The Triumph Adventures

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Trips for 2025

Yes, it has been a while since I posted. I have been riding but mainly rides in the local area (within 100 miles of home). Nothing really to report that I have not written about before. I have not really done anything to the bike either (it is running great)

Dives

OuterSpace

I came across this place while on my ride last week through the back roads of Virginia. Technically I guess it is a Food Court since it contains BootlegBBQ, RevolutionJuice, and Space Cafe. This is an outdoor drinking and dining establishment and it is quite unique. When I got there,

Adventures

Fancy Gap - Day 5

Woke up this morning and realized it was a sad day...I had to go home! I got up early and noticed some noise on the roof. No, it could not be rain. The forecast said it was to be clear through the weekend...so much for weather forecasting. Yes,

Adventures

Fancy Gap - Day 4

My final full day here at Fancy Gap and I want to get in a lot of riding. The past two days have been great. Totally different areas, roads, and scenery. Today I have no official map/plan but I will be heading north and towards Roanoke. My plan is

Adventures

Fancy Gap - Day 3

It is going to be hard to beat the ride I had on Day 2 heading up to Tazewell. Yes, the Back of the Dragon was good but actually all the supporting roads I travelled were phenomenal. It is amazing what you can find if you look hard enough. Today&

Adventures

Fancy Gap - Day 2

It was a bit cool last night. I am not sure but it got really close to the 30s. The sun does not rise until about 7:45 so it stays cold for a long time in the morning. I planned on heading out about 9 but changed my plans

Adventures

Fancy Gap - Day 1

Decided to take a quick small trip this fall since I had not really gone anywhere this year. Been taking a lot of local day trips but nothing where I was spending days on the bike (which I love). I knew I did not have a lot of time so

Dives

John's Place

A friend of mine took me to this place and what a gem. When we turned in, I thought we were getting gas but it turns out, there is a bar in here. It is not really apparent from the first glance but this is a great place to grab

Dives

Thomas Street Tavern

I was meeting up with some folks to do a afternoon ride and the meeting spot was the Thomas Street Tavern. I have been here before but only to get a beer. I arrived a bit early so I could get some lunch and try out their food. I ordered

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Motorcycle Hand Signals

If you Google this topic, you will get quite a number of hits from a wide selection of sites. So why write another article about hand signals if there are already many sites spelling it out for you. Because so many folks STILL are not using hand signals when needed

GearTalk

Calimoto - A Smarter Route, GPS, and Tracker

I have tried many different app that will create routes, track your route, record you route, and a host or other options. The problem is that each one always seemed to fail in one major category (or another) making it difficult to use. Every time I find a new program

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The Aftermath of Hurricane Helene

This is more of an apocalypse than an adventure but I feel compelled to write about it since it affects MANY areas I typically ride and camp. Hurricane Helene roared through our area last Thursday evening/early Friday morning and it was devastating. I live in Concord, NC which is

Blog

My Triumph Tiger Rally 1200 Explorer

I just realized that with all these posts, I have never really talked about the bike I ride on a daily basis (ok, I mentioned it in The Bikes section). If you have read any of the bio information, you would know that in high school and college, I rode

Adventures

Let Fall Begin - First Ride 2024

After yesterdays epic ride for the last ride of summer, today is another beautiful day so back on the bike once again. This time it will be a group ride lead by someone else. There were 8 bikes/riders in total and we were going to ride all the back

Adventures

End of Summer Ride

With another nice Saturday upon us, two us decided to have another all day ride session. This time, we covered over 360 miles with riding saddle time of over 8 hours and 45 minutes. And what a day it was. The weather was perfect with temperatures around 85 and a

GearTalk

Power That Phone

About 6 weeks ago I wrote about the SP Connect phone mount. At that time I did not wire it up for charging as I wanted to see if I really liked the mount first. Well, I really do like it. I have always used my phone for directions along

Adventures

Riding to Nebo

The cooler weather will be upon us soon so taking advantage of the nice temperatures is a must. The big issue, for me, is that in the Fall, it is also college football season (I have season tickets). This knocks out quite a few Saturdays for myself but it does

Dives

Dooley's Tavern

I have stopped by here a few times for a beer but this was the first time I stayed and had lunch. Located in the historic Smithey Hotel building, it serves a variety of American dishes, including popular items like the "Pimento Cheese Burger," wings, and the "

Dives

Stooges Pub & Grub

I wanted to get in a quick ride one evening and a friend wanted to as well. Decided to meet up in Mint Hill. I left a bit early so I could get a quick bite and decided to try out Stooges Pub & Grub. It is a popular local

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Dunlop Trailmax Mission Tires - UPDATE

The Dunlop Trailmax Mission Tires are a popular choice for dual-sport and adventure riders looking for a tire that offers versatility and durability on both pavement and off-road terrain. After approximately 4,000 miles of use, here is my feedback (here is my initial review of the Dunlop Trailmax Mission)

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Be Careful on the Open Road

We all know that riding a motorcycle can be exhilarating and offers a unique sense of freedom on the open road. However, this excitement comes with risks, particularly when drivers of other vehicles fail to obey traffic laws. Among the most dangerous behaviors for motorcyclists are cars running red lights

Adventures

NC Hills and Twisties

A friend of mine and I decided to take a good long ride this past Saturday and we wanted to ride up in the hills. Lucky for us, there are some really nice roads that lead up to the mountains. These roads are full of beautiful view and LOTS of

Blog

Tune Up Tuesday

In Charlotte, there is a local motorcycle group called CLT Assembly. It is just a bunch of folks with all different bikes and personalities. It is actually a very fun group. One feature which I really enjoy is called Tune Up Tuesday. Tune Up Tuesday allows for anyone to fix

Dives

Tamarac Marina

I love riding to this place. It is more than a marina. It is a gas station, restaurant, store, and bar with fantastic views ALL in one place. Plus the ride getting their is all back roads with twisties and nice wooded views. The food here is also very good.

Adventures

Quiet Ride in the Country

It was the last Saturday in July and I could not believe my luck. The high was going to be around 85 with nothing but sunshine (a rarity as of late - we got over 10" of rain in July). I had not been out for a good long