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Kelly's Run - A Ride Report in Four Parts - Printable Version

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Kelly's Run - A Ride Report in Four Parts - Cormanus - 09-07-2014

Great narrative and pictures, EmptySea. Thanks so much for taking the trouble to write it up. I really enjoy looking at shots of rural US and hearing the stories of members' rides. In this installment, I particularly liked the post rain shots. Oh, and the Tales of the Ferret. Love the way you get that mist on the water.

RE: Kelly's Run - A Ride Report in Four Parts - emptysea - 09-07-2014

Only one of the photo vendors was still taking pictures on the way up. They were gone on my return trip. Notice that the ground is almost completely dry even though it was pouring here only 30 minutes prior.

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RE: Kelly's Run - A Ride Report in Four Parts - Cormanus - 09-07-2014

Looking good. Smile

RE: Kelly's Run - A Ride Report in Four Parts - redbirds_imp - 09-07-2014

Wonderful pics and write up. So sorry about your friend though. Looking forward to the rest of your story and photos.

Kelly's Run - A Ride Report in Four Parts - emptysea - 09-08-2014

Part III

Saturday.

Sunny and hot, even at 7:00am

My bike was dew-soaked, but the handy "Bike Towel" bin was close at hand so I wiped it down and packed it up. I rearranged my duffel so that my dress pants, shirt, and shoes were at the top of the bag. My wife had suggested that I simply wear these tiems (except the shoes, of course) under my riding gear and that would have been ok if it was 30 degrees cooler. Best to find a place to change at the church.

I had desperately tried to figure out a route that would take me to Chattanooga via Cherohala Skyway, but I didn't feel confident that I could follow that route and still make it to Chattanooga, actually Hixson, by noon. Sure, I could leave an hour or two earlier, but my past traverse of Cherohala wound up being a trek through fog and cold at 5,000+ feet. I decided on a more direct route that would still include, I hoped, some good roads with great scenery. As it turns out, I came up with a gem of a route. Area riders may know a better way, but this Yankee thoroughly enjoyed his morning ride.

When I was in the area in May, I took Cherohala as part of my route to Chattanooga and I blew past this neat little restaurant-looking place on the river just outside of Tellico Plains named Tellico Kats. I had thought about circling back, but instead settled for a cup of coffee at Hardee's, apparently the best breakfast place in downtown Tellico Plains. My riding companions on that trip stopped at Kats, which turns out to be a coffee shop/deli/convenient store, and had gourmet coffee and a sweet roll on their deck overlooking the river. One thing was for sure, I was stopping at the cute little place by the river.

I headed south out of Alcoa on 129/411. I had learned something over the last couple of days of solo riding solo: If you're trying to get to a particular place and are not familiar with the area, plan a fairly simple route. It doesn't have to be direct, of course, but keeping the number of roads to a minimum reduces the number of location checks you have make along the route and helps you enjoy the ride and stay on schedule.

I figured out that I could take US411 to TN360 which in turn would take me to TN165 which would be near the western terminus of Cherohala Skyway.

With so many great roads in the area, TN360 would be easy to pass up. Don't. It's hilly, but not steep, very curvy, and takes you through national forest land across a river and Tellico Lake. There's some farmland along the way, too. Seems like it would be a great connecting road for someone trying to do a loop that included Tail of the Dragon and Cherohala. In fact, it's probably on tour maps as such.

A view from one of the bridges on 360
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A horsey!
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360 was a wonderful morning run. Now, just a quick left and a couple of miles, if that, and I would be having breakfast on the river at Tellico Kats.

Except it was closed.

Apparently, Kats is not really a breakfast place at all. More like a lunch place. I parked the bike and walked up to the door and saw the Open 10-6 sign. Unfortunately, it was only about 9:15. I walked back to my bike thinking that I was going to have to suffer another breakfast at Hardee's when I heard the door open behind me. A nice older woman asked if she could help me. I said that the sign says you're closed. She said "You're the first person to actually read and understand the sign. Most read it then knock or try the door knob. I tell them that we're closed. You look hungry, come on in and we'll fix something up for you."

My lonely bike at Tellico Kats
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As I said, they're not really a breakfast place. It's a deli owned by two sisters, probably in their 60s, who are from Pennsylvania and decided to open a deli. Just as simple as that. Both of their names start with a K sound (Katherine and Karen, maybe?). I told them that I thought it was a breakfast spot and one sister says "Well we don't have a breakfast menu, but I happen to have a couple of eggs so I could make you a ham and egg sandwich if you'd like." I would LIKE!. Anyhow, the sisters could not have been nicer to me and I ate my ham and egg sandwich and drank my coffee on their covered deck looking out over the river...

Yeah...there are worse places to eat I guess.
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Coffee, a sandwich, a bottle of water, some nice conversation, and a wonderful view. I think it totaled $10 with a generous tip.

Just west of Tellico Kats.
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Gassed up in Tellico Plains for the last leg of the morning...Tellico Plains to the Presbyterian church in Hixson. Applying my new technique, I would limit the number of roads in between the two towns to 5. TN165 to TN39/Mecca Pike to TN310 to 163/Bowater Rd. to I-75. There were huge detours and related delays in and around Chattanooga, so don't ask me what road I took once I exited the interstate.

