Month: July 2009

Today is a biking day, we’re going through the Smoky Mountain National Park from east to west, down through Deal’s Gap, and back to Cashiers.   I had a suggestion of an interesting route north on NC-107, east on NC-281, left on Canada Road, north on NC-215 to Waynesville.   It was a good suggestion, Dan, thanks.   281 was nice, but Canada road was really nice.   Almost no cage traffic, nice curves, and perfect weather combined for a really nice ride.   We had a snack in Waynesville, which looks like a nice town.

We headed west on NC-19 towards Cherokee and 19 was a nice road too.   In Cherokee we took US-441 north into the park and stopped at the visitor center.   It was starting to look like rain when we headed out, and it was raining when we got to the turnoff to Clingman’s Dome, the highest point in the park and also in Tennessee.   We decided to continue and in retrospect should have taken the side trip.   Oh, well.   Another reason to return on the bike isn’t a bad thing.   We stopped at several turn-outs, photo opportunities were abundant.

I wish the park exit didn’t dump you into Gatlinburg.   What a circus and a mess.   It was almost embarrassing to have that scenery so close to the scenery in the park.   Over the top isn’t always necessary.   When we finally left the last of the circus rings behind us, we ran into Pigeon Forge, which wasn’t really any better.   I’m sure the locals know a better way top get to US-321, but we didn’t and sadly it left a bad impression.

US-321 was a pleasant change from the previous few miles, and we enjoyed the trip down to Chilhowee.   It was past lunchtime and we were both hungry.   Knowing that there wasn’t any place to eat until we were south of Deal’s Gap, we turned north on 129 and went to Tallassee where we had a big burger and fries for lunch.   Now we were ready for the Gap.   It was fun, and Killboy did take some photos of us, but when it’s all said and done, we liked NC-28 from US-129 to Stecoah better.

We stayed on NC-28 to Franklin and then took NC-64 back to Cashiers.   A nice day, some phenomenal scenery, twisties, my new bride riding pillion – pretty tough to beat.   And this is only Wednesday…

After the long day on Monday, we weren’t in a big hurry to be up and going so we called the whitewater rafting place and postponed until the afternoon.   It is about an hour away, and we needed to stop at a store and pick up a few things so we left pretty early.   My friend John told us about a restaurant at the Nantahala Outdoor Center that has great burgers, so we planned to have lunch there before rafting.   We took a nice (translated – not direct) ride up to Bryson City and got there in plenty of time.   Lunch was good, and everyone that had finished the rafting trip was smiling – a good sign.

We signed away any responsibility for our deaths, and watched a video about NOT standing up in white water.   We got our flotation vests and paddles and boarded a bus to take us upriver.   I haven’t been on a school bus in a long time – until today.   The water is pumped from a lake by the power company and used to generate electricity and the water is COLD.   Not Deadliest Catch COLD, but still COLD.   After losing all feeling in the foot that is wedged under the thwart in the raft, you soon forget about it.   Your foot, that is.   Some people decided to jump into the river; why someone would do that from a boat that is not burning, sinking, or being destroyed by icebergs I have no idea.   My bride was one of them, some things just defy explanation.

Our guide Raymond was great.   Had some stories about the river and some of the well-named rocks in it: Jaws, Pyramid, and a few others that escape me now.   When we got to several of the rapids, the right side of the boat (my side) paddled forward, the other side paddled backwards so we could spin through the rapids.   Apparently the goal of this maneuver was to ensure that all occupants were equally soaked by the end of the trip.   The Nantahala Falls are class 3 rapids and pretty exciting, but you’re through it very quickly.

They have photos for sale of each boat going over the falls, and of course we had to have not one shot but two.   A lot of fun and something we will definitely do again.

The ride back was fun too (translated – lots of curves) and dinner was a pizza at our cabin.

The trip from home to Cashiers, NC made for a very long day.   We made it on Monday. Barely (by the clock). We left home at about 7am Monday and got to the cabin in Cashiers at 11:30pm. We rode 861 miles on Monday, a long day’s ride by most any yardstick.   We lucked out – the weather was fine.   Not too warm and just a little chilly in the morning.

Almost had a phone crisis – actually, an iphone crisis.   I set my iphone on the trailer while I put my gear on, and left it there.   About 2 miles down the road I checked my jacket pocket for the phone and it wasn’t there.   Turned around and headed back, figuring that it was in the ditch somewhere.   Luck was with us, it was on the cooler rack, right where I left it.   OK, NOW we can leave.

The trailer is awesome.   Plenty of room, a place to put your helmet and jacket when you stop for gas, and (mostly) not noticeable from the pilot’s perspective. Allowing for longer stopping distance, not quite so close to the gas pumps, and a bit slower acceleration is pretty much it.   We had the “Just Married” sign on it, and a lot of folks honked and waved as we headed east.

The trip was a long one and I had not loaded a route into the gps – one task that just didn’t get done before we left.   We could have saved a couple of hours by going east from Louisville, KY on I-64, but I headed on to Nashville on I-65 and then east on I-40.   That decision added a couple of hours and caused some real concerns on my part.   The original plan was to be in Cashiers at dinnertime, but the gps now shows us arriving after 11pm.   We wound up riding over the mountains at night, in the rain and fog, 2-up, and pulling a trailer. A little nerve-wracking, especially coming down the mountains on a wet, unfamiliar, 2-lane road at night.   But we made it just fine. Tired, but fine.   Riding 1000 miles in 24 hours is doable without a lot more effort than that trip.

Whew, glad to be there.