hppants
Well-known member
I just returned from 6 days and 5 nights of motorcycling camping in the Great Smokey Mountains. For the 3rd year in a row, I rallied with about 25 of my friends from the Nighthawk Forum at the Kickstand Lodge in Robbinsville, North Carolina. The term Rally is used loosely as there are no dues and no games. We print t-shirts and camp, eat, and ride together. Even though I no longer ride a Nighthawk, my bonds with these people are strong, and while you can take Pants out of the Nighthawk, apparently, you cant take the Nighthawk out of Pants.
All told, it was 2400 miles for me (my longest bike trip by far) with about 1500 of that on the slab and the rest in the twisties. As expected, my bike ran flawless and I enjoyed every single mile. My fuel mileage ranged from a low of 41 during a 200+ mile stretch of 85+ (and sometimes ++!) mph slab to a high of over 46 during a particularly uneventful post-lunch twisty joy ride.
The weather was great. Lows in the lower 50s warming up to about 80 during mid-day. Just about every day, we got a 5 minute shower unless we were able to ride around it. Typical Smokey Mountain weather no complaints from me.
The Deals Gap area is likely the best over all motorcycle riding east of the Continental Divide. The roads are impeccably maintained. They are very technical, but offer any rider an opportunity to test his or her bike. Not all of the decreasing radius turns are marked, so extra caution and awareness is very important at all times. Trust me if the yellow sign here says 10 mph, you better slow it down or you are gonna be in a bind. During the trip, I rode many of the well known roads including the infamous Tail of the Dragon, the Rattlesnake, the Cherahola Skyway, the Hellbender Road (Hwy28), the Wayah Road, and many others that dont have recognizable names.
This area suites me to a tee. Step 1 wake up early and cook up a hearty breakfast. Step 2 gear up and ride some place. Go left, then right, then left, then right, etc…. Step 3 eat things. Step 4 ride more roller coaster. Step 5 arrive back at the camp just in time for lots of happy hour. Step 6 eat more things. Step 7 sit around the camp fire and tell lies. Step 8 retire to the sweet white noise of a rolling stream and various 8-legged insects. Rinse, lather, and repeat.
Hope you enjoy the pics.
Day 1 I ride about 60 miles to Baton Rouge to pick up my good riding friend Loki. His Nighthawk is packed and immediately we are on the big concrete heading northeast. We have nearly 600 miles to go, so we are taking full advantage of our 250+ mile range. When conditions allow, I push my big girl to about 90 and she answers the call effortlessly. Somewhere in southern Alabama, we stop for gas and lunch.
Flatbread sandwitch with some horse food on the side. Flatbread travels on the bike perfectly I mean, if the breads gonna get smashed anyway, might as well get smashed bread.
Then its back on the slab to stay at our friend Soupskins house in Lilburn, GA. There, we met our friend Ari coming over from Rincon, GA. Soup has this incredible tire machine, so I had a fresh set of PR2s shipped to his house for my trip. Nothing like fresh shoes for the twisties, baby.
Ari brought some special Apple Juice for the occasion. This stuff is like candy with a kick!
Day 2 - After a long night, we woke up to fresh cinnamon rolls. Then we gear up and get ready to head for the mountains.
We ride up to the Rattlesnake hwy and warm up with a little twisty riding. Along the way, we stopped to eat some leftover tacos from the night before.
The grass looked particularly dry there. While addressing that situation, I stumbled upon this old chimney.
Later that evening we arrived at the Kickstand Lodge and setup camp. Many others are arriving from parts all over as well.
Not sure what these guys are plotting, but Im pretty sure they are up to no good.
Ms. Mo did not cook this evening, so I heated my trusty Chef Boy-r-dee on the fire and made it work.
Day 3 The best time to ride the Dragon is early in the morning. So, as soon as the fog lifts, about 10 of us head that way. Once you lighten the load on the big FJR, she moves around pretty good.
A rite of passage, I suppose.
Heres a shot of Chromy on his purdy ST1300
The view at the top of the Dragon is nice today good visibility
While up there, some of us decided to play lets swap bikes. Here comes Laminar riding Jenns VFR700 interceptor, while Jenn is riding Laminars 550 Nighthawk.
Good times.
From the Dragon, we head South on the Hellbender to Franklin, TN for lunch. Jordans a newlywed got to check in with the Mrs. I think I remember what that was like.
Great food for lunch.
Then its more roller coaster toward somewhere. I just followed the bike in front of me its all good, man.
At one stop, we met some nice people riding VFRs. This is a wicked looking interceptor.
Ive been having a lot of fun today.
Then, its off somewhere for more mountain air.
That night, Ms. Mo had some great BLT sandwiches with several salads and I washed it down with around 6-8 ounces of my favorite tequillia.
