Saturday morning arrived cloudy but the forecanters had promised sunny and cloudy.
Arrived at Cumming to find Monty
, Dave :biker: , Witt :biker: and Robert Yamaha sports bike already at the Burger King meeting place.
Robert assured me that the Yahoo weather forecanters had promised a brighter day. Excellent, should be good riding on the route up to Tellico Plains, TN.
Randy Valkyrie arrives closely followed by Big Don on crutches recovering from a self inflicted broken ankle ? don?t ask.
Kevin
and Mark on his black ST100 also show so we have a group of 8.
9 o?clock and we?re on the road with gray skies overhead.
Not even 3 miles into the ride and we arrive at the first patch of damp road and just ahead the last vestiges of cloud wisps are flitting through the treetops.
Apart from a few rain sprinkles the ride up to the Fort Mountain, GA overlook is uneventful and we meet up with Jim . At the bottom of the mountain we meet Jim Jr Kawasaki Ninja 500 (son of Jim).
Now we are 10 soon to be 9 as Randy peels off from the formation before we get to the Tennessee state line to return home earning brownie points for another day.
The damp roads to this point have led to some gentle rose sniffing cornering angles rather than the usual spirited leans we all enjoy on occasion.
Greasy Creek from Hwy 64 to Reliance is an exercise in throttle control with tight damp curves (reminds me of an ex girlfriend) and lunch follows at Tellico Plains, TN.
To this point we have had quite a few vehicles move over or slow down and wave us by. Very refreshing. I believe it?s because I?m not crowding the vehicle like I see so many other riders do trying to intimidate the driver in front. This helpfulness of drivers would happen over the rest of this day and next.
Replete we head south on Hwy 68 to Copperhill picking up Hwy 60 at the Georgia State line. Hwy 60 which can be an adrenaline rush for speed junkies is slick in places from passing showers and at the Suches gas station we stop for a leg stretch, a drink, conversation and goodbyes.
Jim and I are heading to Robbinsville to meet a friend, Richard, spending the weekend camping at lake Santeelah. I had managed to make a late motel reservation Friday night at the Five Point motel so we could celebrate Richards 40th birthday. Just before we leave Suches I get a phone call from Richard, an avid white water junkie, telling me that his plans have changed and he?s off to the Nolichucky River http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nolichucky_River which is running at some crazy amount of water.
I tell Jim and we decide to still run up to Robbinsville to have a late run through Deals Gap and then some beers and lies with other riders staying in Robbinsville, NC.
Arriving at the Five Point motel I?m met with a very blank gaze when I tell the lady at the office I?ve arrived for my room. It seems there is no room at the Inn the room having been double booked.
I can?t get annoyed with the messenger; she is as old as the hills surrounding us and sporting a very snappy looking pair of George Burns?s style spectacles.
We ride post haste to the Phillips motel where our group of riders has spent many nights past in the hope a room has been released. No luck but the couple working the office tries to help us by suggesting other motels and Inns in the area. I call Tapoco Lodge and Fontana Village to be told there are no rooms.
We then ride to the Micro-Tel and San Ran motels to be given the same no vacancy response. So back to the Philips to try to confirm if there?s a cottage available. The elderly gentleman I was speaking with through an intercom system had a little problem with my accent.
What time is it, Thursday, So am, I let?s get a drink.
He and his wife rack their brains and he makes a call to the Blue Waters Inn on the shore of Lake Santeelah. We ride there because there?s a room. Hooray.
I park on the gravel parking lot and enter the Inn. A ?nice? young man at the reception desk tells me they have a room available, it?s $140 a night. No it doesn?t have 2 beds. Just a king size. Well, I?m not about to spend a Brokeback Motorcyclist night at this Inn surrounded by couples playing goo-goo eyes in the dining room. Oh yeah, it?smells of sewage outside.
Jim has been using his GPS to find motels in Andrews and Murphy, NC. No show for Andrews and any listed in Murphy are full.
So off we ride to Andrews. The first Mom n? Pop motel we find is full and they direct us to a motel on the main drag which is also full.
