Sho ain't no shortcut (yet)

Well, it's been well over a month since the last time I have had either bike out to play. Saturday the forecast was a 20% chance of rain and a high of 60*F. Perfect!

Even better, a group that I occasionally ride with was doing a ride on Saturday. I haven't seen Dan (the founder of Country Roads Riding Group) in nearly a year. He's quite a character and always is good company.

The plan was to meet in Walland, TN at 10 AM. I hit up Googlemaps to find the quickest way so I could sleep in as long as I wanted -- besides, that early it is rather cold anyhow.

Google gave me the info I needed. I wrote down the directions; complete with miles to the next turn.

I got my gear together and headed out to the bike shed. Then I realized Cloud9's tag is expired. Dammit! Well, the KLR it is then!

It kind of sucks, too, because it was the Bandit's turn to get out (I try to make sure to take one one time, and the other the next). Additionally, I shod a new rear on it back in February and have yet to wear it in. Timing and weather have conspired against me lately.

I gear up, roll the KLR out, and I am moving. A quick gas stop and I'm Walland-bound.

I quickly am reminded that when I had the KLR out with Skip last time, I had knocked the speedometer drive gear out of its hub on the front wheel. I meant to set that back in, but forgot. HA! good thing I wrote down the miles to get to the next turn.

Anyway, I am about 20 miles into the run and I don't mind saying I was a bit cold. It was in the 40s and I had my liner in the suit, AND a flannel on, yet was chilled. I must be getting old!

Other than the chill of the damp, morning air, the ride there was rather uneventful and I pulled into the parking lot 10 minutes early and parked right next to Dan. He starts smiling and asks "What you doing here?" I replied "I came to see you big guy!"

With us today is his wife, Janet, who is a sweetheart, and Ron, whom I also have met before and like. We are going to meet another rider en route "somewhere along Miller's cove".

Dan has a new Harley (each time I see this guy, he has a different, new Harley), Ron has a 'Wing, and Paul, who will be joining us, has a 600 Ninja. After a great bull session and catching up some, we are off and rolling.

One of the neat things about riding with Dan is he KNOWS the area very well. He rides ... ALOT and finds some of the neatest backroads. Nearly everytime I ride with him I find something I hadn't been on before and it's all usually pretty good stuff.

Today was no different. We headed out through Miller's Cove. Miller's Cove parallels a creek and is about one and a half lanes wide and just twists and turns as it traverses two mountains. It is eally pastoral. About 20 minutes into the ride we encounter Paul coming from the other direction. He does a U-turn and files in behind us.

About a half hour more of twisty roads and we are at an A&W for lunch. Paul is not one for lunch and just motors on to .... wherever he decided to go.

More socializing ensues and a little "nourishment", well, as much as a fast food type joint can provide anyway. We are soon back on the road and are headed over English Mountain. We live on the foothill of English Mountain. I have never been on *this* road, which is just about 8 miles away. Again, Dan KNOWS the area.

Oddly, though, I *have* seen this road on Google maps when I was looking for stuff to explore with the KLR.  It was put on the "one of these days" list -- today turned out to be that day.   ; )

This was practically empty, freshly paved, and fraught with curves. I had a hard time keeping my eye on the road, though. There were LOTS of little "trail" type roads branching off here and there and I am rubber-necking every time I see one. I will be taking the KLR back up there again!

When we got to 321 they were turning back west. I wanted to head to Asheville to grab some beer (and it's an excuse to run NC-209 and NC-63 again). So we split there and about 20 miles out of Newport, I had forgotten about the detour and was now more concerned with how much gas I had left in the tank. I have no idea how many miles we had done up to this point due to the busted speedometer.

I knew the Ingle's in Marshall had a decent beer selection so I pointed the bike in that direction instead. Besides, the ride to Marshall is rather enjoyable too. I am hitting a great rhythm through the curves and encounter virtually NO traffic to slow me down. Good stuff!

I got what I wanted at Ingle's, topped off the tank, and head towards the house. Again, minimal traffic and I am motoring right along. Then, it happened. It has been a WHILE before I have had a serious butt-clenching moment on the bike. I guess I was overdue.

