Ride across the USA

[Stichill]

Looks like you saw some desolation on your way east, Django.

Yesterday I started out in Cuchara.

If you ever happen to be in that area, ride the scenic bypass highway 12 to Trinidad. It's well worth it if you like scenic and twisties.

After that the landscape became flat,

meeting a train,

even more flat.

In Germany we have a saying, if you are in the middle of nowhere, you are in "Pampa". Here we are:

Yesterday was highway day, riding thru those little morbid towns, partly abandoned. After staying the night at the KOA near Elk City, today was Interstate day and the Ozarks in the afternoon.

Near Oklahoma City the traffic get more crowded.

That's Oklahoma City

and after burning some more gas we enter Arkansas.

The Ozarks I really like! Lots of twisties and no speed limit beside the 55 miles. Arkansas seems not to pamper the traffic like they do in Colorado.

This night I stay in Kingston. Seems to have seen better times, too.

I'm curious. In what sense do you mean this? I don't fully grasp the observation.

I'm curious. In what sense do you mean this? I don't fully grasp the observation.
In Colorado there are much more speed limits before corners or along the passes. In Arkansas there is just 55 everywhere and you are more self responsible to find the right speed in the corners. There are only limits in the villages and neighborhoods. My observation.

OK, thank you. Very interesting observation.

You might have already understood this but the yellow speed limit signs at corners are "recommendations"...you don't have to follow them if you don't want or need to. I believe they are posted as a safety aid to truck drivers and people towing trailers, who might have big problems if they enter such a corner too fast.

The white speed limit signs are the actual legal speeds. Although, the degree of police speed control is variable from place to place.

In a state like Arkansas, most of the traffic is local and knows the roads. And, the state doesn't like to spend a lot of money to put up and maintain the yellow safety speed signs. So yes, anyone who is not local is expected to be self-responsible!

Safe travels! :biker:

 

[Django]

No no, I'm talking about the real speed limits, the white signs!

 

[Houtman_imp]

Django , I received your PM and send one back , look forward seeing you on sunday and here we can take care of your tires and oil change.

 

[the Ferret]

The yellows are called "Advisories" while the whites are called "Regulatories" and you must obey the white ones and I would cautiously trust any advisory that says 20 mph or less (25 years in the Highway Traffic sign business finally pays off lol)

 

[Django]

Some statistics this morning in Memphis:

9,228 km so far (5,735 miles)

overall pure riding time: 5 days 1 hour 36 minutes

average speed: 75.9 km/h

(not that I invest much into getting those numbers, I just noticed it at looking at my tracks and thought it might me worth a posting)

Interesting. If you had ridden from L.A. to Memphis via the shortest route, it would have been 1,792 miles. You've managed to extract almost 4,000 extra miles of fun with your route.

Interesting. If you had ridden from L.A. to Memphis via the shortest route, it would have been 1,792 miles. You've managed to extract almost 4,000 extra miles of fun with your route.
That is really a beautiful country and I really enjoyed those extra miles, most those accompanied by good friends!
Yesterday I found easily my way East out of Memphis, as RLS suggested to me. He helped me to plan the route for that day to Birmingham. Soon I was riding the nice back country roads.

From time to time I pass abandoned gas stations or grocery stores. If that would be beside Route 66, it was a monument, here in Mississippi it just rots.

Passed nice neighborhoods with cute houses and always cut lawn.

Passing small towns.

The lady in that gas station somewhere in Mississippi made me a big compliment: "With your accent you must be from New York".

Finally arrive in Alabama.

Good area to ride south of I22. Many twisties helped me to get my tires back into a more round shape.

Approaching Birmingham from the south was a good idea, not only avoiding the traffic in Birmingham, but also that thunderstorm. I made it just in time to Mscb1100's very nice home. Again I'm overwhelmed by the great hospitality! Thank you very much!

One more check at my list: Barbecue.

Mscb1100 helped me to make my plans visiting Barber's for today. That's what I gonna do this morning, then heading Atlanta.Not that I wanted visit Atlanta, but I have some duties to do there...

 

[kennyw]

Looks like you saw some desolation on your way east, Django.

Yesterday I started out in Cuchara.

If you ever happen to be in that area, ride the scenic bypass highway 12 to Trinidad. It's well worth it if you like scenic and twisties.

After that the landscape became flat,

meeting a train,

even more flat.

In Germany we have a saying, if you are in the middle of nowhere, you are in "Pampa". Here we are:

Yesterday was highway day, riding thru those little morbid towns, partly abandoned. After staying the night at the KOA near Elk City, today was Interstate day and the Ozarks in the afternoon.

Near Oklahoma City the traffic get more crowded.

That's Oklahoma City

and after burning some more gas we enter Arkansas.

