Smoky Mountains in Sept

[MacDoc]

Seems this is a must do.
http://clawofthedragon.com/index.html

There is a Super8 in Abington for under $64 Cdn a night and a nice second day run from State College.

http://goo.gl/maps/X1anG

http://www.hotelplanner.com/Hotel/H...s=1&NumAdults=1&NumChildren=0#Ext-Search-Form

 

[MacDoc]

Brrr...12 degrees in Ellicottville....just on the edge for this layer....will add one after the Timmies warm up.
No rain tho.

 

[Andar]

Rain jackets he says....naw lets out run it and we mainly did

Hey, in my defense you said we'd throw them on if we got caught, but it was your wrong turns that got us sprinkled.

That was pretty awesome though, trying to outrun a wave like that.

 

[MacDoc]

Yeah missed a few turns indeed - good ride down - staying at the same spot in State College and retrieved my lost bag..
Oh yeah sunny and 18 tho got down to 12 on the way....no rain tho.
Freezing the iHop - really don't need a/c just now.....

 

[MacDoc]

Glad I left when I did ... nippy through Northern PA

Just have to sit in between here - was nice to have sun and 18 for the last stretch into State College

 

[MacDoc]

Have a few hours apparently before the rain sets in but it's misting already. Just have to tough it out as a wet travel day and on the cold side tho getting warmer as I travel south. 645 km by slab should be easy leaving early but not thrilled with the weather. Did not expect a southern front - oh well - got a good book to read

 

[MacDoc]

Not so fun that first couple hundred k
Down to 11 and rain
14 and no rain near cumberland. A welcome break


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[MacDoc]

brutal to gorgeous and back to half way between. Will sleep well tonight.

I wish I could say it was all like this, 21 degrees on the spine of the BRP



a mob of twitchers staking out a hawk migration route.

 

[MacDoc]

Will take it easy in the morning........hit this for brunch
http://www.fortchiswellmansion.com/

1/2 mile away so don't need to gear up to go over - really good reviews

weather looks okay in the afternoon

http://www.weather.com/weather/hourbyhour/graph/24360?pagenum=2&nextbeginIndex=6

Head over to Saltville and enjoy the area

Weather looks decent - accommodations are good for the $ - free breakfast, excellent wifi and good location.

Any suggestions for other areas to explore later in the week?
TIA

 

[Torren]

Down in the Smokey Mountains I really liked little Switzerland. A really interesting place and some awesome roads to get there.

Im not sure if your going far enough south, but my favorite ride in that area is the Cherohola Skyway. It's a nice easy ride along the ridge of a mountain with great pavement and lots of spectacular scenic lookouts. Not a whole lot of traffic either.

 

[brownelvis]

do you have heated gear? or is the burgman's shield that good

 

[MacDoc]

I'm good down to about 8 with the layers I have but when it's raining as well 10 is the limit and I hit it.
The weather shielding is very good and I do have heated grips - I was riding with my mesh off road gloves in that cold stretch. As long as I keep the screen down fully there is no wind on my hands.

Short cruise today - couple hundred very enjoyable ks - weather was chilly earlier tho certainly warm now.
Sun tried a few times but generally hazy. Out now for a few moments

Nice location as you can radiate out in any direction for good roads including the BRP which is 40 mi east.
I put on 150k in twists and lovely countryside sweepers from "okay" to "oh wow" thanks to Winding Roads. I set some general directions based on the Claw map then just wandered.

