The Viking Run- 171 Days to Departure

 

This trip is going to be here before you know it. It's coming on so fast it seems, without big items solidified. The representative from Relais Nordik called me today with the details for getting the bike on the cargo ship and berthing from Blanc Sablon to Havre St. Pierre. He said that getting the bike unloaded in Natashquan would be difficult as the port facilities were a poor choice for that. That trip averages 2 days and 7 hours depending on time spent in the seven different ports of call in between and weather. The biggest thing to note is that I have to be in Blanc Sablon on August 27th to catch the boat. The ferry from North Sydney, Nova Scotia to Argentia, Newfoundland departs on August 21st, so that gives me 5 days to explore Newfoundland, which is more than I expected really. A big issue however, is there is no guarantee I will get a spot on the freighter. I had to put my name in the hat today and will hope to hear from Relais Nordik by the end of March. If I can't get on the boat, well, then I'm going to have to turn left at Deer Lake, Newfoundland and give up going to the viking ruins at L'Anse aux Meadows. I'll have to head to Port aux Basques and take a ferry back to North Sydney and get to Canada via Maine. Not having a plan is nerve wracking.  

Searching For a Title - 175 Days to Departure.

I applied for my passport last week. I should receive it in eight to twelve weeks. It will be the first time I've ever had one. I've been making some calls as well to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and boarder agencies. Just trying to verify what I'll need for my boarder crossing; which turns out isn't much. I will have to utilize two different apps it appears for proof of Covid shots, one for Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and the other for the rest of Canada. 

                                                

                                                            Gettysburg, Pennsylvania

I have made a change to my route to head north west out of D.C. and visit Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. I was thinking of going from there to Hershey, PA. but not so sure that I'll find much of interest there, and I can get a Hershey Bar at pretty much any gas station. 

I'll have some time available to me to extend my stay by a day or two in various locations, so I'm looking for those places where I may want to extend my stay. Like possibly taking a day in Nipigon, Ontario for some fishing for Rainbow Trout. Who knows, there are lot's of possibilities.

                                                                    Rainbow Trout

The Yet as Unnamed Trip - 181 Days to Departure

 

I don't have a name for this journey just yet, but I think I may have solved what for me was a rather large dilemma. Getting from Philadelphia to Boston in the most direct way means traveling trough a densely crowded corridor passing Newark, New York and Long Island. An area I've been to several times, each time only briefly and I have zero desire to be back even if just passing through, but especially passing through on a motorcycle. Witnessing that insanity from the back of an Uber was plenty of adventure for me. Due to the fact I am not on a clock for this trip, I am afforded the luxury of taking the long way when desired or in my opinion with this case, necessary. So I have decided to head in a more northwesterly direction up toward Scranton and Binghamton; then a hard right turn to Albany. The extra miles will allow me to see some prettier country, ride better roads and provides an excuse to visit Cooperstown, where I can buy me some peanuts and crackerjacks,

In Search of a Title - 185 Days to Departure.

 

So...I'd say it's time to start planning again but it's way beyond that. I believe I am approaching this next trip later than I should be. Be that here nor there, It's still time. I had planned to circumnavigate North America this year, counterclockwise, to the four corners of the USA and a bit of Canada. Learning from my last trip however, I know now that I don't want to have such long days in the saddle and not enough time to see my surroundings. So I have decided to ride an abbreviated version of my four corners ride. I'm now going to do an east coast trip up to Newfoundland, and then ride the Canadian side of the great lakes to Wright, Minnesota, where I can relax on the family land and get some fishing in. The current thought process has me renting a U-Haul to get the bike back to FLA, without much fanfare.

The basic route for the trip has been plotted out, what I need now though is a title. I've been kicking around the idea of calling it "The Viking Run" based on a planned stop at L'Anse aux Meadows and the Viking tie in to the Land of 10,000 Lakes. 

