Summer Adventure 2013 - Loose in the Mountains

[Deleted]

6/21/2013
Hi All,
Greetings from the untamed territory of Northern Georgia.
Larry and I tailored up on Thursday arriving at the High Valley around 6PM. Roland was already here having arrived on Wednesday afternoon. His leg is still bothering him but he continues on and doesn’t complain.

He and I are camping in tents and Larry is staying in his very nice camper van. The weather is cool at night and sleeping bags are needed. There is a great lounge-around place here at the Valley called Franks Place. Big sofas, Dish network, WIFI and a restaurant style coffee maker. But even with all that, this is no country for old men. (Don’t ask me what Roland is doing here.) Plenty of hot water for the showers too.
This morning the three of us went on a morning ride up Hwy
60, Skeena Gap road, Mulky Gap road and then on to the Owl Town road and back home on 129 and Wolf Pen Gap road. They are all great roads even at reasonable speeds.
It was still not lunch time so we visited the Riders Hill motorcycle dealer close to Dahlonega and checked out the new and used bikes. After a while and a really good meatball hoagie from the dinner there, we rode back up Hwy 60 to the former Two Wheels Only. Bill Johnston is putting a lot of money in to it to fix it up and it is looking great. There were a lot of guys from the British bike club there so we hung around talking to them and looking at their bikes.

We headed to Helen Ga. around 1:30 to check out the bikes at the national vintage Japanese motorcycle rally. There were only about 50 bikes in the parking lot but they were all good to look at and talk to their owners.
A nice ride to the Wal-Mart in Dahlonega to pick u
p supplies and then to Turner’s Corner for dinner. Fred got away from Orlando early and rode up today and was there to meet us at the restaurant.
We had to dodge a little rain but made it safely back to the High Valley. We hung out and talked and shared Roland’s wine for awhile. Larry was the first to turn in at 9PM and I’m the last up at 11:30 writing this.

Anyway, it was a great first day here in the wild mountains of northern Georgia. Wish you were all here too.
I’ll try to write more tomorrow,
Mark

[Deleted]

6/22/2013
Greetings from the the high mountains of Georgia.
I'm sitting outside at the High Valley under a huge full moon. The temp here is 64 degrees and feels great.

Today the four of us; Larry, Roland, Fred and I had a very spirited ride to Batesville. Fred did a great job of leading and we took the long way around so we really didn't eat until around 10:30. The Batesville General Store is one of our favorite places to have a meal at when we are in the area. We usually go on Frank's birthday and all of the Red Hat ladies sing to him.

Anyway, Dan and Peter met us there and we all had breakfast together.

After leaving there, we had a great ride on War Woman road which can be very tricky with sharp turns that tighten up on you when you are about half way through. Fred pointed out an unusual dug out ditch off the side of the road he called Gorman's Corner ... not sure why. Anyway, Great riding there and Hwy 28 also called the Moonshiners Highway. That took us into the town of Highlands where the air is always crisp and cool because of the high elevation.

We rode in to Hiawassee and to the British Motorcycle bike show. There were a lot of great bikes and I stayed close to Roland because he knew something about every one.

For dinner we ate at the 180 Cafe which is only about 3 miles away. They had very good food and nice service. A lot of the locals eat there along with MC riders doing Wolf Pen Gap which is Hwy 180.

I'm having to type this post on my iPhone because the WIFI access is not working tonight at the High Valley. See what I mean about what a hard country this mountain badland is?

Battery is running low so I'll have to go. I'll post again tomorrow with news of the remaining riders and their arrival. Can't wait to see Vic on a big RT.
Wish you all were here,
Mark

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6/23/2013
We are at the grocery store now with each cabin group filling their cart with what they previously decided they wanted. The shopping lists were put together with the utmost care. Unfortunately the guys in charge of the lists, Peter and Frank lost control as soon as the other guys got to the first aisle and started throwing things in the baskets. Each basket is now piled high with all sorts of favorite items. Guys are arguing about which peanut butter is better; Peter Pan or Jiff. Peter Pan won by the way. Two Percent or one percent, butter or margarine, Splenda or Sweet and Low, etc. but a lot of laughter is going along with it so we are having lots of fun. I'll write more later.
Mark

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6/23/2013
We woke up to a cool, crisp morning. Roland, Fred and I were riding from the High Valley to a breakfast diner in Morgantown. The route was north on Hwy 60, my favorite ride up here. It has a lot of twists and turns along with elevation changes. My bike is running great and with the new tires on it, it is very solid in the turns.

