Day 1 - OK, So It’s Just One Day…I'm Bored

For a biker, winter sux! Unless ya live in the South, and find yerself with a sunny, 60-degree, Saturday afternoon in mid-February...oh yeah...and a gassed up scoot. This season seems to have brought far fewer of those days than we usually see in these parts...and lemme tell ya...the one we got today was much appreciated! OK...so maybe it only hit 60 for 'bout an hour...maybe...but still, mid-to-upper 50's and sunshine?...in February?...ahhhhh! We've had a few of those so far this year...but they usually don't start warmin up til much later in the day...leavin ya with a very short ridin window. Anything less than a couple hunnert miles just seems to piss us off...so the missus 'n I were damned happy to see comfortable ridin temps startin 'round 10 in the mornin..."comfortable" bein above 40 that is. We didn't even care that a hunnert-or-so mile radius would put us on roads we've already worn out many times over. Soooo, where to go...where to go? Follow the nice temps South of course!

Well, we musta been as giddy as li'l kids with a new toy...'cause we only got 'bout three miles out when I realized I didn't have a few things...uhhh...like a belt, wallet, keys, money, blah blah blah...seems I was doin good not to be ridin nekkid. hehheh Oh well, it's a pretty scenic ride in 'n out of our li'l patch of country...shame we gotta ride it twice, aye. Ain’t it cool…fifty years old…been ridin since ‘bout 1970…and jumpin on the scoot still brings out the kid in me. Anyways, after gettin FULLY "dressed" the second time 'round, we hit the road again...and it seems like it's gettin warmer with each mile passin under the rubber. It’s five miles of farmland and lake views on the way out to town…with a beautiful mountain backdrop to top it off. The local farmers are out takin advantage of the nice temps…tendin to equipment and livestock…and smilin and wavin as we roll by…for the second time today…errr…third time countin the return trip I guess.

As we’re passin thru this scenery, I’m tryin to distance myself from the fact that it’s something I see every day...morphin the familiar into the unfamiliar as my imagination wisks me off to roads we’ll be explorin on our trek to Bar Harbor, Maine this June. It’s not that we don’t appreciate what we have here, but CK ‘n I are distance tourers, and yearn for the rides that find us in unfamiliar territory for days and weeks on end. As we round a curve and catch a glimpse of the lake on whose shores we live, I see a cove along the coast of New England. As we top a hill and see the mountainous backdrop of the Smoky Mountains, I see the White Mountains of New Hampshire on the return leg of our impending Bar Harbor ride. As we roll into town, I see…ok, all I see is busy US-411 and am instantly snapped outta my li’l dream world. Whew…covered a buncha territory in that five-mile ride to town didn’t I.

We hang a left and head south on US-411 for just a couple miles, and pick up TN-72 west. Highway 72 starts out as a wide open highway much the same as 411, but soon narrows into a nice sweeping country byway with a few twisties thrown in here ‘n there just for good measure. As we cross over I-75, 72 rolls down a hill and disappears into a canopy of trees, and is instantly transformed from a wide open, boring highway to the preferred country byway described above. And, once again, I find myself driftin off to parts known only to my imagination…tryin to forget what’s ‘round the next curve…hopin to “discover” something anew. Ok, so I’m weird…but it works…usually. As we make our way along 72, we pass thru chilly tree canopied twisties as we climb the ridge, and then into the welcomed relief of sunny valleys. We pass thru a couple towns with barely a store on their corners, and catch glimpses of Watts Bar Lake speckled with dozens of fishermen also enjoyin this sunny winter day. I’m sure it’s not nearly as quaint as the fishin villages we’ll see along the bays of New England, but my mind’s eye has transformed it all into just that.

Anyways, we eventually make it over to TN-58, and I’m again snapped back to reality…not ‘cause we’ve run into yet another busy highway, but ‘cause I at least have to acknowledge my whereabouts so’s I make the turn South. Highway 58 runs north/South between Kingston, TN…the stompin grounds of my youth…to Chattanooga and our destination, Thunder Creek H-D. I know, I know…what kinda destination is that? Well, it IS South of us…keeps us outta the colder mountains…and ‘sides, have I mentioned CK’s shoppin addiction? hehe Highway 58 is one of my favorite country roads to cruise when I just wanna lose myself in thought. It’s a nice low-traffic route sprinkled with lazy sweepers, and runs between the ridge we crossed on 72 to the east, and the beginnin of the Cumberland Plateau to the west. As you round a curve here…top a hill there…yer treated to nice glimpses of either ridge, and sometimes a vista which takes in both ridges. It’s probably closer to the kinda ridin encountered out west, and is a welcomed relief from the 30-40 yards of road visibility in the twisties of the mountains surroundin our place. Aside from the views of the ridges to the east and west, the primary scenery along this route is that of farmland and horse country…with only a couple very small towns ‘tween where we hit it and Chattanooga. Another feature of this stretch of road is the many “See Rock City” barns advertisin a popular tourist attraction in Chattanooga. I don’t know that I’ve seen anything like it anywhere else in the country…painted on barns, bird houses, tractor sheds, etc.

