Several months ago, when the wife and I were up to our ears in homework and exams, I realized that all of our 2-up motorcycle outings were in groups. We had never taken an overnight trip together on the motorcycle unless we were with other people as well. I decided that we needed a vacation to the mountains by ourselves. We knew that our daughter would be visiting grandparents the first two weeks of June, so I chose the second weekend for our trip. Turns out that it was an excellent choice for the weather.
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I took Friday as a vacation day from work, so we left the house about 9:30am.
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We slabbed it up to Chattanooga and briefly visited Pandora's European Motorsports. I wanted to get some Olympia pants for the wife, but Pandoras did not have any Olympia gear on display this time. It was all Klim, BMW, Ducati, and Triumph gear. That was disappointing, so we left and went to eat lunch at Panera Bread nearby. After lunch, we jumped onto 64 bypass and headed out along the Ocoee. Stopped at the dam for a few pics.
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We turned off of 64 onto 30 towards Reliance, then 315 towards Tellico Plains. We couldn't splurge for rooms at any resorts or hotels, so I made reservations to stay in a cabin at Cherohala Mountain Trails Campground again, even though I knew it was somewhat distant from the roads that I wanted to ride.
We arrived at the campground, checked in, unloaded as much as possible, then headed over the Cherohala Skyway towards Robbinsville. I wanted to get some curves in on the first day of the trip. We made it to Deal's Gap around 5:30pm. The store wasn't too crowded, so after buying some stickers and bottles of water, we took off on the Dragon.
The first pass was relatively uneventful, except for a green Harley that came around a curve in my lane. He corrected quickly, so it wasn't too dramatic, but it did serve as a reminder to leave myself some space whenever possible. I tried to stay in the right-hand side of my lane for the entire run. Caught up to a Subaru who let me pass, so I was thankful for that too.
We made it to the parking area at the end, and since we hadn't seen anybody going the other way for a few minutes, I made a quick u-turn and we started back up the Dragon. Didn't take long to catch up to a couple of stretched Groms (I didn't even know that there was such a thing ... what is the point?) and a pickup truck, none of whom wanted to pull over and let me pass. Decided to stop at the overlook for a photo op.
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We hung out and chatted with a couple from Toledo, Ohio, who had ridden down on their Harley. They seemed like nice folks, and we all had a good laugh at some big fellas that rode by on Groms, commenting that they looked like bears on little bikes from a Russian circus. After a break in traffic, we took our leave and finished our second Dragon run with no issues.
Only two photographers remained on the Dragon that late on Friday. I bought a couple of photos from each of them.
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Stopped for gas at the turn to 143, then made it back to Tellico Plains just after 8pm. We stopped to have baby back ribs at Krambonz, picked up a few beers, and returned to the campground. Overall, we had 395 miles for the day, and we were both exhausted.
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Nice ride. I know what you mean about riding alone. I like riding with friends, but a long ride is best done solo in my opinion. No worries about where to stay or eat. And if you want to change the plan no one gets disappointed.
Day 2, we woke up around 7:00am to a beautiful morning. The bike was covered in dew, which made it really easy the clean the bugs and dirt off from the day before. The campground provides bike cleaning towels for just this purpose. After showers, coffee, and breakfast, we got on the road about 8:50am.
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Because it was early and still a little cool, and because we were headed all the way over to Maggie Valley, we decided not to take the Skyway. We took 68 north to Madisonville, then 411 up to Maryville. After a brief stop for gas, and some water and snacks to carry with us, we took 321 toward Townsend and Wears Valley. We passed by the terminus of the Foothills Parkway, another road that I hope to ride someday.
In Wears Valley, we turned right on Lyon Springs Road and entered Great Smoky Mountains National Park at Wear Cove Gap Road. We stopped for a selfie on the little one-lane bridge over Little River.
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Immediately after crossing the bridge, the road stops at a T-intersection -- turn right for Cades Cove or turn left for Gatlinburg. Someday I will turn right and visit Cades Cove, but that day, we turned left. The road is called Little River Gorge Road, and there are many scenic overlooks, hiking trailheads, and waterfalls along this road. We stopped for photos at one of them.
