"You havn't ridden until you've done a mile in my shoe"

[norton73]

That was the writing on the back of one of my favorite tshirts along with a picture of Jay Springsteen. Most of y'all are aware that Lynn and I are Flat Track fans, given the choice between watching MotoGP or a race on FansChoice, the flat track race will win.

To some of us, a mile is the ultimate, high speeds, drafting, and strategy all play a part to win. Nothing beats watching 3 to 6 bikes so close you could throw a blanket over them sliding sideways at 90+MPH and then drafting down the straightaway at 120 racing to the finish line.

The closest Mile is the Red Mile in Lexington KY, last year we roe up to watch, and we went again the first weekend in June this year.

We decided to take a long weekend, leave on Friday, return Monday. Friday, we hoped to get an early start, but a look at the radar showed heavy rain moving through north of us, but if we waited, it would pass. The plan was to just go straight up the interstates on Friday, about 6 hours of riding. We finally got on the road about 11am, and had clear skies to just north of Fort Payne.

It gradually got darker and darker, and when I could see cars coming the other way with wipers on high, we pulled under an overpass and put on rainsuits. We were in the rain until we got to I24, pulled into the rest area there and stripped down back to our mesh gear.

I didn't get any decent pics on Friday, water spots on the lens ruined the few I took.

About 7pm we rolled into Lexington, KY, and checked into our motel for the next two nights. As usual, I had noticed a liquor store was close by when I made reservations, and we stretched our legs walking over to buy a six pack.

[norton73]

One of the reasons we high tailed it straight up the interstate Friday was so we could spend more time in Lexington. The year before we rode part way Friday, then the rest of the way Saturday, and barely made it to the track to catch the opening ceremonies .

This time we decided to be tourists Saturday morning and hit the Wild Turkey Distillery for a tour.



The distillery is located on a bluff beside the Kentucky River, the road over from Lexington was scenic, rolling farm land and lanes, then a curvy descent to the river and the bridge.

We went to the visitors center where there was a wall with a timeline of the distillery's history.

 

We then boarded a bus that took us around the grounds.

[norton73]

Silos holding the grains to be used;




Fermenters, there was 24 of them holding 30,000 gallons each.



Little yeastie beasties creating carbon dioxide and alkyhol;



Doing the actual distilling;



Lynn is a research scientist, she decided she wants to apply for a job in this lab;

[norton73]

after the distillery, we went over to the warehouses where they age the bourbon,









They lose up to 39% of the contents of the barrels to evaporation. Thaat's known as "The Angels Share"

[norton73]

Then they loaded us back on the bus to return to the visitor's center, where we got to taste the products;





And of course, afterwards, we hit the store and bought a couple bottles to bring back with us.

[norton73]

Next on the menu was lunch, so we headed into Lawrenceburg and parked downtown. As we got off the bikes, a guy parked next to us remarked on the Alabama tags and welcomed us to town. We had a nice conversation and he recommended a sandwich shop/bakery called Heavens to Betsy.
https://www.yelp.com/biz/heavens-to-betsy-bakery-lawrenceburg-2

I had the Hot Italian, and was it good! If you are ever anywhere near Lawenceburg, hit this place!

Then we headed back to the hotel to change before going over to the track

[norton73]

Usually, they have the practice sessions, followed by qualifying, then take about an hour or so break before the opening ceremonies and the heat races. During this time the pits are open and you can talk to the riders and see the bikes close up. Last year we got to the track right as the opening ceremonies were starting and missed the open pits. This year I wanted to get there in time to go to the pits. The practice was supposed to start at 1, opening ceremonies was scheduled for 6, so I figured if we shot for 4, we'd get there with plenty of time.

Well, due to all the recent rain, they had dried out the track, but over did it. When we got there, they were watering it again and trying to smooth it out.They ended up messing with the track till almost 5, when they sent everyone out for practice and qualifying and no break for open pits. They didn't get started with the opening ceremonies till almost 7.

Bikes in the parking lot;





Kenny Coolbreath during practice;





This season's dominante bike, the Indian FTR750 Scout;

[norton73]

More practice;

[norton73]

The opening ceremonies finally got going after about 7:30, they did the heat races, 3 for singles, and 3 for twins, and then took a short break to work on the track and open the pits up. We only had half an hour.

