Cold as a Dragon's....

Ice coated trees along the Cherohala Skyway on the North Carolina/Tennesee Border.

I woke up in Louisville, Kentucky.

Can't say I've ever had a desire to go to Louisville. It's not that I have anything against Louisville, or even Kentucky, I've just never had a reason to go there. However, that changed a couple of years ago when I learned about a man named "Bama" who owned a bike like mine. "Owned" is the right tense because his Honda Aero was stock for maybe eight hours. Through his own ingenuity and hard work he's turned it into a rolling work of art...in progress. I've watched his bike over the years change from a stock Aero to a 50's bobster to today's configuration, a vintage 30's styled bike, as well as other stops along the way.

While this blog is intended for my pictures and photo trips I felt it necesssary to post one of Bama's own pics here so you, my reader, can see why I was willing to venture to Louisville just to meet a man and his bike. My only regret is that the new front end was at a machine shop for fitting a bronze bushing so I didn't get to see all of the bike. Click on the pic above for more images of Bama's bike.

After meeting Bama and his bike Friday night I went to bed before making my route plans for Saturday. Another friend who accompanied me had to race a snow storm back home to Chicago so I was free to ride solo and so after a lite breakfast bagel I decided to ride home via Deal's Gap and the Cherohala Skyway.

The Plan...

From Louisville I'd ride interstates down to Knoxville, TN, for about 250 miles. From Knoxville I'd have nearly 150 miles of two lanes before my final 50 miles back home on a 4-lane divided highway.

Winter still hangs over the higher altitudes.

The weather had turned colder than anticipated and I found myself running 80-85 mph through temps as low as 36 degrees. In the mountains I hit a few 30 degree passes which was all my clothing could handle. This trip started as an excuse for me to test out the long distance riding capabilities of my new Goldwing. In addition, I was able to test my ability to handle the cold.



I made my way down the interstate, riding just a bit faster than traffic. I kept my stops to a minimum and made my way into Knoxville in four hours.

As I proceeded on my journey the green grass near Knoxville
would soon be replaced by the stark browns of higher altitudes.

The temperature had warmed to 46 by the time I reached Knoxville but I knew the roads I was heading to would lead me back into much colder weather.

The view of the mountains from Highway 129 outside Knoxville showed me I was right. Below, the ice encrusted trees high in the Smoky Mountain National Park can be seen towering over the greens of Knoxville.


The Smokys in the distance warned of cold temps at altitude.

Racing alongside an arm of the Tennessee River I made my way to the northern end of Highway 129 as it crosses from Tennessee into North Carolina. Known among riders as "The Tail of the Dragon", this stretch of road is famous with motorcyclist worldwide as one of the best roads in the world to ride. The 318 curves contained within these 11 miles forms a motorcyclist's playground, albeit a deadly one. Before taking the 'Wing on her maiden voyage over the Dragon I stopped at the Calderwood Dam Overlook for a minute to get my head in the game.


A rest stop at Calderwood Dam Overlook provided a brief respite
from the demands of navigating 318 curves in 11 miles.


The ice crusted peeks in the distance are part of the mountains crossed by the Cherohala Skyway, a road I'd be riding in a couple of hours.

Arriving at Deal's Gap after crossing the Dragon I took a quick break at the newly renovated store at the Resort.

The second floor addition houses staff offices and inventory which allowed management to increase the retail area on the main floor.

An artful Dragon stands guard over the fuel reserves at Deal's Gap.

After rehydrating I headed to the Cherohala Skyway which connects Robbinsville, NC, to Tellico Plains, TN. The browns of winter shall soon give way to the greens of spring but on this cold day they held an alure of thier own.



I stopped for pictures along the Skyway and enjoyed sight of trees encased in ice.

A photo stop along the Cherohala Skyway.

Just a few cars and bikes ventured into the cold air atop the Skyway.

The Skyway is visible as the dark slash cutting across the mountain top in the background. Although road conditions were fine the air temperture dropped to at least 30 degrees.

After crossing into Tennessee and passing through Tellico Plains I turned the bike south for the final leg of my trip home. Arriving in town I remembered I had nothing to eat in fridge and stopped downtown to pick up a sandwich to take home.

The 'Wing at rest outside my local coffee house.

As is usually the case on these trips, I returned home with mixed emotions. On the one hand it's nice to safely return home but that also marks the end of the journey. All I can do now is dream about the next trip my bike and I shall enjoy.

My bike and I on the road.

On a Wing and a Prayer...