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Little River Gorge Road eventually turns into Fighting Creek Gap Road, which then runs into US 441. We turned right, and drove through the National Park. The road is very beautiful, but it does have a lot of traffic. My mind went back a couple of years to an incident where a couple of friends received awards from the park rangers... so I decided to obey the speed limit, and just enjoy the scenery. Eventually, we made it to the Oconoluftee Visitor Center on the south end of the park. We stopped to check out the store and ended up buying some stickers and a t-shirt for our daughter.
From the visitor center, it is less than a mile to the start of the Blue Ridge Parkway. We jumped on and rode the 14 miles until it intersects again with Hwy. 19, then took that road into Maggie Valley. After a quick lunch at Subway and a coffee at Organic Beans Coffee, we made it to the Wheels Through Time museum around 1:30pm.
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We are fortunate in Alabama to have the Barber Motorsports Museum right in our backyard. It is truly a world-class museum.
The Wheels Through Time museum is completely different, but also completely amazing. All of the bikes are American-made, and there is a strong mix of dirt and flat-track weapons from as long ago as 1912. They claim that all of the bikes are in working condition, and many had drip collection pans underneath. Also, many of the bikes have historical significance, whether it be from racing or as service bikes in the military or police forces. What I loved most about the museum is that it smelled like old leather and motor oil, but in a slightly sweet way. I told my wife that they should bottle that and sell it as "Essence of Dale," after the founder Dale Walksler. She was not amused.
As a motorcycle enthusiast, I believe that every rider needs to visit this museum at least once. My wife and I both bought t-shirts to remember the visit.
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They have a few cars also, but not enough to dilute the primary motorcycle flavor of the museum.
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After the museum, we headed back west on 19 to Bryson City. We cut through town, and headed up the "Road to Nowhere," also known as Fontana Road or Lakeview Drive, depending on which map you are looking at. Many locals consider this road to be a broken promise by the federal government. In the 1930s and 1940s, many residents were displaced by TVA to create Fontana Lake and to add to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The federal government promised to create a paved road from Bryson City to Fontana along the northern edge of the lake, so that the displaced families could visit family cemeteries. Construction of the road began and made it six miles before it was stopped by "an environmental issue." The issue was resolved in 2010, but the federal government decided to pay Swain County $52mm in compensation instead of building the road. Apparently, the Park Service provides a weekly boat service on Fontana Lake to take locals closer to their family cemeteries, but only from April to October. It must be frustrating to the locals who cannot visit whenever they like, for example on special birthdays, anniversaries, Easter, Thanksgiving, or Christmas.
The road is not in great condition either, unlike most of the roads in north Carolina. The pavement is crumbling, and there are large potholes. But the view is very scenic, and there are several overlooks. The road ends at a tunnel which is about 1/4 mile long. We walked through the tunnel, and I managed to step in horse droppings, which thankfully were dry. If you visit this tunnel and walk through, I recommend a flashlight.
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After the tunnel, we headed back to Bryson City. It was about 5:00pm and very warm, so we stopped at La Dolce Vita bakery for some gelato. Yum!
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From Bryson City, we took 19 to 74 to 28 to Stecoah, then 143 to Robbinsville. We fueled up the Wing again, then headed over the Cherohala Skyway one more time. We made it to Bald River Falls around 6:45pm.
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Afterwards, we stopped in Tellico for beer and brisket to go, then returned to the campground and enjoyed our dinner under the pavilion. All together on Saturday, we only did about 266 miles, but it included some stop and go traffic and some walking, so again, we were tired and in bed by 10:30pm. Getting old stinks!
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Sunday morning we slept in until about 8:30am. After showering and a light breakfast, we headed out of Tellico on 68 south. I had considered going up to Buck Bald on the Wing, but I couldn't remember how rough the road was. I remembered it just being a gravel road, but Wayne (the owner of CMTC) recommended not doing it, so I drove on past it.
We stopped in Ducktown for gas and bottled water, then continued on south on 68. At Copper Hill, we turned onto Ga.5, also known as Blue Ridge Drive, and made it to Mercier Orchard around 10:45am. It was too early for lunch, but we bought some fried peach pies and coffee as a snack. We bought some honey and peaches to go, and headed on down the road.