So on to Murphy, a town I have visited a few times before and one which I find to be particularly charm less. For those with short memories, Eric Rudolph the Atlanta Olympics bomber was captured here rooting through a dumpster.
The West Motel is advertised on a billboard on the east side of town and that?s where I head. Pulling into the parking lot of this one storey motel it?s clearly obvious that the budget for any painting or repair is miniscule. I enter the office that is redolent of curry and other exotic spices. I hope the rooms aren?t infused with the same perfume.
I ask how much a room is and the $78 plus taxes seems exorbitant for the style of motel this is. I exit the office to find Jim standing in front of 2 other people unobtrusively blocking there way with his body. I tell him the cost and he tells me firmly to book the room right now. His tone and stern eyes have me retreating back into the office where I am awarded the grand prize of a room key for the princely sum of $85.
By the time we unload the bikes and return from dinner the motel office is locked and a cardboard sign with NO VACANY scrawled on it has been placed in the window.
As we sit outside the room, far more pleasant than being in it, drinking a few cold ones there is a steady stream of travelers trying to find shelter for the night. We are treated with great deference by a few who ask if we have knowledge of any other motels with accommodation. All we can do is suggest they try a motel further along the road that we had ridden by during our quest for a suitable dining place.
Surprisingly the beds are remarkably comfortable and the 350-mile day drifts away from me.
On the road at 9 Sunday morning we breakfast at a local fast food joint where the local contingent of the North Carolina State Troopers are eating. Seems like they are expecting a busy day. We finish our meal and head east towards Deals Gap.
At Deals Gap the parking lot of the gas station/store/restaurant isn?t very busy. I had expected it to look like a stirred anthill with bodies and machines whirring haphazardly.
We take a few moments to eyeball some of the more exotic machines and I take note of a fine looking KTM LC kitted out as a super motard. Some off road tires and this would be a fine machine to ride the local forest roads and trails.
I had suggested to Jim the previous evening that we should find a safe vantage point on the side of Deals Gap and observe riders? techniques or lack of. A couple of miles along the road there are 2 suitable places we use and it is very illuminating watching and listening. The road positioning of some riders is deplorable. Hugging the double yellow center line whilst unable to see clearly around the bend approaching. Unnecessary crossing of the yellow line, once a habit forms it?s tough to break.
Others combine the bad position with rolling off the throttle and freewheeling through the bends, changing gear whilst in a bend, changing gear after the bend, being in too high a gear going through the bend.
Others treat the road as a racetrack and zip through the bends with great aplomb. Great style and technique but completely inappropriate speed for the road.
Eventually watching others palls and we need to feel the wind in our faces. We ride to the overlook and then return southwards aiming for the eastern end of the Cherohala Skyway. Stopped briefly to talk with a small group of Valkyrie riders we both know and have often ridden with.
Jim leads along the Skyway and we carve our way through the curves at a sedate pace (relatively speaking). I eventually lose sight of Jim and at an overlook a shoal of S.Q.U.Ids - "Stupidly Quick, Underdressed and Imminently Dead" - are waiting to pull onto the road. Two make it easily but the third forces me to slow down. Anticipated and in fact welcomed. More fodder for any speed traps along the road ahead. I tuck in behind them as 4,5 and 6 ride behind me. Now these aren?t fully grown S.Q.U.Ids as all are wearing full leathers.
Their speed slowly increases as do their tire temperatures. OK I can ride along and enjoy this. A quick glance at the speedo shows speeds between 80 and 100mph. The rider in front of me is checking his mirror possibly unsure if the large sports touring bike is attached in some way to his rear wheel. :biker: I hold the bike in 3rd gear so as to maximize engine braking for the tighter bends and we are on a roller coaster ride the like of which I haven?t enjoyed for many years. After about 10 miles bike 5 behind me passes bike 4 and on a straightaway comes whipping by me with front wheel held high. Modern 1,000 cc sportbikes have SO much power.
We stop in Tellico Plains for lunch, head back down Greasy Creek Rd., say our good byes and I head for north metro Atlanta. Get dissed by 3 custom choppers who pass me 3 times with eyes firmly fixed forwards. The rider and passengers faces being distorted by the 90 mph wind force. Of course brain buckets and T-shirts are de-rigueur.
