(SABAT) Southern Appalachian Backways Adventure Trail
April 15 – 21, 2023
Adventure Bike ride around the best of the Appalachians
About the SABAT
We are pleased to offer this new ride. Yoda Keith has been dreaming and developing this ride since he first rode motorcycles. He has ridden several great rides in the area including the Smoky Mn 500, SCBAT and the NGBAT. He did his ride development both on an adventure bike (2 up) and on a dual sport. From all of that and his years of experience of doing great rides, he then worked his magic to develop this new Appalachian ride. We are super pleased to be able to work with Keith and offer this ride. This will be a 6 day loop through and around the Southern Appalachians through the states of North Carolina, Tennessee, South Carolina and Georgia covering more than 1,000 miles.
Motorcycles are a great way to explore the Appalachian Mountains and meet the Appalachian people and experience their culture. Hope you can join us. Bring a friend or just join in.
About gpsKevin Rides
This is a rougher ride for intermediate to advanced riders only. No beginners.
I have added some easy and harder options for riders that are looking for extra or just to relax.
This is a 6 day adventure bike ride making a big loop around the 4 states. We will be staying in different motels each night during the week. Some riders may truck their bikes to the start of the ride and then leave their vehicles at the beginning of the ride for the week.
We will be eating in restaurants during the week, so no need to bring cooking equipment or food.
The riding should be scenic to rough depending on your choices.
The exciting part about this ride is that riders can choose their own level of adventure exposure each day to meet their desire and excitement.
Each day our route will take us to the next motel and many days we will have an option of lunch on the trail.
Each morning riders will grab breakfast and team up with their riding buddies, grab their daily snacks and begin their adventure.
The day's adventures are long with many rich options along the way.
After the day's ride, riders perform bike maintenance and join up for happy hour and dinner. Then it is often to bed early as the next day comes quickly.
Be prepared for any sort of weather. Its can be a bit rainy in the spring. Sharp knobbies recomended!
Riders should also carry any supplies for bike repairs and maintenance on the trail (like flat tires).
Motel arrangements are double occupancy and riders will be assigned a different roommate every night. This allows everyone to get to know each other during the ride and prevents tension from building during a long ride. And if your roommate snores, you only have to put up with it for one night!
Ride Details
I know many of you also enjoy dreaming about the ride and making your plans, so here is the detail, enjoy!
Signup info:
The cost to join this 6 day ride is $1,195 This covers your lodging for the 6 nights during the ride. It also includes your ride packets which consist of a custom Garmin GPS map on a micro SD card and printed ride maps and descriptions.
Now taking signups: You can now reserve your spot on this ride by leaving a $200 Deposit (Ride limit is 24 riders)
Sorry the ride is full, but I often get cancelations when the ride gets near. So I encourage you to add your name to the Rider Waiting List gpsKevin
After your signup riders will receive an email from me with further ride information and instructions.
Note: Riders must make full payment by February 15th, 2023.
Riders will receive ride packets in the mail one week before the ride.
Refund Policy
Do not sign up for this ride unless you are serious about coming. I take your signup very seriously and start planning for you the minute you sign up. If you need to cancel up to two months prior to the ride start date I will give you a full refund but I will keep $100 to cover the planning work. Sorry but I make non refundable commitments myself so it gets hard for me. "I hate this world of non refundable deals myself." If you need to cancel within two months of the ride, I cannot give a refund unless I can find a replacement rider. In the case of finding a replacement rider, I will gladly give you the full refund minus the $100 to cover the planning work. In the event of ride cancellation, you will be given a full refund.
Yoda Keith
Yoda Keith: Age 55, married w 4 kids and 3 grandsons; been riding since age 10; raced MX, SX (once was enough), enduros, hare scrambles, drag races, dirt drags, hill climbs
Always wanted to try flat track but I get all dizzy 😵
Some rides I’ve been fortunate enough to do: NC to Alaska, TAT, tour of Idaho. NC to Nova Scotia, many Roulettes.
Height 5’7”, Eyes blue, Hair ?, Sign Cancer
Turn ons: shiny happy people,The Rolling Stones, whirled peas, sun rises, fire arms!
