2016 - 4th of July Dual Sport Weekend

[kdtrull]

First of all....Kyle, I hope you weren't kidding about being wordy.

I don't have all my material prepared and I figure Wynn is locked and loaded....So, let's just go ahead and kick this off, knowing that it will most likely be a non-linear ride report.

I had two weeks off from June 20th until today and had hoped to take about one week to ride the bike.  It almost worked out that way.  I had to settle for 4.5 days.  The first week was a planned trip to Florida with the family, upon which my feet/ankles got completely fried.  Then I had the chance to spend a couple days with my daughter which I couldn't pass up....those chances don't come up very often anymore.  That left me with 4 to 5 days to ride and I left out as soon as I could last Thursday.

I knew I was gonna' meet Wynn and Jeff on Saturday afternoon for Wynn's planned ride but I didn't have a solid idea for where to go until then.  But, I did remember what a good time I had staying at the Cherohala Mountain Trails Campground just a few weeks ago.  So, that's where I went.   It was super hot in Tellico Plains and I was not looking forward to camping there.  Initially, the place was completely booked-up by a riding group.  Fortunate for me (but bad for Wayne and Kellie), the group cancelled just a few days earlier so I had my pick of cabins.  Cabin 1 had a brand new air conditioner....guess which one I picked!!!  Thursday night, I was the only person on site.  It's probably socially frowned upon to say so but,  I thoroughly enjoyed the evening solitude.


Cabin 1:



The original plan was to just do a couple days of mild exploring and sightseeing.  I don't like to get too carried away when alone and I'm just barely fit enough to handle the KLR on anything much more than a fire trail for any length of time....which was fine.  We have family there and have been to Tellico countless times but we always go to the same places and see the same things.  I wanted to find some new stuff or ride a few legs of the Smoky Mountain 500.  When I turned on the SM500 tracks, it became obvious that, if you ride anywhere in the area, you will most likely touch a portion of the route.  Anyways, I found out a few days before leaving out, that John and Paula were going to be in Tellico that weekend.  So, I weighed exploring the area alone against spending a few hours with friends.  Naturally, for most folks (I think???), I chose spending a few (all too precious) hours with friends.



(Phone video, more shaky)


Let's get the non-linear properties started already.  Earlier, while waiting for John and Paula to arrive for dinner, I did ride a few gravel roads just off the Skyway:




I hope you all had a nice holiday weekend.  And I hope most of you recognize Independence Day in lieu of a day off on the calendar.  Let 'er rip Wynn and I'll have more later.

John/Paula, it would be great if you share a couple of your pictures from the ride here.
This is all I have:

Making the conservative decision (John pressured down and crossed the creek like a boss).  The creek is very low...but the rock is still very slippery.




TVA relics:



kdt

[Gam]

Is that Witt Rd.? I don't think I've ever got a good look at the bottom like that.

[kdtrull]

Is that Witt Rd.? I don't think I've ever got a good look at the bottom like that.

It is...indeed....the third of four crossings on Witt Rd...The only one you need to focus on.  The rest, you can blast through like gang-busters....gravel bottom.

[Yankee Dog]

That is Witt.  It was the lowest I have ever seen it.

Paula has most of the pics.  But here is one from the road up to Swans cabin off of FR81

[lazeebum]

Did ya'll make it to Swans cabin?

Sent from my Z812 using Tapatalk

[Yankee Dog]

No.  I am sorry to say.  The last turn was covered on deep loose gravel and was steep to boot.   I didn't want to chance it 2up and by ourselves.   The road leading up to there off of 81 was fun enough.  I was spinning and spitting rocks most of the way up. 

A good time was had by most. 

[klaviator]

I would have liked to start this trip a day or two earlier but work got in the way.  I'd retire today if I could afford it.  So I did the best I could by getting on the road Saturday morning around 8 after getting off work around 2.  I met Jeff in Scottsboro and we hit the back roads heading east.  Our route hit some fun roads like Dougherty Gap, Hog Jowl and Shinbone Ridge before getting on 136 in Lafayette and following it to Talking Rock where we topped off out tanks.  From there it was some fun twisties on 136, Burnt Mtn, Rackley rd, Roy Rd, and Doublehead Gap.  Then we got on FS42 which would take us the rest of the way to Suches.  The first 6.5 miles had a fair amount of 4 wheel traffic since it is the route to the start of the Appalachian Trail parking area.  We took a break there and I finally started taking pics.



I got to practice my action photography as I captured Jeff hiking the entire WIDTH of the AT.



When we got to TWoS Ken was waiting for us on the porch.  We hung out a bit before setting up our tents.



TWoS, and TWO before it, have been one of my favorite destinations since 1990.  Besides all the great riding, street and dirt, in the area, the high elevation makes it comfortable when most other places are miserably hot in the summer.  I know a lot of people like the area around Tellico Plains but in the summer Suches is just much more comfortable. 

We got there early enough to do some riding but none of us were motivated enough to get back in our gear and do it.  So we hung out until they started serving dinner in the lodge.  We all agreed that dinner was excellent

The only thing lacking was that they don't serve desert.  I took care of that by getting an ice cream cone at the gas station nearby.