Arrived at Cumming to find Monty
, Dave :biker: , Witt :biker: and Robert Yamaha sports bike already at the Burger King meeting place.Robert assured me that the Yahoo weather forecanters had promised a brighter day. Excellent, should be good riding on the route up to Tellico Plains, TN.
Randy Valkyrie arrives closely followed by Big Don on crutches recovering from a self inflicted broken ankle ? don?t ask.
Kevin
and Mark on his black ST100 also show so we have a group of 8.9 o?clock and we?re on the road with gray skies overhead.
Not even 3 miles into the ride and we arrive at the first patch of damp road and just ahead the last vestiges of cloud wisps are flitting through the treetops.
Apart from a few rain sprinkles the ride up to the Fort Mountain, GA overlook is uneventful and we meet up with Jim
. At the bottom of the mountain we meet Jim Jr Kawasaki Ninja 500 (son of Jim).Now we are 10 soon to be 9 as Randy peels off from the formation before we get to the Tennessee state line to return home earning brownie points for another day.
The damp roads to this point have led to some gentle rose sniffing cornering angles rather than the usual spirited leans we all enjoy on occasion.
Greasy Creek from Hwy 64 to Reliance is an exercise in throttle control with tight damp curves (reminds me of an ex girlfriend) and lunch follows at Tellico Plains, TN.
To this point we have had quite a few vehicles move over or slow down and wave us by. Very refreshing. I believe it?s because I?m not crowding the vehicle like I see so many other riders do trying to intimidate the driver in front. This helpfulness of drivers would happen over the rest of this day and next.
Replete we head south on Hwy 68 to Copperhill picking up Hwy 60 at the Georgia State line. Hwy 60 which can be an adrenaline rush for speed junkies is slick in places from passing showers and at the Suches gas station we stop for a leg stretch, a drink, conversation and goodbyes.
Jim and I are heading to Robbinsville to meet a friend, Richard, spending the weekend camping at lake Santeelah. I had managed to make a late motel reservation Friday night at the Five Point motel so we could celebrate Richards 40th birthday. Just before we leave Suches I get a phone call from Richard, an avid white water junkie, telling me that his plans have changed and he?s off to the Nolichucky River http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nolichucky_River which is running at some crazy amount of water.
I tell Jim and we decide to still run up to Robbinsville to have a late run through Deals Gap and then some beers and lies with other riders staying in Robbinsville, NC.
Arriving at the Five Point motel I?m met with a very blank gaze when I tell the lady at the office I?ve arrived for my room. It seems there is no room at the Inn the room having been double booked.
I can?t get annoyed with the messenger; she is as old as the hills surrounding us and sporting a very snappy looking pair of George Burns?s style spectacles.We ride post haste to the Phillips motel where our group of riders has spent many nights past in the hope a room has been released. No luck but the couple working the office tries to help us by suggesting other motels and Inns in the area. I call Tapoco Lodge and Fontana Village to be told there are no rooms.
We then ride to the Micro-Tel and San Ran motels to be given the same no vacancy response. So back to the Philips to try to confirm if there?s a cottage available. The elderly gentleman I was speaking with through an intercom system had a little problem with my accent.
What time is it, Thursday, So am, I let?s get a drink.
He and his wife rack their brains and he makes a call to the Blue Waters Inn on the shore of Lake Santeelah. We ride there because there?s a room. Hooray.
I park on the gravel parking lot and enter the Inn. A ?nice? young man at the reception desk tells me they have a room available, it?s $140 a night. No it doesn?t have 2 beds. Just a king size. Well, I?m not about to spend a Brokeback Motorcyclist night at this Inn surrounded by couples playing goo-goo eyes in the dining room.
Oh yeah, it?smells of sewage outside.Jim has been using his GPS to find motels in Andrews and Murphy, NC. No show for Andrews and any listed in Murphy are full.
So off we ride to Andrews. The first Mom n? Pop motel we find is full and they direct us to a motel on the main drag which is also full.
So on to Murphy, a town I have visited a few times before and one which I find to be particularly charm less. For those with short memories, Eric Rudolph the Atlanta Olympics bomber was captured here rooting through a dumpster.
