Sometimes ...

So it's near the end of January and pretty much smack-dab in the middle of winter, and we get a forecast of 70* and mostly sunny ... in ... JANUARY! WOW!

Ivor had asked me the other day if I could sneak off and play on the bike since the weather was going to be so nice. Initially, it didn't look possible as this coming weekend I will be headed out of town on the bike anyway. However, I found that Melissa was off on Tuesday and said she had no plans to go anywhere, so it looked as if I would indeed be able to jump on the bike for a short run.

I am in need of bottle caps anyway, so I set a course to end up in Knoxville, which is about 40 miles away from here as the crow flies. My route picked up some tasty twisties and more resembled a bat's flight path than what a crow may do!

I opted to take the KLR because the Bandit still has a bald (like race-slick bald) rear tire and I am going to need every bit of that to get me to Mo's where I will change it this weekend. The KLR's rear is getting thin in the middle, but I didn't plan to use the middle much for this ride anyway.  ; )

We planned to meet up at the corner of US 411 and TN-92 at 10:00 AM. This would be about a 40 minute ride for Ivor and about 10 minutes for me. It also was a good starting point for the route.

I showed up at 5 minutes before 10. HONEST! I was EARLY. No ... REALLY I was!

Sadly, Ivor was not there to corroborate this. As a matter of fact, he showed up at  a very "Ed-like" half hour late. It was comical. He got his helmet off and immediately began apologizing and laying out why he's late -- just like I tend to do when I am late. He's going on about why, and I'm snickering to myself because for once it isn't me having to do that.   ; )

Anyway, after a short bull session, we get going. 92 isn't a bad road, but it was far from the highlight of the day. Still, it offers some nice, easy, non-technical fun. The road was damp, though. It must've rained overnight, although I never heard it at the house. Luckily, it was just damp and not frozen,, so we could get away with being a bit aggressive and not lose traction.

We were on 92 for about 40 miles and turned south when we hit Rutledge. This would be a long, boring, flat stretch until we hit TN-61, which is an absolute hoot!

I *do* love that road. It winds in an east-west direction across the countryside, over mountains, next to creeks for 100 or so miles ... and it's all fun!

We finally get to it and I make my right turn onto it, and apparently wasn't paying attention closely. and as I downshifted, hit it one extra time to go into first. DOH! I meant to be in second entering that curve!

The bike bogged down and damn near came to a stop and I had just started to lean in as I let the clutch out. Crap! I look in the mirror to see Ivor taking evasive measures. Luckily, there was no traffic to deal with and he had an escape, but I felt like such a dolt!

Just one moment's inattention can get you into trouble. I am glad he had a safe following distance and that his attention hadn't lapsed, that could've been ugly.

Anyway, we are now scooting along on 61, and I am in a nice rhythm. I am cruising right along, smiling in my helmet, and then I see the street sign that 61 turns left -- as I pass it. I was having so much fun with the road, I didn't have time to slow down to make the turn. I pointed to the sign so Ivor didn't miss it and I proceeded to turn around and get back on track.

ZOOM ZOOM! right back at it. MAN! it's so sweet when you, the bike, and the road are one!

Then we got to the area just east of Big Ridge SP and it gets a little technical there, which translates into "even more fun! ". The roads are still damp, but even while playing I never *once* lost traction. Good times!

Ivor needed to place a call around 12:30, and we finally came across a gas station and I thought it was "around" 12:30 and a quick perusal of the watch indicated it was 12:37 ... not bad! He made his call, then we BS-ed a bit. The blue sky we had earlier had by now given way to gray clouds.

We were just about done with the fun stuff, and about to turn back, so if it must rain, now is the best time for it. About 10 miles up the road, the rain started spittin'. That was all it did, though. It wasn't even enough to get my suit wet, which was just fine with me.

Upon arriving in Knoxville, we split off as I had a few places to stop. I got my bottle caps and stopped at the liquor store and picked up a sixxer of Sierra Nevada's Ruthless Rye. I had brewed this before but never had seen the original anywhere. I knew they had gotten it in stock this past week, so I definitely wanted to grab some.

Arrived home with about 180 miles on the odometer and a smile on my face. Topped off a great day with a couple Ruthless Rye's and gained another smile, as I liked mine better than Sierra Nevada's. Closed out a great day with a nice long catch-up chat with my mother.

