Barber Vintage Festival

[Breeze3at]

I'm leaving in the A.M. to make my 2nd Trip to Barber Motorsports Vintage Festival in Birmingham, AL. This amazing facility is built on the site of an old strip mine and the 2+ mile road race track has many elevation changes. In addition to Road Races, they have Motocross, Trials, and Cross Country races, all for Vintage bikes only. Barber has a huge, beautiful museum with one of the best collections you'll ever see. Also there is a giant swap meet (my favorite part), and a vintage auction. Three days is just about enough time to see it all. I'm meeting up with old friends from Missouri, Florida and Maryland to spend the weekend looking at vintage bikes, and rehashing our feats of daring on dirt bikes as young men. Birmingham is 250 miles from my house, but the back roads I've mapped out for the trip extend it to 320 miles. Forecast is for clear and cooler weather. I haven't been this excited since my last road trip. :bigsmiley12:

 

[Bodeen]

Sounds fun Breeze. Ride safe.

 

[Jack Klarich]

Sounds like a Great trip, the cooler weather will be a plus. Pics please

 

[fin_676]

Time spent around vintage bikes is always good riding there and meeting some good friends what more could you ask for
Enjoy

Brian

 

[lorne]

enjoy Breeze...sounds like a GREAT time.. save riding

 

[Breeze3at]

Seems like I forgot my follow up on the Vintage Festival. When I left my house at 8:30 am Thur., it was clear and 50 degrees. I took all back roads North West to Ashland, AL, then entered the Talladega National Forrest. I followed the main scenic roads shown on my atlas until the entrance to the Cheaha Park, where a little road caught my eye. I took it and spent the next two hours lost (like I cared) and wandering along some of the most remote roads I have ever ridden.The pavement was fair to good, but very coarse, and narrow without a hint of a guardrail. The roads have names like Salt Lick Creek, Kentuck Trail, Duck Nest Mtn. and others I can't recall. Very curvy with good elevation changes and often canopied by hardwoods that were starting to get Fall color. I only saw one vehicle, and it was a park maint. truck. When I decided it was time to get back on schedule, I woke up my GPS and got back on my route to the motel in Pell City. At the motel, I met up with 9 others I've known between 2 and 45 years, that now live in FL, MO, MD and NC. Being the OLD friends we are, we had a few beers, reminisced and were all in bed before 10 PM. :newsmile016: The next two days were spent at the Beautiful Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham. Swap meet, Auction, Racing, old bikes being ridden around everywhere, I don't know what I enjoyed most.
The weather forecast for Monday was not good, so I gave my Sunday ticket to some guys I met at breakfast and headed home. More beautiful Southern back roads home to my Sweet Princess and demon dog. By traveling all backroads, I managed to turn a 500 mile round trip by main roads into a 700 mile memory. Riding season has arrived in the South.
I carried my camera around my neck the WHOLE trip, but out of respect for Jack, only took the attached (not quite true, but nothing interesting).

 

[Bodeen]

Sounds like a great trip Breeze. We're glad you made it home safe. Very nice respect given to Jack too!