The West Motel is advertised on a billboard on the east side of town and that?s where I head. Pulling into the parking lot of this one storey motel it?s clearly obvious that the budget for any painting or repair is miniscule. I enter the office that is redolent of curry and other exotic spices. I hope the rooms aren?t infused with the same perfume.
I ask how much a room is and the $78 plus taxes seems exorbitant for the style of motel this is. I exit the office to find Jim standing in front of 2 other people unobtrusively blocking there way with his body. I tell him the cost and he tells me firmly to book the room right now. His tone and stern eyes have me retreating back into the office where I am awarded the grand prize of a room key for the princely sum of $85.
By the time we unload the bikes and return from dinner the motel office is locked and a cardboard sign with NO VACANY scrawled on it has been placed in the window.
As we sit outside the room, far more pleasant than being in it, drinking a few cold ones there is a steady stream of travelers trying to find shelter for the night. We are treated with great deference by a few who ask if we have knowledge of any other motels with accommodation. All we can do is suggest they try a motel further along the road that we had ridden by during our quest for a suitable dining place.
Surprisingly the beds are remarkably comfortable and the 350-mile day drifts away from me.
On the road at 9 Sunday morning we breakfast at a local fast food joint where the local contingent of the North Carolina State Troopers are eating. Seems like they are expecting a busy day. We finish our meal and head east towards Deals Gap.
At Deals Gap the parking lot of the gas station/store/restaurant isn?t very busy. I had expected it to look like a stirred anthill with bodies and machines whirring haphazardly.
We take a few moments to eyeball some of the more exotic machines and I take note of a fine looking KTM LC kitted out as a super motard. Some off road tires and this would be a fine machine to ride the local forest roads and trails.
I had suggested to Jim the previous evening that we should find a safe vantage point on the side of Deals Gap and observe riders? techniques or lack of. A couple of miles along the road there are 2 suitable places we use and it is very illuminating watching and listening. The road positioning of some riders is deplorable. Hugging the double yellow center line whilst unable to see clearly around the bend approaching. Unnecessary crossing of the yellow line, once a habit forms it?s tough to break.
Others combine the bad position with rolling off the throttle and freewheeling through the bends, changing gear whilst in a bend, changing gear after the bend, being in too high a gear going through the bend.
Others treat the road as a racetrack and zip through the bends with great aplomb. Great style and technique but completely inappropriate speed for the road.
Eventually watching others palls and we need to feel the wind in our faces. We ride to the overlook and then return southwards aiming for the eastern end of the Cherohala Skyway. Stopped briefly to talk with a small group of Valkyrie riders we both know and have often ridden with.
Jim leads along the Skyway and we carve our way through the curves at a sedate pace (relatively speaking). I eventually lose sight of Jim and at an overlook a shoal of S.Q.U.Ids - "Stupidly Quick, Underdressed and Imminently Dead" - are waiting to pull onto the road. Two make it easily but the third forces me to slow down. Anticipated and in fact welcomed. More fodder for any speed traps along the road ahead. I tuck in behind them as 4,5 and 6 ride behind me. Now these aren?t fully grown S.Q.U.Ids as all are wearing full leathers.
Their speed slowly increases as do their tire temperatures. OK I can ride along and enjoy this. A quick glance at the speedo shows speeds between 80 and 100mph. The rider in front of me is checking his mirror possibly unsure if the large sports touring bike is attached in some way to his rear wheel. :biker: I hold the bike in 3rd gear so as to maximize engine braking for the tighter bends and we are on a roller coaster ride the like of which I haven?t enjoyed for many years. After about 10 miles bike 5 behind me passes bike 4 and on a straightaway comes whipping by me with front wheel held high. Modern 1,000 cc sportbikes have SO much power.
We stop in Tellico Plains for lunch, head back down Greasy Creek Rd., say our good byes and I head for north metro Atlanta. Get dissed by 3 custom choppers who pass me 3 times with eyes firmly fixed forwards. The rider and passengers faces being distorted by the 90 mph wind force. Of course brain buckets and T-shirts are de-rigueur.
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