Day 4 Saturday is picture day. The plan is for everyone to ride over to the Fontana Dam bridge and we will shoot the group there. Now, getting 25 people going in the morning is a bit of a challenge, but everyone cooperated very well.
As a result, the picture was choice!
After the picture, everyone broke off into groups and agreed to meet back at Mos that evening. Heres CJBear and his brother Zach each riding very nice 650 Nighthawks.
Sexy nuff said…
My group decided to head toward the Cherahola Skyway. Waiting for the rest…
On the Skyway, the views are breathtaking
We are living large.
At one Skyway stop, we realize that Jordans VFR is showing cords on his back tire. So, we search and find a guy in Sweetwater, TN that is willing to stay open an extra couple of hours to sell us a tire. These are some good people.
Then we head toward the camp, stopping along the way.
For dinner, Mo had some great spaghetti and meat sauce cooked for us. Surprisingly, out there in the woods, Italian goes very well with about 6-8 ounces of Tequila. Who knew?
Day 5 rather than ride the entire 760 miles home in one day, I decide to pack on Sunday and head leisurely South to split it up. The plan is for Adam and I to ride together over to this spot I like to take some pictures of our bikes. Then we will catch up with others for a little riding before Loki and I head South.
In tradition, for the past 3 years, I have photographed my bike at this spot (different bike each year).
Got a good shot of Adam too. Kid can flat ride that Sportster. No joke.
Along the way, we stop to stretch and take a pic or two.
This place is really nice.
The others moved ahead and we decided to meet on the west end of the Skyway. Since Adam and I are in no rush, we stop frequently to smell the trees.
Over in Tellico Plains, the others are occupying themselves nicely.
From there, we rode down Hwy 68 South to Blue Ridge, GA for some lunch and Fried Pie at Merciers Orchard. No food porn, but I highly recommend it. Those pies are addictive!!!
After lunch, Loki and I bid our friends so long, but not goodbye and started heading South. We stopped at Desoto State Park in northeastern Alabama. This place is very nice. We chose the primitive camping spot and with the exception of 1 couple over a hundred yards away, we had the entire camp ground to ourselves.
Loki has every camping gadget known to civilized man including a bow saw that converts to a cooking grill. Hes setting that up in this photo.
While we wait for the coals to heat up, we enjoy an adult beverage.
On the way to the park, we stopped and picked up some ribeyes and a package of buttered corn. Lokis got mad cooking skills. Those steaks went down like aspirin tablets!!!
For dessert, a strawberry fried pie and….you guessed it…. 6-8 ounces of Tequillia.
Day 6 After a hearty breakfast of eggs and sausage, we break camp early and ride 7 miles over to the Desoto Falls. This place is gorgeous.
Then we ride over to the Little River Canyon Rim Parkway for some more sightseeing.
All told, it was 2400 miles for me (my longest bike trip by far) with about 1500 of that on the slab and the rest in the twisties. As expected, my bike ran flawless and I enjoyed every single mile. My fuel mileage ranged from a low of 41 during a 200+ mile stretch of 85+ (and sometimes ++!) mph slab to a high of over 46 during a particularly uneventful post-lunch twisty joy ride.
The weather was great. Lows in the lower 50s warming up to about 80 during mid-day. Just about every day, we got a 5 minute shower unless we were able to ride around it. Typical Smokey Mountain weather no complaints from me.
The Deals Gap area is likely the best over all motorcycle riding east of the Continental Divide. The roads are impeccably maintained. They are very technical, but offer any rider an opportunity to test his or her bike. Not all of the decreasing radius turns are marked, so extra caution and awareness is very important at all times. Trust me if the yellow sign here says 10 mph, you better slow it down or you are gonna be in a bind. During the trip, I rode many of the well known roads including the infamous Tail of the Dragon, the Rattlesnake, the Cherahola Skyway, the Hellbender Road (Hwy28), the Wayah Road, and many others that dont have recognizable names.
This area suites me to a tee. Step 1 wake up early and cook up a hearty breakfast. Step 2 gear up and ride some place. Go left, then right, then left, then right, etc…. Step 3 eat things. Step 4 ride more roller coaster. Step 5 arrive back at the camp just in time for lots of happy hour. Step 6 eat more things. Step 7 sit around the camp fire and tell lies. Step 8 retire to the sweet white noise of a rolling stream and various 8-legged insects. Rinse, lather, and repeat.
Hope you enjoy the pics.
Day 1 I ride about 60 miles to Baton Rouge to pick up my good riding friend Loki. His Nighthawk is packed and immediately we are on the big concrete heading northeast. We have nearly 600 miles to go, so we are taking full advantage of our 250+ mile range. When conditions allow, I push my big girl to about 90 and she answers the call effortlessly. Somewhere in southern Alabama, we stop for gas and lunch.
Flatbread sandwitch with some horse food on the side. Flatbread travels on the bike perfectly I mean, if the breads gonna get smashed anyway, might as well get smashed bread.
