Riding in the Eastern US

[BanannaMan]

Originally Posted by tonyk

Bill,
you said "It's only 469 miles long but cannot be ridden in one day. (seriously) " so do you camp or is there hotel where you spend the night.
If your camping, what about the bears ?.

Originally Posted by gruntygiggles

Camping with bears around is fine...so long as you are meticulous with how you handle and dispose of any food you have...there are other concerns, but it is also possible to camp safely over there.

There are hotels and campgrounds just off the Parkway in several locations and some campgrounds on the Parkway.
However most privately owned campgrounds do not allow motorcycles. There are a few motorcycle only campgrounds, but mostly the Harley crowd there which may or may not be sportbike friendly.
The campgrounds on the Parkway are owned by the US and open to anyone but most offer very spartan accommodations and facilities.
I stay in hotels as most riders here do.

What GG said on bears.
Truthfully, even though there is a large black bear population, your odds of seeing one is only slight unless you have some food they can smell at your campsite or you are at a high bear traffic location.
Bears tend to avoid humans and are generally not aggressive towards people unless provoked.
Still if you go there often enough, sooner or later you will see one a little closer up than you'd like so best to know about bear behavior should you be camping or stopping in a high bear traffic area.
The places where bear sightings high are marked with signs but people do camp there safely every night.

Originally Posted by gruntygiggles

Bill, those roads look amazing...I cannot wait to try them out. Haven't had a catch up with you for ages, so hope all is well over there, seems like you are getting some good bike time in

Hope things are fine there as well.