Thursday we jumped on the bike and headed over to fellow forum members house just south of Asheville, NC, Houtman (John). It was my first time seeing a 2014 CB in person. Awesome machine and John had his 2013 CB and a sharp looking CB1000. He’s a great guy, we had an awesome time and a great lunch.
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And Unfortunately, loading everything up Friday evening for our trip home Saturday, I dropped the CB while loading it on my trailer. Scraped the lower left engine cover, I went down on the gravel driveway, busting my left knee open and scraping an elbow. Really upset with myself for not pulling the trailer up a little further to level ground before loading. I clocked about 560miles on the trip.

[the Ferret]

Great pics. looks like you had an awesome trip and hit quite a few of the highlights of the area. Thanks for posting up.

Too bad about the drop loading the bike up. Loading and unloading is always a perilous time.

[Pterodactyl_imp]

Great trip and photos. Thanks for sharing. Hope you and the CB recover quickly from the drop. By the way, when Sarah was giving the thumbs up you could, at the least, have looked at the camera and smiled .

Cheers

[emptysea]

I'm getting jaded....I liked the pic from Lynn's Place best. LOL.

Just kidding... Great pictures and a great story. Thanks for sharing.

[Offroad]

Thanks for the report! I'm heading that way tomorrow, I'll use your tips to adjust my planned routes!

I'm trailering too, I'll keep in mind leveling trailer before loading. Hope your knee and elbow heal quickly!

I did just add a 12 volt outlet today for the trip...I had to raise the back part of the gas tank, and remove the tool box to run the wire. I know it will charge my phone, maybe a GoPro some day.

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This might be a strange question, but did you use GPS or your cell phone during your trip through the mountains? How was the signal?

[Cormanus]

Thanks for a great report and pictures Gingersdaddy. Those two photos in the corners are great shots.

Sorry to hear about the drop. It's a a pain.

[Houtman_imp]

Hi Mark and Sarah, it was so nice meeting both of you and when you are in this area again PLEASE stop by and meet my wife.
They are beautiful pictures from your trip and I am sorry about your mishap loading your bike.
I would advise you to get some crash bars/engine savers ,they might have prevented the damage on the engine cover.
Perhaps next year we can have a rally in the Asheville area.

[Gingersdaddy_imp]

Thanks for the report! I'm heading that way tomorrow, I'll use your tips to adjust my planned routes!

I'm trailering too, I'll keep in mind leveling trailer before loading. Hope your knee and elbow heal quickly!

I did just add a 12 volt outlet today for the trip...I had to raise the back part of the gas tank, and remove the tool box to run the wire. I know it will charge my phone, maybe a GoPro some day.

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This might be a strange question, but did you use GPS or your cell phone during your trip through the mountains? How was the signal?

Signal with my cell phone would come and go. I used printed maps in my tank bag and had reviewed our route servral times before the trip. I bought a power outlet with three outlets and cut the cord and added a quick disconnect, ran the cord from the tank bag under the seat to the battery. this was great to keep our phones charged. I kept my cell phone in the tank bag. I did use the GPS on my phone when we went over to Houtmans, but I used the bluetooth head set for voice commands from my phone. I put my phone in the clear map pouch, but it was distracking to look down. The voice command instructions worked great. I love my Sena bluetooth intercom, I listened to my music during the whole trip and with just a tap on the button, could talk to my wife.

Hi Mark and Sarah, it was so nice meeting both of you and when you are in this area again PLEASE stop by and meet my wife.
They are beautiful pictures from your trip and I am sorry about your mishap loading your bike.
I would advise you to get some crash bars/engine savers ,they might have prevented the damage on the engine cover.
Perhaps next year we can have a rally in the Asheville area.

Thanks John, we will be back next year. I'm going to hold off replacing the left side cover until I get the crash bars and they are going to be my next purchase for sure!

[redbirds_imp]

Great ride report and pics. Thanks for posting.

[OldF7Guy_imp]

Great trip and thanks for the pics. Love the pic of the CB in the corner 2 up. Man, that was awesome! yOU were doing it ginngerdaddy.