Turn offs: war, cancer, global warming, dirty fuckin’ hippies,
Favorite past times: Ccurling up by the fireplace with a good book, meditation, planting daisies along the interstate, waxing the steps at the old folks home.
Favorite quotes: I’ve spent most of my money on dirt bikes, beer and chasing women. The rest I pissed away.
Words to live by: Never sweat the petty stuff, Always pet the sweaty stuff. Happy trails
Yoda Allen: My riding started on my dad's 1972 Honda SL100 WAY before I could reach the ground. I remember riding in circles till someone could grab the bike so I wouldn't crash. Little did I know crashing skills would become handy later on. I have been riding for 45 years now and it is still awesome to throw a leg over a bike and ride somewhere new, or old, doesn't matter as long as I am riding. Racing was a big part of my life for a while but that appears to be over with and the only racing I do now is to race to the restroom before something unfortunate happens. I am certainly always happy to help in any situation but remember that I may not have parts to fix your bike or my bike for that matter !
View the ride maps
OK since many of you like to study more detail about the ride, below are the ride maps.
I put these ride maps on the web page because I know a few of you love looking at the ride detail and dreaming about the ride. At first glance these maps do not look so impressive, but they are way cool. If you start zooming in, you can see the ride in incredible detail. I have spent a ton of hours sorting through the details of the ride for each day, so for those of you that enjoy this sort of thing, well enjoy!
Legend:
The Blue lines are MAIN routes
The Red lines are Harder routes
The Green lines are Easy options
The Black lines are the out and back viewpoints
How does the ride navigation work?
This is a self-led GPS ride; all riding is on your own. You are responsible for your own riding. You will be given a GPS map file and instructions on how to use your Garmin GPS unit. People will hook up in small groups of less than 6 riders and tend to ride together. You are not encouraged to ride alone. You are responsible for your own riding and yourself.
(see my ride Navigation Video)
Are you right for this ride?
When something goes wrong on a ride, would your riding friends say that you are more likely to need help or more likely to give help? You should be in the more likely to offer help camp. This ride is filled with riders that are more likely to give help, so most of the time the riders never need help. Additionally there is all the normal stuff, come prepared to maintain your bike, fix your bike on the trail, repair flat tires, deal with bad weather and rain and make a joke or two.
How do I make the GPS stuff so easy?
I develop very high quality ride maps custom for our ride. They come from much of what I and others have ridden. I take the best from all my rides and make new ones.
(See my Custom Ride Maps Video)
Note from me, gpsKevin
My goal for this ride is simple, great riding, so you can count on great routes and places to ride.
But in addition: the ride is about discovering new places, meeting new friends, seeing new parts of the Southwest.
Thanks
gpsKevin
FAQ's
Q:What will the weather be like this time of year?
A: In April, the weather is most often nice, could be a little hot in the lower elevations and it can be cold in the morning and in the mountains. But sometimes there can be rain. Wet and muddy routes can force us to change our plans. Come prepared with extra gear for cold and wet.
Q: Would this be a good ride for new riders?
A: No, this ride is for intermediate and experienced riders only. The riding has easy route choices and tough route options. Each evening we will study the following day's choices. You will find lots of supportive people at the ride.
Q: What are motel room arrangements?
A: Rooms are double occupancy, meaning each rider shares a two bed room with another rider.
Q: What bikes are right for this ride?
A: Bikes including and in between the Adventure Bikes and Dual Sport all can do well by choosing the easy or hard route options.
Q; What do I do if I don't have a Garmin GPS?
A: Buy one, you need it, we will show you how to use it. You can get a great one for under $200 bucks. ( See gpsKevin's gps recommendations)
Q: Is the riding really on my own?
A: Yes, but almost everyone hooks up and rides with a friend, or a new friend or me.
Try to remember the riders you met on your last ride.
Invite them to this ride.
Warning:
Any and all riding is on you own
Conditions change and routes may not be navigable
Legal access can change and is not guaranteed. Riders must assess the local conditions.
Weather can make the routes impassable.
Riders must obey all local laws
gpsKevin assumes no liability for these rides or your actions.