Our diner was closed so we motored on to the town of Blue Ridge to the Royal Waffle King and had a very good breakfast. Fred's was so big and good looking, I took a picture of it and will post soon.

Dan and Peter met us there from their ride from Blairsville, and we headed to Tellico Plains. There is a shop called Motorcycle Outfitters there and we like to stop in and look around. We enjoyed some man-shopping and then on to the Cherohala Skyway. What a great motorcycle road it is with 40 miles of continuous fast sweepers that will take your breath away.

We stopped at Thunder Mountain General Store for some drinks and to sit in the shade and talk to other riders. It's a nice place that we stop at each year. There used to be a pet chicken there that Jim S. would crawl under the picnic table to feed.

We were still 2 hours away from the cabins so we got on our way. Just about every back road up here has great curves so we headed home still enjoying what these BMW motorcycles do best.

When we got back to the cabin, Frank and Vic were just getting there and Joel, Roger
and John we're already there and moved in to their cabin. It was a great reunion with everybody talking at once.

Grocery shopping and dinner were next for our group of 11 club members who are tough enough to challenge the extremes of the Northern Georgia mountains. Dinner was a very tasty meal at Rib City in Blairsville.

We are all back at the cabins now where we sat around talking and drinking Fred's home brewed beer. Which is pretty darn good.

Its 11:30 and everyone in my cabin has turned in and from the sound of all the snoring, fast asleep. It's raining outside now and the drops on the tin roof sound good. Time for me to turn in too. I'll write more tomorrow and let you know how we survive our struggles here in the wilds of the Appilachians.
Miss you all,
Mark

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6/26/2013
Sorry I haven't been posting lately but we have been busy with the very important tasks of riding and eating. We have enjoyed some of the best roads any rider has ever taken a motorcycle on. Some of a few are the Cherohola Skyway, Deals Gap, Hwy 60, Russel Scenic Hwy, 76a, 129, 180, plus many more. Fred is planning out the route and also leading them and doing a great job! Fast enough to make it exciting but not crazy fast. We are wearing out some tires though and will be visiting a tire store in the morning to get at least one replaced.

All of the bikes are running well with no problems at all and we are accident and ticket free. We have been buying ethanol free fuel up here and my mileage has improved along with an increase in power.

We have been grilling out a lot in the evenings instead of riding in to town to a restaurant. We've survived on steaks, cheese burgers, brats and hotdogs along with all of the side items and ice cream for dessert. Roger and Peter have done a great job as grill masters.

Roger and I teamed up against Vic and John Neff in a corn hole match. Vic and John were doing a lot of trash talking when they had the lead but Roger and I came from behind and beat them in the end. That put a stop to the trash talk from those two who now seem to stare at their shoes a lot.

I heard that it has been stormy back home in St Petersburg. I hope everyone is okay. We have had some rain here in the afternoon but not too much. Dan reports that on his extended ride today they came upon some downed trees in the road that fell from a storm that had passed through earlier.

Joel left for home this morning to help out with his wife who is feeling under the weather. He emailed and let us know that he arrived safely in record time.

Well, time for me to turn in. It will be another hard day of survival tomorrow here is this forlorn wilderness . I'll try to post again tomorrow with a report
Wish you all were here,
Mark

[Deleted]

6/27/2013
Absolute terrific riding today. Fred
Led us on a ride that included a constant supply of  fast paced sweepers on good dry roads. 

We started out the day at the Riders Hill motorcycle shop where there is also a tire dealer because Fred wore out his rear tire and Vic wore out his front tire. So we hung out there for a while looking at new bikes and buying Backroads maps until the bikes were ready. The roads up here have a pretty rough surface that can wear out tires in a hurry, especially when carrying some speed into the corners. So you have to constantly check your tire  condition.

The route we took was created by Murray which Fred had saved on his GPS. It led us west of Suches as far as a town called Chatsworth. About 20 miles into the ride the pavement turned to dirt and gravel. So the seven riders on the route became four because the other three refused to take their shiny bikes on anything but the cleanest hard top. By the time I got back to tell them that is was all packed dirt and gravel and only a mile and a half long, they were gone on to Helen for lunch.

We stopped for lunch at a place that advertised fried pies and BBQ just south of East Ellijay. Good food and good conversation with a local. Dan and Roger got the fried meat pie special with okra. Fred and I went for the brisket sandwich.

