June Trip to the NC Mountains

[klaviator]

It's been quite a while since I took a whole week, actually 8 days, and just went on a ride.  I used to do this all the time but life has just been getting in the way.  This year was going to be different so I started planning a 8-9 day trip.  My original plan was to take my Yamaha Majesty and my camping gear and do some touring and sight seeing and make this as inexpensive of a trip as I could.  I'm planning on retireing early so I have to watch my budget. 

So that was my plan.  Then I was a post on a scooter forum from a couple of guys who would be riding out of Maggie Valley the same time I would be riding.  So I posted that maybe I'd ride with them some.  One of them recommended riding my Versys rather than one of my scooters because my scooter would be to slow for those mountain roads ::)  Well these guys would be riding Yamaha T max scooters.  These are the closest thing to a sportbike there is in the scooter world.  Another forum member posted that these guys were really fast. 

Then my old riding buddy Steve said he would like to come along and he'd be on his V strom 650.  So I had some thinking to do.  One day I took my Versys out for a short ride and blasted around a few curves.  This bike really is a blast on a curvy road although not as good of a touring bike as my Majesty Scooter. 

So I decided on the Versys and more of a sporty trip.  A couple of days before the trip Buckeye Doug posted that He'd like to ride up to Deal's Gap with me.  I was planning on staying there and he would turn around and come back home.  That would be a pretty long trip.

So on Saturday morning I jumped on my loaded Versys and met Doug in Gurley.  We road to Valley Head were we took a break and I took my first picture of the trip.



Then we rode through Mentone and the good riding began.  Our route included Dougherty Gap, Hog Jowl Rd and Shinbone ridge.  It was too early to eat lunch in Lafayette so we continued on riding some more fun roads.  We stopped for a break just before we crossed I-75 and sway this pretty cool old car.



.

[klaviator]

We stopped for lunch at Subway on 64 just before the Ocoee River.  Then it was more twisty roads to Tellico Plains where we picked up the Skyway.  I saw some interesting "scenery" and took a quick shot on the go but it came out a bit blurry.



I gotta work on my photography :-[

It didn't take long to get stuck behind slow moving traffic on the skyway so we stopped at an overlook.  There were four bikes there with Ohio Tags.  Doug and I were from  Ohio so we talked with them a bit and let the slow traffic move on down the road.



After that we had a fun rid eon the skyway.  I was really impressed with the speed Doug could ride the curves on his Harley.  Those of you who have ridden with me know I don't exactly go slow on a curvy road but he hung with me until I passed some traffic that he got stuck behind.

Then we rode through Joyce Kilmer to 129 and then to Deal's Gap where we hung out a bit.



Wed had been checking the weather and there was some pretty nasty stuff heading our way.  Doug would have to ride right through it on his way home.  So he took off as the skies were turning dark.  I snapped this pic as he sped off.



It started raining shortly after he left so I hung out on the porch for a while.  My plan was to camp at Deal's Gap and watch the Fiddies 4 Life Mini supermoto races.

[Hammerdown77]

I stopped for lunch at that same Subway last week on my trip. It's a good, quick lunch spot for heading to NC from our area, just about in the right spot to take a first break. Gas, Lunch, Bathroom, ride on.

[klaviator]

I stopped for lunch at that same Subway last week on my trip. It's a good, quick lunch spot for heading to NC from our area, just about in the right spot to take a first break. Gas, Lunch, Bathroom, ride on.

I have stopped there before.  Like you said, good location and I like eating at subway for lunch when on a ride.  I can eat there without stuffing myself and then wanting to take a nap.  That and it's cheap.

[BuckeyeDoug]

I got soaked to the bone at about milemarker 3 in TN.  No pulloffs for another half mile.  Finally got the gear on and proceeded to ride in rain/mist until almost 411.  My waterproof boots were not!  Stopped to dry off and changed socks, then took the good roads due west to avoid the 2nd storm cell over Chattanooga.  Dry all the way back to Huntsville.  A great 495 mile loop!  Thanks for letting me tag along Win!

[klaviator]

As I was waiting for the rain to stop I re-thought my plans.  I wanted to see the races at Deal's Gap but it's really not a great campground for crappy weather.  The camping area is at the bottom of a hill and would likely flood in a heavy rain.  So I decided to camp at Iron horse and skip the races.  After the rain let up to some light sprinkles I headed down 28.  The road was wet and there was a tree down blocking my lane at one spot but it was still a fun ride.



By the time I got to Iron Horse the rain had stopped and the sun even peaked out a bit later.  They have gravel tent pads so I set up on one of those.



