Star City of the South: Roanoke, Virginia
Surrounded by the ancient peaks of the Blue Ridge Mountains and buffering the hustle of Interstate 81, Roanoke, Virginia (pop: 100,011) is a cultural and outdoor gem in Southern Appalachia. Once a large-scale railroad hub, the city itself remains an economic beacon for much of the bucolic, rural landscape in Southwestern Virginia. Nowadays, the metro-area…
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The Blue Ridge Mountains: Of what was and shall ever be
North Carolina is a collection of wonderful regions and places, from the mountains to the sea. Each is different of course, with its own geography to be savored…
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Flying on the ground: A tour to the Helen Balloon Festival
I have motorcycles. A bunch. New ones, old ones. And I ride a lot, nearly every day. Short, far, sometimes for months at a time. Riding is its…
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Touring the two Virginias: Seeing new life in the Bluefields
A few days earlier, a buxom, wet and nasty bitch named Helene came our way up from Florida, uninvited and unwelcomed, and for many people in many places…
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Helene’s Wrath: Fleeing the Aftermath With a Weeklong Odyssey
On the third day with no power, no water and no more ready-to-eat food, I looked at my Yamaha Tracer 9 GT sitting there with nearly a full…
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Alabama adventure: Letting the music fuel the ride
I’m piloting my Yamaha Tenere 700 briskly in a westerly direction on Alabama 281, also known as Cheaha Road. I can’t shake a disorienting feeling of déjà vu…
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Smoky Mountain 500: Carrying my icon on iconic roads
Wanting to ride the Smoky Mountain 500 across Georgia, Tennessee and North Carolina for about four years now, I finally made plans with a riding buddy. Then that…
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Going MADBR: Wildlife, water crossings and adventure
“Seven, not three.” I was saying in my helmet as we paddled knee deep across what turned out to be the last…
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The Smokies: Over, under and around
A morning breeze off the Oconaluftee River in Cherokee, North Carolina, eases the rising summer heat as I head north on U.S.…
Ride to remember: A Tennessee couple’s philanthropic adventure to Alaska
Stretching through the breathtaking landscapes of the Canadian wilderness, the Alaska Highway unfolds like a rugged canvas, inviting motorcyclists to traverse its…
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Old school camera captures: Craftsmanship and the Copperhead
In the quiet of the thawing winter on a sun-filled Sunday morning, I brushed the dust from the Bonneville and wheeled the…
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Looking for Andy: Exploring Mount Airy, the real and fictional Mayberry
For those of us in the bifocal set, a breezy ditty whistled as a tall man with an enviable shock of dark…
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