hubcap's 2021 meet-in-the-middle pictures

[hubcapsc]

Ross (RNFWP) and I met up in northern Greenville county, one of the
three South Carolina counties at the edge of the Blue Ridge mountains.
Off we went towards Marion NC to pick up the crazy HiWay 80 up to the
BRP. We rode the BRP all the way to HiWay 18 right there at Sparta. The
weather was GREAT and the traffic on Friday was almost non-existent.









I made up a route and loaded it into the BFGPS before I left.
Several folks wanted to give it a try so off we went on this
loop on Saturday...



https://goo.gl/maps/WwQ2AvUcYoHSh8NU9

We went down all kinds of good and traffic-free roads...







We, of course, came to a dirt road... one of those kind where
it's like D'OH! its not like you can just go around... we all
talked about it and everyone was game...









We got to the end and everyone was still happy.







Ross and I left Sparta on 18, jumped over to 16 and made our
way west on some roads that avoided the holiday traffic and
had a great ride home...

-Mike

[robin]

In true fashion a dirt road awsome Mike

[Oss]

that is awesome  Thanks for the pics and report

sure beats cleaning out a flooded basement or getting kicked upside the head

[hubcapsc]

Two quick replies from my friends who I've been thinking
about since the news reported how the storm became so
dangerous in the North... I hope y'all are OK...

-Mike

[carolinarider09]

I'd like to try that route some time.  But would like to avoid the dirt part (yeah I know).  Can you sort of tell me where it was on the route? 

[hubcapsc]

Can you sort of tell me where it was on the route?

Somewhere before Speedwell maybe? I tried to vet the
roads for dirt when I was plotting the route - that area
seemed to have a lot of unpaved roads...

-Mike

[carolinarider09]

 

[msb]

Nice lookin' roads (you do seem to have a penchant for leading others up dirt roads, however this one seems that it was halfway decent at least ). Thanks for posting...always great to see where others ride

[The emperor has no clothes]

I keep thinking how big that farmhouse seems. I always get envious of how many roads you guys have back there. Another nice report 

[3fan4life]

Nice lookin' roads (you do seem to have a penchant for leading others up dirt roads, however this one seems that it was halfway decent at least ). Thanks for posting...always great to see where others ride

It wouldn't be a ride with Mike if a Dirt Road wasn't involved at some point. 



You did good though Mike, it was an enjoyable ride.

Thank You, my friend! 

[Jess from VA]

Thanks for the report.  

Who was riding the skip loader in back?    



Sorry I missed it, again.  Too many things going on, and I have no front tire tread left.

[3fan4life]

Thanks for the report.  

Who was riding the skip loader in back?    



Sorry I missed it, again.  Too many things going on, and I have no front tire tread left.

I'll be glad to help you change out a front tire.

Just say when.

[Jess from VA]

Thank you Mark.

I got a tire sitting at a shop down near Fredricksburg (hopefully) and have been waiting to get it done.

[hubcapsc]

Thanks for the report.  

Who was riding the skip loader in back?    

Sorry I missed it, again.  Too many things going on, and I have no front tire tread left.

That fellow just happened to be coming down that side "road"
when I got there. I asked him "how much longer till pavement?"
and he told me it was easy going from there and only about a
half mile. He was right, it came out at a nicely paved road that
even had some lines painted on it.

I got some tires recently. I ordered an Avon Cobra for the back of
the 1500. It is scheduled to arrive in about two months! In the
meantime, I went for it and got a Shinko SE890 Journey, it came
right away. It looks fine to me. I'll take it over to the Suzuki
shop and get it mounted soon. I also ordered a front for the
1800. Not much available. I got a Metzeler 888. I ordered the
Metzeler and the Avon through the Suzuki shop, they've
been my tire go-to for the last three or four years since I
quit mounting them myself. He told me that this year is
"ten times worse" than even last year, in terms of availability
and wait on parts and stuff in general.

I was glad to get the Shinko, the Suzuki guy couldn't get one.
I was looking on line for a couple of other things...

Want some Diamond Gusset motorcycle pants? None available.

Want a Shoei RF-1400 helmet? I see where to get a
funny-shade-of-blue one in my size.

This whole availability thing extends to stuff people actually
need and not just motorcycle toys...

-Mike

[..]

Thanks for the report.  

Who was riding the skip loader in back?    

Sorry I missed it, again.  Too many things going on, and I have no front tire tread left.

That fellow just happened to be coming down that side "road"
when I got there. I asked him "how much longer till pavement?"
and he told me it was easy going from there and only about a
half mile. He was right, it came out at a nicely paved road that
even had some lines painted on it.

I got some tires recently. I ordered an Avon Cobra for the back of
the 1500. It is scheduled to arrive in about two months! In the
meantime, I went for it and got a Shinko SE890 Journey, it came
right away. It looks fine to me. I'll take it over to the Suzuki
shop and get it mounted soon. I also ordered a front for the
1800. Not much available. I got a Metzeler 888. I ordered the
Metzeler and the Avon through the Suzuki shop, they've
been my tire go-to for the last three or four years since I
quit mounting them myself. He told me that this year is
"ten times worse" than even last year, in terms of availability
and wait on parts and stuff in general.

I was glad to get the Shinko, the Suzuki guy couldn't get one.
I was looking on line for a couple of other things...

Want some Diamond Gusset motorcycle pants? None available.

Want a Shoei RF-1400 helmet? I see where to get a
funny-shade-of-blue one in my size.

This whole availability thing extends to stuff people actually
need and not just motorcycle toys...

-Mike

1800 front Shinko  777 130 60 19

Feels more connected to the road than the Commander I took off.

[RNFWP]

As always... thanks Mike. I had a blast.
Here's some photo's to go along with yours.

Careful... don't step backwards...


One of the stops along the way...



Different view of the end of pavement conversation.


Blue bike parking area... hey Britman 

[hubcapsc]

-Mike