Tales of the Dragon

[OldF7Guy_imp]

The large bag is a waterproof duffel from Twisted Throttle. Works good except the opening is smaller than it needs to be, making it difficult to fit larger items. The smaller bag on top is just a dry bag from REI. I use this one for all my day trips and on longer trips to hold things that I may need easy access to on the road.

Thanks for the info. Have fun and be safe!

[the Ferret]

Great stuff. In my original reply to your query about routes I think suggested 89. It's a great road. Glad you took it. This is a wonderful part of the country, no so much for the scenery, but for the roads ( if you are astride a motorcycle). Appalachians had to build roads that followed hills and valleys and hollows and none of them are particularly straight and some of them are down right gnarly.

Looking forward to the next installment.

[redbirds_imp]

Enjoying this thread. Will get some popcorn and beer for the next segment.

[emptysea]

Addendum To Last Chapter

I meant to include these maps to show our original planned route as compared to our actual run. Quite a bit shorter, but it shows you how much Mickey wore us out in the morning.

Original Route from Paris to Berea (about 170 miles)


Actual Route from Paris to Berea (about 90 miles)


Berea to Clinton via Corbin and Cumberland Falls coming soon...

[emptysea]

TOD Continued:

The Old Man Was Snoring

Our third day of riding was supposed to be a short ride with a lot of off-bike time in Cumberland Falls State Park. 155 miles along US25/US25W should give us plenty of time to explore the park and maybe even ride a few of the park roads, which I recalled from a previous car trip were very scenic.

The threat of rain put our side trip to Cumberland Falls in jeopardy, but we figured we would head to Corbin, KY where I knew of a good coffee (and tea, Mickey) shop and assess the weather situation at that point. We had a fantastic breakfast at Boone Tavern (included with our room rate, so keep that in mind when you make your reservations). Laura and Cheryl (our crew's weather assessors) assured us that any rain we got would be light until Corbin. Even so, we checked out, donned our rain gear and headed out in a very light drizzle. Within a few miles, though, it had cleared up nicely and we took a "comfort stop" and stripped down a few layers. Off to Corbin.

Arrived in Corbin late morning, just in time for a beverage and maybe a tasty treat. Both were offered to us from the friendly (and surprisingly hip) staff at You & Me Coffee and Tea.

Cool place with mostly old mid-century furniture, good food & drink, and free WiFi. (note that the women in red shouted across the street for Mike to turn off his lights and she didn't even know that we had to remind him of this at nearly every stop after the bump-start incident)


Parked the bikes across the street and headed inside.


I just finished my scone when I heard the thunder. Within a few minutes, it was raining pretty good and we decided to hold up in the coffee shop. We asked the folks there if it was OK to stay for awhile and they replied that half of their customers order one drink and stay for 4 hours. We ordered sandwiches and stayed for 2.


It took awhile, but when it stopped raining, it stopped. No lingering drizzle or anything. In fact, the sun peeked out a little bit. We were in Cumberland Falls State Park within a few minutes. The rain must have kept other tourists away because there were only three cars in the parking lot. Having the park to ourselves was pretty neat.

My family had stopped here several years ago when we were chased out of our South Carolina vacation by Hurricane Charlie. We had always wanted to return here because it is so pretty and we were especially happy to do so with our good friends.

Look close. There's one in every group, but usually I am that one, not Mike.