Then I had dinner there.  I had the Salmon and it was good.  I was glad to not have to ride somewhere for dinner.  Early the next morning we had a real heavy thunderstorm.  I was glad I was at Iron Horse and not Deal's Gap.  My plan was to get up early and be at the overlook on 129 by 7:30 to meet some friends who normally ride to Deal's Gap early to beat the traffic and then have breakfast.  Sine the roads were all wet I decided to just meet them at Deal's gap for breakfast.

This was the view off of 28 on my way to Deal's Gap.



No problems finding a parking spot.



I went inside for breakfast.  One of the guys there who had spent the night in one of the motel rooms there told me if I had camped there my tent probably would have ended up in the parking lot near the gas pumps ???

[klaviator]

I got soaked to the bone at about milemarker 3 in TN.  No pulloffs for another half mile.  Finally got the gear on and proceeded to ride in rain/mist until almost 411.  My waterproof boots were not!  Stopped to dry off and changed socks, then took the good roads due west to avoid the 2nd storm cell over Chattanooga.  Dry all the way back to Huntsville.  A great 495 mile loop!  Thanks for letting me tag along Win!

Always a pleasure riding with you.  You can tag along any time.

One thing I forgot to mention was that we passed a sportbike on the Skyway.  He was probably just being smart and riding within his limits but I have to wonder what went through his mind as a Harley blasted past him :o

[klaviator]

Continuing on.  After breakfast Steve showed up on his V strom.  He was a little late but got delayed by a thunderstorm on the way fro Georgia.  After he ate breakfast we headed down 28 back to Iron Horse so I could pack up my camping gear.  Then we followed 28 to Franklin.  My favorite part of 28 is that 8 mile stretch of twisties as it turns off the 4 lane and heads to Franklin.  It's always been a great stretch of twisties but it's been repaved in the last year or so and it's about perfect now.  If you have never ridden it, put it on your bucket list.

We gassed up near Franklin then hit some more fantastic roads on our way to Blue Ridge Motorcycle Camp.  I didn't take many pics on the ride but here's a couple:



.



Steve had reserved a camping cabin.  I set up my tent.



There was a pretty good crowd there for a Sunday night especially considering the weather which looked to be rainy all week.  Most of this was due to a large group down form the DC area.



Steve and I headed off for dinner.  There is a Mexican place and a diner not too far away.  Unfortunately both are closed on Sunday nights.  We headed Waynesville to eat at the Fat Buddies there.  It was closed to :(  We ended up eating at a Chinese buffet which was pretty good.

Normally the campground only serves breakfast Sat & Sun mornings but because of the large number of campers they served it Monday morning.  Steve and I both had a Blueberry pancake.  One pancake was plenty because these things were huge and very good.



Soon after breakfast Mark and Darwin showed up on their T max scooters.  We would be riding with them today.



Getting ready to go.



That's mark in the foreground and Darwin behind him.  Darwin is 83 years old ???

So they had a reputation for being fast riders.  Mark led off followed by Darwin, me then Steve.  We headed south on 276 at a pretty good pace.  It was a pace no one would expect from a scooter rider and certainly not one 83 years old.



.



.



We stopped in Brevard for gas.  I think Steve was a bit surprised at the pace these two scooters were running at.  He was looking at one of the scooters and said "that's not a T max, it's a Mad max." 

We continued on.  Mark led us on a great road I had never ridden before.



.



Mark led for some time then I took a turn leading before we stopped for a long break.



The four of us rode together great since we all enjoyed riding at roughly the same speeds.  During the stop we had a lot to talk about as well.

[klaviator]

After a long break we got back on the road and endless curves.



.



We were planning on lunch in Cashiers but I saw this place a little before we got there so we ate here.



The food was pretty good.  It's a few miles East of Cashiers on 64. 

Then it was off to a couple of my favorite photo spots.



.



.



.



.



.

[klaviator]

So we were having a great day.  Great roads, nice weather, and some great people to ride with.  Some time after I took those last pictures we turned off on really twisty road and started down another.  I rode a little way and saw only one bike in my mirror.  I slowed down and then stopped.  There was only the two of us.  Mark did a U turn and headed back.  I followed.  We didn't go far before seeing Darwins Scooter in the ditch and Darwin laying on the side of the road.  Oh Crap!!!  This is one of the bad things about riding and one of the risks we take when doing it.  We parked our bikes and joined Steve who was already there.  Darwin was alert but as best as we could tell he had broken his leg and maybe some ribs.  Someone in a car had already called an 911.  An ambulance arrived in about 10-15 minutes.  At that point Mark told Steve and me that he could handle things form there and we should just continue our ride.  I told him no way, we weren't about to abandom them.  Steve took charge and made some decisions.  I would follow the ambulance to the hospital and he would ride back to Maggie Valley and where thewy would get Darwin's truck and trailer and come back for the scooter.

