Better head back to Tennessee, Jed

[Fred W]

Drink all day and rock all night


Law come to get you if you don't walk right


Got a letter this morning and all it read:


You better head back to Tennessee, Jed


The magnificent Josie (aka Mrs. Fred W) and I had been looking forward to this road trip for what seems like an eternity.

Last year I was forced to miss all the wet fun at EOM (for work! Ugh), and this year I would not be dissuaded. Our bags were packed and we were ready to go!!

We had everything planned to perfection (I thought). We would take 3 days of toodling along the back roads through Western MA, Upstate NY, Central PA, Eastern WV and Western VA to get down to Knoxville. We'd spend two days of riding the good roads around the Smokies and then head home on Monday. We would head back up North via the Blue Ridge Parkway, and maybe run up Skyline drive and then we would have to slab the remainder just to get back to New Hampshire in three days. Ah, yes. The best laid plans...

It all started off so well. We headed out early on Weds AM and rode west through New Hampshire to avoid any of the rush hour metro Boston nonsense to the south. Then dropped down into central Mass and rode south on Rt 202 along the beautiful Quabbin reservoir. From there we headed south through Amherst and Northampton MA over to Lee. The scenery along the way could only be classified as bucolic:

We stopped at a little Mediterranean Food cafe on Rte 7 in Great Barrington, MA called "Naji's Mediteranian Cuisine". The owner / Chef came out while we were seated on their outdoor dining patio and told us that he was just taking today's falafel out of the fryolator. So naturally, we ordered a couple of their kick *** (in more ways than one) Falafel wraps. The rest of the day and well into the evening both the missus and I were creating copious amounts of chick-pea methane, which explains our high gas smileage for the day. But the excellent flavor was worth the flatulence in this case. Highly Recommended!

After lunch, we were back on the road through western Mass into Upstate NY, crossing over the Hudson river in Kingston NY

And then were forced to endure more lush green scenery:

Eventually we wound our way down to the Delaware Water Gap along the Delaware River, separating the lower section of NY State from Pennsy. We started off on the Eastern (NY) side of the river on CR-521, and then OLd Mine Road, along the river, which was a pretty rustic goat trail of a road. The nice part is we didn't pass or see a single car for the 19 miles from Port Jarvis to where we crossed over the river. We even stopped on the side of the road for about 5 minutes and took a little butt break, and not a single car went by us. :blink:

We crossed over the Delaware at Dingleman's Bridge (used to be Dingleman's Ferry) which was a quaint little, wooden deck toll bridge. They nicked us for a full 100 centavos, but it was almost worth the price of admission:

And continued along the western (PA) side of the Delaware Water Gap on down into the romantic Pococnos. Why anyone would waste thier honeymoon in a heart shaped tub here is a complete human mystery. :dribble: But the roads were smooth and traffic still quite light...

We stopped for the night at a Country Inn and Suites (highly recommended) in Lehighton, PA in the heart of Pennsylvania coal counrty.

(to be continued)

 

[Fred W]

Day 2 - we were up and at 'em early and hit the complimentary breakfast buffet with a vengeance. After gorging on way too many stale bagels and rice Krispies we headed out only to find that a pretty thick fog had enveloped the Lehigh valley overnight. The first hour or so was like riding through cream of potato(e) soup.

But eventually the sun broke through, or maybe we just climbes away from the river valley enough, and we were able to actually see the stuff we were riding by:

(yeah, we like old barns...)

We passed through a bunch of funky little coal mining towns. Some of the strangest villages I've ever been in. You could tell that they are all pretty finacially depressed, and yet they cling desperately to their coal mining heritages.

A slightly more affluent Pennsy town has a little square with a memorial to the Spanish American war

Passed much lush farm land , including many Amish farms

Couple of fine looking PA heifers hanging out:

It was all clear roads, and smooth sailing...