After lunch to offset our sleepiness, we continued on with more fast sweepers heading to Dahlonega. A quick stop at a country store just outside town and up the mountain on tar snake laden Hwy 60. 

The "no dirt roads for us" riders with the shiny bikes were already back at the cabin enjoying the fresh cool air up there.

Today was the last day of adventure for Larry and I, we are headed back home to the muggy south in the morning. The other riders have a day of riding planned with Roland leading on a secret- road tour. I'm sure it will be great.

Hope to see you all at the July 6th pancake breakfast.

Mark

[Deleted]

6/28/2013
Hi Clubmates,
Larry and I reluctantly left the High Valley at 7am this morning and headed south for home. Traffic was heavy leading in to and around Atlanta. I don't know how those people can do that every day as they head into work.
Anyway, we ran into a rain storm just north of the Florida border and stopped to get gas and take shelter. We hung out with some guys form the Outlaw motorcycle gang who were waiting out the rain. Well, we didn't actually hang out with them as much as just stay out of their way.
I pulled in to the driveway at 5:30pm and Larry probably about 6 o'clock. Another great adventure behind us and looking forward the next Adventure challenge.
Mark

[Deleted]

thanks for the updates. perhaps we can have a slide show and/or videos at the pancake breakfast? I can bring the projector, or we can put it on the TV at the dealer.

[Deleted]

June 24th Lunch Ride to 411 Full Service BBQ (285 miles)

Hwy60/Aska Rd/Blue Ridge
Hwy68/Copperhill/Ducktown/Tellico Plains - Bald River Falls
Hwy360/Vonore/US129 Maryville, TN
Lunch (same location as Kentucky Summer Adventure 2011)
Hwy366/Happy Valley multiple switchbacks/US129 Deals Gap/Suches

(46) Selected Photo's from the Dragon
www.photoreflect.com/store/viewalbum.aspx?a=901315

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June 25 Wayah to Cherohala Skyway (277 miles)

180/Richard B. Russell Scenic Hwy/17/Hiawassee/64
Wayah Rd/USfs 711 Rd lookout/Nantahala River/Cherohala Skyway
Tellico Plains/Hwy315/Hwy30/Ocoee River/Hwy60 tar snakes laying in the afternoon sun

Photo's from Sunday June 23rd on Cherohala Skyway
www.photoreflect.com/store/viewalbum.aspx?a=901323

and we stopped at a pull-off pic-nic area for a break and could hear the following sports bike coming up the mountain, around this corner, and around the next mountain
www.photoreflect.com/store/viewalbum.aspx?a=901322

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June 26th Mountain Pass Day (320 miles) - Crossing Blue Ridge Parkway

180/Brasstown Bald/76/Clayton/23/Dillard
160/Highlands/64/Pisgah Forest
276 to Bethel/215 to Rosman/Lake Toxaway 281 to Tuskasegee
Cullowhee Mtn Rd/Pine Creek Rd/Walnut Creek Rd/Franklin/Young Harris

Peaks
(1) > 5000 ft
(6) > 4000 ft
(10) > 3000 ft

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June 27th Chatsworth / Talking Rock (208 miles) - shortest day

Morning started with new rear tire for me and a front for Vic. Headed up Hwy 60 to scuff up new tire and broken in at Fort Mountain State Park. Back thru Talking Rock and Dahlonga

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June 28th Searching for New Twisties Around Clayton and Highlands (240 miles)

180/76/Persimmon Rd/Persimmon Creek Rd/Blue Ridge Gap Rd/Wolf Fork Rd
106/Highlands/28/Walnut Creek Rd/Pine Creek Rd/Cullowhee Mtn Rd
Tilley Creek Rd/Ellijay Rd/28/Clark's School Rd/441/Betty Creek Rd/Wolf Fork Rd
Blue Ridge Gap Rd/Persimmon Rd/76/197/356/348 Richard B. Russell Scenic Hwy
Finished the day with a run across 180/Wolf Pen Gap Rd

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Peter and I left Blairsville yesterday morning at 7:15 AM and made it to Peter's house at 4:45 PM. Hit rain in patches on the way home. In seven days of riding put over 1,800 miles on the RT riding the twisties. Great time and company. Thanks to all for coming.

[richedwards]

Sounds like a good time was had by all. Love reading Mark's postings during this week. I sure do miss him the other 51 weeks of the year.

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Fred, thanks for the photo links. Great time was had by all...

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Highlight of the trip....coconut fried pie....

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Rich, maybe you could adopt him and he could help Sarah with her school work! How was your trip to the Unrally?