Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Maggie Valley - One Day To SEVROC

I slept until 7:15 AM, then got up and worked on the blog while Sandy took a shower.

T-Bone watches Yummy dry his bike

Katie, Blondy and Sandy discuss the upcoming day

Mary looks good but Stewey needs more coffee

Yummy had a bike issue.  On the way down, one of the baffles in his exhaust pipes decided to part company.  He had a new pair being delivered but decided to pull the remaining one to equalize the back pressure for the time being.  You think this would be an easy job but when the packing shifts in the pipe, it becomes a nasty extraction.  We really wanted to see the job through with him but breakfast was calling so we left him with my RV tool kit and our best wishes.

T-Bone pulls on the baffle while Perv stabilizes the bike

I led the group up US 19 and over Soco Gap and down to Cherokee. This road is winding but not twisty, very easy to establish a rhythm on.  We rolled through Cherokee and on out 19 to Bryson City, where our destination was the Iron Skillet, which Sandy and I had eaten at the other morning.  Arriving in town, they were able to seat the almost dozen of us at a large table in the back room.  Food was good (except for Sandy's eggs being too runny).

Stay between the lines

Barn advertising

We reached the Iron Skillet in one piece

Sandy's  eggs over medium weren't medium enough

My scrambled eggs, bacon, biscuits and gravy (the pancake was late)

After breakfast, we wandered the streets of Bryson City.  This is a nice little place with lots going on.  Wrong Turn noticed the Everett Street Diner, the place I was originally looking for the other day, across the street.  Tomorrow.  We made it up to Clampitt's Hardware to grab a cotter pin for Yummy.

Perv has many large speakers - but no stereo

Interesting railing

Close-up

Lots of character

And history

Thinking of Yummy

VROC patches in Bryson City


1980 GoldWing Interstate from Wisconsin with 140K miles

Done exploring town, we headed out towards SR 28 with Wrong Turn in the lead.  This road is fun to ride but is definitely twisty in some sections.  It amazes me how Jim moves that Nomad through the turns with apparent ease  while I am working the Wing.

Kudzu everywhere

Wrong Turn leans right

Wrong Turn leans left

Setting up for a serious corner (the kind we like)

From Franklin, we turned east on US 64, a road that prohibits vehicles over 20,000 pounds and warns everyone else about the hills and corners.  It has a different feel from 28 but is another hoot to ride.  There are several picturesque waterfalls we stopped at for photo ops.  One place, we met a works truck that didn't fit in its own lane.

Stopped at the first waterfall

First waterfall

Second waterfall (note the road behind)

We didn't stop in Highlands for pie.  Instead, we continued on and stopped at the gas station that we, along with Cheap B, Wrong Turn and KT, hid out at last year during the hail storm.  The young lady behind the counter remembered us.  What a difference a year makes.


The gas station refuge station

Just past the gas station, we turned left on SR 215 (aka Parkway Drive) and climbed up to the BRP.  For a while, we followed a Channel 7 News truck which was struggling along until it pulled over.  Then we made better time until just before the Parkway when we caught up to a logging truck.  Right then, we also passed a parking area with many police and other vehicles, probably where the news truck was heading.  It looked to me like a search and rescue operation.  In any case, we didn't take the BRP but, rather, passed the truck on a solid line and started down 215 towards Waynesville.

Catching the logging truck

Ready to pass

The section of 215 north of the Parkway is a little rougher than the part we rode first.  It has some tar and chip and some patches.  It also has a nice waterfall and a recreation area.  It was when we passed these that I realized I rode this last year when we were out following the GPS one day.

We got back to the Applecover and found that more people had arrived.  Yummy also got the baffle out of his pipe but the totally destroyed it doing so.

? and  Lonny

Wild Rose and Sandy

Scooter visiting

Unlike recent days, it never rained so we rode down to Country Vittles where it was meat loaf night. That is just what Sandy and I had.  I also got brave and tried the vegetable of the day, which was fried green tomatoes.  They weren't bad.  Actually, they were pretty good.  But then I found I like fried okra, too.  To top it off, I ordered carrot cake to go for dessert.

Welcome us

The other table

Our table

Then Flip walked in

My carrot cake

Parked at Country Vittles

On the way back to the motel, Sandy and I took a side trip to the farther ABC store to get a bottle of Catdaddy Moonshine.  Doug back home keeps asking for it.  The nearby store was out until Monday but had called the other store to check for me.  I bought one of their two remaining bottles.

Back at the Applecover, we spent spent the evening hanging out and trying strange alcohol combinations.  I drank a couple of sample bottles of Catdaddy while Sandy had some pre-mixed Pina Colada. Blondy topped it all with some vodka soaked gummi bears.  They swell up and pack quite a punch.

Vodka soaked gummi bears


As the evening wore on, it got cooler and more and more people went to bed (or at least their rooms). We ended with a few hard core (Talon, T-Bone, Lucky Al, Derrick, the local artist guy and I) sitting around the fire discussing politics.  We finally packed it in after 1:00 AM.

Today was great.  Good food, good ride and good friends.  It just doesn't get any better than this.

Today's Route (153 motorcycle miles)



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