We just got back from another 1,000 miles on the road. This Vintage 1000 took us through the backroads and woods of the Blue Ridge Mountains - covering some incredible trails, river crossings, and the best lush green forests of the Southeast.
Day 1 on The Vintage 1000. Just under 200 miles of dusty trails, river crossings, and plenty of wrenching in the woods. One of our favorite parts about the Vintage is the variety of motorcycle. From purpose built XLs and XTs, to CLs and even a Harley Aermacchi! Day 1 had some great riding and just enough breakdowns to keep us on our toes.
Day 2 on the @vintage1thousand was just under 200 miles. A slightly shorter day as we headed further North through the mountains and woods. Fun trails with some light rain here and there. Camp that night was in Maggie Valley, NC right on a river looking out to the mountains. Today’s repairs included annealing @keatontattoo’s head gasket on his BSA with some help from @bsamatt. Rick rode his 100cc 2 stroke Penton all the way from Ohio along with Nick on the 2 stroke Harley and @sunsetoutpost on his XL350. @onedownfourup may have had my favorite bike and setup.
Day 3 on the @vintage1thousand was epic. Early morning on the road, fog so thick our visibility was just the bike in front of us. Eventually cleared up once we hit the mountains, but watch for slippery bridges, water crossings, and a bit more technical trails than usual. Slippery rocks too, momentum is key. Pick a good line too and don’t stop. Later in the day we finally hit the Blue Ridge Parkway. Great views, then off the pwky down into the woods for camp. Real close to a waterfall! The support van secured @moonbeam_mike’s CL450 rebuild kit and everyone got busy lending a hand. @_calebcan @commonmotor @dontstop @sunsetoutpost Heard they were up till 3am putting the motor together…
Day 4. The morning started with the moment of truth - seeing if the CL450 would run. We gave it a push start at camp and wouldn’t ya know - it took right off! We hopped back on the Blue Ridge Parkway and continued through the woods. We headed south back into the Georgia mountains and soon hit some great trails. More river crossings too. Eventually made it to camp on Blood Mountain, down in the woods by a creek. We arrived to unfortunately find the CL450 back on the trailer… turns out the cam-chain had chewed a hole right through the front of the motor…
Day 5. The last day is always bittersweet, a mix of exhaustion and wanting to keep riding forever. Another solid day riding from North Georgia back to Chattanooga. More challenging trails in the morning soon caught up with us as Bob's Yamaha XS400 cracked it’s subframe. Nothing we can’t handle, we divided up his luggage and Randy got busy reinforcing the frame with straps. From there it was smooth sailing through the remaining trails and backroads into town. The remaining groups soon rolled in before day and another successful Vintage 1000 was in the books.
