Back in 2019 I set up a few says of scooter riding in Maggie Valley, NC. I called to the "Beat the Heat" Scooter ride because I had noticed from watching weather forecasts that Maggie Valley was so much cooler than just about anywhere else in the southeast. Highs were normally in the 70 or low 80s in July and August. I also knew from experience that Maggie Valley was surrounded by some of the best riding in the country. We had 10 riders for that event and I decided to make it an annual event. We had around 30 people attend in 2020 and 2021. For 2022 I decided to call it a rally even though it was not a typical rally. There were no T shirts, stickers or handouts to give the people who attended. This was more a gathering of friends and riding some of the twistiest paved roads in the country.
2022 was the 4rth annual "Beat the Heat" event and looked to be the biggest yet. High temperatures for the week were expected to be between 73 and 80 degrees while much of the country was sweltering in 90+ degree heat.
This is my story of this event:
July 30, 2022.
4 AM
After over half a year of planning and a year of anticipation I woke up early knowing I would soon be on my way to the 4th annual Maggie Valley, "Beat the Heat" Scooter rally. Yes it was early but there was no way I would be able to go back to sleep so I got up, ate breakfast, finished loading my truck and loaded my ADV150 into the back. I was on my way by around 5:15
Traffic was light and the drive uneventful. I arrived at the AHoliday motel before 1 and I wasn't the first one there. The room I would be sharing with Steve was ready and Steve had already moved in. We got one of the large rooms which was actually 2 separate bedrooms sharing a Bathroom, Refrigerator and microwave.
I Offloaded and then hung out watching as more people showed up.
Jim came down from Virginia with his new Vespa HPE.
Unfortunately when he removed the Bar Harness he discovered it had pulled the starter switch right out of it's housing and he was afraid he might miss the week of riding. Fortunately one of the attendees was a master mechanic and was able to fix it. it would not be the last bike he fixed during the week.
This is John who left Fort Worth at 4PM on Saturday and rode his XMax through the night to arrive here at around 1. I think he rode close to 1000 miles to get here. Now that's hard Core.......or maybe just crazy
Rich broke 5 ribs a couple of weeks ago dual sporting here near Maggie Valley. No riding for 6-8 weeks while his ribs healed
He planned on coming up in his truck and at least socializing. Rich is one of the few people who have attended a 4 of these events.
I guess that's better than sitting around at home but it would suck not being able to ride.
I don't know what's more hard core, John riding through the night from Ft Worth to get here or Rich.....
Yeah!! Rich wasn't going to miss this. He brought his Vespa and planned on riding
I suggested maybe he should ride with the slow group and he looked at me like I had two heads!
That wasn't going to happen
2022 was the 4rth annual "Beat the Heat" event and looked to be the biggest yet. High temperatures for the week were expected to be between 73 and 80 degrees while much of the country was sweltering in 90+ degree heat.
This is my story of this event:
July 30, 2022.
4 AM
After over half a year of planning and a year of anticipation I woke up early knowing I would soon be on my way to the 4th annual Maggie Valley, "Beat the Heat" Scooter rally. Yes it was early but there was no way I would be able to go back to sleep so I got up, ate breakfast, finished loading my truck and loaded my ADV150 into the back. I was on my way by around 5:15
Traffic was light and the drive uneventful. I arrived at the AHoliday motel before 1 and I wasn't the first one there. The room I would be sharing with Steve was ready and Steve had already moved in. We got one of the large rooms which was actually 2 separate bedrooms sharing a Bathroom, Refrigerator and microwave.
I Offloaded and then hung out watching as more people showed up.
Jim came down from Virginia with his new Vespa HPE.
Unfortunately when he removed the Bar Harness he discovered it had pulled the starter switch right out of it's housing and he was afraid he might miss the week of riding. Fortunately one of the attendees was a master mechanic and was able to fix it. it would not be the last bike he fixed during the week.
This is John who left Fort Worth at 4PM on Saturday and rode his XMax through the night to arrive here at around 1. I think he rode close to 1000 miles to get here. Now that's hard Core.......or maybe just crazy
Rich broke 5 ribs a couple of weeks ago dual sporting here near Maggie Valley. No riding for 6-8 weeks while his ribs healed
I guess that's better than sitting around at home but it would suck not being able to ride.
I don't know what's more hard core, John riding through the night from Ft Worth to get here or Rich.....
Yeah!! Rich wasn't going to miss this. He brought his Vespa and planned on riding
I suggested maybe he should ride with the slow group and he looked at me like I had two heads!
That wasn't going to happen