Then its back on the slab to stay at our friend Soupskins house in Lilburn, GA. There, we met our friend Ari coming over from Rincon, GA. Soup has this incredible tire machine, so I had a fresh set of PR2s shipped to his house for my trip. Nothing like fresh shoes for the twisties, baby.
Ari brought some special Apple Juice for the occasion. This stuff is like candy with a kick!
Day 2 - After a long night, we woke up to fresh cinnamon rolls. Then we gear up and get ready to head for the mountains.
We ride up to the Rattlesnake hwy and warm up with a little twisty riding. Along the way, we stopped to eat some leftover tacos from the night before.
The grass looked particularly dry there. While addressing that situation, I stumbled upon this old chimney.
Later that evening we arrived at the Kickstand Lodge and setup camp. Many others are arriving from parts all over as well.
Not sure what these guys are plotting, but Im pretty sure they are up to no good.
Ms. Mo did not cook this evening, so I heated my trusty Chef Boy-r-dee on the fire and made it work.
Day 3 The best time to ride the Dragon is early in the morning. So, as soon as the fog lifts, about 10 of us head that way. Once you lighten the load on the big FJR, she moves around pretty good.
A rite of passage, I suppose.
Heres a shot of Chromy on his purdy ST1300
The view at the top of the Dragon is nice today good visibility
While up there, some of us decided to play lets swap bikes. Here comes Laminar riding Jenns VFR700 interceptor, while Jenn is riding Laminars 550 Nighthawk.
Good times.
From the Dragon, we head South on the Hellbender to Franklin, TN for lunch. Jordans a newlywed got to check in with the Mrs. I think I remember what that was like.
Great food for lunch.
Then its more roller coaster toward somewhere. I just followed the bike in front of me its all good, man.
At one stop, we met some nice people riding VFRs. This is a wicked looking interceptor.
Ive been having a lot of fun today.
Then, its off somewhere for more mountain air.
That night, Ms. Mo had some great BLT sandwiches with several salads and I washed it down with around 6-8 ounces of my favorite tequillia.
Day 4 Saturday is picture day. The plan is for everyone to ride over to the Fontana Dam bridge and we will shoot the group there. Now, getting 25 people going in the morning is a bit of a challenge, but everyone cooperated very well.
As a result, the picture was choice!
After the picture, everyone broke off into groups and agreed to meet back at Mos that evening. Heres CJBear and his brother Zach each riding very nice 650 Nighthawks.
Sexy nuff said…
My group decided to head toward the Cherahola Skyway. Waiting for the rest…
On the Skyway, the views are breathtaking
We are living large.
At one Skyway stop, we realize that Jordans VFR is showing cords on his back tire. So, we search and find a guy in Sweetwater, TN that is willing to stay open an extra couple of hours to sell us a tire. These are some good people.
Then we head toward the camp, stopping along the way.
For dinner, Mo had some great spaghetti and meat sauce cooked for us. Surprisingly, out there in the woods, Italian goes very well with about 6-8 ounces of Tequila. Who knew?
Day 5 rather than ride the entire 760 miles home in one day, I decide to pack on Sunday and head leisurely South to split it up. The plan is for Adam and I to ride together over to this spot I like to take some pictures of our bikes. Then we will catch up with others for a little riding before Loki and I head South.
In tradition, for the past 3 years, I have photographed my bike at this spot (different bike each year).
Got a good shot of Adam too. Kid can flat ride that Sportster. No joke.
Along the way, we stop to stretch and take a pic or two.
This place is really nice.
The others moved ahead and we decided to meet on the west end of the Skyway. Since Adam and I are in no rush, we stop frequently to smell the trees.
Over in Tellico Plains, the others are occupying themselves nicely.
From there, we rode down Hwy 68 South to Blue Ridge, GA for some lunch and Fried Pie at Merciers Orchard. No food porn, but I highly recommend it. Those pies are addictive!!!
After lunch, Loki and I bid our friends so long, but not goodbye and started heading South. We stopped at Desoto State Park in northeastern Alabama. This place is very nice. We chose the primitive camping spot and with the exception of 1 couple over a hundred yards away, we had the entire camp ground to ourselves.
Loki has every camping gadget known to civilized man including a bow saw that converts to a cooking grill. Hes setting that up in this photo.
While we wait for the coals to heat up, we enjoy an adult beverage.
On the way to the park, we stopped and picked up some ribeyes and a package of buttered corn. Lokis got mad cooking skills. Those steaks went down like aspirin tablets!!!
For dessert, a strawberry fried pie and….you guessed it…. 6-8 ounces of Tequillia.
Day 6 After a hearty breakfast of eggs and sausage, we break camp early and ride 7 miles over to the Desoto Falls. This place is gorgeous.
Then we ride over to the Little River Canyon Rim Parkway for some more sightseeing.
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