In the shot above, Al Bullman gets his camera out to capture the scene below Looking Glass Rock by Hwy. 276 in the Pisgah National Forest north of Brevard, NC. This was around the second week of October, 08 - cool temps, no bugs, light traffic - it doesn't get much better than that.

It's like being a kid in a candy store - living here in the mountains of western North Carolina is living the dream, whether you're a hiker, a cyclist, a kayaker, a backpacker, or a devotee of riding fast over twisting asphalt backroads. Riders travel here from all over the world to ride the legendary Dragon, aka Hwy. 129, that snakes aroundt the western end of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The Dragon has around 318 curves (the number varies according to the source) in about 11 miles of twisting mountain asphalt.
On most weekends during the warmer months, you'll find hundreds of bikers and drivers hanging out along the Dragon, especially in the vicinity of Deals Gap, just a few hundred feet below the Tennessee line on the North Carolina side of the Dragon. It's a fun place to visit, (and the food at the Deals Gap Resort is really good!), but for riding, I prefer the thousands of miles of backroads that lace other regions of western North Carolina, eastern Tennessee, western Virginia, and northern South Carolina and Georgia. It's one big twistie playground, and I'l try to deliver a taste of some of my favorite rides in these pages. In some, I'll lay out specific routes, while in others, I'll simply offer a few shots of things that I enjoyed seeing along the way - discovery is a big part of the adventure, and I really don't want to deliver a step by step description of each ride. However, if you would like more info about some of the topics, feel free to contact me. Motorcycle touring is a terrific low-impact way to enjoy the southern mountains. I've gotten back into it after a long absence. I raced in motocross, enduro, and flat track back in the 70s, but being around for my daughter as she was growing up was more important that hitting the track each weekend. I'm not sure what it was that gave me the bug this time, but here I am with a Ninja in the basement. Now I'm looking at upgrading to a more touring oriented ride - either a Vstrom or a Beemer.

Update, Feb. 2009: The switch to a new ride has been made, with a 2009 Kawasaki Versys being the choice for this year's riding season. It was a toss-up between the Versys and the WeeStrom ABS, with the Versys winning out. Both bikes are great for adventure touring, with similar performance, and both offer a wide range of touring accessories. I really wanted ABS, which isn't available for the Versys yet in the U.S. for some reason. It's standard in Canada and Europe and hopefully, Kawasaki will see the light and make it available here as well. There was one WeeStrom with ABS available at a dealer in Asheville, but the deal that I got on the Versys was much, much better than what was offered on the Wee.
Leaving the Ninja behind was tough. It was a really sweet, incredibly fun ride that provided over 13,000 miles of fun over the 7 months that it spent in my 'stable'. I got a great trade-in on it to boot. It cost me about $1,500 for a full season of riding, not counting of course, the many expenses that crop up when you start outfitting your bike to suit your personal needs.

Ninja 500 vs. Versys 650: Both rides are sporty, fast and comfortable. The Ninja has existed virtually unchanged since its introduction in 1988. Any bugs that it might have had in the past have been eliminated. It has a retro look that some like - I did - and some hate. It's carbureted, while the Versys has fuel injection. However, the dependability of the Ninja made that a non-issue for me. It was great to be able to simply hop on the bike and go without ever having a worry about whether or not it was going to perform properly. The biggest negative of the Ninja was the lack of aftermarket options, especially of the touring variety. The tire size was another - I didn't have many options in that regard. Performance wise, the bikes are pretty well matched. The Versys has a lot more torque in the mid-range, but fades out around the century mark where the Ninja would still be rockin'. I think that the Ninja was probably tiny bit faster through the quarter mile, but the Versys would probably out pace it on the road, so long as the top end doesn't enter the picture. Personally, I loved the handling of the Ninja. It reminded me of a good flat track racing machine, with a low center of gravity, making it easy to kick the back end loose on a smooth dirt road. Drifting sideways through a turn on a dirt road was a lot of fun, and I never felt that the bike came close to letting me down. The Versys, with its high stance and seat height, doesn't feel as comfortable (to me) on a dirt road, but that will no doubt change as I grow accustomed to its personality. The power delivery of the Versys is steady and strong across the power band, while the Ninja really came alive between 8,000 and 10,500 rpms. I miss the surge of power on the Ninja that I'd experience when it hit the sweet spot. It reminded me of a four barrel carb kicking in on the 60s muscle cars. The seat on both bikes leaves a lot to be desired, but after years of doing century rides on bicycles and competing in mtn. bike races, I'm not complaining. However, if I decide to keep the Versys, I'll probably go for a Corbin aftermarket saddle. Insurance is half the cost for the Versys that I was paying on the Ninja - about $200 a year for full coverage. (Being older than pond scum helps out a lot in that respect.) I have to wonder about what sort of criteria that the insurance industry uses when setting the rates. It seems to vary widely from one company or agency to another. I use Progressive and I'm very satisfied with their package.
Overall, comparing the Ninja to the Versys is like comparing apples to oranges. I love 'em both, I'm going to really miss the Ninja, and I feel that I will feel the same about the Versys. The Ninja felt like it was built just for me from the moment that I hopped on it, while the Versys is going to take a bit of getting used to. I'm 6'5" and weigh around 220 and one thing I loved about the Ninja was how easy it was to toss around on a dirt road. It handled so well that I could coast down my long steep driveway backwards with my feet on the pegs without ever fearing losing control. I can't do that - yet - on the Versys. Oh, one more thing that was almost a deal breaker when choosing between the Vee and the Wee - you can't get a center stand for the Vee. That makes maintenance, especially chain lubing, a real pain. I picked up a paddock stand, but I still prefer a center stand.
I'll post some more impressions of the Versys as the miles build this season. It's gonna be a very good year!