Passed through a cool little tunnel bored through Tuscarora Mountain:

Into more miles and miles of idyllic farmland and river valleys

Eventually we wandered our way through the corner of Maryland and into By God West Virginia and onto the heart quickening Rt 219. Not long after, we came up (rather quickly) behind a big group of the terrestrial turtles:

Yep... the dreaded plague of the Old Wingers. I followed behind them for a little bit and it was quite amusing. At nearly every corner the brake lights were flashing and strobing as they slowed below the truck warning speeds. Oh well, they were having their own kind of fun, I guess. We zipped around them and gave them a friendly hi-ho wave. Back to the goods...

Did I happen to mention that Rte 219 is a completely awesome and wonderful road? Oh yeah. It's is one of my all time favorites.

We stayed that night at a Days Inn in Elkins. WV. Previously we had stayed at the Holiday Inn Express there in Elkins, but there was no room at that Inn :angry2: , so it was the Days Inn this time through.

This place was quite a trip. It was clear (to me) that this was an old hospital that had been converted over to a hotel. The rooms were small, and cheap, but plenty comfy. Hotel restaurant was only so-so, and I had to instruct them on how to make a proper martini, but it beat walking (or riding) to dinner.

(to be continued)

 

[03HiYoSilver]

Fred,

Some mighty fine shots you have taken. Thanks for taking us along.

 

[vabrzn]

Nice report and pics!

 

[Geezer]

Dingman's Bridge is privately owned. I used to cross it late at night after all the Dingman's had gone to bed and there was no one to collect the toll. I haven't crossed there in many years but it still looks the same.

 

[Fred W]

Morning Day 3 -

The Days Inn had a miserable "Continental Breakfast" spread so we ate at the "Outback Cafe" attached to the hospital hotel. I made the mistake of ordering the "All you can eat" biscuits and gravy. They brought out 2 of the biggest damn biscuits I've ever laid eyes on smothered in sausage gravy. The gravy was quite tasty, but all I could eat was one of the two biscuits. After making apologies for my light-weighted-ness, (and over tipping) we hit the road with no intention of stopping for lunch...

The remainder of Rt 219 is the best part down to Lewisburg

Me, caught in the photographic act:

Curves? What curves?

At an overlook along 219:

BBB Beauty looks nice, don't she?

And down into "The Commonwealth"

(whatever happened to the No Radar Detector signs?)

What a beauty day it was... Didn't see a single constable all day.

Then we found the real gem road of the whole trip down. Virginia Rte 613 between US Rt 19 in Bolton and Rte 71 in Snowflake. This was a goat trail in the full Ashe sense. Not a center line to be found the full 19 miles. And we did not see a bit of traffic in either direction! Curves, hairpins, farms and their attendant smells of richness... Completely immersed in the Virginia country. We really expected to hear some banjo music break out at about any moment...

OK, I lied. We did run into a little traffic jam along the way. But he moved on over for us and waved like a parade princess!

After a little more 2-lane-age, we rolled on down into the of Knoxville metropolis, and the Knoxville Marriott.

(to be continued)

 

[road runner]

Fred

Great report and pics.

It's been 2 years now since I rode 219, man I wish I could have gone! :angry2:

 

[Fred W]

Saturday - NAFO

Since we came in Friday late afternoon, we didn't get a chance to ride any of the Smoky Mountain roads with the rest of the Feejer tribe. After squinting profusely at the weather.com animated weather maps we decided that on Saturday, rather than trying to dodge the flailing squids sliding off the tarmac down on the Dragon, we'd opt to run the Devil's Triangle route as sent to me by Heidi. The weather was clearing faster to the North west. This also turned out to be a very nice route. A nice mix of speedy sweepers and technical twisty bits, where the no guard rail philosophy (and wet, leaf strewn roadways) puts a little extra lead in your pencil. :dribble:

Along the route we detoured up the Roosevelt Mountain road to the fire tower and scenic pic-a- nic area up top.

The magnificent Josie on Roosevelt Mt: She is teling me here that, in no uncertain terms, we are NOT climbing that rickety *** fire tower!!

After completing the route with time to spare, we arrived back at the Marriott at around 2PM and decided to wander about the metroplex. Knoxville is a pretty interesting little city (as cities go) and has a lot of hysterical stuff to look at. How many of you other attendees saw this stuff?

