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Mountain Camping on a '78 xs400


Follyworks
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Having finally gotten my bike all tuned and running well, I decided it needed to be put to the test - 4 days of riding in and around Shenandoah National Park in the Appalachian mountains. The main road through the park is over a hundred mile long, windy and hilly, surrounded by trees, wildlife, and occasional breathtaking views, snaking along high ridges the whole length of the park.

I have to say that the bike handled it all pretty well - these were roads where light and maneuverable are an asset, though camping gear strapped to her made it a bit more unwieldy then usual. Fortunately, I packed light. Averaged just shy of 60 mpg, and had no real mechanical issues.

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Out for some day hikes, and stopping to enjoy the view. The saddlebags are modified military surplus bags, on a custom built bag mount (having welding tools and the skills to use them comes in handy sometimes!)

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Loaded for travel. sleeping bag made for a decent backrest, and my tent-ish gear is tiny, so the load is minimal.

I came back with tons of photos, though few of them include the bike, a sunburn on the back of my neck, from between the bottom of the helmet and top of my jacket collar, and a fresh appreciation for the plan of always bringing rain gear, no matter what the weather forecast says.

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Nice...

How high is that?

the peak in the background there is Hawksbill Mountain, and is about 4000 ft in elevation. Looking a differnt direction from the same overlook, I could see the valley below, at something like 1200 ft in elevation. The ground drops off fast in some of those places.

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