Today myself and a co-worker decided to go on a ride in the mountains around Hanging Rock Park.  What resulted was six full hours of engine-flogging curve-eating wrist-damaging twisty goodness.  Trip report follows after the map of our route.

Mountain twisties near Hanging Rock Park, NC.

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This past weekend me and my friend David took advantage of the gorgeous weather and rode up in the mountains for an afternoon.  We headed towards Pilot Mountain in NC, then proceeded up to Virginia and rode along the Blue Ridge Parkway, eventually making our way through Stuart, VA before heading back to Greensboro by way of Ridgeway, VA.  I hope I’m recalling the sequence of highways accurately enough, because I was more concerned with enjoying the mountain twisties than paying close attention to where my friend was leading us.  All that matters is that we made it back whole and no worse for the wear (well, aside from a bit of a sore back from six hours of riding).  Below is a photo David was kind enough to take of me on Pilot Mountain (yes, I do wear that hat everywhere).

Pilot Mountain, NC, 2009-03-08

This morning I took a drive out to a town about ten miles northwest of Durham.  Along with me went a friend by the name of David and a wad of cash.  On the return trip we were light the cash, but heavier by 500 pounds of Japanese liter bike.  It’s a 1997 Suzuki Bandit 1200, originally equipped with a front fairing that was removed by the original owner to give a naked street fighter look.  It’s in pretty good shape for its age and mileage, and it’s an outstandingly fun ride, with sufficient torque that I rarely need to down-shift unless I am coming to a full stop.

In fact, so much fun is the Bandit that I rode about 80 miles of country roads on it this afternoon!  Here’s the route I took along some nice, scenic, low-traffic highway not too far from where I live.

So about two weeks ago, I packed up most of my things into my car and this cargo van:

Now that I’m more or less settled in my new apartment here in Greensboro, I took a few photos so you guys can assess my living conditions and evaluate whether visiting me will be a safe and sanitary experience.  Read on, fearless friend.

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I’m back from my trip to Seattle, Victoria Island, and Vancouver (the Butchart Gardens are absolutely amazing).  Sometime in the next few days I’ll probably sort through the 600-plus photos I took and post some highlights.  I’ve been busy as a bee this past week packing some of my things and cleaning up this place in preparation for my and my brother’s graduation party yesterday.  Tomorrow morning I am having four wisdom teeth pulled, so for the next few days I’ll be hopped up on pain killers trying to recover.  Maybe I’ll write the rest of the pages I intend to publish on the theremin while I’m recouperating.  Maybe not.

Something from yesterday that deserves special note is the gift my dear friend Genevieve gave to me.  It’s without a doubt the most meaningful present I’ve ever received, and I’ll treasure it for the rest of my life.  It is a hand-drawn collage of scenes from my experiences as a student and researcher at Georgia Tech.  Some of the images originate from photographs I took during my tenure there.  It will always remind me of the good times I’ve had these past four years and of my special friendship with the artist.  Thank you so much, Genny.  Words fail me.