Slam dunk on the Marriott

Blount Mansion

James White Fort

Modern Architecture

And not so Modern

A tribute to the Spanish American War vets

And another to those who died on 9/11

Perhaps the most endearing was the waterfront park along the river.

Where we found a couple of Knoxville chicks skinny dipping

The Tennessee River

And right along the river was the stadium for the University of Tennessee.

There was a big football game ongoing as we strolled along the waterfront. We had no problem hearing the play by play announcers from inside the stadium. Nor did any of the other bazillion folks there wearing their UT orange jerseys. Otr all the people camped out in the back of their boats in the harbor swilling drinks while enjoying the game on their big screen TVs.

I must say, this was a big eye opener for us. Yeah, we have college sports in the Northeast, but not with the feverish fan-base and alumni support of the south. You literally could not turn around without trippingf over an orange jersey-ed UT fan. We could hear that the gamne went into overtime as we walked along. And we decided to get ourselves into Calhoun's for a brewsky and a few ribs before the game let out. Good move. Good (home made) beer, and on the way out the waiting line was far down the pier.

The NAFO festivities began right on schedule, even though some of the attendees were still out on the damp roads.. Buffet lines were quick to form:

And the food was quite tasty:

After dinner we were treated to a talk on Motor cycle touring tips by Geezer. He encouraged us to stay away from the deer, and then put on his best "deer in the headlights" look.

(other captions?)

And then Captain Bob laid out the rules of the door prizes

(I think Bob took the Devil's Triangle thing way too seriously. Just look at his eyes!! )

Lots of good shwag was distributed. Many thanks to the businesses that sponsored our little affair. And especially to those little guys that either donated their own stuff or like WynPro, donated proportionally way too many goodies for their modest sizes.

What really made me happy was to see folks around the room sharing their good shwag fortune with some other folks if/when their winnings were not appropriate or needed. This really brought home to me what a great bunch of folks I was lucky enough to be hanging out with. :thumbsup:

This is essentially the end of my trip report.

Josie and I had intended on running around the Smoky Mountains on Sunday, attending a show at the Bijou Theater on Sunday night, and then riding the BRP and SLD back north on Monday thru Weds this week. But on Sunday morning the weather reports revealed that none of this would be happening. Instead, we bailed out oif the Marriott mid-morning and made a dash to the north into Kentucky to avoid the worst of the thunderstorm cells. That worked out OK, but as we headed back to the east (we had to eventually) we got back into the heavier di-hydrogen oxide. We stopped for the night at another Country Inn and Suites in Elkview WV (again, highly recommended), then Monday slabbed for > 10 hours up to Owego, NY (between Elmira and Binghamton) and finished up with a fairly dry (and swift) dash to the finish line in New Hampshire on Tuesday by 2PM.

Edit - Oh damn, almost forgot the trip stats!!

We travel traveled 2433 miles over the week. Average was 52.3 mph (not bad considering we didn't touch an interstate on the way down and rode the triangle on Saturday) total moving time of 46 hours:32 minutes of riding.

Here's the mappage:

All in all, even with the incredibly soggy ride home, it was great fun.

I sure want to do it again. Don't you? Maybe next year?

Yeah, better head back to Tennessee, Jed...

Tennessee, Tennessee


There ain't no place I'd rather be


Baby won't you carry me


Back to Tennessee


 


 


 

 

[Fred W]

Dingman's Bridge is privately owned. I used to cross it late at night after all the Dingman's had gone to bed and there was no one to collect the toll. I haven't crossed there in many years but it still looks the same.

I figured as much when the fella came out to take my dollah. With no New Jersey cattle guards, I could'a just run the gauntlet and pocketed the coins, but I kind'a wantd to talk to the guy...

Fred

Great report and pics.

It's been 2 years now since I rode 219, man I wish I could have gone! :angry2:

Thanks.

OTOH, Art, since we ran it together in '08, I have managed to get my *** back onto 219 every year.

