1911
Well-known member
Getting there Friday
Start was delayed by over an hour waiting for the heaviest of the rain to pass through. I thought it was going to be a swim meet all the way to Cumberland Falls. A little ways up Hwy 178 the sun came out-YEA!
Hwy 215-FJR loaded down, says oomph.
Hwy 215, between Rosman and Canton, is one GREAT road. It's newly paved from Rosman to Blue Ridge Pky and it is AWESOME. From BRP to Canton the pavement was getting a little rough. NCDOT to the rescue with a fresh coat of chip seal-Boo!
208 To Hot Springs-YEA! Then the first route "surprise" of the weekend-looked paved on mapsource.
Looking straight up from the seat of the bike.
Banjo music played before pavement reappeared.
Eventually worked back around to 107 and then northwest back into drizzle and on to CF. Made it by dinner without touching any interstate. Scarffed down dinner then over to pitch the tent before dark.
Ahh tenting it. Especially in a designated sight, 100 yards from the horse barn, not among like minded motofolk (last minute planning). You room renters are missing out on so much. Friday night's entertainment was PawPaw giving 4 year old grandson "LittleE" grammar lessons to take home to mom and dad: "can you say d*ckhead, Can you say sh*t-for-brains, etc." Saturday, hours before sunrise I was greeted at the bathhouse door by Yappy the dog. She was standing guard, while PawPaw held down the throne, unleashed and unfamiliar with "stay", "sit", or "get back here dammit". Yappy expressed to me her displeasure at my intrusion and bolted out the door. PawPaw finished the paperwork quickly and took off in pursuit, lest Yappy become coyote or bear or owl snack.
Sat morning cloudy and damp. I started looking for a group to latch onto for the day's ride. Was planning on doing Cracked Ice but talked to some riders that had tried it the day before and had hit some gnarly dirt road. Finally weaseled myself into a group that included BullCBX and Mrs BullCBX, riding 2up (QUICKLY), a couple Floridians and a proud grandfather from Kentucky. Please forgive me for not remembering names/forum handles. We rode CumberlandGapEast and it was a BLAST. Awesome roads and scenery. I took one pic the whole day and that was because I was so happy to see the sun.
My compliments to the people that put together those great ride reports with spectacular photos.
Banquet Sat night nicely capped off a great day riding. I just wish the gentlemen from Florida had waited until they had got back to their room to begin negotiating message exchanges. What happens in Ky stays in Ky I suppose, but there were still disturbing images in my head well into Tenn the next day.
Sat night entertainment at the campground:
The grandparents and "Little E" had been joined by a gaggle of boys and girls in their early teens. Remember folks, in a campground with no ambient noise, any conversation above a whisper can be heard several tent sites away. I had considered ear plugs, but didn't want to give the local omnivores any head start. I guess the girls got the tent and the boys got the camper trailer. Apparently the young ladies had just reached the age where what they shaved became a topic for discussion. I didn't know you ladies had to shave your toes. There was a coughing fit from my side of the campground before the conversation got any closer to Pedophilidelphia.
Sunday morning was the first sunrise I'd seen in over a week-nice!
While waiting for the tent to dry I went out and rode LoopyNorth then checked out a couple sights close to the lodge. Took a few pics, including the obligatory Cumberland Falls. Left CF right after lunch.
My condolences to the riders that left town on the slab. My ride home used some of the same roads that were part of EOM routes. 58 East is slab like and slow but the scenery is incredible. I should have taken some pics. Turned down 70 and rode mile after mile of this.
I eventually had to hit the slab to make it out of the mountains before dark. I you have to slab it, I26 out of the mountains down into Asheville isn't too bad.
I had the overlook to myself-I could pee anywhere I want.
FJR says whew!
THANK YOU to the EOM organizers. My first EOM. Great location, scenery, roads. The route we rode was fantastic. Accommodations from Luxurious to cheap/adventuresome. Three days of great riding for me. The bang for the buck ratio was off the charts.
