Category Archives: General

News that doesn’t fit other categories.

Ready to Make Your Mark?

Not too far away for a long day-trip, the Maker’s Mark Distillery is a worthy diversion located in a mecca of motorcycle roads.

Maker’s is Bourbon. And Bourbon comes only from central Kentucky. All bourbon is whiskey, but not all whiskey is Bourbon. It’s got to do with the location and the method of production.

Maker’s Mark is a type of Bourbon called ‘wheated’–the majority of Bourbons are made with rye. Maker’s is made with wheat. It’s like the difference between rye bread and wheat bread. Maker’s is smoother and sweeter. The others are somewhat bitter.

But to see the Maker’s made, you’re going to need to find Loretto, KY. Start looking for Bardstown, then follow roads south. You’ll eventually see Loretto. It’s tiny. To find the distillery I suggest finding good directions. Don’t rely on your GPS, or you could find some of the roads that we did. Did you know that they make single lane blacktop roads? Aside from photos of Ireland, I had no idea there were any here in the U.S. Indeed, there are, blind curves, hills, and all. Fortunately we didn’t meet any cars along these winding ways, or I may have met my maker. Do as I say, not as I do. Ask for directions!

You’ll find an enjoyable tour which explains more than you may care to know about the particulars of fermenting, distilling and aging their Bourbon. Be sure to check their website for particulars on the tours before embarking on your trip.

http://www.makersmark.com/

Historic reproduction farmhouse

Even if your tastes don’t run to the spirits of distilled fermented grains, you’ll find a rich landscape of preserved buildings and a beautiful grounds.

Experience it firsthand

The reward awaits you at the end of the tour!

But the real reward is a day on two wheels enjoying great roads with great friends.

Want more? Discover a few more bourbons on the Bourbon Trail and have your Passport stamped at each of them.

http://www.kybourbontrail.com/

Man sues BMW for 20-month erection after bike ride

In an attempt to bring you hard news about BMW motorcycles how could I leave this out? This was not reported by The Onion but by USA Today. Henry Wolf of Sausalito, Calif. filed the lawsuit against BMW North America and Corbin-Pacific in California Superior Court in San Francisco.

This lawsuit could be a sales boost for both BMW and Corbin. Read all about it.

Roads in Brown County — Things are not always as they appear to be

DNR gate at the end of Comb's Road

This should come as no shock, but I thought it was interesting and worth sharing. 

Just be careful as you plan trips around Brown Co. The roads on your GPS, DeLorme Atlas and Google maps may not be open.

The photo above was taken on Comb’s Road just outside of Elkinsville. 
This is what you currently see on Google Maps. Point ‘A’ is the location of the gate and it appears the road goes on through.
It’s been closed due to lack of county maintenance funds. I spoke with some locals who were very nice and told me the gate opens with a key making it accessible for handicapped hunters through the DNR. But lose the notion of going around with your bike. If they catch you on it otherwise you’re going to be in trouble. And according to the guy I spoke with he wouldn’t attempt it on his trials bike! Before the roads were closed, they were throughly trashed by 4×4’s and then erosion has taken a toll, as well.
The lack of maintenance funds has also meant some roads reverting from pavement to gravel–which is a good thing for GS purposes! 
The gravel roads that I found were uniformly in excellent condition, otherwise. But many of them ended in similar barricaded dead ends. DeLorme/Garmin/Google/NavTeq have a lot of updating to do!
Funny aside, just to get the first photo I went a ways down a pretty normal gravel road. Then the gravel got a little thinner. Then there was an old trailer parked in a meadow. Then it turned into what looked like somebody’s driveway, but no posted signs for end or road or private property, etc at any point. Then there’s a horse just standing and grazing, unfenced in this driveway. A small stream crossing and the road changes to a little more trail-like covered in horse droppings going along side a fenced pasture. Then the gate pictured above pops up! There was a small turn-around/parking area there. Maybe for hikers/mountain bikers?
-Dallas Peak

Hard Eight BBQ

I highly recommend the Hard Eight BBQ in the Dallas area. There are other locations in Texas too. If you love BBQ, you will love this place.
[google-map-v3 width=”400″ height=”400″ zoom=”12″ maptype=”roadmap” mapalign=”center” directionhint=”false” language=”default” poweredby=”false” maptypecontrol=”true” pancontrol=”true” zoomcontrol=”true” scalecontrol=”true” streetviewcontrol=”true” scrollwheelcontrol=”false” draggable=”true” tiltfourtyfive=”false” addmarkermashupbubble=”false” addmarkermashupbubble=”false” addmarkerlist=”688 Freeport Parkway Coppell, TX 75019{}restaurant.png” bubbleautopan=”true” showbike=”false” showtraffic=”false” showpanoramio=”false”]