Dreaming of the Heat Burned by the Ice

Motorcyclists share many similarities to bears. Wait! Before you turn the page, hear me out. Yes, some of us are quite hairy and are easily aggravated when personal space is invaded, but I don’t mean it in that sense. We share a similar seasonal hibernation: we awake in the springtime hungry for rides, steadily trying to settle that appetite throughout the warm months and attempt to get our fill of twists and turns in the autumn to satisfy that hunger to do it again as we suffer through the subsequent grueling months of winter.

This year, I tried to break routine. I had just finished attending the western leg of the motorcycle shows and decided it was time to treat myself to a southern excursion in Georgia and the Carolinas to ride some epic roads and revive my love for life and the outdoors … without snow.

I walked out of the airport in Atlanta, drinking in every ounce of warm 20 C and dense southern air. I had arranged to ride a Triumph Scrambler 1200XC, and that night I dreamed of all the roads I would be riding in the next few days – from dirt trails in Georgia to the famous twists in North Carolina’s Tail of the Dragon and surrounding roads.

I was lucky enough to persuade Triumph into lending me a bike for a few days to fulfill those dreams. The Scrambler 1200XC is a bike that is known by many – not just because of its appealing styling and shape, but also because of its capabilities on- and off-road. Aside