The Ozarks I really like! Lots of twisties and no speed limit beside the 55 miles. Arkansas seems not to pamper the traffic like they do in Colorado.

This night I stay in Kingston. Seems to have seen better times, too.

I'm curious. In what sense do you mean this? I don't fully grasp the observation.

I'm curious. In what sense do you mean this? I don't fully grasp the observation.
In Colorado there are much more speed limits before corners or along the passes. In Arkansas there is just 55 everywhere and you are more self responsible to find the right speed in the corners. There are only limits in the villages and neighborhoods. My observation.

i wonder if Django was confusing cautionary signs like this for the actual speed limit:

i wonder if Django was confusing cautionary signs like this for the actual speed limit:

No, all of the roads we were on in Colorado had the speed limits changing every few miles. Some sections were down to 30 MPH on desolate mountain roads.

 

[GoldOxide_imp]

Some statistics this morning in Memphis:

9,228 km so far (5,735 miles)

overall pure riding time: 5 days 1 hour 36 minutes

average speed: 75.9 km/h

(not that I invest much into getting those numbers, I just noticed it at looking at my tracks and thought it might me worth a posting)

Interesting. If you had ridden from L.A. to Memphis via the shortest route, it would have been 1,792 miles. You've managed to extract almost 4,000 extra miles of fun with your route.

Interesting. If you had ridden from L.A. to Memphis via the shortest route, it would have been 1,792 miles. You've managed to extract almost 4,000 extra miles of fun with your route.
That is really a beautiful country and I really enjoyed those extra miles, most those accompanied by good friends!
Yesterday I found easily my way East out of Memphis, as RLS suggested to me. He helped me to plan the route for that day to Birmingham. Soon I was riding the nice back country roads.

From time to time I pass abandoned gas stations or grocery stores. If that would be beside Route 66, it was a monument, here in Mississippi it just rots.

Passed nice neighborhoods with cute houses and always cut lawn.

Passing small towns.

The lady in that gas station somewhere in Mississippi made me a big compliment: "With your accent you must be from New York".

Finally arrive in Alabama.

Good area to ride south of I22. Many twisties helped me to get my tires back into a more round shape.

Approaching Birmingham from the south was a good idea, not only avoiding the traffic in Birmingham, but also that thunderstorm. I made it just in time to Mscb1100's very nice home. Again I'm overwhelmed by the great hospitality! Thank you very much!

One more check at my list: Barbecue.

Mscb1100 helped me to make my plans visiting Barber's for today. That's what I gonna do this morning, then heading Atlanta.Not that I wanted visit Atlanta, but I have some duties to do there...

I believe Mississippi is the poorest state by income (2019).

 

[the Ferret]

with your accent you must be from New York :rofl:

 

[suhawk305]

A Brooklyn accent to be more specific.....

 

[Stichill]

Some statistics this morning in Memphis:

9,228 km so far (5,735 miles)

overall pure riding time: 5 days 1 hour 36 minutes

average speed: 75.9 km/h

(not that I invest much into getting those numbers, I just noticed it at looking at my tracks and thought it might me worth a posting)

Interesting. If you had ridden from L.A. to Memphis via the shortest route, it would have been 1,792 miles. You've managed to extract almost 4,000 extra miles of fun with your route.

Interesting. If you had ridden from L.A. to Memphis via the shortest route, it would have been 1,792 miles. You've managed to extract almost 4,000 extra miles of fun with your route.
That is really a beautiful country and I really enjoyed those extra miles, most those accompanied by good friends!
Yesterday I found easily my way East out of Memphis, as RLS suggested to me. He helped me to plan the route for that day to Birmingham. Soon I was riding the nice back country roads.

From time to time I pass abandoned gas stations or grocery stores. If that would be beside Route 66, it was a monument, here in Mississippi it just rots.

Passed nice neighborhoods with cute houses and always cut lawn.

Passing small towns.

The lady in that gas station somewhere in Mississippi made me a big compliment: "With your accent you must be from New York".

Finally arrive in Alabama.

Good area to ride south of I22. Many twisties helped me to get my tires back into a more round shape.

Approaching Birmingham from the south was a good idea, not only avoiding the traffic in Birmingham, but also that thunderstorm. I made it just in time to Mscb1100's very nice home. Again I'm overwhelmed by the great hospitality! Thank you very much!

One more check at my list: Barbecue.

Mscb1100 helped me to make my plans visiting Barber's for today. That's what I gonna do this morning, then heading Atlanta.Not that I wanted visit Atlanta, but I have some duties to do there...

Wow, that is really an impressive language-skills accomplishment!

Regarding the hobby of finding old gas stations, as you travel east be on the lookout for wooden structures close to the road that (usually) have no gas pumps but still have a large canopy, for example like this:

Be careful around Atlanta...so much traffic!