I took a few photos of the falls, but Mike is a great photographer and took more of the artsy shots. He hasn't sent them to us yet, though. I may post a couple once I get them, but in the meantime here's two of mine





We (and by "we" I mean "I") turned the wrong way exiting the park's parking lot which took us on a bit of an adventure, including a U-Turn on a 4-lane (whohoo!). The wrong turn did, however, take us on some beautiful roads in and around the park until we found our way back to 25W (look at KY90 and KY92, which we rode, but look at some of the other ones in between them, too). It was getting chilly at this point, but I was the only one who had completely removed his rain gear so I was the only one getting cold. Too cold to snap any more road pictures this day. The rest of the ride to Clinton, TN was uneventful, unless you count the semi that nearly ran over my wife on I-75. She didn't panic and Glen made the necessary one-fingered salute to the guy as he passed. Rained overnight in Clinton and it was forecast to rain hard on Tuesday morning which would mean our first trip on The Dragon would be in the rain. We made contingency plans to get to Robbinsville by a longer, but less technical route although Laura and Cheryl again assured us that the weather would be fine. Off to bed, dreaming of waterfalls and twisted roads. (to be continued...)

[OldF7Guy_imp]

Corbin is where Colonel Sanders is from and I believe where the first Kentucky Fried Chicken store was. Just a little useless tidbit for you all.

[emptysea]

Corbin is where Colonel Sanders is from and I believe where the first Kentucky Fried Chicken store was. Just a little useless tidbit for you all.

LOL True. I was all set to stop the Harland Sanders Cafe and Museum, but I read a review in Trip Advisor that said it's a neat building with a KFC stuffed inside it. So we skipped it.

[emptysea]

Another tidbit is that, when the moon is full, it casts a rainbow over Cumberland Falls. They refer to it as a "moonbow" and people show up at the park on those nights to catch a glimpse.

[emptysea]

TOD Continued:

OK, So Here's The Deal

Woke up to another day with rain forecast. Had the typical Comfort Inn "continental breakfast" and started out on our newly created route to take the long way to Robbinsville and postpone Tail of the Dragon until late afternoon or the following day. Again, Laura and Cheryl insisted that rain would not interfere with our day. Turns out that they were correct again. (well, almost).

We started south out of Clinton along our new route with Glen in the lead. It was dry, but the rain overnight flooded out an underpass which caused a delay and a scanning of maps. Eventually, we got back on the road.




I did manage to catch a somewhat interesting group shot while we were figuring out how to get where we needed to be (I may be the only one who loves the stock mirrors on my bike)..


The washed out viaduct and the related delay turned out to be a major blessing. Somehow, we wound up on US129 and could see the sky above the mountains clearing. It was decided that we would just follow 129 into Deal's Gap and hope that the rain was, in fact, gone. Glen lead and I took the "sweep" position for the last leg, but we agreed that I would lead us through The Dragon itself. Riding Sweep reduced my view of the road ahead, but watching my wife ride provided some visual interest.



US129 south of Maryville is a beautiful stretch of road. Someone in our group may have taken a picture, but I'll have to post it later if one turns up. The road is curvy and there are some elevation changes, but you are riding along a river basin. Eventually, Chilhowee Lake appears ahead of you and then you turn left and follow the water before turning left again and up hill an into the woods you go. Up and around we went, experiencing a few, mostly easy, turns and stopping at the Calderwood Dam Overlook (at least that's what I think it's called) to catch our breath, switch leaders and take a few photos.



Prettiest Gals on US129


And then the fun really began...


Cheryl tossed her CTX around pretty damn good. I love riding with her. :-)


We arrived safely, but breathless, in Deal's Gap and stopped, as most seem to do, at Deal's Gap Resort.

Proof that we made it


There was no shame for me at the Tree of Shame (unless you count being over 30 and taking a selfie). The grin didn't leave my face until half-way through lunch.



Deal's Gap Resort has a decent snack shop and T-shirt selection along with other souvenirs, but Killboy is just a walk across the road and has a more interesting selection of stickers and patches, in my opinion. US129 stops trying to be an asphalt pretzel from Deal's Gap Resort down to Robbinsville, but it still offered some of the best riding of our trip. Fast and beautiful and paralleling a stream. We arrived at Two Wheel Inn without another drop of water falling on us that day. We are starting to believe that Laura and Cheryl have magical powers...(to be continued)

[the Ferret]

Great photos! And a good mirror reflects nothing but beauty

Pretty and bright ( see what I did there? ) lol