Yeah... it's that good. I like it that much.

 

[VTFJR13]

Nice ride report Fred. Nice pics also. But you didn't get enough food ****.LOL

 

[clocklaw]

Very nice...those are some great pictures!

 

[extrememarine]

Fred,

Thanks for sharing, great trip report. Care to share the secret to all the great pictures your pillion took (camera, settings, etc.)?

Wayne.

 

[Fred W]

Nice ride report Fred. Nice pics also. But you didn't get enough food ****.LOL

Ha ha, you noticed... :huh:

For some reason, every time we would go to eat I'd forget my damn camera left on the bike.

We really did have some fun meals on this trip. The flatulent Falafel. Hotel restaurant in Elkins was ... interesting. A nice meal on Sunday night at a Bob Evans restaurant, of all places. But the best meal of the trip was a complete blindsided surprise. We stopped Monday night in Owego, NY and checked into the Hampton Inn. Next door is a Treadway Inn, (it had that '70's look of an old Holiday Inn) but they did have a bar and a restaurant. The only other dinner options within walking distance were Arby's or Burger King. :glare:

The dining room was far more elegant than what we expected from the outside, and the dinner menu was more than adequate. The bartender was a whiz at whipping out Beefeater martinis on the rocks and the waitstaff was highly accommodating. I had the Filet Mignon, which was exquisite (nothing like the shoe leather we had at Jesse's). Cooked to perfection, medium rare - (fully red, warm center), exactly how I like it. Josie had a Lemon Veal that was also quite nice. Even with the drinks the entire tab only came to around $60. The River's Edge. Recommended, if you are passing through. Not sure I'd actually stay at the Treadway Inn, but the restaurant is a winner.

Thanks for the kind words on the pictures. They are mixture of photos taken by Joann on the back and some that I took when we stopped. We have only the most rudimentary of photographic equipment. Joann has a little Kodak Easyshare C340 and I have a Kodak Z812 IS. When we are out riding and Josie is in "picture taking mode" (ie it isn't too cold or raining) she just fires off a ton of shots. The vast majority of which come out horrible, but there will always be a few that are keepers. That seems to be the key to good ride photography: just take a lot of pictures.

When we do stop and I can frame up a picture with the Z812 they usually come out pretty good. I like that little camera a lot. It's no Nikon SLR, but it does takes a decent digital photo and packs pretty small. I have a good friend, an ex-co-worker of mine, that is one of the principle software engineers at Kodak in their digital imaging group, . Their imaging firmware is really good at making good point and shoot photos.

 

[cota95]

Nice report Fred. Thanks for your donating to me the kickstand foot that you won at the swag drawing. Installing it tonight. By the way, Steve and I hit all that rain that you missed. :dribble:

 

[Fred W]

Nice report Fred. Thanks for your donating to me the kickstand foot that you won at the swag drawing. Installing it tonight. By the way, Steve and I hit all that rain that you missed. :dribble:

You are most welcome, Geo. I was inspired by all of the generosity around the room. Plus I already have a WynPro Bigfoot JB Welded to my '05.

Oh, I don't think we missed all that much of the rain. You should see my bike right now... What a mess!!

 

[BikerGeek99]

Good stuff, Fred! Thanks for posting up!

One little thing.

Not to nit-pick or anything...

But...

Ahem.

This is awkward...

It's dihydrogen oxide, not hydrogen dioxide.

 

[Fred W]

Doh! :wacko:

(No wonder it tasted so funny!)

Who said that?... What? Hmmph...

Of course it is. It just rolls off the tongue better my way.

 

[beemerdons]

Great Ride Report and Fantastic Photographs, Fred; Thank You! Bravo!!!

 

[Harald]

Good stuff, Fred! Thanks for posting up!

One little thing.

Not to nit-pick or anything...

But...

Ahem.

This is awkward...

It's dihydrogen oxide, not hydrogen dioxide.

Beat me to it. I was thinking the same thing, but maybe Fred really meant hydrogen dioxide. Possibly that's the chemical composition of the road sludge that gets kicked up by car tires?