Here I am once again thinking about how fortunate we are to be able to escape the winter in Cape Breton, NS, and feel the warm rays of a southern sun as we experience the freedom of riding a motorcycle practically 12 months of the year. After the wheels fell off the world two years ago and the homebound restriction of last winter, we were so pleased to load the H-D Road Glide into the trailer and head for Florida in December leaving our wonderful Cabot Trail behind to the ravages of the snowy months. While the Trail is a wonderful venue for living and riding in the summer, we much prefer the sound of a V-twin engine to that of a snowmobile. To each their own, but snowmobile suits are not to be found in our closets.
While we enjoyed riding both the interior and coasts of Florida as well as the excitement of Daytona Bike Week, Sharon and I constantly found ourselves discussing the epic roads we had experienced in Eastern Canada, Southwestern Arizona and New Mexico. As all riders do, we were looking for places that stirred our souls and left us with memories of the freedom that a motorcycle affords us. The traffic-filled roads of Florida, while great for avoiding snow, just don’t lend themselves to creating great riding memories. A decision was made to find something on our way home that would cause us to smile just at the thought of our experience.
Looking for Riding Locations
Out came maps and the Google machine, as well as weather guides and Facebook pages in search of adventures somewhere away from the I-95 corridor and not so far west that we would need extra weeks of travel. After all, spring was rumoured to be arriving to Eastern Canada soon, and we didn’t want to miss that.
Having nothing to base the decision on other than information gleaned from a multitude of sources, we decided to check out the Appalachian and Great Smoky Mountains. One has to remember that when you ask a motorcyclist for his or her suggestion of the greatest road to ride, you will be inundated with so much information you will basically be left with … Huh? We are just wired that way. We want to help each other so much that we sometimes end up confusing things. We all have to adopt…
