A Trip to Biker Heaven

Published in V-Twin Magazine, March 2008

Imagine heading up to the beautiful mountains of North Carolina for the Fourth of July. It’s known to be one of the best places to go for an awesome ride, but your bike is out of commission, needing some major engine work. To make it worse, add the fact that you will be spending a week with all of your in-laws, including eight kids under the age of seven, all under one roof. It’s enough to drive anybody a little nuts, right?

Now to be fair, I love my family, really I do. But a week, all together, with no bike? That may be asking a bit much. Thankfully my wife is not only beautiful, but very understanding. She practically demanded that I find a place up there to rent a bike for the week.

With the internet, it really is easy finding a place to rent a bike. If you know you are looking for a Harley, just check out the Harley website and you can find a listing of all the places to rent from, anywhere in the country. I knew which bike I wanted to rent, so after a little hunting around I found a dealer not too far from where we were going to be staying. I made a few phone calls and secured myself a nice 2007 Street Glide for the week from Tilley Harley Davidson in Statesville, NC.

I spent two days driving our big boys up from Ft. Lauderdale. I let my wife fly up with our new baby. Again, I wasn’t too excited about spending a week up there, but knowing that I was going to have a bike to satisfy my riding fix, I at least had something to daydream about. Finally we made it up to where we were staying, Blowing Rock, North Carolina.

The day after we got there, I headed over to the dealership to pick up my bike. It was a Sunday morning, and I was there as soon as they opened the doors. The rental manager, Kris Kerley, was great and had everything ready to go for me. Shortly after signing my life away on all of the forms, they gave me the keys and I was on the road. Almost as soon as I pulled off the lot I came to the realization that I was no longer in North Carolina…I had gone to biker heaven.

Having done almost all of my riding in downtown Fort Lauderdale, with crazy cage drivers, traffic jams, 90 degree turns, pancake flat roads and stop lights every 500 feet. When I drove off the lot at Tilley’s, I found myself on a rolling, tree-lined, two-lane road with nobody around but a few farmers and some horses. You just don’t get to ride on roads like this anywhere in South Florida. The weather was a perfect 75 degrees, with a little breeze. The bike, with its six-speeds, bigger engine, CD player and fairing wasn’t like anything I had ever been on before. Like I said…it was heaven.

I made sure to scope out a nice scenic route back to Blowing Rock from Statesville, which was only about an hour away. That is an hour away from the house with the in-laws. An hour away from the eight kids, and all the noise that goes with them.

So that hour ride back turned into two. And then, oops, I made a wrong turn that turned it into three. When I finally got back to the house, my cheeks hurt from smiling so much. It’s amazing what a little time in the saddle can do for your spirits, and your sanity.

Over the course of the next few days I would spend the mornings going on hikes with the family, hanging out at the parks and visiting the sights in Blowing Rock and nearby Boone. Then in the afternoons, when it was time for the kids to get a little rest, I hit the road.

While I was there, I was able to get a couple of rides in on the Blue Ridge Parkway. I usually headed south from Blowing Rock to a place called Little Switzerland. Coming from the straight, flat roads I was used to, it took a little time figuring out the tight cornering and changes in elevation. After awhile I was feeling comfortable and having a blast. It may have been my imagination, but when I was riding out on the Parkway, I’m pretty sure the bikes outnumbered the cars. I was able to meet a few other bikers enjoying the day whenever I stopped at the scenic mountain lookout points. North Carolina really is a biker’s heaven.

At the end of the week, it was time for me to bring the bike back. I made sure I left early in the morning so I could get a few more hours in the saddle before getting back into the minivan. The weather was perfect, just like it had been all week. When I got back to the dealership, the guy behind the counter didn’t even have to ask me if I enjoyed myself. The satisfaction was clearly written all over my face. I can only assume being where they are, they get a lot of city folk heading up there renting bikes, and they probably all come back with the same silly look of satisfaction that I had.

From now on, any family trips we take that I can’t bring my own bike, we will be adding a line to the budget for “Bike Rental”.

For information on renting a Harley Davidson from an authorized rental dealership, check out www.harleydavidson.com
If you are riding in the Carolinas, check out Tilley Harley Davidson at www.tilleyhd.com