See y'all next year.
Start was delayed by over an hour waiting for the heaviest of the rain to pass through. I thought it was going to be a swim meet all the way to Cumberland Falls. A little ways up Hwy 178 the sun came out-YEA!
Hwy 215-FJR loaded down, says oomph.
Hwy 215, between Rosman and Canton, is one GREAT road. It's newly paved from Rosman to Blue Ridge Pky and it is AWESOME. From BRP to Canton the pavement was getting a little rough. NCDOT to the rescue with a fresh coat of chip seal-Boo!
208 To Hot Springs-YEA! Then the first route "surprise" of the weekend-looked paved on mapsource.
Looking straight up from the seat of the bike.
Banjo music played before pavement reappeared.
Eventually worked back around to 107 and then northwest back into drizzle and on to CF. Made it by dinner without touching any interstate. Scarffed down dinner then over to pitch the tent before dark.
Ahh tenting it. Especially in a designated sight, 100 yards from the horse barn, not among like minded motofolk (last minute planning). You room renters are missing out on so much. Friday night's entertainment was PawPaw giving 4 year old grandson "LittleE" grammar lessons to take home to mom and dad: "can you say d*ckhead, Can you say sh*t-for-brains, etc." Saturday, hours before sunrise I was greeted at the bathhouse door by Yappy the dog. She was standing guard, while PawPaw held down the throne, unleashed and unfamiliar with "stay", "sit", or "get back here dammit". Yappy expressed to me her displeasure at my intrusion and bolted out the door. PawPaw finished the paperwork quickly and took off in pursuit, lest Yappy become coyote or bear or owl snack.
Sat morning cloudy and damp. I started looking for a group to latch onto for the day's ride. Was planning on doing Cracked Ice but talked to some riders that had tried it the day before and had hit some gnarly dirt road. Finally weaseled myself into a group that included BullCBX and Mrs BullCBX, riding 2up (QUICKLY), a couple Floridians and a proud grandfather from Kentucky. Please forgive me for not remembering names/forum handles. We rode CumberlandGapEast and it was a BLAST. Awesome roads and scenery. I took one pic the whole day and that was because I was so happy to see the sun.
My compliments to the people that put together those great ride reports with spectacular photos.
Banquet Sat night nicely capped off a great day riding. I just wish the gentlemen from Florida had waited until they had got back to their room to begin negotiating message exchanges. What happens in Ky stays in Ky I suppose, but there were still disturbing images in my head well into Tenn the next day.
Sat night entertainment at the campground:
The grandparents and "Little E" had been joined by a gaggle of boys and girls in their early teens. Remember folks, in a campground with no ambient noise, any conversation above a whisper can be heard several tent sites away. I had considered ear plugs, but didn't want to give the local omnivores any head start. I guess the girls got the tent and the boys got the camper trailer. Apparently the young ladies had just reached the age where what they shaved became a topic for discussion. I didn't know you ladies had to shave your toes. There was a coughing fit from my side of the campground before the conversation got any closer to Pedophilidelphia.
Sunday morning was the first sunrise I'd seen in over a week-nice!
While waiting for the tent to dry I went out and rode LoopyNorth then checked out a couple sights close to the lodge. Took a few pics, including the obligatory Cumberland Falls. Left CF right after lunch.
My condolences to the riders that left town on the slab. My ride home used some of the same roads that were part of EOM routes. 58 East is slab like and slow but the scenery is incredible. I should have taken some pics. Turned down 70 and rode mile after mile of this.
I eventually had to hit the slab to make it out of the mountains before dark. I you have to slab it, I26 out of the mountains down into Asheville isn't too bad.
I had the overlook to myself-I could pee anywhere I want.
FJR says whew!
THANK YOU to the EOM organizers. My first EOM. Great location, scenery, roads. The route we rode was fantastic. Accommodations from Luxurious to cheap/adventuresome. Three days of great riding for me. The bang for the buck ratio was off the charts.
See y'all next year.
