Wandering around TN.....Again. 4-3-19

[klaviator]

Now that I have discovered that middle Tennessee has a lot of great riding I keep going back and exploring.  I had the chance to do that again yesterday.  My goal was to try to figure out a good route for a group street ride, do some exploring and take some pictures to show what a fun and scenic area it is to ride.

My last few ride into TN have been on my KLR.  With it's long travel dual sport suspension it soaks up all those rough roads that a rider on a streetbike would not like.  So I took my Like150i scooter.  If I can ride it with little 12" wheels riders on full size bikes shouldn't complain 8)

I normally start my TN rides in taft but I think Ardmore would make a better meeting place so I started out by riding to Ardmore.  I filled up my tank there since the Like only has a 1.8 gal tank.  I had a route planned from Ardmore to Delina but it didn't take long to get "lost". I know, technically I wasn't lost because I had gas in the tank.  I ended up on some nice roads while "lost".



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After backtracking a few times I found my way back to my planned route.  I wanted to ride some of the steep hills and hairpins we did last time without riding any gravel.  I managed to do that but some sections of pavement were rougher than the average gravel road. 



I was actually riding down the road in the last pic.  One advantage of a small scooter is that I can pull a U turn anywhere, even in the middle of a steep hairpin.  That makes it much easier to stop and take pics.

[klaviator]

I tried a new route to Delina from 64.  It looked good on google maps but unfortunately it had a couple of short sections of gravel road. The gravel was actually smoother than many of the paved roads but I know that gravel is a no go for many street riders. 

It was a scenic ride.



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I had lunch at the Old Delina Stor.  I took a couple of pics of the back room.



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A couple of riders showed up while I was eating.



While I was out a rider ride up on a RE Himalyan.  I thought it might be Thinwater but it wasn't.  It turns out this guy bought this bike a couple of weeks ago at Allsport and I even saw the pic on Allsports FB page.  It's a small world.



Got this pic from the parking lot.

[klaviator]

I headed towards Lewisburg. It didn't take me long to get off on some back roads. OK, all the roads around here are back roads but I'm talking about the chip and seal, lane and a half wide, no centerline roads. 

Another small bridge over a stream.



We did this road last time but coming the other way.



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[klaviator]

With a 1.8 Gallon tank and only 70 MPG I would need gas to finish my ride so I rode into Lewisburg.  Since i was on a scooter which is designed for riding around town, not what I'm doing with it, I decided to explore the town a little.  I got off the main drag and away from all the fast food places.  I figured like pretty much all old Southern towns there would be a town square with a courthouse.



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Just on the edge of downtown.



I got gas before leaving town.  1.1 gallons to go 95 miles.  That's 86 MPG :)  I consistently get 70 MPG but i guess slowing down a bit and not constantly stopping at lights really helps.

[klaviator]

I headed south on 272 out of Lewisburg but soon turned off and went exploring.



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I ended up riding 236 miles for the day.  Not bad for a little 150cc scooter.  My butt was a little sore but I could see myself riding 300 miles days on this scooter.  I prefer shorter days like this and being able to stop and take pics and explore when something looks interesting.  I'll be heading back into TN when I get the chance.

[Hammerdown77]

Check out Lake Logan off Baugh Rd just East of Elkton next time you're up there. I'd ridden past it a bunch of times and never even knew it was back there because the road to get to it has a dead end sign right at the turnoff.