June 9, 2007
46 miles
Asheville RTEDay 2
Saturday
I left the Super 8 motel in Marion, NC with plenty of time to make it to Asheville for the RTE. Many of you may be asking what is an RTE and why would I ride 611 miles to go to one... There's been a few guesses... Ride The Expressway, Road To Excitement, Route Thru Exeter, Right To Eternity...
Interesting guesses, but none were correct. Of course the correct answer is... RIDE TO EAT!
It's just something that some motorcycle riders do. What would be a good reason to get on the bike and ride a few hundred or a few thousand miles? Of course ... Food and Like-minded Friends! An RTE can be called by anyone for anywhere. This one was called by my friend, Barb, from Pearland. She was in Asheville for a BMW-RA Rally, so she called an RTE at the Texas Roadhouse next to her hotel. Great idea! Fourteen showed up from places like Virginia, Texas, Florida, Kentucky, Illinois, etc.
After the RTE lunch, Barb talked me into going to tour the Biltmore Estate with her. She even offered me one of the beds in her hotel room for me to stay over in Asheville for the night.
After eating and tire kicking...we head over to the Biltmore Mansion to see what we can see. Here is the entrance to the Biltmore Estate. I follow Barb ...
We ride a couple miles in before we find the visitor center. After getting my ticket, we continue deeper into the estate to the mansion.
We thought how cool it would be if these had been our bikes. But our motorcycles were parked nice and legal in the parking lot. If you are wondering what the sign says ... "No Parking"
See the fine detailing in the architecture.
The BMW RA Rally was held on the Biltmore grounds. It is the first time they have ever allowed camping on the property. About 3,000 paid rally participants showed up. I was not one of them...so make that about 3,001 motorcyclists riding around the Biltmore Estate.
What would that look like...a lot of BMW Riders buzzing around Biltmore...?
See the fine detailing in the architecture. The BMW RA Rally was held on the Biltmore grounds. It is the first time they have ever allowed camping on the property. About 3,000 paid rally participants showed up. I was not one of them...so make that about 3,001 motorcyclists riding around the Biltmore Estate.What would that look like...a lot of BMW Riders buzzing around Biltmore...?
So much for the "no parking" sign. We all know that BMW riders are "special" !
The exception was made for the Rally's closing ceremony..and a great photo-op!
By the time we walked back to our rides in the parking lot...which was also full of more motorcycles, most of the numbers cleared out around the Estate. So we took our turn for a photo-op!
After a quick shower at the hotel, we walked a few blocks to The Depot for supper.
Tomorrow: How do you ride a snake?
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