Sometimes, the stars ... they just fall in place!

loyalty

.... yeah loyalty! It's hard to beat a dog's loyalty! Really!

Tonight I watched "Eight Below" (great movie by the way) with Melissa. Impressive!

It makes you realize how dogs "feel". While dogs were not the main characters of the movie, they were an integral part of the story. You really feel like one of the pack. The director and actors did an awesome job relaying how much a team of dogs is not so much a unit, but a collection of individuals that actually give a damn about one another.

In the society we live in, this premise can easily be forgotten or set aside. We get busy, we have obligations (whether they are where we need to be or not, we have perceived obligations), life goes on and we get so caught up in our self-serving, self-centered/focused lives ... that we lose sight of the big picture.

It's hard to do everything alone. Yeah, okay, *some* things are easier to tackle than others but as a socially driven species we still need to help one another now and then. This movie tugs at that very premise; but from an obtuse angle.

Dogs get it! They really do! Undying love; this is what dogs have that we do not.

We, as humans, are conditional; everything comes with an asterisk. We come home from work mad at .... who knows? It doesn't matter, you get home, your dog is tickled that ... you're home! You are frustrated with some aspect(s) of your day and fail to acknowledge him/her ... yet he/she is happy that part of the pack has come home.

Dogs "feel" more camaraderie, and, more self-preservation for the most part, than humans do. It's amazing how much a dog will sacrifice.

Maybe I have been hardened/de-sensitized, but I have seen too much human behavior that does not represent this quality on a case-by-case basis. There are some good people out there, sure!, but on the whole, we, as a species, are nowhere near what a canine is!

Funny we consider ourselves to be "above" animals, but don't hesitate to call a dog an animal. Movies like this make you think it's the other way around. "Eight Below" is a great flick that exemplifies a canine's demeanor, and makes me wish I were as good as a canine.

(caveat -- yes i watched the movie. i KNOW that there is a human element and applaud that representation, but there is nothing like pack mentality as opposed to the sheeple we have become)

COLD!

Cold and alone here in this shell,
I have condemned myself to this Hell.

Those that care and those that try,
Are excluded from me and I have no answer "why".

It's not fair, it's not right,
Still I persist on this flight.

Sometimes there is no escape,
Sometimes I wonder why I go on,
Yet I allow myself to keep doing wrong.

Am I doomed? Is this fate?
Why cannot I avoid this trait?

I am not dumb,yet I cannot understand
Why I cannot take the upper hand!

Let's get lost ....

that was the mindset I awoke with yesterday morning. Melissa was working third shift and was planning to be home, so I did some chores around the house and then jumped on the KLR with the idea of "getting lost" on some gravel roads.

I *did* do some preliminary scouting using google maps so I would be aware of some of the roads in the area I would be in -- (heh) provided they were marked, which is rarely the "norm" on forest roads!

I left without a clue that this would be my route, but in retrospect, I formulated one. Here it is ...

http://goo.gl/maps/Y84NS

So if you're following along with the map, TN-32 is an absolute blast -- and with fresh asphalt! Zoom in and see how it wiggles!  ; )

I had been on it before, but it's been years. I was with Isaac on the big Magna (yeah, *that* many years!!). We knew it was going to turn to gravel but had no idea how long, but we were both curious enough to find out.

Anyhow, it doesn't turn to gravel until after you get across the state line. Sadly, the road was wet in the shaded hollows, so I kept a real sane pace through those tasty twisties. I never slipped but it was only about 40-50* up at that elevation and I was not confident that I *wouldn't* find icy conditions.

As mentioned above, shortly after crossing the NC state line it went to gravel. However, it was hard packed, easy to navigate, gravel. At one point, I saw an old building down in the hollow and wanted to play with the camera. However, it was a significant drop-off and I didn't feel like hiking down just to have to hike back up, just for the sake of photography. I guess I'm not a dedicated artist.   ; )

So I took a couple pics from above and moved on. This one seemed to be the one that come out best ...



and here is a shot of the bike waiting for me to come back to it ...











I continued on along this, now, hard-packed dirt road. There were many little "trails" leading off the "beaten-path" that looked intriguing, but being alone, I decided against this since my first single-track adventure turned out poorly and *now* I have no phone if I do indeed find myself in trouble.