Where I Trace My Bloodline - Brunswick, Georgia

 I left Helen, GA this morning and after about an hour or so was out of the mountains and heading in to the farms and lowlands of south Georgia, Two hours of today's riding was on pure highways, I16 and I95 south. Tomorrow I will cross over the state line and back in to Florida and this trip will be in the books. 

So I'll use tonight's entry to talk about the two other star players that made this trip possible.

First, would be the bike that has performed flawlessly touring me around the south and carving up curves and hairpins on some of the best motorcycle roads in the country. My 2021 BMW F900XR. When we pull in that drive tomorrow afternoon it will have earned a well deserved break, 

And second would be my wife Rachel who has been overly understanding and supportive of this trip. She put up with months and nights of planning and family research all to have me depart on the day of our wedding anniversary. This trip would not have been possible without her support.

Where I Trace My Bloodline - Helen, Georgia

 

This morning I woke up and prepped the bike for the Tail of the Dragon. There's a lot to be said for a road that has signs at the beginning that read "Extreme Danger" and "Caution: Dangerous Crash Area Ahead". I've wanted to ride the Dragon since I first heard of it, and even lived cloe enough that it should have been doable on a regular weekend. For what ever reason I had for not coming to the Tennessee/North Carolina boarder and try to battle the famed lizard; today there would be no excuse. 

The mountains of North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and Kentucky are chock full of roads with names Like "The Moonshiner", "The Diamondback" and "Copperhead Road" and now you can find twisty blacktop tracks known as the "Head of the Dragon", "Claw of the Dragon", "Back of the Dragon" and the amazing road I took a few days ago, "The Dragon Slayer"; but they all must pay homage to The Tail of the Dragon. An 11 mile run that crosses the border between Tennessee and North Carolina on U.S. Route 129.

The Tail of the Dragon, part 1

The Tail of the Dragon, part 2

So, yeah, it's a beast! It was an incredible ride and while I did have to pull over to let a few guys on sport bikes get by and a couple of Fiat 500 Abarth's, I also had to pass a few bikes traveling slower than myself as well. I guess if I had to describe this road in one word, it would be respect. You have to respect those riders who can carve up this piece of asphalt in short order and you damn sure better respect the road itself. There's a saying on the Dragon's Tail, "Watch the road, not the scenery", because this road will bite you.

Photos of bikers biting it.

The Tree of Shame

Dragon Slayer

I left the dragon's lair behind and made way for the town of Helen, Georgia with one last epic ride through a picture perfect mountain setting, following the turns and switchbacks along the Nantahala River.

The Nantahala River

I made it to Helen, GA around 2:30, my shortest daily ride of this trip and spent the afternoon walking the town with it's Bavarian themed shops where every day is Oktoberfest. Tomorrow I will put these wonderful mountain roads behind me and start to make my way to the flat farm lands of south Georgia and the curves are few and far between. Two more days and I'll be home.

Helen, GA

Where I Trace My Bloodline - Deals Gap, North Carolina

 This morning I got up and did some laundry before hitting the road. It was sunny and warm and a big departure from being soaked to the bone yesterday. I would be a great ride today. I checked in to the campground yesterday by phone from the bike and asked for a cabin versus trying to pitch a tent when I was already soaked and cold. That made for the right choice as the cabin had all of the needed amenities and was spacious and dry. I wound up getting a late start, leaving the camp at 11AM and heading west towards Harlan, Kentucky. I found Harlon to be an old city dropped in a valley surrounded by tall hills and I couldn't help but imagine how it must have bustled in the 30's, 40's and 50's. 

Harlan, KY

Leaving Harlan, I would have a three hour ride in front of me to my next location, the Dragon City Resort, strategically placed at the starting line of the Tail of the Dragon, I had a hot but dry run almost all the way to Dragon City. When I was about five minutes out it started to sprinkle and then drizzle a bit more as I neared my layover for the night. Upon arrival got of the bike in a light rain and unloaded my gear in to the room before the bottom dropped out. I hope I have that same luck tomorrow when I make my first ever ride on one of North Americas premium motorcycle rides.