Last year the gas station sold beer.  This year they don't.  Not sure why.  Jeff had to endure about 10 miles of twisty road riding to get some beer.

I only brought a lightweight sleeping bag and it ended being not enough as temp did drop enough for me to get cold at night.

[klaviator]

We got up Sunday morning and had breakfast at TWoS.  We all gave the food a big

I ran into an nold riding aquaintance who told me that Flatland road was in really rough shape and he didn't recommend riding it.  Of course, this was second had info since he is a street rider.  I got a second opinion from Bill the TWoS owner.  He said it was rough but since it was dry we should be OK.

So off we went down 180 until turning into Flatland Rd.  If ever there was a mis-named road.......

Flatland road starts off paved, then dirt, then has a really cool creek crossing before turning into a narrow, rocky, rutted and steep trail.  It was rough.  I wouldn't want to do it on anything bigger & heavier than a KLR.  I was doing OK until I was forced to stop by a couple of riders on BMW 800s who were struggling to get up a hill.  I eventually got by then and continued until finding a nice spot to stop and wait for everyone.  I didn't get any pics of the rough stuff.  Maybe Kdtrull got some video?  I did get a couple of pics on an easy section of the trail.



.



I also got pics at one of the watercrossings:



.



Eventually everyone made it through Flatland Rd.  There were three guys in the other group.  They did not know the area and decided to follow us for a while.  The FS roads after that were fun but nothing difficult.  Just lots of tight curves and some nice water breaks perfect for getting some air.  I got a pic of everyone at a stop:

[klaviator]

For those interested, our route for the morning was:  GA180, Flatland Rd, Cooper Creek, FS33A, Duncan Ridge.  While on Duncan Ridge we came across a group of bikes stopped doing repairs to a KTM.  One of the battery terminals had broken off and they were rigging something to get out of there.  Duncan Ridge ends at GA 180 at Wolf Pen Gap.  We took a break there and when we went to head of my KLR wouldn't start :o  I figured it was a loose connection at one of the battery terminals so I tightened it and off we went headed for Helton Creek Falls.  GA180 from Wolf Pen Gap to 129 of course was a blast

Then it was right on 129 and left into the road to Helton Creek Falls.  This is a narrow twisty road that turns into dirt after about half a mile.  Unfortunately there is often traffic on this road and often it is cage drivers who are terrified from the curves and dirt.  I ended up passing one of these cars on the right as well as a pickim up truck who didn't want to move over.  Some of the riders behind me ended up stuck behind them. 

We took a short hike to the falls.



After that the three riders who had joined us decided to go their own way.  We continued on and took the back way out from the Falls.

Crossing Helton Creek.



Since Jeff only had a 2 Gal tank we took a short detour to get gas as well as a snack.  None of us felt like a big lunch since we had all had a big breakfast.



Then we took some nice back roads that eventually took us back into the Cooper's Creek area.  We rode into an area with a bunch of nice, two track deserted dead end trails. 

Taking a break in the middle of nowhere:



Unfortunately my KLR decided not to start again :(  I pulled the seat again to check the battery and noticed that one of the terminals had a big crack in it and was sheared off on one side

This would not be a good place to break down.  I put everything back together (or so I thought) and the bike did start and we headed back towards TWoS.  We had a great run up 60, one of my favorite roads.  On the way back Ken noticed that my tail light was out.  Further checking showed that my headlight was out as well.

So we got back to TWoS and started checking things out.

[klaviator]

I guess I've been dragging my feet on finishing my input to this RR so here goes.

A little troubleshooting found that replacing the fuse fixed the Headlight and a new bulb fixed the taillight.  We never did figure out the problem with the starter but figured it did always eventually start so the bike should get me home.  I decided to do a all pavement route home.

We were really looking forward to another great dinner at TWoS but the kitchen was closed :(  We eneded up eating pizza at the gas Station in town.

We did have another great breakfast the next morning.  We also settled up our bills for the weekend.  Mine was around $52 for 2 nights camping, 1 dinner and 2 breakfasts :)  Add in a few meals on the road and gas and it was well under 100 bucks for the weekend.

Custmmc was also there for the weekend.  We did not ride with him but did spend some time talking to him at TWoS.  Got a pic Monday morning as we were packing up.



Packed up and almost ready to go.



The route back was nearly the reverse of the route there except we took some great twisty roads instead of FS42 out of Suches. 







We stopped for gas near Talking Rock and I put on my cooling vest which made the heat much more bearable. We followed 136 to Lafayette where we picked up some fun roads. Shinbone Ridge, 193, Hog Jowl, and Dougherty
We stopped at the DQ in Scottsboro for lunch and some ice cream........well that was the plan. Their ice cream machine wasn't working too well and the ice cream was runny so I we had milk shakes instead.

The last leg on 72 and 565 always suck and this was no exception. Ken split off and went up 65 into TN. I snapped a pic of Jeff as I turned off in Madison.




Mileage from TWoS to home was 242 miles, exactly the same as the route there. Now I have to fix up my KLR before taking it out on another long ride. Luckily I have three other bikes to ride until that happens ;D

[kdtrull]

I'm gonna' get back to this report soon.  I just have a butt-ton-a-byte of stuff to sort through.