NoCage
formerly SouthernFJR
Sometimes, last minute, spur of the moment rides turn out pretty good. My wife woke up with a cold Thursday, which was worse Friday. So, laying tile at the MIL’s house didn’t happen. After tossing the idea of a last minute entry into the Frosty Balls, Chilly Nipples II ride, due to time constraints, I decided to check out some of the roads near the cabin in the Bankhead National Forest. I didn’t have nearly enough time to explore the area thoroughly, but did have a good ride, and discovered a couple of great roads.
On Friday afternoon, after a late lunch at 29Dreams near Leeds, I rode Hwy. 25 and some other roads to get on I-65. For some reason, I saw no LEO’s whatsoever on the slab. There was one, however, on 278. I did stay out of triple digits, but 90mph was just right. This bike loves that speed, smooth and planted.
After about an hour on the slab, I took exit 304 in Cullman, and headed west on Hwy. 278. There are several passing lanes on this road. Let me insert a short rant here. What is it about some cage drivers that refuse to move over and let you use the passing lane when they are going 10 -15 miles BELOW the speed limit? And then, when you use the other lane and overtake them, somehow the bike engages an invisible tractor beam that pulls their cage along to 10 -15 miles OVER the speed limit? Back to LEO’s… when making one of the tractor beam passes, I saw a state trooper coming the other way less than a 100 yards away just as I topped a hill. He turned on his lights, my speedo read “85” (in a 55 zone). I waved at him, nodded my head, slowed my speed and kept going. I was assuming he was just warning me to slow down, but didn’t really know that. He never turned around to come after me. Whew!
“Whew!” turned to “Phew!” During the 30 miles spent on 278, I went by a road-kill skunk, and 2 chicken farms… ahhh, smell that fresh country air. After turning off on county road 57, I had a few more turns before I got to the cabin at O’dark thirty. I only saw 1 deer near the road, and the freeway blasters sent her away pronto. After the deer strike in August, those phuckers really cause me to pinch seat vinyl.
Saturday morning began with fog and drizzle to light rain.
At around 0900 I said screw it, I didn’t come up here to sit on my ***. I drove into the thriving metropolis known as Double Springs, AL for breakfast. It is the county seat for Winston County. Here’s a shot of the court house.
On the way to breakfast, I took a pic of this old cabin on 278…
After breakfast I headed east on 278 and after a short while, turned left/north onto Hwy. 63 into the Bankhead forest. This road was a huge, pleasant surprise. Imagine a freshly paved asphalt road with nothing but curves, and very few cages, for about 11 miles.
63 merged into Hwy. 33 heading north. This road is very similar to 63, just without new asphalt. This road went about another 11 miles before coming to the intersection of Hwy. 36. There’s a cool convenience store at the intersection that has a lot of Indian artifacts.
Shortly after turning east on Hwy. 36, I ran across what could’ve been the oldest convenience store, ever…
This road is nearly straight with good visibility. After about 10 miles I saw farming activity. What are those trucks spreading? It’s almost black, and… oh ****! Literally, ****, uh, manure. I set a new record for going fast while not breathing. I passed (pun intended) 2 of these fields. If this ride had a name, it should be the “Olfactory Offensive Odyssey”. I rode until I got to Hartselle, about 20 miles away, then decided it was time to retrace the route to get in some more curves.
The ride back through the forest was a little more “spirited”. Once I reached Hwy 278, I decided to continue on 63 for a while… some pretty good riding, but not as good as north of 278. I wound around and found (my alliteration is killing me) the Houston Recreation Center… a park facility for swimming, boating and camping. Here’s a picture of the road leading in…
I enjoyed this ride because I never got to my destination, because I didn't have one. A non-rider would probably look at these pictures and think, WTF? these pictures are mostly of roads. That's the point.
On Friday afternoon, after a late lunch at 29Dreams near Leeds, I rode Hwy. 25 and some other roads to get on I-65. For some reason, I saw no LEO’s whatsoever on the slab. There was one, however, on 278. I did stay out of triple digits, but 90mph was just right. This bike loves that speed, smooth and planted.
After about an hour on the slab, I took exit 304 in Cullman, and headed west on Hwy. 278. There are several passing lanes on this road. Let me insert a short rant here. What is it about some cage drivers that refuse to move over and let you use the passing lane when they are going 10 -15 miles BELOW the speed limit? And then, when you use the other lane and overtake them, somehow the bike engages an invisible tractor beam that pulls their cage along to 10 -15 miles OVER the speed limit? Back to LEO’s… when making one of the tractor beam passes, I saw a state trooper coming the other way less than a 100 yards away just as I topped a hill. He turned on his lights, my speedo read “85” (in a 55 zone). I waved at him, nodded my head, slowed my speed and kept going. I was assuming he was just warning me to slow down, but didn’t really know that. He never turned around to come after me. Whew!
“Whew!” turned to “Phew!” During the 30 miles spent on 278, I went by a road-kill skunk, and 2 chicken farms… ahhh, smell that fresh country air. After turning off on county road 57, I had a few more turns before I got to the cabin at O’dark thirty. I only saw 1 deer near the road, and the freeway blasters sent her away pronto. After the deer strike in August, those phuckers really cause me to pinch seat vinyl.
Saturday morning began with fog and drizzle to light rain.
At around 0900 I said screw it, I didn’t come up here to sit on my ***. I drove into the thriving metropolis known as Double Springs, AL for breakfast. It is the county seat for Winston County. Here’s a shot of the court house.
On the way to breakfast, I took a pic of this old cabin on 278…
After breakfast I headed east on 278 and after a short while, turned left/north onto Hwy. 63 into the Bankhead forest. This road was a huge, pleasant surprise. Imagine a freshly paved asphalt road with nothing but curves, and very few cages, for about 11 miles.
63 merged into Hwy. 33 heading north. This road is very similar to 63, just without new asphalt. This road went about another 11 miles before coming to the intersection of Hwy. 36. There’s a cool convenience store at the intersection that has a lot of Indian artifacts.
Shortly after turning east on Hwy. 36, I ran across what could’ve been the oldest convenience store, ever…
This road is nearly straight with good visibility. After about 10 miles I saw farming activity. What are those trucks spreading? It’s almost black, and… oh ****! Literally, ****, uh, manure. I set a new record for going fast while not breathing. I passed (pun intended) 2 of these fields. If this ride had a name, it should be the “Olfactory Offensive Odyssey”. I rode until I got to Hartselle, about 20 miles away, then decided it was time to retrace the route to get in some more curves.
The ride back through the forest was a little more “spirited”. Once I reached Hwy 278, I decided to continue on 63 for a while… some pretty good riding, but not as good as north of 278. I wound around and found (my alliteration is killing me) the Houston Recreation Center… a park facility for swimming, boating and camping. Here’s a picture of the road leading in…
I enjoyed this ride because I never got to my destination, because I didn't have one. A non-rider would probably look at these pictures and think, WTF? these pictures are mostly of roads. That's the point.
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