Memorial Day Weekend Mountain Ride 2016

[klaviator]

Last week my wife asked me if I would mind if she left town Memorial day weekend....... I had to think real hard.  I think it took me a whole .01 nanoseconds to decide.  If she did that I'd just have to go riding or something like that  

So that's what I did.  I got up early Saturday morning and headed for North Carolina.  I took mostly highway through Chattanooga to get to the good stuff as quickly as possible.  Traffic wasn't bad and it was fairly painless.  Then I got into the good stuff, 30, 315 and.......
I didn't get too far before seeing a couple of KLR's coming the other way.  It was none other than the world famous Lazeebum and kdtrull.  So I pulled a U turn and chased them down.



So we talked a bit before heading off in opposite directions.  I stopped in Tellico for lunch and then rode over the Cherohala.  Despite being a holiday weekend traffic wasn't too bad.  Then I passed through Robbinsville and then on to the really good roads.  I didn't take many pics because I have been on these roads so many times before and already taken a few bazillion pics.  I did stop to get a pic at a spot that I have taken pics of my other Kawasaki's in the past, one over 20 years ago.  This is just off of Wayah rd and the waterfall is almost hidden by leaves.



The same spot 20+ years ago:



Eventually I did stop to get some pics of the scenery.



There is even a sand beach up here.



.



Nothing to look at here so just move along.



More crappy scenery.



.



After about 360 miles I reached my destination.  About 30 minutes Duanew showed up as well and we set up camp.

[klaviator]

Then it was time for dinner.  Since they served dinner here we didn't have to get on the bikes and ride anywhere.  I had the BBQ pulled pork.



and some ice cream for dessert.



Then it was time to hang out around the fire and talk to strangers.



The plan was to get up the next morning and ride some of my favorite roads to the north of where we were.  Unfortunately by the time we got up the forecast had changed.  A tropical storm on the east coast decided to head west and a lot of rain was heading for us.  We decided to change our plans by packing up our stuff and heading west.  It started raining before we got started.

We headed out and soon rode out of the rain.  We ended up riding a lot of great twisty roads.  Mostly we were dry but did get into some rain every so often.  Traffic was mostly light so we were able to enjoy the curves.  The fact is that all the roads in the area except the Dragon are straight and boring.  People who don't go to the Dragon and ride these boring roads are "settlers", just like in the commercials.  I even got a pic of some of these settlers:



Just an interesting place on 143.



Cool old truck on the Skyway.



Eventually we ended up at our home for the night.



I'm sure some of you will recognize this place.

[kdtrull]

I know that place.  Nothing but straight, boring, settler roads all around.

[klaviator]

So the Campground didn't serve breakfast but the owner did recommend a less than a mile down the road.  I rode past it at first because this place defines "hole in the wall".  I would never have thought to stop here if it hadn't been recommended. 



When we went inside we found two other riders who went there because the owner of the other motorcycle campground recommended it even though it's a much longer ride from there.  The food was great.

Blueberry pancake, sausage and OJ.



I had the same thing the morning before at BRMC but it was better here and cost less too. 

And then there was the decor and ambiance of this place:



Anyway, I'd eat there again and highly recommend it.

Then we went back to the campground and packed up.  After that it was nothing but straight, boring roads and the scenery really sucked.



.



We avoided Chattanooga and ended up in Lafayette for lunch.  Then off to ride ride a road that really sucks but has a really cool name.

[Guidedawg]

Love it.  One day I'm going to have to take a weekend and settle for some crappy, boring straight roads with no scenery also.

[klaviator]

Just some random stuff I forgot to put in the report but thought of now.

Sitting around the fire at BRMC the topic of motorcycle campgrounds came up.  One of the guys related an experience he had at Iron Horse.  There was a big Ducati gathering.  In the shower house he saw one of the Duc riders blow drying his hair
Perhaps he found a helmet that doesn't give you helmet hair


Duane were talking about ride reports and the topic of truly epic reports came up.  We both agreed on two that are at the top of the list.  If you are an adventure rider and haven't read these you should:

http://advrider.com/index.php?threads/angola-its-not-like-they-said.269251/
The opening lines in this RR are:
"This trip was going to be different.  I for one, have never updated my will before any other trip. And I wasn't alone. Out of the five of us that were going, three updated their wills and/or life insurance policies in the weeks before we left."



http://advrider.com/index.php?threads/the-bam-road-ultimate-test-of-man-and-machine.533442/

Even if you are not an adventure rider, these are worth reading.




I was bummed about missing some great riding due to the weather but that probably turned out for the best since Duane's front wheel bearing was going bad.  He might not have made an extra 200 miles.  I'm hoping to make it back up there later this year and ride those roads I missed.  Maybe Labor Day weekend.  I'll post it up in advance in case anyone wants to join me.

[01YZF6]

Epic ride report.... love me some NC settlers roads!

[Crandon]

Great ride report.  What camera do you use for the shots?

[klaviator]

Great ride report.  What camera do you use for the shots?

Thanks.  I used an Olympus Tough waterproof camera, not sure of the model number.  I hang it from a strap around my neck so it's always ready to go even when I'm riding. 

[lazeebum]

The breakfast at B & B was a treat, and affordable to boot. It was cool to see a fellow Bama rider out enjoying the highways and byways.

[kdtrull]

We had just came out of the woods when Wynn met us going the other way.  I still can't wrap my head around what the odds might be of meeting him out on the road at that time.....pretty phenomenal coincidence, I think.

We snagged a pic of him too:



Shame about the weather....I'm sure y'all had a good time anyway.

[norton73]

Nothing to look at here so just move along.

Channeling Red Bud, I see *

I guess I should head over to ADV to see if he rode though Helen  over the weekend  :)




* famous for posting pics of tubers over on Advrider

[klaviator]

Channeling Red Bud, I see *

I guess I should head over to ADV to see if he rode though Helen  over the weekend  :)


* famous for posting pics of tubers over on Advrider

In the ADV version of this RR, I did say that pic was inspired by red bud:  http://advrider.com/index.php?threads/full-throttle-touring-150-through-the-rocket-city.647784/page-45

[kdtrull]

Found this tonight, sorting through hours of video.  Thought you might want to see.
You set us up for a nice ride later on in the day....that place was beautiful.
Thanks for the guidance.  kdt

[klaviator]

Without Bamarides we would just have been strangers passing by each other on a country road.  It's always cool to run into people you know on a ride.