LIKEing the Blue Ridge Mountains.

[klaviator]

Last week I headed up to Maggie Valley North Carolina for some riding with a bunch of other scooter fanatics.  I choose my Like 150i for this trip.  It's 285 miles there, much of it interstate so I cheated and put the scooter in the back of my truck.  I made it to the motel around three and one of my friends was already waiting for me.  By that evening there were six of us.



From the left, Buddy 125 from Michigan, Harley not part of our group, my Like 150i, Ninja 250 from Tennessee,  Burgman 650 and Yamaha majesty from Tennessee, Yamaha Xmax from Florida.  The only one of these guys I had met before in person was the guy on the Ninja 250.  In case you are thinking teenager on a Crotch Rocket, that guy is in his 70s.  I met the rest of these guys through the Adventure Rider forum and one through the maxiscoots forum.

This was us a dinner that night.



After dinner we hung out for a while at the motel. 

[klaviator]

So why Maggie Valley?  For one thing while much of the country was baking in 90+ degree temperatures, Maggie Valley was forecast for highs in the 70s.  Second, the roads around here are some of the best you can find anywhere.  I live in Alabama and the weather here was a nice break form the heat.

It was actually chilly the next morning.



The six of us headed off the next morning and rode a fun road to the Blue Ridge Parkway.

We took a break on the Parkway.



And took some pics.



I was leading the ride but for a little while the guy on the Buddy took the lead and I snapped some pics on the go.



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[klaviator]

We stopped at one point and I swapped scooters with the guy on the Xmax.   I got to ride it for several miles on the Parkway and then the winding road up to the top of Mt Mitchell.  The Xmax is a really nice scooter.  If I didn't already have my Majesty I would own one of these.  Overall it's a better scooter than the Majesty but my Majesty is paid for and is barely broken in with just under 20,000 miles on it.   The Xmax has a more comfortable seat, is lighter, smoother and get much better gas mileage than the Majesty.

The group in the Mt Mitchell parking lot.



I got back on my Like and we rode back to the parkway and got off and headed south on 80.  The parkway is nice but just doesn't have the curves of some of the roads like 80 that cross it.



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BTW, this Majesty has a car tire on the back.  It didn't seem to slow it down any.



We didn't all ride at the same pace on these twisty roads so we stopped and waited for the slower riders at all turns.



We rode some super twisty roads and ended up at our lunch stop in Little Switzerland.

[klaviator]

After lunch we took off just as a thunderstorm was moving in but rode through to dry roads in just a few minutes.  Some time later while while on a very fun road way out in the sticks we came to this.



Oh Crap!  I didn't know the area that well and had no maps.  I pulled out my phone and........4Gs!  Google maps showed us where to go and the road we used as a detour was a fun road.  I may use it next time I ride through that area.

Another stop waiting for slower riders.



We stopped in Hot Springs because the weather looked nasty ahead.  Sure enough, weather radar confirmed it.  So we hung out for a while.



When we did continue on we hit some wet roads but no rain.



Total mileage for the day was around 300.  My butt was a little sore.  My Like used just over 3 gallons of gas.

A couple more days of riding to go

[klaviator]

On day two we gained three more riders.  Another Xmax from Ohio, a Silverwing from Tennessee and a Vespa 250GTS from Alabama.  The guy on the Vespa just bought it, his first scooter, a few weeks earlier and this would be his first real ride on it although he had put about 900 miles on it just riding around town for 5 weeks. 



We started up riding up to the BRP and stopping at Waterrock Knob.



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We got off the parkway at the first exit and headed for some seriously twisty roads.  If you have heard of the Dragon, it's easy compared to some of these roads.

Sorry I was too busy leaning left and leaning right to take any pics.  We did stop at a lake and I got some pics there.



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We rode some more twisty roads.  There wasn't mush traffic but we did come up behind a slow moving car (They are pretty much all slow moving on these roads)  We stopped and let the car get down the road so we could enjoy the curves.



Another photo stop.



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We got separated by a light in a town we went through and I took this pic:

[Stig / Major Tom]

How far did the guy on the Buddy come from?!
Thanks for sharing.
Stig

[wbdvt]

was the guy on the xmax from Florida Bill L.?

[klaviator]

How far did the guy on the Buddy come from?!
Thanks for sharing.
Stig

Michigan, over 800 miles.

[klaviator]

I rode ahead and stopped on a curve to get some action shots.

Buddy 125.



Xmax.



Ninja 250.



So why was there a sportbike on this ride?  I have been riding with this guy for many years and he has owned a couple of scooters. 

Vespa 250 GTS



I won't post all the pics here.

We rode a mile of dirt/gravel road.  I managed to get an over the shoulder shot.



Another photo stop.



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[klaviator]

To set up for the next part of this ride I'm going to quote a post made in the Battle Scooters section of Adventure rider:

"After nine over-night trips to the hospital, five stents, a pacemaker, ICD, and a bunch of other heart issues, I sold my motorcycle a few months ago. Last month my cardiologist sent me back to the hospital for another heart cath and the team concluded my only hope was a transplant. I said I wasn't interested, and asked how long I have... he said he'd start in-home hospice because he figured I had less than 6 months... so I talked to my sons and they asked what was on my bucket list... I said hangin' out with my grand kids and riding a bike again... so I'm doing both... last week I bought a slightly used 2007 Aprilia Sportcity with only 1160 miles on it..."

That's a pretty sobering post.  Well since the post was made he sold the Aprilia and bought a Kymco Grand Vista 250.  He saw the planning thread for this ride and wanted to meet us for lunch.  So I picked a route and set up a meeting spot.

BTW, that post above was made three years ago.

When I pulled into the parking lot I was happy to see a red Kymco scooter parked there.

Some pics from that lunch stop.

Steve and his Grand Vista



We had tables outside right by our bikes.



Group shot.



And one with me in it.



It was the longest ride Steve had done in years.  We all hope that his health improves enough that he can join us on a ride some day.

[klaviator]

was the guy on the xmax from Florida Bill L.?

Yes.  He was delivering a used truck to his son in Illinois to he brought his scooter in the back, rode 2 days and then drove to Illinois and delivered the truck.  From there he rode to Wisconsin and then back to Florida.

[CROSSBOLT]

Thank you for sharing that ride here, klav! What you reported is what it is all about! Now, I must ask about the black streak whifferdills in the scenic pull-out where you guys stopped on BRP: which one of you did THAT? And Steve is an inspiration to enjoy life to the fullest whether the forcast is for six days or indeterminate! Good for him! Thank him for me!

[big blue]

Thank you for the photos and the fine write up. As a post open-hearter myself I get the love of riding and life itself.

[klaviator]

Thank you for sharing that ride here, klav! What you reported is what it is all about! Now, I must ask about the black streak whifferdills in the scenic pull-out where you guys stopped on BRP: which one of you did THAT? And Steve is an inspiration to enjoy life to the fullest whether the forcast is for six days or indeterminate! Good for him! Thank him for me!

That must have been the Guy on the Buddy 125.  He was a real hooligan!

As for Steve,  Yes he is an inspiration.  His thread is here: https://advrider.com/f/threads/back-in-the-saddle-again.1169129/

[klaviator]

Thank you for the photos and the fine write up. As a post open-hearter myself I get the love of riding and life itself.

For the first several miles after lunch we were on any easy road and I reflected on how lucky I was to be out here riding on this beautiful day, through fantastic scenery, with a great group of friends.  It's far too easy to take it all for granted.