Hot Springs 145 mile Loop Ride Oct. 17, '08.	The Lair of the Dragon - Hwy. 129
The New Ride - 2009 Versys	The Cycle World International Bike Show in Greenville, SC Feb. 21, 2009
The birth of KawasiMoto! A rainy day project - Happy Trails panniers, crash bars, and bash plate.	More rides over the backroads in the mountains of North Carolina.
Oct. 12, 2008 Fall Colors Ride	Mt. Mitchell Loop Ride, May 25, 2008.
\ St. Paddys Day Peach ride in the South Carolina Foothills, March 17, 2008.	Riding to Del Rio, Tennessee, March 20, 2009. "I'll be back..."
March 22, 2009 Foothills Ride Through Horse Country near Tryon, NC.	Early 2009 spring rides in North and South Carolina - 4 pages.
April 18, 2009. A return to Del Rio, Tennessee with Jonathan on the Vees. Beautiful warm spring weather, miles and miles of dirt roads through the mountains, and a new chow spot in Hot Springs. 200 miles of great mountain touring - doesn't get much better than that!	April 26, 2009: A ride to Hurricane Gap near Hot Springs, North Carolina with the VeeThree. Wow! Mud, twisties, springtime, crashes, and 212 miles of mostly mountain riding.
April 25, 2009: 212 miles of mixed pavement and dirt roads as Al and I ride through the Great Smoky Mountains and Harmon Den on the way to Del Rio, Tennessee. A great ride on a beautiful spring day - it doesn't get much better than this!	May 2nd and 3rd: Riding the Storm Out - a wet weekend of dodging storms in western North Carolina. And we stayed dry!!!
Spring 2009: Stuff from my local rides - the rides that I do when time is short. It's world class riding though, and I'm always thankful that I live in such a beautiful place. If you're bored in western North Carolina, you're probably brain dead as well...	May 9, 2009: A stormy spring day's ride to the new Chimney Rock State Park.
May 10, 2009: A quick run through Robbinsville to the Dragon with Jonathon.	May 15/17, 2009: The 8th Annual Eastern ADV Rendezvous near Del Rio, Tennessee. Lots of riders, lots of fun...
May 30/31, 2009: A weekend camping trip to the Meadows of Dan, just off of the Blue Ridge Parkway in the mountains of western Virginia. I stayed at the Willville Motorcycle Campground - one of the best campgrounds that I've ever stayed in.	June 12, 13, 14, 2009: The first southeastern Versys riders gathering in Tellico Plains, Tennessee.
June 27, 2009: The Blue Ridge Motorcycle Camp in Cruso, North Carolina.	August 2009: Rides in the Great Smoky Mountain region, with twisty roads, elk, blueberries and beekeeping. Beekeeping???
Summer Rides, 2009: A mix of rides in the southern highlands.	Autumn 2009: Some shots from a Foothills ride around the Lake Lure/Chimney Rock region.
November 14, 2009: A ride from home to the Wheels Through Time Museum in Maggie Valley, NC.	Feb. 20, 2010: Finally, a warm day! So... I head for the high country to enjoy riding through the snow-covered mountains.