Soloman
0
- Joined
- Jul 2, 2005
- Messages
- 289
- Reaction score
- 1
- Location
- Charlotte, NC
- First Name
- Jason
- Last Name
- Varelli
Well this year for Easter, Scratch joined me for three day ride around the Smokey Mountains in NC, TN, and VA. I was hoping the weather would be nice like it was for this ride last year, however after watching the weather for a week I succumbed to the fact it would be a bit chilly. So I put the mesh gear away and dug out my winter gear. We were planning on traveling to and from on Friday and Tuesday (today) and riding for the three days in the middle.
Well, the last Thursday evening I heard one weather man talk about the possibility of snow on Friday night and the temps would be lows in the 20's and highs in the 40's. Well after many months of thinking about this trip, Friday finally came (ironically it was Good Friday) and before heading out of town I stopped by my local BMW shop to pickup a pair of Gerbing heated socks to go along with my gloves and jacket. Since Scratch was trailing up and would be in until around 8:00 I didn't leave until 1:30 from Charlotte. I planned on a good mix of slab and mountain roads to Alcoa, TN where we would meet. This was my first trip back through Franklin since I was there with the TWT 2 years ago. As I pulled into Franklin for some gas the temps were dropping so I put on my rain jacket for more wind protection and changed to my heated gloves as I only had about 1.5 hours of daylight left. I made it over NC 28 and to the Dragon just as the sun was setting. I got to ride the Dragon all alone in my direction and saw 2 ZX-14's and 2 Busas riding together coming the other way. It was really wild so see their headlights dashing through the trees. I finally made it to the hotel 350 miles and 7 hours later around 8:30 pm and Paul wasn't there yet. However it was really cold and windy. Paul did arrive around 10:00 and we quickly reviewed the planned routes and went to bed.
Saturday morning arrived and I don't know exactly but it was in the 20's by the time we left a little before 9:00.
The plan was to go south out of Alcoa to the head of the head of the Cherahola Skyway in Tellico Plains and then ride some nice dirt and gravel roads for a bit. Here's Scratch installing some heating pads into his gloves, because his hands were cold.
Speaking of gear, I was wearing the following:
Bottom Half - thin wool socks, heated socks, Bohn armor pants, long underwear, polartec 300 pants, joe rocket over pants
Top Half - tee shirt, long underwear, heated jacket, joe rocket jacket, rain jacket, wind proof gloves, heated gloves, and balaclava
In total it was probably around 10+ pounds of gear. In any case back to the ride. After meandering along a nice paved road we finally hit some dirt.
We probably rode about 30 miles of really nice hard packed dirt and gravel roads. Along this section were a several camp sites and numerous nice fishing spots (season started 1 Apr). One campsite in particular was a bit odd; way back in the woods there was maybe 15-20 people at this particular site and they had no less than 10 confederate flags waving in the wind and appeared to a rough looking bunch. To say the least, we didn't stop to chat.
We finally ended our dirt run for the day and came out 14 miles from the start of the Skyway. We headed back to the start and stopped for a break so Scratch could warm up with some coffee. While stopped we chatted for a bit with an EMT from Robbinsville who works most of the accidents on the Dragon. He also informed us of the snow on the other side of the mountain and the fact when he crossed the skyway at 9:00 it was a tropical 10°.
After a bit we got back going for our trek across the skyway to the dragon. As usual, the Skyway as a quick ride, until we reached the higher elevations and the snow. Yes, that's right, snow on the side of the road, blowing in the air, and at times on the road.
We stopped at the state line for quick break and to take in the scene.
The ride down to 129 was a bit hairy at times but very manageable. We stopped once more on the way down and discovered we had snow accumulating under our front fenders and my water had frozen.
Upon reaching 129 there were a few classic cars (2 Ferrari's and a race prepped MG stopped for lunch by the dam. Since we were at the head of the dragon, we had to stop for lunch and a bit of gas. Since the weather wasn't that great, there wasn't the usual huge crowd, but rather a group of good folks. Several were rather intrigued by Scratch's Speed Triple and stuck up a conversation. One of them told us to watch out for a bunch of Civics driving like idiots on the dragon. I forgot about it and took off a few layers so we could go inside and enjoy a nice heated environment and oh yeah lunch. I had the special, chili and cornbread with a side of onion rings, while Scratch ordered a cheeseburger, and received a bacon cheeseburger.
