Smokin’ the Smokies - April, 2004
Well, I had just about given up on the
Smokies this year. Last year I’d joined some GWRRA folks on this
annual pilgrimage and had a fantastic time, so I’d really been looking forward to a
return engagement. However, it appeared as though everyone was bowing out. Four
days before D-Day, I heard from last year’s unofficial Ride Captain (he knew the
area best) that the final three had decided to cancel. However, 2 days before
D-Day, I heard from Dennis Jisa, a fella from south of Flint, and he was certainly
interesting in going. He’d never joined one of the group rides to Pigeon Forge
but had wanted to. After he spoke with Carolyn, she called me and relayed the
information and I then called Dennis. Turned out we seemed to be pretty
compatible as far as riding styles were concerned – we both seemed to prefer
riding to resting or shopping or anything else. I redoubled my efforts to get my
work done so I could leave on Saturday, spending the last three work days in the
office for 14-16 hours each day. I finished putting the final computer files
online at 9:30 PM on Friday and headed home to pack. Bright and early Saturday
morning, I loaded my t-bag on the back of the bike and headed south. Dennis and
I met up at a Burger King in Fenton before 8AM; I had a quick breakfast (he’d
already finished his) and we hit the road. Looked to be a pretty safe trip, what
with Dennis being on his “canary” (pearl yellow ’02 GL1800) and me on my
“punkin” (pearl orange ’02 GL1800). Dennis knew Ohio well, so I let him choose
the route after we left US 23 and then I-75 in Findlay. He led us along Ohio 68
on a wonderful bike route … well, it was a highway but meandered enough to keep
us alert and interested. We rejoined I-75 in Lexington, KY for a bit and then
debated whether 25E and 25W meant east and west. Naturally we guessed wrong
(that it DIDN’T mean directions) and went about 4 miles in the wrong direction
before I let Dennis know my GPS still showed us heading west, and Pigeon Forge
was east of I-75. So … we found a convenient place to pull off, consult a map
(and the GPS) and reverse course. Once we got onto 25E – after the reversal led
us through a town and quite a bit of congestion – we found it to be a great
biking road. We followed 25E until it was time to stop for a bite to eat, and
found another Burger King (did I mention that Dennis seemed to favor Burger
Kings?) to stop at. Whoops … nope, this Burger King was a Pizza Hut. In the
parking lot, we found another canary, pulling a trailer. Obviously someone
returning from the GWRRA rally in Pigeon Forge. Sure enough, it was, and they
informed us that they were running from the weather. They had a thunderstorm
nipping at their heels – but not so close that they weren’t planning to retrace
their steps a few miles and take a picture of their bike at the West Virginia
state sign. As Dennis and I shared a pizza, we discussed the storm and whether
we should hide out in a motel or take a chance. Of course, we decided to take a
chance and keep going – both agreeing that there would always be another place
to stay should we hit nasty weather. We did well grinding out miles and enjoying
the road, until shortly after darkness fell. Somewhere in the past 4 turns we’d
obviously turned the wrong way, so we decided to test my GPS unit out. As we sat
in a parking lot, I searched the "city" database for Pigeon Forge, selected the
“route to” option … and less than a minute later the little toy said “this way”.
Using the “turn by turn” option, off we went. I had to use that method because,
in my packing frenzy, I’d forgotten the audio cord so I couldn’t listen to
“Betsy” telling me where to turn. Since it was getting late, we went along with
the directions for the shortest, quickest route, which meant some 20 miles on
I-40. Oh well, back roads are more fun when you can see the deer anyway.
We drove up and down the strip in Pigeon
Forge looking for the cheapest place and finally ended up at a Family Inn where
the weekly rate gave us a room for $100 each.
Sunday started off great. Dennis had
never been to Cade's Cove - so off we went. Surprisingly, there was a fair bit of
traffic on the road to the Cove so we couldn’t ride as we’d have liked – at
least not all the time. But, we managed to scuff up the sides of the tires enough
to see we both knew how to ride. The conversation was enjoyable – we managed to
get through Religion, Politics and several other topics and still be speaking
when we reached the Cove. The ride through the park was as enjoyable for me as
it was twice last year, and must’ve been for Dennis too, as he asked if we
could go back later in the week. I’d picked up several brochures and a couple
for books for Carolyn as souvenirs and Dennis had leafed through them and
discovered we’d missed the operating grist mill.
From Cades Cove we went back to Gatlinburg and I did my best to find the motor
nature trail I’d been introduced to last year.
After several
false starts (darn, I KNOW I should always go with my first instinct rather than
second-guessing!) we managed to get started and enjoyed a great “dirt bike”
experience on our 1800’s. If you’ve never had the opportunity and find yourself
in Gatlinburg, I highly recommend that little jaunt – it lets you experience a
paved goat trail! You find yourself throwing the bike around with great abandon,
unless you chance upon cars or SUV's inching along between the trees and rocks.
