USA East 2006: Third Annual Travellers Meeting

Robbinsville, North Carolina, USA, June 15 - 18, 2006

The Plan

Rally Location - Where is it?
Information about the area
Local hosts, information
Meeting sponsors

Short History of HU Meetings

The Plan

The general plan is simple. Show up Thursday or Friday, have a drink, tell some lies, have another drink, eat at a reasonable hour, then slide shows are planned.

2006 speakers:

• Ramona and Uwe Krauss, Germany, 5 years on the road - so far; "Two years in South America - and what we learned about the best places to go"
• Lee Allison, NC, "Great rides in North Carolina"
• Lee Allison, NC, "Baja Asylum Ride 2006"
• John Therkelsen, "A first foray into adventure motorcycling, USA to Panama."
• Merrill Glos, "USA to Ushuaia and Back"
• Grant Johnson , "the basics - how to ride around the world - or just to the next country" 3 hour presentation. Yes I will be there! :)
• Gerardo Ibarra, Mexico/USA, the "Ruta de la Sierra Alta" the off road trail into Mexico he and several others rode last year, the Hachinera pre-event for the HU Creel Meeting, why go, and what you need to know to go and have a great time!
• Michael Jordan, USA, "Riding the Alps - what do you need, and why go?"
• Tom Presten, "Arctic Circle, Fulfilling a Dream" and "Atlanta to Cancun at 40, or How to Talk Spanglish"
• How about you? Let us know if you have something to show! Volunteers wanted! It's easy and fun, we'll even help you out.

Tech sessions, Saturday/Saturday night:

• Grant Johnson, Tire changing and flat prevention - we need a volunteer with wheel and tire! :)
• Ramona and Uwe Krauss, and/or Grant Johnson, "Photo Composition for Travellers - the one everyone SHOULD take, but no one does..."
• Merrill Glos, "heading south, border crossings and route tips"
• How about you? Let us know if you have something to show! Volunteers wanted! It's easy and fun, we'll even help you out.

• Volunteers for anything else? Some suggested subjects :
  • First Aid for travellers
  • Laptops, uploads, files, communications on the road...
  • GPS
  • If you have experience with any of the above, or any other subject of interest, and would like to talk about it informally, (no fancy presentation required) please let us know

There will be slide shows Friday and Saturday night , so come early and make it a great weekend! We will probably have a DVD or two for Thursday night as well.

Leaving on a big trip in 2006?

Plan on leaving from the Meeting! We'll make it a great send-off! Or coming home around the time of the Meeting? What a great place to arrive at!

All times - and everything - approximate!

Thursday

CHECK-IN and sign up for Saturday and Sunday breakfast, Saturday dinner!

There will be at least a motorcycle travel video in the evening, and lots of opportunities to meet up with others and go for on and off-road rides.

Self-guided Ride details
Tail of the Dragon / Cherohala Skyway Loop ride

Friday afternoon/evening

CHECK-IN and sign up for Saturday and Sunday breakfast, Saturday dinner!

Self-guided Ride details
Tail of the Dragon / Cherohala Skyway Loop ride

A guided ride, led by Lee Allison:

"The ride I mapped out is 140+/- miles. It is very tight both gravel and paved roads for the most part except for a couple 6-8 miles sections. There will be a number of 'bail out' points to return to Ironhorse. Best suited for XR650, KLR, 640 Adventure, DR650, DRZ400. I have riden all these roads on 950 Adventure as well and the big Tigers, GS's etc should be fine for anyone but novice off-roaders. All on roads, no single track. Plan on min moving time of 4-5 hours. The roads are tight and mostly 2-3-4 gear stuff."

And there'll be more too! Book your place as soon as you get there, numbers will be limited.

Friday night

6:00PM
Dinner

7:00 pm
Speakers presentations

Saturday morning – late check in

8 – 10 am - Breakfast

10:00 – Self-guided Ride details (see sheets at check-in for times for guided rides) and tech sessions.

Local riders have put a lot of effort into planning some great rides, so get on the lists early!

We also hope to have a few travel oriented vendors there, so a great opportunity to have a good look at the latest goodies. Vendors please contact me for details.

Road Ride : "Tail of the Dragon / Cherohala Skyway Loop" - we did have a ride leader, unfortunately he's now going in for surgery the day before. If you want to ride it yourself or in a group the ride starts early Saturday morning, 9AM. Full Details on the Tail of the Dragon / Cherohala Skyway Loop ride, and route information .

Saturday afternoon,

Tech sessions:

• Photo Composition
• Tire repair
• ?? See the list at check-in!
• Volunteers wanted to conduct tech sessions - please contact me here

Saturday night,

6:00 pm Dinner (Buffet)

7:00 pm
Speakers presentations

Sunday,

Time to slowly ride off into the sunset, err, rise...

The Meeting Location for 2004 - 2006

Iron Horse Motorcycle Lodge, Cabins and Campground
1755 Lower Stecoah Road,
Robbinsville
North Carolina 28771

For more information:
Telephone: 1-828-479-3864
Email Ironhorse Lodge

More info on their website, and a review of Iron Horse in "Motorcycle Consumer News." (128kb .pdf)

Getting There - GPS, Maps

GPS Co-ordinates: N35 deg 23' 20", W83 deg 40' 38"

Iron Horse is located in Graham County, North Carolina, on Lower Stecoah Road just north off Highway 28. A short 30 minute ride to the Tail of the Dragon at Deals Gap and the scenic Cherohala Skyway, two of the best motorcycle destinations in the United States.

more maps here