Blue Ridge Motorcycling Magazine

Asheville

Asheville’s first female motor officer goes above and beyond

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Senior Officer Meg Donahue fastens her 20-pound belt, stocked with her gun in a holster, a baton, and other trimmings around her small frame after pulling her light brown hair into a messy bun so it’ll fit into her helmet. Her uniform, which only comes in men’s sizes, bunches near her knees before being neatly tucked into her black leather boots, a small reminder of her … [Read more...] about Asheville’s first female motor officer goes above and beyond

Gene Bell: Here to help, here to ride

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Clearly, Gene Bell does not know how to retire. At 73, he still works part-time for the organization he headed for the past 14 years, the Housing Authority of the City of Asheville. And he’s heavily involved in founding a new charter school in Asheville, PEAK Academy, which will focus on low-income, African-American students. The acronym stands for Prepare and Empower to … [Read more...] about Gene Bell: Here to help, here to ride

Wine Touring: Tasting the Crest of the Blue Ridge

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By Michael E. Gouge The Eastern Continental Divide in the Blue Ridge Mountains features some of the best motorcycling areas in the country. It reaches its highest point in North Carolina, home to one of the newest federally recognized wine-growing regions — and an excellent destination for those leisurely harvest-season rides. Heading south of Asheville along U.S. 74A, riders … [Read more...] about Wine Touring: Tasting the Crest of the Blue Ridge

The Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride: Sharp dressed men riding for a cause

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Of all the sensations felt while riding a motorcycle, perhaps the oddest was the flapping of my sport coat and necktie as I rumbled my way to the start of the annual Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride. The gleaming white-pearl and chrome Victory Kingpin, borrowed from a friend just for the occasion, rumbled happily down the autumn highway to the staging area as I wrestled to keep … [Read more...] about The Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride: Sharp dressed men riding for a cause

Hot Springs: A Strange Attraction Secluded in Western NC

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Something about the secluded valley draws them here, as it has for millennia, to the confluence of Spring Creek and the French Broad River, to where a rare hot spring emerges from the earth and ancient man painted symbols on rocky cliffs, to where paws, hoofs and feet formed the great Appalachian Trail. Some locals half-jokingly refer to it as “the vortex,” and today’s … [Read more...] about Hot Springs: A Strange Attraction Secluded in Western NC