Monday we finally got that rain we had
been promised, so we spent the morning in our room reading. Since I like reading
almost as much as riding, I didn’t feel bad and Dennis managed to scan though
all the books I’d gotten for Carolyn (on Cade's Cove). When the rain finally
stopped we figured we’d do at least a few miles … well … a few miles meant
Deal’s Gap southbound and then northbound and then an adventure on the Foothills
Parkway returning to Pigeon Forge! The Parkway was still being rebuilt from last
springs rains, so we got to enjoy some dicey back (rural) roads until we got to
the Parkway. At one point, I overcorrected trying to dodge a van we’d been
following and managed to get the bike stuck in between the two intersecting
roads. Dennis parked his bike and helped me get mine out of there without injury
… I’m sad to say the Dennis kept his bike on its wheels for the entire trip and
I screwed up a total of 3 times …. Fortunately all at a standstill so no damage
except to my pride.
Deal's Gap was as
much fun as I remembered. It's enough to test your mettle as a rider while still
allowing you an occasional glimpse of beautiful scenery. I don't know if it was
the threatening weather or the late afternoon, but we had the road mostly to
ourselves .... it is nice to be able to ride without crotch-rockets screaming by
you and jamming on the brakes 6 inches in front of you as they hit that curve
you were busy scanning ....
It was obviously VERY early in the riding year
since the Deal's Gap store was closed.
Tuesday we put on a
few miles. Down to the start of the Blue Ridge Parkway
near Cherokee and followed that for about
170 miles. April in the Smokies can be a bit “chilly!” The temperature gauges on our
bikes kept taunting us …. down to 37 degrees at 5000 and 6000 feet and up to
almost 70 degrees in the lowlands. A LOT MORE 40’S THAN 70’s! The Parkway was
mostly deserted and we had the road pretty much to ourselves, so we had a lot of
fun with the twists, turns and slopes. Since the scenery was pretty desolate …
no leaves yet at those elevations, we could concentrate on riding. A slight
detour into Asheville for lunch and a chance meeting with one of the guiding
lights of “Ride for Kids” – and a tour of their offices – made the day even
better. Of course, a detour in Asheville to get back to the restaurant we
decided
upon happened to afford me my second chance to screw up. While trying to
find the route I remembered to a Mexican restaurant near "the castle", we had to
make a quick stop at a traffic light. The road was one of those with pretty
substantial grooves where the cars drove and I had the misfortune to be on the
crown. I put my right leg down for balance, and down, and down ... and ... well,
it was further than I'd thought and I lost my balance and dropped the doggone "punkin".
Oh well, nothing hurt but my pride, but I've got traffic behind and beside me so
I'd better pick it up. Surprising how much strength you have when you're really
embarrassed! Now ... to make a bad situation worse! Forget about why you dropped
your bike in the first place, get back on and repeat the whole stupid thing
....except THIS TIME make sure you fall completely over and almost fall under
the traffic in the right lane! AND scratch the mirror too! Joy, joy, joy.
Shaking with adrenaline rush and irritation, we drove on .... and I chose a few
wrong turns ... and half an hour later we finally got to the restaurant - not
the Mexican one that I was now too upset to find, but the soup & salad place I'd
pointed out when we first hit town.
That's where Dennis recognized his
friend (Allen Hughes) from Ride For Kids. It turns out that the restaurant (Souper
Salad) was only a few blocks from the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation ... lucky
choice. After a pleasant lunch, we found our way to the Foundation's office, met
Allen, toured their facility and met with the foundation president Mike Traynor
and most of the rest of the home office staff. We took the time to take a few
pictures and then I was ready to
get back on the "punkin" and get back to twisty roads and get the embarrassment
behind me.
When we finally left the Parkway, we
decided to test out my GPS again and see what the best route for getting back to
Pigeon Forge would be. Imagine my surprise when the unit read out “address error
– no roads”. We were so deep in North Carolina that the unit knew where we were
… but couldn’t give us a route. You see, when I programmed it over the winter, I
hadn’t thought of the roads in the Smokies – just the fact that ride was from
Michigan to Tennessee – so I’d loaded Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee. I
could find any service station in Ohio … but not my way back to the hotel. Oh
well, forget technology, haul out the paper map, and we’re on our way. We had
over 300 miles on the odometer when we got back to the hotel.