We enjoy a very relaxin ride down 58 til we hit the congestion called Chattanooga…but not to fear, I know a li’l cut-thru that takes us over to Thunder Creek, avoidin the primary arteries. Thunder Creek is a decent enough shop I guess…can’t tell ya anything ‘bout its bike prices or service…but they do have a pretty good selection of clothing and accessories…which is the primary reason for even hittin it today. Hey, CK’s a shopper…but luckily enough…not that much of a spender. As we roll into the parkin lot, ya can tell we’re in the city…as there are quite a few “riders” millin ‘bout, dressed to the teeth, bikes clean and shinier than they ever were on the showroom floor, and barely a piece of cold weather gear amongst them, as they have most likely just ridden a few blocks to see and be seen. I guess folks are entitled to own a bike for whatever reasons they want…but posin in the parkin lot seems like a waste of good iron to me. But, I digress. We spent a li’l while browsin ‘round…met one nice couple inside that DID look like they put more than a few blocks on the scoot today…and like I said, CK’s not that big a spender, as she made it out with just a new cap, and was eager to hit the road again.

After satisfyin CK’s shoppin addiction…and gettin our fill of the see-and-be-seen crowd…we saddle up and head towards the house. As we’re headin outta town up Old Lee Highway, I’m longin for something, anything, of the unfamiliar…and I’m thinkin the big detour sign up ahead is my proof that fate is listenin. We hang a right on the detour route, and just a few miles later, we encounter the next detour sign pointin us left…back to our original route. Soooo, we turn right instead. I’m tellin CK that I’ve seen this highway 317 on the map before, and am pretty sure it takes us in the right direction…only to tell her a few miles later the sun is in the wrong place. Oh no…this can only mean the world’s comin to an end ‘cause I can’t be lost…right? Well, we can only hope we’re lost, as gettin lost is one of our favorite pastimes in the saddle when we have the time. We continue along this road with Mr. Sun starin us in the face…tellin us we’re still headin South…so, when we come to a deadend, and have to make that left-right decision, I decide to consult the map. Hey, we’re almost in Jawja…might wanna hang that left now. Not that we have anything against Jawja…but we do have a 12-year-old we need to get back to before too late…sooo, we do hang a left, and make our way up to Cleveland, and then on over to US-411. Yeah, I DID refer to 411 as a busy four-lane earlier…but it’s also got our new favorite waterin hole just a couple miles from where we dump out on the highway…the Hillbilly Bar. We duck into the Hillbilly Bar for a brew or two…chew the fat with a couple folks we know…meet a new fellow at the end of the bar that’s REALLY excited ‘bout the race on the tube…and eventually hit the road again after probably a half-hour of socializin.

From my earlier route description, I guess ya can tell we’re now on a big ole borin four-lane expressway to the house…and we’re bummed. It is a scenic highway with the Southern tip of the Appalachians to our right…but it IS still a four-lane nonetheless. We’re on the brink of surrenderin ourselves to a mind numbing putt up 411, when we see a sign for Tellico Plains. It’s a route we’ve seen in the past, but never took ‘cause we were usually at the end of a long day’s ride from parts South. As we approach…and I cock my head to ask CK if’n she wants to try it…she heads me off at the pass with a quick “Yes” before I can pose the entire question. A couple downshifts later, and we’re twistin the wick down yet ‘nuther unexplored route today. Schweeeet! I can’t believe I’ve never tried this route before, as it turned out to be a right nice putt thru the country…TN-310 I believe it was. It first led us along what resembled the high plains with a nice veiw of the Southern Appalachian ridge to the east…and then dipped down into a nice sweeping run thru the country with sections runnin along creeks carryin runoff from the mountains. We swapped back ‘n forth ‘tween farms and woodlands as we made our way towards Tellico Plains. A little zig-zag thru Tellico Plains, and we’re back on ‘nuther country byway, TN-360, takin the “back way” to the house.

We did manage a couple hunnert miles and six hours in the saddle today…but whew!...this has been a long-winded and gabby account of a simple li’l dayride. But, it allowed me to extend the ride, if just in my own little mind…and hopefully, provided anyone readin it a relief from the winter blahs brought on by extended periods off the scoot.

Til next time…throw ‘nuther log on the fire, pour yerself a hot toddy, and cheer up…Spring’s just ‘round the corner.

TJ