I then saw a sign for Cataloochee. I have heard of this but never been. Time to change that!

Cataloochee (area C on the map, if following along) is an old early 1900's pioneer-type live-off-the land settlement that has since become a government-owned, protected area. Not only that but they have decided to try and repopulate the area with elk -- which used to roam the area but haven't for a long time.

It was a pretty neat place. I have never been even *near* as close to elk (that weren't in an enclosure) as this ...

They are beautiful animals. And, as you can see, they are not too bothered by humans. I was able to get as close as 10 feet from them. I probably *could* have gotten closer but didn't want to make them uncomfortable.

Here is a shot of a huge barn that was built by one of the early settlers ...

And here is a few more elk from a pasture further up the road ...

From there, I headed on. With a late departure, and waaaayyy much more camera time than I had expected to spend, the sun was getting low, and I needed to think about headed homewards.

I knew where I was (remember I said I had been on the road before with Isaac?), even though I had never been to Cataloochee before. I could backtrack and see if I remembered how to get to I-40 but I saw a sign and followed it instead. Again, it's getting late in the day.

I got to 40 and stayed on it ... for about 15 miles or so. That is when I saw the Harmon's Den exit. I recall seeing a road named Harmon's Den when perusing Google maps earlier that day. Hmmm .... I haven't got "lost" yet and that was the day's objective, so I got off 40 and decided to see if I could get myself lost.

All the while thinking "this is a bad idea" but I just ... wanted .... to! So I stayed the course to ???? and the road quickly turned into a Forest Service road and began climbing .. and climbing. Soon I was looking at I-40 from some 2000' above.

The road kept going on and on and the sun kept getting lower and lower. Uh-Oh. I'm about lost now as I don't really know where I am. I have a sense of direction and with the sun's position that helped. I was headed in the right general direction, but daylight was no longer on my side.

Then it got *more* interesting. The road I was on "T" 'd and to the right (which was where I thought I needed to go) was a gated road with enough wheel tracks around the gate that made me think. (If you're following along on the map link, I could not find it on Google). After doing some careful thought, I went right, after all, this is *where* I need to be heading ... I think?? ... HEY! I'm lost!

After about 5 miles or so, the road is much less traveled. It is now strewn with leaves, the road is barely visible and the substrate seems to be pretty much ... MUD! I'm alone, it's getting dark, I have no phone, SHIT!

(sigh) I turned around and headed back.

So I went the other direction of that "T". It quickly turned into a dead end. Well, I guess I got lost, so mission accomplished. Once again, I turned around and re-traced steps.

There *had* been a road earlier that went downhill, but I passed it as the road signage indicated the road I was on went straight, not downwards. Now, left with no other options but to backtrack entirely, I took this new road that again, went in the direction I *think* I needed to go.

And it did! It wound up where I thought it would and I was home a half hour later and there was still some residual daylight remaining. Happy, but sore!

I found some places I would like to explore further. Now, I just got to find the time and someone locally that has a DS bike and is crazy enough to take some of these single-track offshoots to check out.

if a picture is worth a thousand words .....

this is several thousand words long.    ; )

I got the camera out and played with exposures and took a couple hundred pictures. The fall colors are really pretty up here on "rocky top". anyway here are some pictures for your enjoyment ....

 

Mother Nature sure does put on quite the show during the fall months!

take a hike, eh?

It's been just about a year since Sean and I last got together and went for a hike. We haven't seen one another for a while and he sent me an email suggesting we do so. I am game!

Now, for the record, Sean is not the most decisive person, so for him to come up with this was good, but he also had a place and day suggested. I felt like typing "Who are you and what have you done with Sean?" Anyway, the details were sorted and we just had to wait until the time came to go.

Then the day before we were to go, he emails me that he thinks a different place would be better this time of year. I told him I didn't care where we went; to me, it was more about the company. It's all good! I just have to be home by 5 PM. He was fine with that, so it's a go!

We didn't have to go too far before the fall colors were presented in all their glory ....

I DO love this time of year! Pleasant weather and plenty of beautiful scenery!

This hike was only 2 miles each way and it was a fairly moderate level, too. Out of shape as I am, and with Sean nursing a bad back to health, it was the perfect call.