Doesn't look anything like the Ducati in our garage;



Bryan Smith,



Lynn in line to talk to Jared Mees;



Lynn talking to Shayna Texter;



Sammy Halbert's XG750R;

[norton73]

The best racing was in the singles classes, in almost any of the heat races, semis, and the final it was a back and forth battle between 5 to 6 riders every time. Of course, every time Shayna got on the track, the crowd got to it's feet and watched intently. Every time she made a pass, the crowd went wild. She is certainly the most popular rider out there.

The twins were generally just a Jared Mees benefit, he'd get out front and no one else came close.


Skip ahead to 1:45 to see a great heat race;
https://www.facebook.com/AmericanFlatTrack/videos/1984555151578579/

[norton73]

Because of the late start to the races, the finals didn't get started till after 10. We finally got back to our motel room about 12:30, and it was only 4 miles from the track. A full day of hot sun, bourbon, cold beer, and long hours meant our original plan for an early start on Sunday went out the door.

We finally got moving about 9, went downstairs to the hotel provided breakfast, and packed up the bikes and got on the road by 10:30am.

Headed east through Lexington and out to Rt 89, a KY scenic highway south.

89 was fun, up and down over a few hills, along side a few creeks, good fun road with great scenery, the last 40 or so miles were mostly 1 1/2 lanes. We kept hitting the edge of a few rain showers, there were black clouds to the west, our right, and sun to the east. I'd start to feel a few drops, and the road would turn east and we'd be headed for sun shine. Then it would turn west and I'd start thinkin' about a rain suit, then we'd hit sun again. at one point, we were going up a hill, and it looked like we were about to hit a wall of water, but it turned out it had just rained and it was the steam rising up from the road.

Made it rain free to London, KY where we stopped for lunch at a place called "The Abbey"
https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-abbey-london-4

It was OK, nothing special, but worth stopping there instead of Micky D's.

From there we headed west to Rt27 which we took to head towards Crossville TN. I saw a promising looking back road and headed down it. We ended up in the Obed/Emory Scenic River area. While heading down one road we found this;



http://www.lillypadhopyardbrewery.com/

Looked interesting, if they had beer and food on a Sunday, we'd have stopped right there and now. Something I'm keeping in mind for the future however...

[norton73]

Our destination was Falls Creek Falls State Park to camp for the night.

Got there and was surprised how full the campground was on a Sunday night. Asked about tent sites and the rangerette directed us to a nice one, off the road a bit, almost felt like we were off by ourselves. Turned out the Lodge was closed for renovations, but the snack bar at the pool was open until 8 pm and had burgers and dogs available. After setting up out tent, we rode over to get a bite to eat.

Walked in, and to my surprise, there was beer on the menu, even local draft beer! Of course, I figured it being Sunday, they couldn't serve it, but the clerk said yup, it's after noon, so it was available. In a TN state park no less! Every other time I have stayed in a TN park, alkeyhol was prohibited, and the rangers would try to catch you with it. Here it was on the menu! Welcome to the 21st century!

Had a decent burger, Lynn had a salad, and a couple beers. Not bad for a snack bar. We noticed they had biscuits on the menu for breakfast and would open at 8am. Back to the campsite to knock off the beers we had brought with us and get a good night's rest.

[norton73]

Got up Monday morning and decided to go for a hike before breakfast. There was a 1/2 mile or so trail that started beside our campsite, so we headed down it.

[norton73]

After our hike, we packed up the bikes and headed back to the snack bar. Lynn got a sausage biscuit, nothing special, but I was surprised that my ham biscuit was actually country ham. I had to have another.

We then rode the scenic loop to the other falls.

[norton73]

From the park, we headed west on 30 to almost McMinneville, where we headed south on 127 and then picked up 56 south to Beersheba Springs. From there we headed into Monteagle where we got lunch at the ever popular Smoke House.
Then west to 56 and south through Stevenson and Scottsboro and then droned down 79 to Oneonta where we picked up 231 and over the mountain to home.

Fun four days on the road, watched some great racing, did some touristing, got some new roads in, found a new interesting destination.