So I am headed into a blind right and I *know* the road rather well, so I'm scooting right along. I have it leaned over and am just powering out of the curve. As soon as I gain a sight line I see a pickup truck ... coming towards me ... in MY lane!

My heart STOPPED! I mean it ... just ... STOPPED!

There was a space between the rock wall on the side of the road and the truck but considering the speed I was carrying and how fast he was moving, I am not sure I could have made it there in time. That was my escape strategy, but luckily the guy swerved back into his lane in just enough time for us to not meet.

I was scared! I mean *really* scared. I thought that was it. It was *that* close.

Last time I felt that way was when Pearl and I encountered that tractor trailer that was blocking the road. It took a few turns, but I got calmed down and back into a rhythm again -- heh, once my heart resumed beating, that is.

I have seen this shortcut on the map before and even tried taking it once and wound up backtracking about 20 miles. I figured I would try it again today to see if I could take the "right" turn this time.

The shortcut I am referring to is between points A and B on this map ....

http://goo.gl/maps/0b47c

This would knock about 4-5 miles off the run. However, the road splits in a few places and there are not road signs to tell you which way is the road you are on. Last time, I backtracked. This time, I didn't, but still missed the A-B "tangent" and wound up adding miles. If you study the map, you will notice points C and D. This is what I found yesterday.

I knew I had missed another turn, but I had a (nearly) full tank of gas and plenty of daylight left, so figured, what the hell? let's see where this winds up. I eventually, came across an area I had been on before and wound my way back home. Maybe *next* time I can figure out that "shortcut".   ; )

Over Hill and dale ... this Blows (another caving episode)

So a plan was made early in the week to go on another caving trip with the group I hooked up with two weeks ago. These folks are great fun to be around and it's as much about the company as it is the caving.

Anyway, I was to meet them at their house at 10 AM on Sunday morning. I left here on time and arrived there within 5 minutes of my destination. Considering *my* timing, that's right on time.

Misti and Vince had the car loaded so all we had to do was to head over to pick up Robby. Within 5 minutes of my arrival, we were off.

We were at Robby's place 10 minutes? later. As with last time we were at Robby's significantly longer. Ahhh, consistency! Again, company is good so timing becomes less relevant.

We get some GPS coordinates and head out. Sadly, the road we wanted to take to get us closer was closed off. This cave was in a state park and they had the road gated off. This means adding another mile to the hike to GET to the cave.

Okay, we talk about options and decide since we have never been to this one to take a chance. Being in a state park, it is a distinct possibility that the cave *could* be closed! Okay, what the hell? If nothing else we will have burned off some calories. ONWARD!

The hike was quite nice! It wound around the edge of Norris Lake and it was quite pretty. There were placards tagged  on different tree species offering some trivial info about trees that lined the path.

The trail was fairly easy to navigate. That is, until we came to where it was gated off and a "new" trail went downhill.

We knew the GPS coordinates of the cave and the elevation of it, so we weren't exactly inclined to descend this steep slope only to have to climb it again later on. The trail that was "blocked off" looked fairly tame, so we kept on course.

After a few hundred yards, the trail kind of ... went ... away. It became obvious as my dumbass soon found out WHY the new trail was blazed.

Heh! I have a pretty good balance and confidence about where I place my feet. We were walking along this trail that reminded me of Arlo Guthrie's "Pickle Song" (I don't want a pickle, I just want to ride my motorsickle). "On one side there was a mountain. On the other side there was nothin' -- there was a cliff in the air." (Ahh! I love Arlo).

So my confident dumbass is walking along and swooosh! there go my feet as the leafy, muddy substrate gave way. I fell pretty hard. I felt fine and got right back up (adrenaline?) and it never hurt the rest of the day.

Today? a little sore, not bad, but I know I fell. It was much more embarssing than painful.

Sooo, we soon realized we needed to go down the slope to the "new" trail we ignored earlier. We found a downed tree and Robby used it as a handrail. I however, straddled it as my confidence had been humbled with the fall.



