Smoke Chasing

We riders don’t need excuses to get on the motorcycle when a beautiful day presents itself. However, we seem to have to explain why we aren’t home, where we are going, and when we will be back. Yet, people who take off for the beach on a gorgeous day don’t seem to have to explain why they are throwing off responsibility in the same way we do. The difference between beach lovers, and motorcyclists is that beach lovers are not always looking for a new beach. Riders on the other hand are always looking for new roads and places to visit. So when I read on the NER forum than one of the guys had signed up for the Smoke Chasing Grand Tour, my mind started working overtime.

The Smoke Chasing Grand Tour is a self-paced challenge to visit 20 BBQ joints during a specific time frame. There are a few rules of course, a fee which supports a charity, and a few prizes which are more for bragging rights than value. To make things interesting a few side challenges are tossed in for extra fun. When I signed up I discovered that only 20% are ladies, only ¼ of those ladies are solo riders and the rest are 2-up.

When my mind started working overtime, here are a few of the things I thought about.
1. I have a sense the summer will be crazy with no time for a more detailed trip.
2. Last season we were scratching our heads about where to head off to at the spur of the moment.
3. My pal Dave is a rib loving fan and we don’t get to drag him off riding as much as we’d like. I thought I’d dangle this carrot of him.

I checked in with Dave and he was onboard and willing to take photos too! While investigating more, the forum offered up a great link to all the BBQ joints in NH and in 7 surrounding states! I couldn’t believe my eyes. I started reading that list in amazement at the BBQ places in New Hampshire alone. My stomach started rumbling and I thought about Curtis’ in Putney Vermont, one of Dave’s favorite places. When Curtis’ came to mind, it had me looking down the list for seasonal places that cook outside like they do. What do you know! There are several. I’m flagging these to create routes we can take to visit them.

While my stomach was rumbling thinking or ribs, I get an email from Dave. It appears his stomach must be doing the same and he suggests a rib run to KC’s in Manchester NH to get us in the mood. On Saturday Dave picks us up and we head over to KC’s. The food is finger licking good and the photo opportunities abound. When I saw the shovel appear, I knew this Smoke Chasing Grand Tour Challenge is going to be fun. I can’t wait to see how each of these places makes themselves unique.