23 Jun 2008, 8:48 pm / Satisfied
The day started early, with making a breakfast of biscuits and gravy and forlornly looking for the missing furry child with no luck. After breakfast and a comedy show to lift my spirits, Dave headed off to work and i headed out the door to find what adventure would greet me today.
Last night, i had again checked my trusted map site and plotted a route with untravelled roads. On the way out of the drive way, i met a tortise making his way across my path and stopped to see him on his way. Down familiar Longbottom Road, the wild daisies and brown eyed susans seemingly waved to me in the light breeze as i passed by. The pavement was still wet from the night's thunderstorms in the shady spots and even tho the sun was shining, it was chilly enough to raise goosebumps in these spots. So at the end of Longbottom, i pulled to the shoulder and donned my jacket, knowing it would be welcome as i was headed for higher elevations.
I turned north and headed up the winding 18 mountain, passing by Stations Inn and on into Laurel Springs to take a left onto 88 West and into unknown territory. It was not disappointing with scenic views and twisty turns. The groups of orange daylilies that dotted the ditches and hillsides were stretching out their blooms to the morning sun amid a rainbow of other wildflowers. As i rounded one curve, i was greeted with the view of a small dam where white water was churning before settling back into the gently flowing river. I pulled off in front of the guardrail and killed Stella's motor and enjoyed the rushing sounds of the water for a moment before retrieving the camera to snap some shots. I lit a smoke and enjoyed the spot further until it was finished and the butt was tucked into my lil trash box. I consulted my jotted notes and figured i was close to the TN border and the next road on my journey. I jumped back in the saddle and fired up Stella's engine once again.
On we twisted and lost in the ride, i thought for a moment that i had missed the turn, but as i rounded yet another curve there was the road sign for Roundabout Rd. It was a nice, although narrow, little country road. I passed a white clapboard church where bathing suit clad children were playing through an obstacle course of wading pools and blowup toys as the other church goers watched on still in their Sunday finest . Further on, there was a father throwing a ball with his son, while a mother was pushing the pigtailed daughter on an old tire swing hanging from a huge hemlock tree in their front yard.
I was so engrossed in these sights and the country side that i was surprised when i leaned right round the next curve where the road suddenly narrowed into one lane.
"Woah!?!" I exclaimed aloud as i had to immediately recover and lean left. Stella's footpeg scraped the surface and assured me that even thought it looked as if the pavement had turned to gravel, it was still indeed paved. This is when i learned why its called Roundabout rd, because it takes you round about the top of the mountain and back down the other side.
I glimpsed some astonishing vistas while navigating its switchbacks and hairpin turns and dodging the oncoming pickups and cars. I tried in vain to find a shoulder to come to rest on in order to capture some of the views, but the path was only wide enough for the narrow strip of pavement i was sharing with the other motorists. So i started looking for the next leg of the days exploits, only to find at a crossroads that Roundabout turns into Stage rd at some point down the mountainside.
A bit after this discovery i noticed that there seemed to be a major road running parallel to the one i was on. I finally arrived at a stop sign and realized the road was TN167. I made a right and travelled 100 ft or so to reach 167 and took a left which eventually dumped me out onto 421 in Mountain City.
I took 421 North towards Shady Valley, with a quick stop to fill the gas tank before i was off to ride parts of the Snake. As i ventured on up 421, i saw rain clouds on the horizon. Oh well, i had escaped a good drenching so far this riding season. I supposed my luck was about to run out but as we glided on, a sprinkling was all we encountered.