Heh. Misti's way down a hill is to get on her ass and just scoot on down it. It's a safer way down and all, but it IS comical to watch. So she and Vince came down a little prior to the tree.

We eventually, were all gathered back up. Vince and Misti had expected Robby (who is billy goat like on these hills) to have brewed them up a pot of coffee by now. He sure had enough time once the rest of us got down.

That was the biggest obstacle of the hike TO the cave -- outside of the *time* it took to get there (just over 2 hours). When we were about 30 minutes from the entrance, one of the guys that had been invited while we were still at Robby's calls and says he is parked and on the trail. We soon hear them below us. They were actually CLOSER than we were. They found a back way to drive in (albeit on a rougher road ... more on that later).

By the time we finally got to the cave (it took a couple hours to hike the trail and is a little after 2 by now ... talk about consistency), it is (sigh) CLOSED! We KNEW this was a possibility, we just were optimistic it wouldn't be a reality -- especially after a 2 hour one-way hike (and 2 hours back?)! So much for hope!

So now we have wasted a LOT of time to get here to find we have to go back. Luckily, Chad and his girlfriend, Abby, had gotten to the cave in about 20 minutes from their car, so we could hike to their car with them and they would ride us to the car we arrived in -- saving WELL over an hour of time of hiking.

The route they took was all downhill for them, which meant it was all UPhill for us ... and it was .... STEEP! Misti was less than thrilled with *this* reality too!

We all toughed it out. Robby, the mountain goat and those two kids (Chad and Abby) scaled that hill like it was flatland. Vince, Misti, and myself struggled significantly more.

We finally joined the others and found that our ride was a VW bug. LUCKILY, it was a convertible, but ... REALLY?!? there's SIX of us! hooo boy!

So after scratching our heads some, we finally figure out a plan to get six idiots into a VW beetle. The road is a gravel road that is riddled with potholes, mudholes, rocks, and roots. That poor bug scraped quite a few times in various points due to the weight of the passengers and the condition of the road.

Photo courtesy of Misti Whitehead

As one of the folks with a higher viewpoint than the driver, I tried to offer navigation advice as to which direction may be best to avoid rocks and such. Chad, however, was a great driver without our help, but still encouraged our input. The problem with that is sometimes, I said go "left" when I *meant* to say "right" ... Vince seemed to have the same problem 180* out of phase where he would say go "right" when he *meant* to say "left".

Yeesh. DESPITE us, Chad did wonderfully navigating! We still bottomed out at quite a few points with high rocks or roots in the middle of the track. One being bad enough we had to stop and look.

The undercarriage of that VW was built for bear. Those Germans really KNOW what they're doing!

Heh! remember when I earlier mentioned how great the company is? I don't remember the last time I laughed that hard.

Everyone we passed gave us some interesting looks ... INCLUDING a  4WD Jeep that seemed equally equipped for rock climbing as it did for creek crossing (with it's snorkel for the carb).

We were bouncing along and cracking jokes. Good times! This ride to the car took  at LEAST ANOTHER 20 minutes.

By the time we got back to the car it was nearly 5 PM (remember I mentioned meeting at 10 AM) and we STILL hadn't been in a cave yet. It's St. Patrick's Day and it has been a ... DAY!

It was nearly unanimous that it was time for *a* beer! Hey, it IS St. Patrick's Day! Also, it was nearly unanimous that it was time to get something to eat.

There is a cave within a half hour from where we were that was on private property that Vince and Misti knew the owners rather well and have an open-door invite to frequent. Cool!

We find a fast-food joint to grab some grub. Right next to it is a convenience store even. So we eat, walk over to the store (those wanting a beer each grabbed a brew of choice), and then head over to the place where Blowing Spring Cave is.

We all were introduced to the owners of the property and they are just your typical good-ol'-boy and gal. Nice, simple country folk, so long as you don't f*ck with them.

He told of us how some folks didn't have the respect to ask his permission to enter and he caught them and chased them off his property with a gun and relating to us how funny it is to see grown men run in fear (Hell! if they didn't have enough -respect- to ask if they could "trespass" on his property I say "Rock on!" -- they deserved it!!).