Finally the time had come for Scratch's maiden voyage across the dragon. All in all it was a rather tame ride and we only had a few slow moving vehicles which required us to use the other side of the road. We did see those pesky civics and they seemed to be minding their manners. After the dragon we were supposed to meander our way along the back side of the Smokey Mtn Park and make our way into the center, but I choose the back way in and after climbing a steep and narrow road it turned into a one way road and we were going the wrong way, so we turned around and headed for 441 to make our way to Maggie Valley for the night. Well the stretch of 441 we rode was the rather crowded and really slow. We were hoping for a side trip up to Clingmans Dome, which was supposed to open 1 Apr, but it was still closed. After discovering that I was hoping for a nice jaunt down the BRP, but it too was closed so we took the long way into town. Since our bikes were covered in salt, and dust from the dirt road, we decided to find a car wash. See more in next post
Well, the last Thursday evening I heard one weather man talk about the possibility of snow on Friday night and the temps would be lows in the 20's and highs in the 40's. Well after many months of thinking about this trip, Friday finally came (ironically it was Good Friday) and before heading out of town I stopped by my local BMW shop to pickup a pair of Gerbing heated socks to go along with my gloves and jacket. Since Scratch was trailing up and would be in until around 8:00 I didn't leave until 1:30 from Charlotte. I planned on a good mix of slab and mountain roads to Alcoa, TN where we would meet. This was my first trip back through Franklin since I was there with the TWT 2 years ago. As I pulled into Franklin for some gas the temps were dropping so I put on my rain jacket for more wind protection and changed to my heated gloves as I only had about 1.5 hours of daylight left. I made it over NC 28 and to the Dragon just as the sun was setting. I got to ride the Dragon all alone in my direction and saw 2 ZX-14's and 2 Busas riding together coming the other way. It was really wild so see their headlights dashing through the trees. I finally made it to the hotel 350 miles and 7 hours later around 8:30 pm and Paul wasn't there yet. However it was really cold and windy. Paul did arrive around 10:00 and we quickly reviewed the planned routes and went to bed.
Saturday morning arrived and I don't know exactly but it was in the 20's by the time we left a little before 9:00.
The plan was to go south out of Alcoa to the head of the head of the Cherahola Skyway in Tellico Plains and then ride some nice dirt and gravel roads for a bit. Here's Scratch installing some heating pads into his gloves, because his hands were cold.
Speaking of gear, I was wearing the following:
Bottom Half - thin wool socks, heated socks, Bohn armor pants, long underwear, polartec 300 pants, joe rocket over pants
Top Half - tee shirt, long underwear, heated jacket, joe rocket jacket, rain jacket, wind proof gloves, heated gloves, and balaclava
In total it was probably around 10+ pounds of gear. In any case back to the ride. After meandering along a nice paved road we finally hit some dirt.
We probably rode about 30 miles of really nice hard packed dirt and gravel roads. Along this section were a several camp sites and numerous nice fishing spots (season started 1 Apr). One campsite in particular was a bit odd; way back in the woods there was maybe 15-20 people at this particular site and they had no less than 10 confederate flags waving in the wind and appeared to a rough looking bunch. To say the least, we didn't stop to chat.
We finally ended our dirt run for the day and came out 14 miles from the start of the Skyway. We headed back to the start and stopped for a break so Scratch could warm up with some coffee. While stopped we chatted for a bit with an EMT from Robbinsville who works most of the accidents on the Dragon. He also informed us of the snow on the other side of the mountain and the fact when he crossed the skyway at 9:00 it was a tropical 10°.
After a bit we got back going for our trek across the skyway to the dragon. As usual, the Skyway as a quick ride, until we reached the higher elevations and the snow. Yes, that's right, snow on the side of the road, blowing in the air, and at times on the road.
We stopped at the state line for quick break and to take in the scene.
The ride down to 129 was a bit hairy at times but very manageable. We stopped once more on the way down and discovered we had snow accumulating under our front fenders and my water had frozen.
Upon reaching 129 there were a few classic cars (2 Ferrari's and a race prepped MG stopped for lunch by the dam. Since we were at the head of the dragon, we had to stop for lunch and a bit of gas. Since the weather wasn't that great, there wasn't the usual huge crowd, but rather a group of good folks. Several were rather intrigued by Scratch's Speed Triple and stuck up a conversation. One of them told us to watch out for a bunch of Civics driving like idiots on the dragon. I forgot about it and took off a few layers so we could go inside and enjoy a nice heated environment and oh yeah lunch. I had the special, chili and cornbread with a side of onion rings, while Scratch ordered a cheeseburger, and received a bacon cheeseburger.
Finally the time had come for Scratch's maiden voyage across the dragon. All in all it was a rather tame ride and we only had a few slow moving vehicles which required us to use the other side of the road. We did see those pesky civics and they seemed to be minding their manners. After the dragon we were supposed to meander our way along the back side of the Smokey Mtn Park and make our way into the center, but I choose the back way in and after climbing a steep and narrow road it turned into a one way road and we were going the wrong way, so we turned around and headed for 441 to make our way to Maggie Valley for the night. Well the stretch of 441 we rode was the rather crowded and really slow. We were hoping for a side trip up to Clingmans Dome, which was supposed to open 1 Apr, but it was still closed. After discovering that I was hoping for a nice jaunt down the BRP, but it too was closed so we took the long way into town. Since our bikes were covered in salt, and dust from the dirt road, we decided to find a car wash. See more in next post