 

[Django]

Topics for today:
[li]visit Barber[/li] [li]make a detour thru Talladega National Forest[/li] [li]approach to Atlanta
[/li]

Mscb1100 helped me to plan the route. He recommended me a small nice single lane road at the way from his place to Barber. However, that road was somehow blocked.

I have no clue, how the driver of this truck got the idea, his vehicle would pass thru this small lane.

Btw he must have passed this small wooden bridge just 1/2 mile before. My guess is "brainless following the navi instructions".

Then there was Barber. Stunning! I did a lot of pictures, but you may find better ones in the internet. They have so many motorcycles. While this museum has 5 floors, they only can show half of the motorcycles they have. The other half is in the store. I did, what I guess every motorcycle rider visitor does, looking for my first bike. It took me 2 1/2 hours to do my walk along the 5 floors from the top to the ground. Many memories were triggered. That visit was well worth to go that much south on my ride across the USA.

From Barber I took I20 east and turned south near Oxford to ride a detour thru the Talladega National Forest.

Roads get smaller, no traffic and fun to ride.

and today seems to be the day of the obstacles. However, I could find my way around this one.

Back on I20 east I crossed the border to Georgia and again another timezone.

I stay in a motel west of Atlanta. Tomorrow morning I have to go downtown. I'm curious, how that will be...

 

[Django]

That is just great! Looking forward.

Currently I enjoy the evening at Two Wheels of Suches, having a beer and planning the next 2 days. My duty in Atlanta is done, now I can relax the rest of my trip.
Today I went to Atlanta to check off some duty at the German consulate. Worked fine.

That are quite many lanes at the interstate in Atlanta.

Finally made my way to the German Consulate.

From there I made my way thru city traffic out of Atlanta heading north east.
I had lunch at one of those plenty malls at Broken Egg.

Btw. I found out, that those Libraries have free internet, even that small one in Kingston/AR. Here I stopped north of Atlanta to check my email.

Finally again on back country roads.

Approaching the Appalachian (in the background).

Highway 9 up north really was a nice ride, highway 60 up to Suches was a blast!
This nigth I camp at Two Wheels of Suches, really nice place here, lot of motorcycle riders there.

 

[Houtman_imp]

Good Morning Django , things we could do when you are here :
Visit Biltmore Estate if you are interested ( I have a free ticket for you )
Lunch or dinner at Sierra Nevada Brewery (great place !)
Ride to Mount Mitchell and Little Switserland , nice ride .
I will be home Sunday watching the Dutch TT and the Austrian F1 , so you could come anytime .
Monday have tires mounted at MR and change oil .
Ride Safe John

 

[Inhouse Bob]

We will be in Asheville for a long weekend but not arriving until Thursday afternoon so I don't think I will be able to buy you lunch or anything. But if you stick around the area, let me know! Mr. Houtman is a great guy. Y'all should have fun.

You are very welcome to stop at our house for coffee or tea or something stronger and look at my bikes , we are easy to find.

You are very welcome to stop at our house for coffee or tea or something stronger and look at my bikes , we are easy to find.
That's nice of you! We shall see how things break with the family and all. You are east of Asheville, correct?

 

[Inhouse Bob]

I am just south of Asheville , in Arden , only 3 miles east of Hendersonville Road , turn onto Mills Gap Rd at the KFC.
Were are you staying ???

I'll send a private message...

 

[Cormanus]

I can vouch for Inhouse Bob too. He tried Vegemite and survived!

Stichill, you are likely right about the rifle being semiautomatic. I didn’t look too hard. Paid my account, called every bloke Sir, the cleared out into the pouring rain.

 

[Django]

Alabama and Georgia BMW owner club meets this weekend at Two Wheels of Suches. I got in contact with some of them them yesterday evening. All BMW here around and the only German rides a Honda.

This is Danny on his GS. He is a Canadian, currently living north of Atlanta and he accompanied me today on a 378 km roundtrip in the south east Appalachian. He helped me to plan the route this morning.

Riding in this area is a blast. Along some gorges I felt like riding the Nürburgring Nordschleife. I have no pictures, which somehow could show what gorgeous twisties we rode.

Only drawback was, that traffic has increased compared to the West. But then again, it's weekend. Many doing all kind of recreational activities, enjoying the woods, the many lakes or rafting the white water river.

That was a great day. Looking forward to explore more of the Appalachian. No I have to plan my route for tomorrow to find my way to Houtman somehow...

 

[the Ferret]

I love that area of the country. The Blue Ridge Mtns so aptly named.

 

[SportsterDoc]

Shenandoah Park is great ride.

 

[Stichill]

Really cool that you made a friend and riding buddy, Django. The Appalachian range offers some of the best riding you can ask for. Lots of roads and generally speaking little traffic.