  

As we walked down the path, we would hear the crunch of leaves beneath our feet and the sound of the water as it coarsed over the rocks and boulders that made the bed the creek flowed through. Other than that, there wasn't much other noise. It was quite nice!

We made it to the falls and hung out for a bit taking pictures and taking in the scene. 

For whatever reason, I always feel the need to cross the water to get to the falls. I don't know why, but I just long to do this. 

photo taken by Sean Kelley

photo taken by Sean Kelley

photo taken by Sean Kelley

photo taken by Sean Kelley

 If you look really hard, I am at the top of the falls. Due to the time of day and the angle of the sun, it is a bit overexposed. There was little that could be done about that, though.


After getting my workout (scaling the hill up that falls, is tougher than it looks), I crossed the "creek" once more. After a few more minutes of taking in the scenery, we headed back. We goofed around and took some more pictures on the way back.

Between a rock and a hard place?
photo taken by Sean Kelley

Hey Sean feel like the weight of the world is on ya?

Photo taken by Sean Kelley's camera     ;j )

What a great day! Cloudless, baby blue sky, with temperatures in the mid 70s amidst some of the best that Mother Nature gives us, and all the while in the company of a very good friend. Hard to take!

Another ride, another deadline ...

A friend recently got a bike and has been wanting to get together and ride. We found a time we could both sneak off and I threw together a "short" run over some pretty fun roads. Cloud9 has a near-bald rear tire so taking the KLR is the smartest option. Besides, having the KLR will keep me at a more sane pace and help even the score between my bike and Ivor's Nighthawk. Although I will say, for someone who has been on a bike for about a month now, from what I did notice he seems pretty smooth.

We had set up a time and place to meet up and then would head out from Newport and cover roughly 150 miles before winding up in Sevierville, where he lives. Probably 180 or so, for each of us, I guess.

The only caveat was that I had to be back home by 4:30 PM, so that Melissa could head off to work. Oh boy ... Ed's got a time frame and on a bike ... you can only wonder how this will wind up!

This morning Ivor tells me he will be there around 10-ish. Judging from where he left from I tried to time it so we both arrived at the same time. I pulled in within a couple minutes of when he did. Sweet! I topped off, we chatted for a bit, and then headed down the road.

Southeast bound on 25/70 we go. We get through the 20 (Okay only 12 I think, but YEESH!) traffic lights and then are finally rolling. I am enjoying the serenity of the blue skies dotted with little, white, powder puff clouds and the fall colors filling the countryside while rolling along.

Then I realize that I hadn't reset the trip meter (for gas purposes) when we filled up. I figure it's been 10 miles since we left so just need to add 10 miles to keep track of when we need to fuel -- or rather when HE does. He gets 120 to a tank.

There is construction somewhere near the state line on 25 so they detour you. This is my normal route, even though it's a 20? mile detour, because it's a lot of fun. It was more enjoyable before the detour as traffic was less prevalent.

Anyhow, luckily today it wasn't too bad. We had pretty much all of 107 to ourselves which is a nice, tree-lined and shaded run through the forest. Gently curved -- good stuff!

Then it's onto TN-70. There is a two mile stretch just before the border which is a cowpath switchback climb of the mountain. You *always* want a free run at it when you can. (big grin) Knowing the road and that the KLR cannot get out of its own way, I knew passing two cars in the space allowed before hitting the mountain wasn't going to happen.

Still being about a mile from the upcoming switchbacks, I just backed the throttle down about 20 mph trying to generate space between us and the cars. It worked for the most part. We got a run at about 2/3 of the climb.

YEAH! right off the bat-- that first hard right ....KRRRRKKKKK ..... ground that peg most of the way through the turn. It is a perfectly banked right hander with a constant radius. that set me  on a pretty decent rhythm for the rest of that 2/3 of free space .. YEAH!

Shortly after this 70 becomes 208. It soon parallels the river with very clear, long sight lines all the way through the curves. You ... can .... reeeaally laaaaay into these turns with confidence! Great fun!!

Then the highlight! One of my favorite NC roads! 209! hands down! It climbs the mountain n a very snakelike manner. The first 8 miles is just back and forth, back and forth, zoom zoom!!