Complicating things was the fact that as they loaded Darwin into the ambulance the sky turned dark and we got hit by a thunderstorm.  I had put on my rain jacket but not my rain pants so when we got to the hospital and I got off the bike I was squishing around in my boots. 

I was able to go see Darwin once they check him out.  He had a compound fracture of his lower leg and some bruised ribs and a few scratches, bumps and bruises.  Considering he was 83 he came out of it better than expected. 

They put a soft cast on Darwin's leg, gave him some pain killers and some prescriptions and released him.  Luckily mark and Steve finished up getting the scooter and got there a few minutes before they released him

This whole evolution was much more complicated than what I have posted but I'm not going to bore you with all the details.  Getting Darwin into his truck was not easy.  because of his bruised ribs he couldn't use the crutches they gave him.  When we got back to the hotel we ended up sitting him luggage cart and wheeling him to his room.  By the time we had everything settled and Steve and i left it was around 9.  Maggie Valley pretty much rolls up the sidewalks and shuts down around 9.  We stopped at the KFC in Waynesville but they had just closed.  There was a Waffle House across the street so we ate dinner there.  It was only the second time I have eaten dinner at a Waffle House and it wasn't bad.  We rode back to the campground in the dark.  Steve had a tinted visor so I led the way and rode slow.  We didn't need to end the day hitting a deer or running off the road.

So the day didn't exactly end the way I would have liked but I was still glad to have had the chance to ride with and spend some time with Mark and Darwin.  Mark was really grateful that we stayed.  He was pretty sure he couldn't have managed things by himself.  It took the two of them to get the scooter out of the ditch.  Once they got it out it fired right up and appeared nearly undamaged.  Darwin appreciated having someone there in the hospital.  Being in the hospital sucks but it's worse when you're alone.

Steve and I had another 5 days of riding ahead of us.  More coming up.

[polarissalesman]

Win, I've never ridden through Joyce Kilmer to 129 is that a good highway or is it a mix of highway slag, gravel?  been looking at it on google maps, we are going up that way in October...

[klaviator]

Win, I've never ridden through Joyce Kilmer to 129 is that a good highway or is it a mix of highway slag, gravel?  been looking at it on google maps, we are going up that way in October...

It's a paved road even twistier than the "dragon" but the pavement is pretty rough.  It's a lot shorter than following 143 almost to Robbinsville then taking 129 to Deal's Gap.

The first few miles when you turn on to it at the end of the Skyway are great pavement.  Take a right at the stop sign and it is rough most of the way to 129.  If you go straight at the stop sign it goes up a dead end road to a nice overlook. 

[jrou111]

Strawberry fields forever...



Next time I stop by this spot, I need to bring the drone and set up a nice aerial shot/video! It's only about an hour from me now.



Sorry to hear about your friend but I'm thankful it wasn't worse.

[klaviator]

It's been slow going trying to do this ride report.  When I got back from this trip my internet was down for 8 days!  Comcast is installing fiber optic in my neighborhood and they cut my AT&T cable.  AT&T's wonderful customer service took 8 days to fix it.  Well, Comcast did it again yesterday.  It should be fixed tonight.  Both companies suck but I really don't have any othergood choices for internet.  I'm at the local public library right now using their internet.

Back to the story.

The weather forecast for the next couple if days sucked.  Rain, rain and thunderstorms.  We had reservations for the next 2 nights at the Big Lynn Lodge in little Switzerland.  I had hoped to take a long and fun route there but with the forecast we decided on a shorter route.  Steve wanted to check out the Sierra Nevada Brewery and it wasn't far out of the way so we decided to do that.  First we went out for breakfast.



This place is just a few miles from the campground at the intersection of 276 and 215.  The food and service were very good and prices reasonable.  A few pics of the inside.



.



Then it was back to the campground to pack up and head out.



We rode south on 276 which is a fun ride then left on 280 which is a pretty boring road.  The brewery is a couple of miles off of 280 south of Asheville.

Steve really didn't know much about this place, he just liked there beer.  It turned out to be a pretty impressive facility visited by a lot of tourists.  It's not as big as the Jack Daniels distillery but still pretty impressive.

[klaviator]

We went inside.  They had guided tours but the next one started in 50 minutes.  They had a self guidsed tour so we did that.



Most of the tour was walking down this really long hallway which had exhibits and windows so you could see much of the plant.



.



.



.



.



They had a restaurant and bar right there so we decided to have lunch.  Steve got some hot wings while I got some Teryaki Wings.  Mine were much better and probably some of the best wings I have ever had.



Then it was time to head out.  One last pic before leaving.