The guy tells a good story. Quite entertaining! We chatted for about 20 minutes prior to entering the cave.

Misti mentioned she was going to drink her beer in the cave as she had never done this. I hadn't either and figured I would join her. That seemed a popular idea and we all sipped on one while in there. We didn't go in and get stupid, but it was cool to sit there and have a bull session while sippin' on suds!

Misti, Abby, and Chad

Up until now, it had been relatively easy navigation. Then it got tight. It was crawl and squiggle time! We got to one hole that Vince refers to as the turd hole. That is because you look like one as you squeeze through it, covered in mud. Unfortunately, it was too tight for Vince and Misti to fit through.


That left the four of us. That passage ended rather quickly, but it ended in a room with a clay wall. Clay, like what potters would use.

So Chad starts building a Buddha with it. Not to be short-changed Robby decides he is going to make a VW bug with six laughing idiots in it. Here ya go ... pics of the "art" ...

Buddha?

A VW with six idiot occupants

By now it was nearly 7 PM. We had wasted so much time getting to Hill Cave (the one that was on state park land and closed) that we had to begin working our way back out as Vince and Misti  had to pick up their kids. Additionally, I needed to get back home so that Dad wouldn't be too pissed off. Here's a couple more pics of what we saw while in there ...

After art class, we started our way back out of the cave as it was getting a bit late by now.

Tread carefully (photo taken by Misti Whitehad)

 

Vince and Misti

So we worked our way out

Time to go

photo taken by Misti Whiteheaad

and then told Joe (the property owner) we had made it okay, and there was no need to call in some rescue team to save our sorry asses. That conversation continued another 45 minutes. Did I mention that he is a good-ol'-boy character and it's rather easy to get involved in a conversation(s) with him?

By the time I got back to the truck it was nearly 9 PM. I got home at around 10:15 PM to find that an old friend from the Tazewell days (and her fiancee) were at the house. I felt like crap because for some reason I got my wires crossed that they weren't due in until Monday night (I really think alcohol was involved, but that only comes across as a copout) .

Anyway, I was quickly forgiven (did I mention they are good folks too?) and the rest of the night was spent joyfully in good company (once Dad got his tirade out of the way).  Heh. few days can be scripted this way!

stupid is ....

(heh) well ... ME!

For about 3 weeks now I have been trying to extract some beer out of one of my taps. It is loaded with a quite clear, tasty Vienna Lager. So much so, in fact, I had been hitting it rather hard.

However, for some reason, it has only been filling at a trickle for the past couple weeks when I pulled on the tap. Hmmm .... thought it may be low initially, but usually you don't get any notification. You pull it, it fills, next pull, nothing but spittin' and a head of foam, and ... you're out!

So anyway, it's been at a trickle. I had no idea why, just that it was a very SLOOOOOWW draw ... basically a steady drip. This takes some time to fill a glass. Not the best thing when you're thirsty.

You would think that maybe I am out of CO2, but no. The other tap flows well.

HMMM! .....

Well, tonight I decided to figure out why. It is one of a few things since it's a simple system. It's either out of CO2 (since other tap is working fine then not likely); a clogged line (the lines are clear and you can see (*some*) flow, so ... no!),  or the tap is clogged.

I put a brush through the tap. Drew on it again and no better than what I already had. (scratching head) A closer look reveals that the valve to the keg is off.

(Light bulb clicks on) .... DAMN! that's right! I turned it off ... 4 weeks ago because the beer was soo good it was being consumed at a rate that there wouldn't have been any left for Skip to sample by the time he came for a visit.

Soooo ... knowing how undisciplined I am, I shut off the gas to prevent me from drawing on it. Well, I didn't draw on it after shutting off the gas and there was enough residual gas pressure IN the keg, to force a few out while Skip was here before it went to no pressure (heh, we had PLENTY of other brews to sip on so a couple draws was all that we pulled off it). I never gave it a second thought as it worked fine for the duration of his visit.

