East Tennesse and North Carolina Trip

[TNWalker]

Heading out Monday morning for my first trip in a couple of years. First outing since before my Heart transplant in 2012. September 26th will be my one year anniversary of my new heart. Celebrating a bit early by going to ride in some of the best areas you can hope for. Although i've been there before, I believe I will see it in a bit of a different light this time around. Unfortunately, timing and schedules got in the way and I just missed the recent Southeastern rally that was held this weeked. Wish i could have made it there to meet some forum members. I know ya'll had a blast. I am feeling great now at almost a year post tranplant, and intend to ride some of the more mild gravel routes in the Tellico/North Carolina region, as well as the great paved roads in the area. Will be there for four days so I hope to get in a good number of miles.

Must say this will be my first away trip on this bike and I'm pretty excited about it. Been waiting for over 2 years for this moment. I was one of the first shipment PDP buyers and have greatly enjoyed this bike since delivery (even though it was delayed) and had to wait even longer due to health issues to get to this point. In getting ready and packed to go, I will say that I am very pleased with my Yamaha panniers and top box with the liners and the way my stuff has stowed away in them. I know they get a bad rep for being a bit fiddly with the locks and such, but Ive had no issues with mine as long as I use them properly. Got new rubber on the hoops (sorry Jaxon, K60's from you next time I promise O) bike is all tuned and serviced and ready to go. im not real savy with picture posting but I will try extra hard to post a few pics when I get back.


Cant Wait to get going!!!! ::022:: ::26:: ::014::


Steve

::021::

 

[kenbike]

Hi Steve
I really wish you happy heart day ::015::
My riding buddy just had his 5th heart day this spring and we do a few 3 day trips each year. I have been been in the Telico area a few times and sure you will have a great trip. My sure you stop at the bakery and say hi to Mike at Telico Outfitters.
Enjoy your week!

 

[spklbuk]

Safe journey. Have a blast! ::001:: ::022::

 

[True Grip]

Hope you have a great trip Steve.!!!!

 

[mbabc]

Great story and have fun. I'll be down that way Sept. 5 - 8.

 

[ECI-Tampa]

A friend and I are heading to the Tellico Plains area Oct 9th-13th. I have quite a bit of experience in that area and several really good Garmin routes and some I have yet to explore. If you are in the area let me know. If you need some route files let me know and I'll post or email them. September will still be warm. October will start to be nice in the evenings. November is perfect but watch out for wet leaves on the roads in the mornings. -Eron

 

[TNWalker]

Okay...This will be my first attempt at a semblance of a ride report. Need to give a shout out to snakebitten for his helpful post in how to upload pictures to the forum. I now can post proof!

The trip last week was exactly what I needed. 4 days of Moto-Therapy in some of the best riding country you can find. Left out on Monday morning early with beautiful weather report for the week.


Had a great ride up there and once there, we got the obligatory Cherohala Skyway and Tail of the dragon out of the way. Rode alomst 400 miles first day. It was wonderful. Seat concept mod perfromed well, but we were pretty tired that first night.


For the next 2 days we rode many of the more off the beaten track routes that are lesser well know in the area, including Highway 68, Joe Brown road, Rafter Rd., Belchers Loop, Citico Creek managment area, an other trails and tracks I don't know names of.
A note about Belchers Loop: That was a single lane washed out gravel an larger stone road that definitely tested my rusty off road skills. In fact I took my first fall in 30 years and the Tenere took a short nap also. Picked a route through some deeply rutted tracks and lost the rear tire in a very deep one. Beast's weight took over and down we went. I must say the Yamaha crash bars and panniers held up valiantly. Totally protected the shiny bits on the bike with only very minor damage to the bars and left side pannier. Money well spent and I'm glad I had em. May look into the Rumbux setup from EricV in the near future for more peace of mind. You can see the little bit of damage in this pic.

As for me, I had a slightly banged Knee and a very bruised ego. :-[ Got over it pretty quick and i can Kick myself for not getting a pic of the big beast napping
Oh well, Ill get it next time... Rest of the ride was great as well. Took a few more pictures but we hardly stopped long enough to get really good ones. Once we got riding it was just too fun to stop for alot of touristy stuff. I did the best I could and hope I get better at reporting as trips pile up. Heres a few more of what we saw.








All in all we rode about 1200 miles and made some good memories. This bike performed above and beyond all my expectations as I have anticipated this trip for quite a while now. Its definitely a keeper, although a few more farkles are definitely in my future. A Russell Day Long is high on the list for sure. The Seat Concept mod worked very well but after four days of 300 mile loops I'm ready for a more comfortable seat for the long term.

Tomorrow looking forward to meeting a local forum member, wtiger, for some great riding here locally on some very nice roads. The miles are starting to pile up now for sure.


Steve ::26:: ::022::

 

[snakebitten]

Worry not. Great report.
Really nice in iPad TapaTalk format.

We too rode the same area as a Tenere\V-Strom combo. (My brother)
Great memories. Had a blast.

Welcome aboard.

 

[spklbuk]

Thanks for taking us along Steve. Looks like a great ride. Looking forward to many more of your ride reports. ::012:: ::012:: ::26::

 

[True Grip]

Nice trip Steve ::003::here's to many more!
All of us drop this bike at some time no big deal. I know a marine who drops his a lot ;D

 

[sed149]

Great report, tnw, nap or no. The wife & I were in your neighborhood for the road rides around the same time. I know that tree - a 441 overlook a little above Klingman's dome, right?


I bumped into some good guys down from Quebec - one on a 2012 black tenere (pic is me, not the Canadian @ foothills pkwy a little SW of Townsend) - in Cherokee on Labor Day morning, just before we hit the Blue Ridge parkway.

 

[TNWalker]

Good eye sed149.... that is exactly the tree you decribed. We had a ball blasting around up there for 4 days, on the roads and the trails. Can't wait to get back there again soon. ::008::


Steve ::26:: ::022::