The Ups and Down of a Transplant Rider

Originally Published in Southeastern Rider Magazine, April 2016

This past summer, 2016, my family and I picked up from Danville, Indiana, a small town west of Indianapolis, and moved to a small town east of Charlotte, North Carolina. I had lived in Indiana since birth, covering a lot of miles of the Hoosier Landscape.  I can only think of a couple Indiana’s ninety-two counties that I have not visited on two wheels.

I called this tricky little bit of pavement "Sheldon's Switch". It
is on Sheldon Road, not too far south of Indianapolis.

I already know what you are thinking about riding in Indiana: nothing but straight roads that divide  The Hoosier National Forest and many limestone quarries consume a lot of the southern land. The southern border with Kentucky winds along the Ohio River.

corn fields. With lots of exploring, I was able to find a lot of great roads in the nineteenth state. Indiana can be characterized into three sections: The north section delivers that farm land, and long straight roads that are the boundaries of crops, and often meet and turn at right angles. The northern tier also has some of the larger lakes in Indiana, providing a bit of scenery, and forcing those who created the paths to curve around the bodies of water. The mid-section, featuring Indianapolis, has a lot of urban areas, but also features winding roads along rivers. Harsh spring and winter conditions forced builders of the early crossings of these rivers to span them with Covered Bridges. A lot of them remain today, making them a great destination for photos, and fun challenges to cross. Finally, the southern section, where most riders flock, feature the early rolls of land that become the mountains to the east.

When you do find a good road in Indiana, you spend most time turning the handle bars left and right. You can often find yourself on long stretches without having to pull back on the clutch level, nor move a foot to shift a gear.

Any relocation is met with feelings that are bittersweet. While I know there are lots of stretches of Indiana asphalt I will miss. Those memories are being overwhelmed by the excitement of new adventures.

A view from Morrow Mountain. It didn't take long for us to
find this popular motorcycle destination.

My first real ride out into Tar Heel Country wasn’t a long a trip. I admit, I was little afraid of road quality, and getting lost. My step son was riding on the back, and we only had an afternoon to explore the Carolina country side. We ended up doing a loop around Baden Lake and touring the Uwharrie National Forest. I wanted to find a way down to the shoreline, but only found roads made of dirt and gravel. We still had an enjoyable time, but I left feeling there is more to explore here.

In Indiana, you’re lucky if autumn lasts more than weekend.  You’re even luckier if it happens on a weekend, or at least a day you have free to ride. The leaves can go from green, to full color, and on the ground in less than a week. I was pleased to see the trees in Piedmont holding on to their leaves in full hue. So on a free day, I headed out solo to see the third season in the south.  There were a lot of scenes that looked familiar.  I mean a farm along the side of the road looks like a farm in many states. When I adjusted my glance up the horizon however, my eyes were filled with a background I wasn’t used to seeing, distant mountains kissing the blue sky.

A scene from the Carolina Balloon Festival. One of our first big trips out
into Tar Heel Country.

A later adventure with my favorite riding partner, and significant other, Kristen, was to attend the

opening evening of the Carolina Balloon Festival. Not sure if I can recommend this trip on a motorcycle or not. We sat in a lot of traffic and had to run along a dirt road and then grass to get to the area designated for motorcycle parking. Once the gondolas began to lift and drift across the cloudless Carolina sky, we forgot all about the wait. On a side note, this festival was another instance we experienced just how nice the people of Carolina can be. We had several pleasant conversations with those who borrowed the free space at our picnic table.

Another pleasure of riding in Carolina is that you can use the bike more days of the year, like in December. The first time we went for a group ride was early in the last month of the year. We rode over hour to get to a meeting spot. We met everyone, and knew we would enjoy riding and socializing with these fellow riders. The ride got underway and it wasn’t long that we were winding just a few miles from our house. After lunch, we journeyed to a favorite spot of ours that’s just twenty minutes from our new southern home. I’ve come to find out that if you own a motorcycle in North Carolina and don’t know about Morrow Mountain, then apparently you’re not a real rider. At the top of a winding road up to the state park’s look out, is a large parking lot. On this visit, it was full of bikes!

Indiana has one of the largest collections of Covered Bridges. With most of
them out and around small towns, and on scenic back roads, they make a
great motorcycle destination, and backdrop.

So July 2016, marked the end of three decades of cruising the Indiana landscape on a regular basis. North Carolina memories, with the added dimension of the Y Axis, are already being added to the odometer. By the way, I keep a blog of most of my motorcycle rides, and if you would like a possible preview of my next essay, than check it out: http://rodneysmcblog.blogspot.com/