North Carolina

A collection of 75 posts

May/Jun '15 Premium Content

Iconic Roads: Blue Ridge Parkway

May/Jun '15 Premium Content

North Carolina: Boone Town Mountain Loop

Back in RoadRUNNER’s August 2014 issue we introduced our Budget Touring Project Bike. The goal was to prove how affordable motorcycle touring can be by purchasing the cheapest road worthy motorcycle we could find and take it on tour. We bought a 1984 Honda Shadow 700 for $ 1,000

Jan/Feb '15

City Escape: Charlotte, North Carolina

> Leaving the hustle and bustle of the Queen City, it doesn’t take long to find curvy, scenic mountain roads that will delight any motorcyclist. There are several interesting stops along the way, but this loop is all about the ride. The area’s moderate climate makes this route

Jul/Aug '14 Premium Content

Reader Ride-North Carolina and Tennessee: Riding the Dragon’s Tail

Mar/Apr '14 Premium Content

Little Switzerland, NC Shamrock Tour®: The Parkway's Hidden Gem

Western North Carolina is a mountainous area where the Blue Ridge Parkway slices through the state on a northeast to southwest diagonal. An ideal setting of endless curves and fun in these mountains creates a natural playground for motorcyclists. Fifty miles east of Asheville, NC, right on the route, is

Sep/Oct '12 Premium Content

Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee: Thunder Roads

Let me tell the story, I can tell it all, About the mountain boy who ran illegal alcohol, His daddy made the whiskey, son he drove the load, When the engine roared, they called the highway Thunder Road. - Opening excerpt from the “Ballad of Thunder Road” Dangerous two-lane roads,

Nov/Dec '11 Premium Content

Ellijay, Georgia Shamrock® Tour

I knew that Florian and I were in for a great Shamrock Tour® when I woke to the softly layered Appalachian mountains stretching out in front of our hotel, with a twisting two-lane highway cutting an inviting path between them. Four days later, parking our Harley-Davidsons for the last time

Sep/Oct '11 Premium Content

Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee

It doesn’t take much to prompt a tour at the RoadRUNNER offices, especially after an unusually cold winter – at least by our thin-blooded Southern standards – has been keeping us annoyingly close to home. So when coworker Florian called and announced that two Can-Am Spyders were in dire need of

Nov/Dec '10 Premium Content

Shamrock Tour® - Bristol, Virginia

A late spring tour in the southern mountains often brings rainstorms along for the ride. On the way to Bristol, the dark and ominous clouds chase us wherever we go. Then, finally, in Jefferson, the rain gets a hold of us and doesn’t let go until we get back

May/Jun '09 Premium Content

Coastal Carolinas

As fall leaves swirl, the prospect of closing out the riding season becomes all too real. Shorter days and colder temperatures effectively squelch the freedom to just ride away on a whim. But occasionally, autumn will tease out one last enticing forecast that offers just enough room to roam. Bidding

Jan/Feb '09 Premium Content

Shamrock Tour® - Bryson City, North Carolina

Remember recess? It was every kid's refuge from the old three Rs. Fresh air and freedom reigned and rules were the exception. Unwinding was your sole responsibility and frolicsome fun ensued for no apparent reason. Most motorcyclists know how to get that feeling back and many of them

Mar/Apr '07 Premium Content

North Carolina: Nags Head Revisited

Up until a few months ago I didn't have any fond memories of Eastern North Carolina. The unfavorable impressions that I retain spring from long-ago drives to Nags Head on the Outer Banks  -  dull, dispiriting trips taken in old, mephitic cars packed with battered musical equipment and

Jan/Feb '07 Premium Content

The Flight of Davis and Lee

From the beginning of the American Civil War, "On to Richmond" became the rallying cry of Union troops. The Union victory at the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863 was a turning point in the war, and the bulk of both armies eventually entrenched and fought around the cities

Sep/Oct '06 Premium Content

North Carolina Mountains

In my younger, more impetuous days, my old buddy Rich and I were known for embarking on road trips that often defied logic in their timing and execution. Never sticklers for details, we'd throw caution to the wind and, on a whim, hit the road with reckless abandon.

Mar/Apr '06 Premium Content

North Carolina: Slow Down, Look Around

We never stopped at South of the Border when I was a kid. Dad was one of those psycho travelers. Bladders could be emptied only when fuel tanks were filled. Motels were always dark places and I only saw them during midnight check-ins and pre-dawn check-outs. Mom was sympathetic about

Jan/Feb '06 Premium Content

Old Salem to Williamsburg via Virginia Highway 40

Ah, vintage motorcycles  -  No matter how well you plan and prepare, nothing seems to quell the mischievous nature of the little gremlin that seems to reside in all things carbureted. An irksome imp whom I oh-so fondly call #*@%^$ occasionally visits my 1978 Kawasaki KZ650C. Unfortunately, the little rat decided

Jan/Feb '06 Premium Content

Charleston to Cincinnati

Well mama said, "Son before you goThere's something I want you to doPromise me that you won't go wrongAs you travel down Highway 52."With a map spread across our table at a rooftop bar in Charleston, South Carolina, we began calculating the daily

Nov/Dec '05 Premium Content

A Gem in Eastern North Carolina

We had planned to tour this historic area of the North Carolina coast for quite a while but the weather was always too uncooperative, making us reschedule the trip week after week. Finally, when The Weather Channel virtually guaranteed a stretch of sunny days with no rain, we quickly packed

Jul/Aug '04 Premium Content

Appalachian Trails

Most riders and drivers prefer to wait for autumn's cavalcade of color for scenic tours along the Skyline Drive and Blue Ridge Parkway. In the summer, these outrageous roads are packed full when loads of city slickers escape the lowland humidity for picnics and maybe some napping in

May/Jun '04 Premium Content

High Country Roads

On a cool October morning as I leave my home in Mayodan, the place where the Mayo and the Dan rivers converge, my hometown in the northern Piedmont of North Carolina seems a long way from the Carolina high country. I'm excited though because I know that in

Spring '02 Premium Content

North Carolina Coast

With the new Le Mans and Stone (on loan from Moto Guzzi) beneath us, Christa and I put them through their paces on a treasured trip along the North Carolina Coast. Goose Bumps Late in the afternoon, with some 80 miles to travel, there's little time for us

Fall '01 Premium Content

Nantahala

A half a million years ago, tectonic plate movement in the Atlantic Ocean caused a massive upheaval of solid granite that eventually became the Appalachian Mountains. These lofty peaks at one time were over 100,000 feet high. Exposure to the elements, the many epochs of glaciation, and time itself

Fall '01 Premium Content

Shamrock Tour® - Dillsboro, North Carolina

Deep, hanging clouds at 7 a.m. and the heavy raindrops tell us we have to wait. Some four hours later, the wait is over and it's time to call Garry, and start our tour of the Nantahala National Forest. We meet at my home in Clemmons  -

Spring '01 Premium Content

Deals Gap

'Hey guys, tomorrow something exciting is going to happen,' remarks 'Tiger' Christian at dinner, putting on a smug smile like a Cheshire cat sitting in front of its Christmas turkey. It doesn't matter that it is only October. Somehow, everyday is Christmas in the

Spring '01 Premium Content

A Day on the Road

Brrrrr...my alarm clock is ringing. Half asleep I blink at my watch. What! seven o'clock already? Right, we planned a motorcycle trip - Christa, my wife, Gerald, our friend, and me. This tour will be a little trip in the surrounding area of Winston-Salem, North Carolina. A