[crisco2]

I finally took a long trip on the Wing, I rode from Florida to Tennessee, covered Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina and I drove Highway 129, the Tail of the Dragon (NC to Tennessee) twice while pulling a trailer. I covered 1,661 miles of which 1,000 were in the rain but it was still a great ride. I did learn a couple of things,

#1 its not any fun going by myself on a long ride, really wished my wife had gone or at the very least another motorcycle to ride along with. I know some on here prefer to ride alone but I didn't enjoy that part of it.

#2-I pulled a trailer and I wished I had left it at home. The trailer allowed me to bring a lot of stuff and I was able to bring my Dad several cases of Tru Aide orange drink back home as its only sold in western NC. however I didn't need half of the stuff I brought and it would have been a better ride (for me) if I had not taken the trailer.

When I arrived at Deals Gap to ride on the Dragon several people told me that I would never make it on the wing pulling the trailer but I decided to go for it and I went slow and steady and I had no problems. The only time I even became a little nervous was when a crotch rocket rider passed me at about 60mph, just crazy and I have video of it. When I got to the western end at the Harley store I stopped for something to drink and fueled up for the ride to Asheville and a group of riders began talking to me about the Wing and trailer and several of them said I should count my blessings and go west to I40 instead of going back over the Dragon. That group left 10 minutes before me and as I got about half way across one of the riders in that group, but not one that I had talked to, had crashed because they were going to fast around one of the up and down curves. Luckily no injuries except for his pride.

one of the roughest rides was up to the parking lot of Chimney Rock, NC, that road was only about 2 miles but is was very narrow two way traffic with no lane divider and the road was covered with pot holes and poor repair jobs of other pots holes. I will say the road from Asheville to Chimney Rock (SR74) was fantastic and was just as demanding as the Dragon with very little traffic.

 

[Chopin]

Welcome back and thank you for that honest report. I too prefer a few other riders on a long haul. When my local buddy Mike did the 4 Corner Tour he also mentioned having a bud to keep one going would have been nice. Don and I left Robbinsville on Monday for the 540 mile ride home mostly in the rain. I like to think he kept me going and I did the same for him. You see where you're standing in that picture ? A group of us from here were at that same spot on Sunday, May 13 in the rain!

 

[EFINREF]

Thanks for the report Crisco. I have made long rides alone and with a riding partner. I enjoyed both but have to admit the trip with Ralphumor was easier and more enjoyable. The May 13 trip we did was the best. Even in the rain.

 

[blk93wing]

Well if you enjoyed your first long trip and arrived back home safe and sound, I'd consider it a plus. The more long trips you take, the more you will learn. You'll be able to trim down the amount of stuff that you didn't need and remember to take stuff that you may have forgotten. Consider this ride your learning curve.

Get used to pulling a trailer. I've found out that traveling that kind of distance with a co-rider, pulling a trailer is a plus. If you encounter rain, it makes packing the bike a lot easier. Just throw your bag(s) in the trailer and close the lid. No shuffling stuff around in the saddlebags to get them to fit. And for some reason you seem to bring home more stuff than you started out with.

My wife and I did an end to end ride of the Blue Ridge Parkway not too long ago, pulling our trailer and did it pay off. Heading home, just past Knoxville we ran in rain. By the time we hit Corbin, KY we had to pull off the interstate as it was raining too hard to see. Luckily I had my laptop in the trailer that I pulled out under a gas station overhang and got a signal to check the weather radar. I saw that we'd have a break in the rain to escape and if we didn't take it we'd be laying over for the night. We left back out once the rain slowed and got out of it a few miles down the road. By the time we hit Lexington, we had dried out expect for our feet, but who could tell we had wet feet when we found a place for dinner.

You should be able to drag that trailer just about anywhere, though a swivel hitch may be nice in the tight twisties. A standard hitch has about a 45* travel where as a swivel hitch you'd have 360* travel(not that you'd want to take advantage of that).

How often does your wife ride with you? Does a long trip interest her? Pick a weekender trip for the TWO of you with somewhere that she is interested in. Our first long trip together was Niagra Falls, about a 4-4.5 hr ride. Take plenty if rest stops, at least one every 1-1.5 hr. If you take it easy and make it enjoyable for her, your trips should be able t longer/ farther. We took our longest trip from Cleveland,OH to Key West, FL and back. At first she was on the fence, but once we did it, she said she'd do it again.

 

[detdrbuzzard]

nice ride report crisco. for my first road trip i took fossils advice, less is better. i use to do otr trucking so riding by myself is not an issue for me

 

[crownfire]

Great report but as I’m sure you will hear more picture please! I agree having a buddy along is better. I took a long trip this spring and while I did enjoy myself it felt lonely at times.

 

[budoka]

Great report. It's funny how some people interpret pulling a trailer as an ungainly beast to control. Properly loaded and not mis-handled they are hardly noticeable...as you found out. On solo trips (which were somewhat rare) I never took my trailer, just a tent & bed roll.

 

[BobRyder]

Thanks for the report. even though could have been better for you in some ways,,, it sounds like it was still an interesting and enjoyable trip. take it.