Bluebird Bus Conversion Project & Cross Country Trip

[TurboJake]

Here is a rough outline of the first leg of our trip. Hopefully we are able to get to all these areas, these are places we have talked about visiting for a long time now. Also, if any of you guys are along our route we would love to meet up for a beer, especially if there is a brewery around

If after Chi-town you want to come all the way up to the Keweenaw Peninsula in the UP. I'm more than happy to show you around the quaint little mining area in the middle of vast wilderness and give you a place to park/recharge/water up/get some great food. My driveway should be plenty big enough.

I did do something very similar after all, and would love to share stories ;)
Also, we do have breweries. And beer. Lots and lots of beer.

[bikerbill2021]

again, this is dope! if i ever decide to move back east, im going to pick up an old window licker short bus and do it that way

btw, what is that dual sport your riding around on? looks like a neat lil bike

[slammin.e28]

Are you going to GFEST?

I wish. It's my birthday the 21st, lol. Probably not going to be able to swing it though.....unless I get the wagon going and just camp in it....helluva drive though.

[LuckyHenriksen]

You are getting closer!

SRSLY can't wait to see this beast!

Are you going to GFEST?

Screw you slammin! why doesn't anyone want to come to richmond?

That looks like a seriously badass trip. what are your plans for the bus after you're done with the trip?

I hope to be able to keep the bus after we get home, maybe remodel it and make it into an actual tiny home. Maybe just sell it if I can't afford to keep it

[slammin.e28]

Screw you slammin! why doesn't anyone want to come to richmond?

Because it's Richmond.

[McGyver]

Screw you slammin! why doesn't anyone want to come to richmond?

That looks like a seriously badass trip. what are your plans for the bus after you're done with the trip?

[slammin.e28]

You are getting closer!

SRSLY can't wait to see this beast!

[LuckyHenriksen]

Update: The last few days have been a whirlwind of driving, drinking, and having fun. We left New Orleans and headed to Chattanooga to stay with Lindsey's cousin and her husband for a night. They were great hosts and took us out to see the city the next morning. We left in the afternoon and headed towards the mountains and Asheville, NC. Our route took us off the interstate after Knoxville and up through some beautiful winding mountain backroads. So nice to be back in the mountains! We rolled into Banardsville in the early evening and found Matt's shop (RagtopE30). He was such a generous host, he even took time to build be an exhaust tip out of sheetmetal to keep the diesel soot from blasting all over the motorcycle. He has an awesome shop with a lot of great projects going on, it was so nice to be back around some old BMW's! Thanks again Matt for everything.
We rode the bike into Asheville and enjoyed a full day there eating and drinking local brew. So much to see and do there for kids like us who miss Portland. The community is so similar, and there is more delicious beer than you can shake a stick at.
We left the Asheville area yesterday afternoon and headed east to Carrboro, another great little North Carolina town. We are staying with a friends parents who generously offered us their guest room above the garage. We have enjoyed the evening/morning here and have been using the towns free wifi. We are getting ready to head towards DC in a couple hours, if there are any r3vers in that area we would love to meet up! We will be there for the next 3 nights

Parked in Chattanooga, we barely fit in the driveway



Had to check out Milk and Honey, a fancy gelato place and cafe (Lindsey is a pastry chef so she loves little places like this)



It was some damn good ice cream!



And of course we had to walk across the Walnut Street Bridge



Here is our parking spot next to Matt's shop in the beautiful mountains



A slick little E21 323i with an M20B25 swap that Matt did



And his badass E30 vert with turbo M30 swap





Enjoying beer in Asheville







And we had to check out this great brewery in Carrboro called Steel String. Nice little place

[F34R]

One week! that bus is going to be the envy of the Gfest campover.

[LuckyHenriksen]

Well it looks like you're going to be west of Richmond the whole time, but let me know if you're passing through! I could easily find you a parking spot for that bus and have an empty bedroom in my apartment (given, it is a shitty apartment though)

*Edit*
Why are you going through Roanoke? I hope you have family there or something cuz that place really sucks!

Also, i think we have 4 or 5 breweries now? and a distillery?

Awesome man, thanks for the offer, but we are going to be passing through Charlottesville. We want to stop there for lunch/beer, if you are by chance in the area it would be fun to meet up! We had Roanoke on the map just as a reference point, like a lot of the other cities on our map

Hey
Not sure where in the SE y'all are, but I PM'd you my address. Theres an elementary school close, and a kind of downtown area near me. That is if you haven't already found a place to park that beast!

I'm sorry man but we aren't going to come through Atlanta. We only have time for one big stop in this area and its going to be Asheville. Thanks a lot for looking for a parking place though!

Looks so awesome! Very cool that you're living the dream. Does the lil lady split driving with you, or no?

Lindsey hasn't driven it yet but expressed interest in learning.... I'm going to find an empty lot somewhere she can practice and see of she feels comfortable enough to take it out on the road




We are stopped for the next couple nights just outside Asheville, NC. RagtopE30 graciously offered us a place to park next to his shop, and even built me a custom exhaust tip to keep the diesel soot off my motorcycle! Great guy for sure, and I have had a nice time hanging out on his shop talking E30's. Just so happens that there is an event going on here right now called Firefly, its in the woods right next to his shop. Some kind of hippie festival, they were excited to see our bus drive up haha. We are taking the bike down into Asheville tomorrow, I can't wait. If there are any r3vers in the area that want to meet up tomorrow that would be awesome

[Lof8]

Looks so awesome! Very cool that you're living the dream. Does the lil lady split driving with you, or no?

[delatlanta1281]

We would be heading out this Morning and getting in sometime this evening. Staying tonight and part of tomorrow. Would you mind PMing me your address? I can look at the area on street view and see if I can fit through or not. We've been through some pretty tight streets already, especially here in New Orleans

Hey
Not sure where in the SE y'all are, but I PM'd you my address. Theres an elementary school close, and a kind of downtown area near me. That is if you haven't already found a place to park that beast!

[frankenbeemer]

Oh man that would be so badass. Totally want to take you up one that. How is your schedule on Friday? (Tomorrow)

PM'd you my cell number.

[McGyver]

Well it looks like you're going to be west of Richmond the whole time, but let me know if you're passing through! I could easily find you a parking spot for that bus and have an empty bedroom in my apartment (given, it is a shitty apartment though)

*Edit*
Why are you going through Roanoke? I hope you have family there or something cuz that place really sucks!

Also, i think we have 4 or 5 breweries now? and a distillery?

[LuckyHenriksen]

If you need any info on breweries around Michigan let me know. I grew up in Holland, there are two good ones there but many more in grand rapids about 30 minutes away. In Detroit there are a ton around as well, can give you a line on the good places to hit.

Awesome man that would be great!