Wednesday we did a lot of back roads and
just enjoyed throwing our bikes around tight curves. Cherokee, Maggie Valley,
around the mountains to Bryson City and a stop to visit the train. Darn … the
steam engine had been out of action for 18 months and wouldn’t be back until May
1st – the day we were leaving. Oh well, we found some great ice cream
and headed back. At the top of NewFound Gap – the rest stop on the
Tennessee/North Carolina border – we decided to go back a few feet and take the
trail up to Clingerman’s Dome and do some hiking.
Another great twisty road with
lots of tight turns and sky. And a ½ mile walk … big deal, I do 2 miles before
breakfast every day. Hmmm … a half mile jaunt becomes a bit more challenging
when coupled with a pretty steep slope. That challenge of whom could walk faster
turned into a gasping contest! Whomever put those benches in those spots sure
knew their stuff. Maybe we should have left our jackets with the bikes … they’re
HEAVY! The trip back down the walking path was much faster and easier … back on
the bikes and down the mountains. As we’re discussing the scenery and the joy of twisties, I suddenly hear Dennis say, “I hate to bear bad news, Pete, but I’m
seeing a flash of white from your rear tire, you may have picked up a nail.” We
decided that another stop at NewFound Gap was in order and, doggone it, my
guesstimate that my rear tire would last until after I returned was wrong. That
flash of white Dennis had
spotted wasn’t a nail … but the cords showing through. Sure glad he decided I
was leading that day!
Finally, a chance to try out my Gold
Book. Doggone it … put the ’03 book in the bike! Oh well, let’s find out who’s
in Pigeon Forge …. What? TWO names? TWO GWRRA folks in such a great riding area?
Impossible! Oh well, grab name one and try the phone …. One ringy-dingy … lots
of ringy-dingies (you MUST remember Laugh-In?) … but no answer. OK, let’s try
number two. Many rings … just as I’m about to hang up, an answer. I ask for the
listed member, the lady say’s “just a moment” and calls her better half …
I hear her say “I think it’s your father…”. Oh well, I explain my dilemma and
his first question is the last one I’d expect – “how’d you get my number”. I
explain about the Gold Book … he pauses a moment, says “oh” and then informs me
that I’m in luck. The local C/D just happens to also be the owner of the best
bike shop around and it’s only a few miles away in Sevierville. Score one for
the Gold Book! He'd been a little confused because he was no longer a GWRRA
member.
Early the next morning, I call the bike
shop – Volunteer Cycle – and discover that they’re already open (they open at
8:30AM) and can help me out. Less than 1-1/2 hours later I have 2 new Metzler
tires installed (and some new treasures in the trunk) and Dennis and I are on our way for another great road we’ve
heard about – the Cherahola Skyway. Fortunately the smart folks that installed
the tires at Volunteer Cycle had wiped them down with alcohol so I didn’t have to scuff the tires
too much before hitting the twisties, but I did some scuffing just in case … and
the Skyway was every bit as much fun as we’d been told. Unfortunately, about
half way through we came up behind a new GL1800 (I assume it was new since the
Titanium color is …) and he didn’t seem to be as aggressive towards those
twisties as we were … so we did the last half at a leisurely pace. Wouldn’t you
know it …. The end of the Skyway was a hop, skip and several twisties away from
the Bryson City ice cream shop, so we meandered in that direction.
Back in Pigeon Forge that evening after
250 miles of great roads, we found that the weather channel was not being very
cooperative. We were promised two days, at least, of rain … so we changed our
plans and headed back home a day early. Funny how - when your better half isn't
with you - you can always find reasons for heading back home! Since we were promised an entire route
of rain, we decided to forgo back roads and hit I-75 …. Figuring that 11 hours
of rain was much better than 2 days of rain … so, of course, we had scarcely any
rain at all. Several times my faceshield was covered with drops, but never enough to get
my jeans wet or even damp. Well, at least until after Dennis and I parted ways. We blew
through Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, and then switched to US 23 for our ride home
and encountered little more than a little misting. We constantly saw rain in
front of us … but it always stopped in time to encounter mostly dry roads. Until
…. Dennis left me at Fenton to take back roads home and I continued on to Flint
… and rain. As I switched from US 23 to I-75, the rain started. When I passed
under I-69 the rain worsened. When I passed I-275, the downpour started. Cars
were slowing down due to the lack of visibility. But when you’re on two wheels you don’t have a lot of choice
but to get through it. It continued to pour until I got to Birch Run where I
decided a bit of supper (it was already 8PM) was in order. The fairing stopped
most of the moisture, but the water had dripped from my helmet into my lap … so
I walked into the restaurant wearing my jacket. I figured that I’d rather have
folks thinking that my wet legs and soaked crotch was because I was a loony
biker than a pervert!
Another half an hour and I was parking my
bike in the garage …. 3100 miles and a whole lot of twisties happier! And
looking forward to the next ride and to next year!
Pete Dahl