All the roads I used to get from Tellico Plains to I-75 were really nice roads and, it being still relatively early on a Saturday, there were hardly any other vehicles out. I was able to fully enjoy the ride although the temperature was increasing.

I spent a little too much time with the K sisters and I was trying now to make it the 80+miles in less than 2 hours. Motorcycle time is slower than car time so I knew I had to hustle a little bit. Fortunately, the traffic cooperated. Unfortunately, I did not take time to take pictures. Picture roads flowing like water over rolling hills through a forest. If you have occasion to travel in this part of Tennessee, hit some of these roads.

By the time I got to the I-75 ramp, it was HOT out. I stopped in a shaded area on 163 near the ramp and had a brief drink of water and walked around a bit. The ride south on I-75 was fast enough, but the sun was beating down on my pretty good and I was glad I had stopped for some hydration.

They were rebuilding the bridge I needed to cross to get to Hixson so I follwed the snail-paced procession of vehicles along the detour. Snail-paced processions on an air-cooled bike on a hot and humid day is not a great combination. I was shvitzing pretty good by the time I arrived at the church--on time. The funeral director greeting me at the door and was good enough to point me to a place I could change. Fortunately, I had a towel with me to dry off, but it was hard to cool down and my dress clothes were toasty warm from the 80 mile ride in a black duffel bag.

The memorial service was a very fitting celebration of Kelly's life with a slide show of photos which included, surprisingly, a picture of him next to my bike from just the month prior. No one from his family knew I was coming so they were as surprised to see me as I was to see my CB on the big screen. Several of us gave testimonials about him and then all visitors met for some refreshment and more remembrances. I stayed for as long as I could, but I needed to get on the road. My next stop was in Bowling Green, KY, 200 miles north, and it was almost 3:00. I changed into my riding gear, said my goodbyes, hugged my hugs, and was off.

I have no idea how I wound up on I-24 toward Nashville. Kelly's wife gave me something resembling directions, but I must have misunderstood them. After asking three different people at three different stoplights "How do I get on 24 to Nashville", I eventually zeroed in on the ramp and then it was just an 80 mph ride through a blast furnace for the next hour or two. There are no pictures of this part of the trip. Interstate pictures are boring and I was preoccupied with trucks and steep grades and the like.

I stopped to refuel somewhere south of Murfreesboro. A young guy on a sport bike came over and asked about the bike and my travels. He was in the service, Air Force I think, and was heading south. He said traffic around Nashville was bad and that they were predicting a big storm. The young man didn't know that Nashville traffic is a walk in the park compared to Chicago traffic, but I could see the clouds on the horizon and thought I may want to stay on the eastern path to Bowling Green, rather than follow my planned northwest route through Nashville. I was hot and hungry, though, so stopped at Steak n Shake for dinner and to revise my route. I decided to shoot north and a little east along TN890 which is 4 lanes and had almost no cars on it. I left the cloud line behind me and to my left, and it was still sunny for most of 890. The clouds hit in earnest near Lebanon where I picked up US 231. By the time I crossed into Kentucky, though, it was sunny. It appeared that I had run a successful end-around past the storm, but it was getting near dark and I was more anxious than a body ought to be about bedding down at the Red Roof Inn.

The Red Roof Inn was a great buy. $70.00, I think, and the rooms were clean and had laminated wood flooring and new beds and lighting. I was very pleasantly surprised. Here's a tip: Trip Advisor works.

Again, they let my park my bike in a covered area and I now had time for a couple of pictures as the sun set on my long and memorable day.

My bike, as seen from the fireworks stand in front of the hotel.
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So...as I unloaded my bike, I saw this guy looking out at the pool at the EconoLodge across the parking lot. Yep...just a guy outside in his underpants
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Time to rest.









______________________________________







Kelly
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RE: Kelly's Run - A Ride Report in Four Parts - the Ferret - 09-08-2014

Hi Kelly, nice to meet you. Sorry for the way it turned out. Rip brother.

RE: Kelly's Run - A Ride Report in Four Parts - Short Timer_imp - 09-08-2014

Nice report and a nice collection of pics; a stream clear enough to drink, a very inviting eatery, and memories of a friend.

RE: Kelly's Run - A Ride Report in Four Parts - Cormanus - 09-08-2014

Yeah, sorry to meet you under such circumstances, Kelly. RIP.

Another fabulous instalment, ES.

RE: Kelly's Run - A Ride Report in Four Parts - offroadfx4_imp - 09-09-2014

(09-07-2014, 07:30 AM)EmptySea_imp Wrote: Only one of the photo vendors was still taking pictures on the way up. They were gone on my return trip. Notice that the ground is almost completely dry even though it was pouring here only 30 minutes prior.

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Nice lean angle! You would have probably caught me and passed me ;-) Great reading your post!

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RE: Kelly's Run - A Ride Report in Four Parts - the Ferret - 09-11-2014

Where's part 4? Did I miss it. Enjoying the report and pictures very much ES.