Barber Road Trip! 10-6-11

[dt]

It’s not too early to start planning your trip up/down to the Barber Vintage Festival from October 7-9 at the Barber Motorsports Park in Leeds, Alabama (just east of Birmingham). I had a great time last year and highly recommend. This place is worth the trip alone if you just go for the World Famous Barber Vintage Motorcycle Museum (one of the three largest in the world!).

If you want a ride partner on the way up, I’ll be heading out early on Thursday, October 6. Long day…10 hours of actual saddle time assuming weather doesn’t slow things down. Not yet sure if I’ll stay to Monday or not. It's still early and Barber doesn't have the full schedule up yet. Last year it was lots of vintage racing (AHRMA sanctioned on and off road), swap meet, auctions, vendors, but I still came back on Sunday.

Links for info below…hotels will fill quickly; the ones in Leeds are probably already full.

Festival Home Page: http://www.barbervintagefestival.org/
Vintage MC Museum: http://www.barbermuseum.org/index-full.php
Hotels: http://www.barbermuseum.org/accommodations.php

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The ticket processing is now up and running, but the event schedule still isn’t posted. Daily tickets are $20 for Friday and $25 for Saturday and Sunday, and the three-day ticket is $40 (same as last year). Camping reservations at Barber are in the ticket link when you go to the Festival homepage above. I booked at the Hilton at Liberty Park, Birmingham (11 miles out).

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Brief article in McUSA from yesterday on the Barber Vintage Motorcycle Museum with a Photoblast. >> CLICK << Surprised they didn't mention the upcoming vintage festival.

Here’s a SLIDESHOW from my first trip to the museum last May. Very cool place. 

[dcameras]

I hope you have a great time. I am involved with the Thomasville Flyin every year taking pics and helping in other areas as well and it falls on the same weekend as the Barber Festival each year. I am hoping to see plenty of pics from your trip up there though..

Ride Safe...

I couldn't resist..I had to watch the slideshow again of the pics from your trip to Barber last May. Now I am going to have to look at the ones I took up there and see if I can talk myself into another trip!! 

[bagobones]

I'm thinking about doing this one this year. I' m just recovering from the Dragon run in May, and I'm not going to the vintage days at Mid-Ohio next week. By the time October rolls around, I will be itching for a road trip. I'll keep you posted.

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Wish I was going to Mid-Ohio. 

[mrbones]

How come no Ohio this year?

Wish I was going to Mid-Ohio. 

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If the Yamaha had gotten here in time I’d have definitely gone. I couldn’t face the ride up there again on the Harley. That was a long, long haul on that motorcycle. Plus we’ve still got Barber. 

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The full three day schedule is now available >> Click

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One week from tomorrow!

New route planned. I’m going to cut half of I-75 out of this trip from my prior two trips up there and all of Georgia. So I’ll get off I-75 for I-10 west through Tallahassee. Then head north into Alabama through Dothan…then Montgomery…then Birmingham. That’s still about the same miles (575 miles), but more highways so it should be a just little quicker. I wish I could add some scenic roads on this trip, but it’s a long way up there and I need to do it in one day up and one day back. That way I’ll have two full days for the fest. With good weather, I could do this in 11 hours on the Sportster...hoping for 10 on the Yamaha (twice the fuel capacity and a more comfy seat and ergos).

[dt]

Looks like they're planning some doins in downtown Birmingham for Saturday night. This looks cool and I'll be going. Motus Motorcycles is a new mc company in Birmingham that is coming out with a new V4 100ci Sport Touring Bike next year. Looking forward to seeing their prototypes at this event.

[Zarticus]

That Motus looks awsome!!!. I'm going to take a hard look at these when they come out, I really like the V4 obviously & I think by the time these come out I will be looking for a new bike. Bill, if you see one of the test one's while your up there please get some pictures!!

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Bill, if you see one of the test one's while your up there please get some pictures!!

For sure!

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People from all over the country come to this event. The guys at Motus were smart to put together this bike night. It definitely is a cool looking motorcycle.

[danh600]

I wish I could add some scenic roads on this trip, but it’s a long way up there and I need to do it in one day up and one day back

.

231 through Alabama is not bad, especially after riding in Florida all the time.

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231 through Alabama is not bad, especially after riding in Florida all the time.

