Touring company handles all the details of your Blue Ridge Mountain trip

Motorcycle industry veteran Bill Kniegge spent 35 years in California involved in motorcycling and motor sports in one way or another, and always searching for those elusive "dream roads." Moving to North Carolina in 2007 opened the window to so many fantastic riding roads that Kniegge started a motorcycle touring company called Blue Strada Motorcycle Tours.

The roads in western North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia are ridden and talked about the world over. The sheer joy of riding them puts a grin on your face that simply never leaves. They are capped off by the Blue Ridge Parkway (www.blueridgeparkway.org), which is one of the most extraordinary roads in the world - 470 miles of winding, rolling, scenic asphalt, without one stop sign or even a billboard.

I've ridden about half of the Parkway, and it just never gets boring.

Blue Strada tours has brought people together from all over the world to ride motorcycles for five to eight hours, then to end the day in a historic farmhouse inn with four-star food and massive 160-degree views that stretch for miles, or creekside restaurants and lodges with fire pits to relax in front of and relive the day.

The Smoky and the Blue Ridge Mountains are part of the vast Appalachian Mountain range that extends almost 2,000 miles from eastern Canada southwest to Alabama. The range includes Mount Mitchell at 6,700 feet.

Blue Strada caters to riders who want to enjoy riding the fantastic roads of the Blue Ridge Mountains without a worry as to where to go, where to stay and, most importantly, how to avoid missing an important turn in the road. Discovering great food and hospitality along the way makes it more special.

The enjoyment can mean as few as three days or as many as 11. Most all tour routes include a trip to Deals Gap, North Carolina, a little village that is the gateway to the now-so-famous Tail of the Dragon, or U.S. Route 129, with 318 curves in 11 miles!

Trailering bikes is a fast way to get to mountain towns that are ideal for starting a tour, like Asheville or Little Switzerland, both in North Carolina. Or ride on down on your bike. Rental motorcycles are available, too.

So, get out of the rat-race of the city … and in just one day's ride, be in the mountains of the Southeastern U.S. Take advantage of a real motorcycle tour professional's experience and knowledge for the ride of a lifetime.

I'm going down south later this summer with some friends and Blue Strata tours has set it all up for us. Can't wait.

Contact Kniegge at (704) 292-8801 or visit online at www.bluestradatours.com.

• Email Glassman at KGHawkeye650@aol.com.