Then 60k part slab to get home as I was getting hungry and wanted to catch that restaurant which closes at 5
Very very tasty food
Totally hilarious inexperienced staff tho they put in good effort.
Very good value for money. I had one of the better burgers I've ever had, excellent cole slaw, coffee, local peach ice cream ( they run the creamery, ) $25 including tip....oh yeah a blackened salmon wrap with slaw to go for tonight was included in that!!!!!
Rickety operation so far...stunning food as the reviews attest,
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif]https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Mansion-at-Fort-Chiswell/227078967303648[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif]
[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif]Some background [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif]http://www.fortchiswellmansion.com/history.html#.VBYC0ijKyed[/FONT]
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[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif]And they were excited today as they found a very long tunnel that ran out to under the freeway.....some escape route - given how long it was there - there would have been Cherokee raids, plus of course the Civil War.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif]
[/FONT]
Put my ABS to the test getting downhill out of their parking lot on the hill.

Looking to get up to Hungry Mother Park tomorrow..
http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state-parks/hungry-mother.shtml#general_information

The rest of the week is part sun and low to mid 20s so can get some decent rides in tho tires will need replacing when I get back.

Very little traffic being a Sunday

 

[MacDoc]

Torren - thanks for that.
It's not far.
http://goo.gl/maps/f4oJp
May book there once this booking runs out on Tuesday.

Ant tips to stay?

 

[shanekingsley]

Your route is bypassing some of the best roads in that area. Check out the map link in post #10 of this thread and ride the upper portion of VA #16 (north of Hungry Mother), US#421 (north of Mountain City) and then do the NC#226A loop around Little Switzerland in conjunction with NC#80. There is a little place to stay right in Little Switzerland, but don't know much about it.

 

[MacDoc]

I'm not riding that route - was just a distance finder.
But thanks for tips.
Heading over to Hungry Mother in the morning since it has warmed up now.

 

[MacDoc]

Bloody hell - 4 deer just bounced across the road coming into Marion....midday!

Heading over to Back of the Dragon after fueling me and bike.

Town temp said 77 F

"'Twas a sunny day........"
Just lovely 6 hours of riding.
Great pavement but a fair bit of both gravel and fallen rock on the peak run.
Some pics later.

Okay - lt's see what it'a about


Top of Hungry Mother







Winding Roads found some gems



Lovely riding day



The plant version of Godzilla .....Kudzu vines



seriously crazy



nice road too

ye

s we are in redneck country



matching housing...



and kitsch galore


one of the odder parades....

 

[MacDoc]

Burgman is feeling good today ....cruising 77 in West Virginia at 115 real was decent when there was no truck turbulence.

Heading north as it's misting rain. If I do one more this year will be WV.

No point in trying for a another day like yesterday with the misty rain and some biz stuff is needed to do....but it's a very leisurely return

and found a Starbucks on 77 !!!! will wonders never cease

If the sun comes out will cut over to 219 and up through Mongehela( sic? )

SO far relaxing tho short ride.

 

[BeastieGirl]

Bloody hell - 4 deer just bounced across the road coming into Marion....midday!

Heading over to Back of the Dragon after fueling me and bike.

Town temp said 77 F

"'Twas a sunny day........"
Just lovely 6 hours of riding.
Great pavement but a fair bit of both gravel and fallen rock on the peak run.
Some pics later.

Okay - lt's see what it'a about


Top of Hungry Mother







Winding Roads found some gems



Lovely riding day



The plant version of Godzilla .....Kudzu vines



seriously crazy



nice road too

ye

s we are in redneck country



matching housing...



and kitsch galore


one of the odder parades....

Beautiful pix - can't wait until I'm in the area next week.

 

[MacDoc]

Thanks - decided to head home as it was misty rain. Now know it's possible to do in a long day on 77.

If it was earlier in the year I'd head home - about 380 km away but left at 11 am so not bad.

Weather turned gorgeous 21 and mixed sun and cloud- should really have cut east into before Akron but wanted to see where it ended on the lake....glad I came through after rush hour.

 

[james_b123]

hi Liked this thread so much I headed for Claw of the dragon myself on the spur of the moment plus the promise of 7 days of warm temps was driving me crazy. I am in Altoona PA this morning and will be in Wyetheville later today. Any comments and suggestions on where to stay and where to not stay are welcome. thanks