After he left, that keg was free reign again. Shortly after his departure, I hit it and ... get this trickle I described. (sigh)

I filled quite a few that way until getting fed up with it tonight and released the pressure on the keg to pop the top to look inside. Pressure? hardly! Hmmm

There was beer there. Hmmm ...

It was at this time that I noticed the CO2 valve TO the keg. It was ... OFF! HOLY SHIT! ya .... just .... can't .... fix stupid!

Ah well, back to enjoying a very nice lager again despite the damaged pride. CHEERS y'all! (raises glass)

Where in Spring Hill is it?

It has been spitting snow flurries on and off for the past three days now. However, nothing has been sticking. That is, until yesterday morning, when we got a dusting.

A group I found via the internet was planning a caving trip this day and arrangements were made for Melissa to be home so that I could go. The plan was to meet up in Knoxville at 10 AM. I pulled into the parking lot right at 10 AM. Sweet!

Vince and Misti arrived shortly after and introductions were made. We had to go and pick up one other person and then we would head out.

I haven't been caving for a long time, so I was a bit anxious to get there. We finally got rolling and were headed off to a cave called Spring Hill Cave. They had never been to this one before and had wanted to hit it  for a long time, so I am sure they were a bit anxious too. This cave supposedly had a 30' high and 50' wide mouth.

It was almost noon, though, and hunger mandated us stopping at a Hardee's. We must've been in the drive-thru line for 20 minutes. Fast food, my ass! Again, I was anxious to get into the cave, so maybe it just *seemed* that long -- I didn't time it.   ; )

We finally got to the site where we could park the car and got geared up. We had a rough idea of where the cave was and began hiking in that direction.

We also had GPS coordinates of the cave, but Robby had left his GPS in the car. We walked around all up and down that blessed hill, but couldn't find the damn thing! You would think a 30'X50' hole would not be too difficult to spot.

It was decided that we would try to get there from another place, so we loaded up and headed that way. Only to find a trailer being moved blocking the road. Well, it wasn't exactly moving. We sat there for another 10 minutes  and it still hadn't moved, so we headed back to where we were.

This time Robby remembered his GPS and we tried to narrow in on the coordinates. It was soon decided that the coordinates (out of an old book prior to using GPS satellites) were wrong. So an intense scouring of the terrain ensued.

We all split off and I finally thought maybe if I headed in the opposite direction of where we were looking, maybe I would stumble upon it. I spotted a huge rock face and wandered over towards it. BOOYAH!

There it was! It was quite impressive! I couldn't get a good shot of it to capture it well. It was pretty massive.

Oddly Robby had showed up just a couple seconds prior to me getting there. Vince and Misti soon showed

up and we were ready. 

Vince checking it out

inside the mouth, lookin' out

It was 2:30 by now. I would guess the search for it took us a couple hours. It's finally time to to get down and dirty.

We began exploring a few areas. You could either go right or left without crawling as the inside was just as large as the mouth was. There was also a hole leading straight back from the entrance that necessitated crawling through. Vince quickly filed into it and I followed him. Robby joined us shortly after. Misti chose not to.

This led to a pit and Vince went down and looked around a bit. I never went down there and neither did Robby. Vince soon came back out and we took the path to the left.

There weren't many off-chutes to this main passage. After a few hundred yards, it ended in a climb. Robby went up it and so did I. Misti and Vince did not. This also seemed to end rather quickly. I spied this little guy who  is in the process of becoming one with the cave.

crystallized bat

By the time Robby and I re-joined Misti and Vince, they were seated eating lunch. We all sat there and hung out for a bit and tried to get a picture of the light coming into the cave, but this is the best I could get.

We then explored the right leg of the cave. It also seemed to end too quickly before going into a precarious looking climb.



Besides, it's now getting late in the day due to how long it took us to initially find it. Much of the exploring will have to wait for another day.

Odd! for as large a mouth of the cave, it didn't really seem to really go anywhere. It also seemed lacking in interesting formations. Although, it may be that we just didn't get deep enough into the cave.


All in all it was a great day with some new friends.