Well, it finally happened. After months of planning and researching I finally pulled the trigger and purchased a new bike. I'm now the proud poppa of a 2007 Honda GL1800, a.k.a. a Goldwing. What? You don't think I'm old enough for a 'Wing? Ha! I'm not so sure I'm young enough for it.

After picking her up from the dealer I took a 60 miles run into the countryside as a shakedown trip. Nothing fell off and I didn't run her into a ditch so I thought she'd be fine for a Saturday first ride.

Saturday's Plan...

I left home after waiting for the morning sun to burn off an overcast sky. Rolling on the throttle, a quick trip up Interstate 575 to Tate, GA, led me to the first of the day's twisties. ("1" on map above). My route took me from Tate, which once had a premiere marble quarry, east to Amicalola Falls, which claims to have the tallest cascading waterfall east of the Mississippi. (See "2" on above map).


A chilly morning yeilded to a warm afternoon of riding.

From Amicalola I knew I'd be heading towards either Dahlonega or Helen, GA, but since I hadn't ridden this road in some time I wasn't really sure where I'd stop.

A half hour later I saw the Dahlonega city limits sign and stopped for a break at Charlie's Grocery, a nice Gas Station/Seafood/Butcher Shop. Odd combination, huh? The restaurant next door, Cafe 9, looked interesting enough for a future breakfast or lunch stop but I think I'll buy my meats and seafood closer to home. (See "3" on above map).

After leaving Charlie's I headed north pass the stone pile ("4" on above map) towards Woody Gap. Leaving the stone pile I got a quick reminder to check my speed. A truck ahead of me was entering a right hand turn as a sportbike was exiting, heading towards us. The bike rider was exiting the curve too hot and crossed a foot into our lane. No wonder folks complain about bikers in the mountains.

Never assume a road sign will be visible. High winds
and vandals can make warnings meaningless.

Nearing Woody's gap I got another reminder of the dangers of mountain travel. This area was recently burned in a forest fire and though it was a likely a controlled burn by the U.S. Forest Service the ground cover is gone and a hard rain will likely deposit mud on the road. While a nuisance on the straight sections a mud slide end a good day of riding if it occurs in a curve.

Stopped for a quick pic.

I've been asked before about my strategy for mixing motorcycles and photography. It's really quiet simple; you stop a lot and run around with a helmet on taking a bunch of pictures. The stops are often in dangerous locations and it gets hot as hell running around wearing a helmet in the middle of the summer. However, the pics are worth the trouble to me so I don't mind it too much.

The Goldwing's trunk is large enough to allow easy access to a dedicated camera bag.

A creekside stop in the mountains.

After passing over Woody Gap and through Suches, GA, I found my way to Cooper's Creek Store. (See "5" on the map above). A biker friendly establishment, Cooper's Creek is run by Calvin (call him "Cal" and you'll have a friend for life) and his wife, both avid riders. I chatted with Cal for a while after my picture taking caught his curiosity. That's his Honda ST1300 next to my bike in the picture above.

From cruisers to sport bikes, there were quite a few bikes on the road today and Cooper's Creek Store is a good place to see them all.

The right side of the store is home to Cal's sandwhich shop, Fat Boyz. Cal invited me back this spring for BBQ and I intend to take him up on it!

Until then I'll just have a big bag of...

Leaving Cooper's Creek Store I decided to test out the new GPS Navigation System aboard the 'Wing. Garmin manufactured the unit but Honda America required many of Garmin's best features be locked out from the units. Consequently most controls cannot be access while the bike is in motion and users are not able to route their trips on a computer and then update the bike's GPS.

My next destination was a Trike Shop owned by friends of a friend and is located in Jasper, GA. ("6" on map above). I've previously researched the roads south of Cooper's Creek and hadn't seen anything that appeared to be paved. However, I thought I'd give the Nav System a try. With a route programmed to Jasper I lifted my sidestand and turned south.

Did I mention I thought most of the roads between Cooper's and Jasper were gravel?



I was right.

At least I got some good gravel road riding experience. Keeping my speed between 15 and 20 miles per hour on a steady throttle and adding a little rear brake allowed a quick passage for a mile or two but I decided to turn around when there was no sign of pavement ahead.

Back on the hardtop I quickly made my way to Jasper while giving the engine a chance to breath on the super slab. Arriving shortly before closing time, I was happy to see the Trike Shop also carries Goldwing accessories and I had my eyes on some highway pegs that will be helpful for an upcoming road trip.

After loading up the pegs (and a single piece of vanity chrome I picked out months ago) I made my way home. It was a great first day on the bike and the first of many more planned...and unplanned. The beautiful thing about the 'Wing is she has enough cargo space to toss in some sundrys and hit the road.