Just before i reached Shady Valley, i saw a sight that made me giggle. What looked to be someones laundry hangin in the yard, but this wasnt normal laundry! {you can see a pic in my gallery} As i proceeded down into the Valley, i encountered a rider on a crotch rocket who started tapping the top of his helmet as he passed by me. I checked my speed and was doing the posted 35 and didnt think much of it. I arrived at the Shady Valley store a few minutes later to find it packed with bikes and trikes and their riders, and was apprised of the meaning of signal i had just received. I pulled up in front of the porch swing and killed the engine. As i reached up and slid my lid off , the fellow occupying the swing told me i was going to get popped for that and continued on to tell me he had a couple weeks before with a future fine of $144 plus the cost of a new helmet before he could move his trike. Of course that brought explicatives spewing forth from me, which were met in kind by the owner of the bike i had parked beside. He had just been popped by the Tennessee Highway Pig-trol for speeding plus a helmet infraction. I went inside the store for some refreshment and then settled down in a rocker on the porch to rejoin the conversation. It seems that for the past 3 months Tennessee's finest have been harassing motorcyclists at the Snake. Before 10 minutes had passed, there were at least three various police cars passing thru the intersection from different directions. The fellow that had initially greeted me is from Bristol and was under the impression that we have no helmet law here in NC. I corrected his mistake. We continued to commiserate over the subject of biker rights and other things. He and his lady offered to follow me out of the Valley since we were going the same direction, towards Bristol, so that if i was stopped, i would not be stranded. A short while later, we all saddled up and headed out of the Valley. I saw the bar of lights stretched across the top of the Sheriff's cruiser and my butt immediately puckered. I checked my mirror to find my newly made friends had my back as the car disappeared round the curve we had just come round. Onward we rode and i watched my speedo with obsession until the highway flattened and straightened a bit. We came upon a signal light at a bridge construction zone and i took the opportunity to thank them profusely for the "protection". We also wished each other safe journeys and said our fairwells as we knew our paths would soon diverge. They did, only a few miles later, when i turned right onto TN 435 to visit Bristol Caverns. The caverns, if you are not claustraphobic, are something you will just have to experience for yourself. They surpass Linville Caverns by far and i have no words nor pictures that can compare to their magnificence. A 15 minute wait for the tour to start, and an hour down into the cool of the underground historical site and i was back in the heat of the sun and the saddle again. I retraced my route back on 435 to 421 til it met TN 44, which turns into VA75 at the state line. I followed 75 to Abingdon to pick up 58 which would take me thru Damascus for the second time. The first was Memorial Day weekend with Dave, Shelley and Trish. And i had planned my route in a circle so i could visit this beautiful lil mountain community again. I also had an ulterior motive, to make several stops along the way to snap pics of numerous barns adorned with quilt squares that i had missed previously. But alas, it was not meant to be. Outside Damascus, i felt the air cool very fast as the sky darkened before me thru the canopy of trees. I knew my luck had finally run out and i was in for a soaking ride home. I recognized the store at Whitetop as a friendly stop we had made Memorial Day weekend so i glided to a halt in the lot to the prime spot beside the steps leading up onto the porch. I slid out of the saddle and my lid and retrieved my jacket from the travel bag once again. I tucked my camera and phone safely inside to protect them from the comming moisture and went inside to make use of the facilities and find something to drink. As i exited the screen door, i heard a little girl exclaim to her papa that it was raining ice. Wonderful. Hail. Thankfully it only lasted a few moments, but was followed by a brief downpour that i watched from under cover of the tin roofed porch while i waited for a slice of pizza from the oven inside. When it was ready, i devoured it and washed it down with a Sobe green tea. I thanked the girls inside for paper towels to dry Stella's seat as i disposed of my trash, strapped the bag to the luggage rack and made off to follow the storm that had just passed. It didnt take me long to catch up with it and ride through it, straight into a bigger one. My legs were quite wet from the spray of the front tire by the time i rode into the thickening raindrops. It felt as if my face was being attacked by a swarm of yellow jackets made of ice. Then came the most comfortable feeling of a river of ice water making its way down my legs and into my boots to pool at my toes. Still i smiled and enjoyed the ride.
There were quite a few butt puckering seconds as i traversed this twisty wet unfamiliar road, most of them involving cars taking their half of the road from the middle. A couple of cages passed by, and i could see the warm, dry occupants thru the swish of the windshield wipers. The first was a lady in the passenger seat that clasp her hand over her mouth and pointed at me in surprise. Her eyes became even wider when i did the same back to her. ;) The second was a pick up filled with teenagers who were pointing and laughing. My reaction to this was to throw my hands in the air, throw my head back and cackle back at them. Onward i trudged through the rain to find 16 south that i knew would lead to 93, 221 and Sparta. Sometime just before reaching 93, the rain had stopped but i was still well soaked and dripping as i stopped for a rest under the shelter of an Exxon station that was closed on sunday. I sat dripping from the saddle and frustratingly tried to light a cigarette with my numb fingers.As I called home to leave word i would be back shortly, i watched the rain catch up to me again. I stowed the phone and crushed out the remnants of the smoke.I tossed the butt into the trashcan as i fired up Stellas vtwin and we sped off thru town and down 21 trying to out run a second soaking. We were successful in our endeavor, but heard a loud clap of thunder just as we reached the 21 end of Oklahoma Rd. I dodged left down this wonderfully winding short cut. At the end of Oklahoma, i turned right onto John P Frank Parkway. Had i taken a left, i would have been in Stone Mtn State park. The parkway allowed me to get the speedo up to 70 for a bit of drying during the couple miles to the end, which is just round the curve from the driveway! I killed Stellas motor and coasted down part of the driveway and under the carport. Home finally! I patted her tank and thanked her for an absolutely marvelous day before literally squishing my way into the house as i stripped out of my dripping clothes and into a hot shower. It took thirty minutes for the needles to leave my fingers and regular feeling to return to my hands. My Sunday Adventure took 8 1/2 hours and only 265 miles but i was refreshed and rejuvenated for the week ahead. {i have added some pics to my gallery from this and recent rides for your viewing pleasure} I wish you all Safe Journeys, Smooth Roads, and Awesome Adventures Til later~ LSS
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