I managed to get past nearly all the vehicles I encountered. I came up on a Harley riding two-up, but sight lines were scarce. A few curves later, he finally waves me by. I accelerated into the next turn -- a downhill right-hander when, all of a sudden, there is s a group of people standing alongside the road, and IN the road -- "IN the road" in that they are IN my lane and just as I am accelerating through the corner.

WTF?!! I dropped anchor and nothing came out of it except for some dilated pupils, since there was a motorcycle lane to get around and before having to go onto the other side of the road. You would think they would try to find a safer place to congregate. I am sure I that came to their attention as much as it had mine.

The thing with 209 is the middle lulls you to sleep. There's a long, straight stretch in the valley that is quite the letdown after all the curves you were just on. However, it's been a LONG time since I have been on THIS part. Just as you are getting Ho-hum! WOOWEEE! crossing another mountain and the curves are back. These aren't as tight so you can really scoot along if you get in tune, so to speak. YEEHA!

We zipped up this mountain with very little traffic to inhibit us. Soon we were to the I-40 interchange and, since time was a concern, I incorporated about 20 miles of slab in the route. Now, that stretch of I-40 goes over the mountain and the wide sweepers are best enjoyed at about 85 mph. When you time it just right you can slalom between vehicles. Fun, fun, fun!

The idea was to pick up the Foothills Parkway (the eastern one) over to 321 then onto a road I hadn't rode for way too long -- 416. The Foothills Parkway was a great choice.

The leaves are really popping right now up there. Plenty of reds, orange, yellows .. really nice! The road gently weaves its way across the landscape and the tourists all seemed to be parked at the overlooks. SCORE!

However, 321 was a rolling traffic jam. Hadn't given tourists much thought until this point. Good Lord! I looked down and the speedometer at one point and it told me we were doing an agonizing 20 mph. GAH!

Now in fairness, it wasn't 20 all the time, but it was still friggin' slow! Again on a time crunch here so this is resonating in my mind. HAHA!

Problem was that there was a line of cars, and even if you picked them off one by one, it would take forever. I passed a few before I settled in line and just rode along knowing that 416 is coming in the next painstaking 15 miles or so.

We hit 416 and it is freshly paved. I have been on it, but it's been ... forever! WOW! I forgot how much a blast this road is. Swish, Sway, Up, Down. WHEE! It's very roller-coaster-ish. As Mr. Mazur would say, it's one tasty "ribbon of asphalt"!

We were moving along at a good clip now away from tourist traffic. What local traffic we encountered was quickly dispatched. Until, that is, we came upon a Sheriff-led Trash Pickup Patrol with trailer rolling towards their next stop.

He is crawling along, too. GRR! There is no way I am going to pass him ,though.

Granted, he has enough problems to handle he probably wouldn't chase me, but he DOES have a radio. At his first opportunity, he pulled over to allow us to pass by. That was pretty cool of him and I offered up a friendly wave and smile as we rolled past.

From there we wondered back to Ivor's house to drink a beer before I headed along my way. JUST ONE! ; ) After that, onto home.

I grabbed 139 along the river to Dandridge, then 92 south. It was about 5 miles up the road when the bike starts bucking. Out of gas! remember about not resetting the trip meter? Yeah! I forgot about that!

I switched over to reserve. However, I am unsure how much fuel is in the reserve -- I should really find out. So now I'm in fuel conservation mode.

Off the gas and coast downhill, just before ascending, gently roll on and hold speed, coast, roll on, no gas modulation in the cuves, etc. I soon found a gas station and my mind is at ease. I put in a gallon and a half to get me home.

92 south is another windy, twisty, fun piece of road. I had planned to take it to 411 then on home, but then came across a side road that I had forgotten about. Only thing was this ... isn't ... familiar.

There's a store there and storage locker place where there used to be ... nothing. I am curious if I this is the road I think it is. Ah well, I am going to find out. After a few turns, it is evident that this IS indeed the one I throught it was. I have used this as a tire scrub run before. Another joyous piece of asphalt.

I got home right at 4:30, which was my outside target time. Which was *just* enough time to see Melissa heading out the door. I was trying to make it by 4:15, and almost did, but I at least I got here "on" time. Hey it don't happen much, let me brag!  ; )

It's soo good to get seat time. Had perfect riding weather, good roads, no pucker moments, no imperial entanglements, and good comapny. What more can you ask for?