That's about the only road that's going to be halfway enjoyable. 

I'm coming back a different route with less highways. Just need to figure it out. I got one of those Mad Maps for Alabama and Georgia and will figure it out when I get up there.

Weather's looking good for the trip.

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Museum Photos; 157.

Vintage Fest Photos; 289.

Enjoy!

[danh600]

231 through Alabama is not bad, especially after riding in Florida all the time.

That's about the only road that's going to be halfway enjoyable. 

I'm coming back a different route with less highways. Just need to figure it out. I got one of those Mad Maps for Alabama and Georgia and will figure it out when I get up there.

Weather's looking good for the trip.

Mad Maps? Those good for trip planning?

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Mad Maps? Those good for trip planning?

I think they’re helpful for advance planning. All the loops have a start/finish points that are probably not going to be your start/finish and you might want to merge a loop here or there. They list restaurants, camping and attractions along routes. When I planned the North Carolina Trip, I used the NC Mad Map in part, made up new routes and mrbones put them in GoogleMaps for us. Overall a good starting point though.

I have Florida, Alabama/Georgia and North Carolina (Smokey Mountains) if you’d like to borrow them. Florida seems a little unimaginative, but it’s Florida. Glad to mail them around to you or anyone that would like to use them. They fit in a regular envelope with a couple stamps.

https://www.madmaps.com/

I didn’t use Alabama map like I was going to. The weather was so bad coming back yesterday that I stuck to the same route that I went up on. Very near the worst day on the road I’ve ever experienced…no, in fact is was the worst day.

[dcameras]

Thanks for sharing those pics with us. I was drooling so much looking through the museum pics I had to stop and dry off my keyboard. I am itching to get back up there again, just got to plan it in amongst the other things on my list of things I am already committed to do.

[dt]

I've got to say that I think this year was a lot better than last year. Last year I spent a lot of time watching the races. This year there was so much going on all over the place. I really didn't watch that much of the racing. I was so glad that they had the tram to run you around the place. They didn't have anything like that at Mid-Ohio and you were constantly on your feet up there.

That route that I took up through Dothan to Montgomery was all cotton fields along the route. Don't know if anyone noticed, but that's what's in the background of this photo.

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Oh, and I got another sticker for my cases. 

[dt]

I’ve got CRS (can’t remember shit) and totally forgot about a real cool experience that I had on my way up to Birmingham to the vintage fest a couple weeks ago. Something jogged my memory this morning. Anyway, I was heading up US 231 north of Ozark, Alabama through a real heavy tree lined, foresty area. I came upon an opening in the tree line on my left and saw one of those Chinook military helicopters like in the photo below off in the distance, maybe half a mile or so. I really just got a glimpse as I was clipping along. Anyway, like I said it was quite dense forest on both sides so I couldn’t see it for but a second. A couple minutes later that dang thing flew over the road right at the top of the tree line, literally fifty yards ahead of me and followed the road for about a mile before spinning off to the east. That was so cool following that dang helicopter down the road flying along no higher than the tree tops…it was only a minute or so, but seemed to last ten.  

[v65infla]

I’ve got CRS (can’t remember shit) and totally forgot about a real cool experience that I had on my way up to Birmingham to the vintage fest a couple weeks ago. Something jogged my memory this morning. Anyway, I was heading up US 231 north of Ozark, Alabama through a real heavy tree lined, foresty area. I came upon an opening in the tree line on my left and saw one of those Chinook military helicopters like in the photo below off in the distance, maybe half a mile or so. I really just got a glimpse as I was clipping along. Anyway, like I said it was quite dense forest on both sides so I couldn’t see it for but a second. A couple minutes later that dang thing flew over the road right at the top of the tree line, literally fifty yards ahead of me and followed the road for about a mile before spinning off to the east. That was so cool following that dang helicopter down the road flying along no higher than the tree tops…it was only a minute or so, but seemed to last ten.  

They were just letting you know they saw you also.   

[danh600]

Fort Rucker is a huge flight training school for helicopters. Helicopters are a pretty common sight all over South Alabama.

I lived outside Dothan for a few years. When you first move up there you will be driving along and think something is wrong with your car cause of the weird sound. Then you realize it's a helicopter off in the distance.

I have had them pass over at what seems like feet away when deer hunting in tree stands.