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After Elijay, we mostly took back roads and sidestepped the towns as much as possible. Big Texas Valley Road was nice and scenic, with several horse ranches and picturesque farms. It dumped us out onto Ga.20 near the Alabama line. Then we took Al.9 to 411, and ended up at Back Forty Beer Company in Gadsden for a late lunch. They were serving Dreamland BBQ, so we each had a pulled pork sandwich with potato wedges and a Cart Barn Light beer.
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From there, it was straight across 278 to Cullman to arrive home around 3:30pm. We unloaded the bike, started the clothes washer, and plopped down on the sofa for a well-deserved nap. You know that you had a good weekend when you have to rest upon arriving home!
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That's it ... hope you enjoyed it!
Thanks, Glenn. Your reports are always inspiring.
Great RR. Thanks for the gratuitous pictures of Wheels Through Time. I had never heard of it until a few years ago, my dad and I went the first chance we had. That was one of the best parts of that trip for me. My old mechanic who told me about it used to live in Boone. He said the owner used to get some of the cars out and do donuts outside upon request. Apparently a really cool guy.
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Great report and pics.
Sounds like the wing is growing on you. :)
Nice.
Very nice.
Thanks for sharing.
Glad you didn't receive any awards!!! :)
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Nice report Glenn. Glad you were able to have such a good time. I guess we'll forgive you for skipping gymkhana ;)
Great report!
You are certainly enjoying the Eastern TN/Western NC area in a variety of ways this year.
Quote from: jrobinson on June 13, 2017, 04:24:28 PM
Sounds like the wing is growing on you. :)
I was thinking the same thing Johnny!!! ;D
Enjoyed the report Nice Goat!!
Great report and very inspiring.
::) I wish me and the wife could get some time off to go again. Maybe soon? ::)
Here lately Sandy and I don't get any time off. We just have to take it.
Thanks for the report and great pics!
Thanks, everybody. I hated that I missed the Gymkhana, but we had already scheduled this trip and made reservations. A few comments about the trip...
The Goldwing did a great job on the trip. For a simple weekend getaway for two people, if you are not bring camping gear, there is plenty of storage space. I plan to get a trailer soon, but it would only be used for longer trips and/or carrying camping gear, cooler, etc.
While the Goldwing does have a good ability to lean, I was surprised that I was hitting the pegs so often on the Dragon. It almost seemed too easy to do. With just a bit more lean angle, I could have ridden the road even faster. Maybe I just need to be okay with grinding the pegs... Also, the Wing had plenty of power for passing quickly, even when I should not have been thinking about it. The only downside to the bike is that it is almost too comfortable... it lulled Ms Goat to sleep at one point! :D
While there was some traffic on the Dragon on Friday evening after 5:30pm, it was nowhere near what I would consider to be dangerous. It was actually very enjoyable. If I had been alone, I might have made several passes back and forth, because sunset was not until about 9:00pm. That's at least three hours that you could enjoy the Dragon with relatively little drama in the late afternoon sunshine.
Cherohala Mountain Trails Campground is top notch. From a cleanliness, friendliness, and customer-service standpoint, it is probably my favorite motorcycle campground. I only wish that Wayne had another campground over near Cherokee or Maggie Valley. I'm starting to feel that I have spent enough street time around Tellico, so my next street trip will probably be centered more to the east, like around Maggie Valley. There is a lot to see over there also, and it's just too far to base camp in Tellico. If anybody has any campground recommendations over near Maggie Valley, I'd be interesting in hearing them.
There are two campgrounds reasonably near Maggie Valley. Blue Ridge Motorcycle Campground is not too far away in Crusoe. It has small cabins as well as tent camping. It is at a pretty high elevation which is great in the summer but it will be chilly in spring and fall. They serve breakfast and dinner on weekends. I have stayed there several times. It's great and I highly recommend it.
Mile High Camground is also in the area. I haven't stayed there round but have heard good things about it. It might be the perfect place during a heat wave. Ask Al Goodwin about it, he's stayed there.
There are a bunch of other campgrounds in or near Maggie Valley but they seem to be geared towards RVs.