Or, “Riding in a Winter Wonderland.”
It was cool and raining lightly in the Delaware Valley on a Friday afternoon as I left work, anticipating a week of riding my favorite roads in North Carolina and Tennessee. After packing my clothes and a short nap, I drove over to JoeyD’s house, where I had left my VFR a few days earlier. Troy and Josh were already there, with their bikes loaded in the trailer. It didn’t take long for Joe and I to get our bikes and bags situated and we were all on our way - 12 hours in the truck and we would be in the motorcycling holy land.
A 10am arrival at the Ridge on Saturday morning allowed us a few hours of riding time. There were no vacating guests at the cabin, and Max had already arrived from his home in Florida and was just waking from a nap. So we tossed our bags inside and claimed our beds before heading out on the Cherohala/Dragon loop. Joe chose the Ridge several years ago for the group trip, and we’ve stuck with it, partially due to the large garage and the hospitality of the owners Ron & Nancy, but also for its proximity to the southern end of the Cherohala Skyway.
The Cherohala Skyway, named for the Cherokee and Natahala Forests it passes through, winds over 40 miles of fast sweepers to Tellico Plains, Tennessee, with breathtaking views at the occasional scenic overlooks. The pace is fast, compared to many of the more technical roads in the area, and line of sight through the curves is generally good. There are a few decreasing-radius corners that can sneak up on you, though, if you’re not paying attention, and this may account for the higher accident rate here than at the Dragon. Elevations rise as high as 5,400 feet, and this would factor into our route decisions later in the week as the temperatures dropped. Even in the warmer months, an early morning ride across the Cherohala is a chilling way to wake yourself up at the beginning of a day’s ride.
The loop took us around through the Dragon on US Highway 129, which was relatively deserted of bikers for a Saturday; then again, it was early in the season. We made a quick stop at the Deal’s Gap store, which has come a long way over the years, and since last year has been serving good food in their dining area. From the Crossroads of Time (intersection of Hwy 129 and Rt 28), we headed down one of our other favorite roads, Route 28, with its diversity of wide sweepers and tight technical curves, all with ample run-off space and good line of sight. Route 143 through Robbinsville back to the Ridge has been re-paved since last year and is now a joy to ride, rather than the chore of navigating tight curves over broken pavement and piles of gravel it once was.
As we relaxed with a few brews and got the grill fired up, our buddy Hugh arrived from his home in Georgia. Climbing off his filthy Bandit 1200S - a testament to the significant amount of miles Hugh puts on it every year - I promptly handed him a cold Yuengling Lager before he could even unzip his AeroStitch suit. A long night ensued around the campfire, of swapping motorcycle stories and just catching up since we saw Hugh on last year’s vacation.
Sunday morning, we woke to clear skies and temps in the 50s; highs were predicted somewhere in the mid-60s. We bundled up and hit the Cherohala on our way to meet up with Max’s friend George before continuing on to the Two Wheels Only motorcycle resort in Suches, Georgia. From Tellico Plains, we headed south on 68 and 60 to T.W.O. where we were greeted by a friendly stray dog. After an hour or so break there, we continued on 60 to Dahlonega, where we refuled before heading up Hwy 129 across Blood Mountian.
The origin of Blood Mountain’s name is still debatable, but it is a fact that the three-lane road that climbs up and over Georgia’s sixth-tallest mountian is one heck of a fun ride. The twisty mountain road starts as a 2-lane, and then adds a passing lane in the uphill sections, giving riders a unique experience as you can use two full lanes to navigate the tight corners when traffic allows. Memorable parts included a bagger jumping in behind us after we passed him - Joe says it was a Kawasaki Concours - and that guy was doing everything he could to keep up with us including crossing the double-yellow lines on a relatively wide left-hander, and local police had a couple on a sportbike stopped going the other way. The banked curves and 2 lanes of maneuvering room make for a fast ascent up Blood Mountian, and quite a memorable ride. After a short break at the top, Hugh and George headed home, and the rest of us took the scenic route back to the Ridge via the Cherohala.
Monday morning brought on the return of winter. We headed out around 11am in 36 degree weather and a light drizzling rain. Four of us made the short loop up 129 to the Deal’s Gap store, back down 28 and over 143 back to the Ridge. The pass over 143 between 28 and 129 showed 34 degrees on the VFR’s thermometer. By the time we refueled at the new Chevron station at the intersection of 143 and 129, we were being pelted with freezing rain. It snowed that night and into Tuesday, when we took the truck to one of the scenic overlooks in Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest, just off the Robbinsville end of the Cherohala Skyway, then onto the Smoky Mountain Knife Works in Sevierville, TN.
Wednesday brought the sun and springtime back with temps in the 50s by mid-morning. I had the privilege of a passenger to keep me warm all day in the form of Troy’s friend from high-school, who was visiting the area and asked if she could tag along with us for the day. The VFR handled a passenger very well, even without me taking the time to adjust the suspension preload, and Diana was a model passenger, moving with me through every turn. There were a few times I nearly went wide in a corner because I forgot she was back there and didn’t compensate for carrying the extra weight through a tight turn. Nevertheless, we all enjoyed a great lunch at Fat Buddies in Franklin, NC (after circling the town several times looking for it) and ended the day with a run through the Dragon before heading back to the Ridge for dinner and tall tales around the campfire.
Thursday was probably the best weather we had all week: around 70 degrees and sunny. Our intention was to take a long ride, picking up the Blue Ridge Parkway at its southern end in Cherokee, and hit some of the nicer side roads off the Parkway between Cherokee and Asheville. It turned out the Blue Ridge Parkway was closed in most places, no doubt due to the snowfall two days earlier. After a run down Hwy 215, we cut over to Brevard for some Hawg Wild BBQ before running up 276 to the old Blue Ridge Motorcycle Campground and back. The return route was mostly highway and got us home well after dark, over Hwy 64 to Cashiers, then north on Rt 107 to Hwy 17/441. Rt 107 was a nice 2-lane that we will need to explore during daylight hours next time.
Waking up Friday morning to the sounds of a thunderstorm, we checked the forecast and realized that the rest of our time there would be wet. The consensus was to pack it in if there was no more riding to be done. So, we loaded up the gear and the bikes and hit the road; we made it home by midnight Friday night, in order to make the most of our remaining weekend. Total mileage for the week was just over 1,200. Not bad for only four days of good weather. Before next year’s trip, we’ll make sure winter is gone for good.
Download Garmin GPS Routes and Waypoints (Right-click, Save As…): Dragon2009.gdb (338KB)
YouTube Video: Following Hugh on the Cherohala Skyway
YouTube Video: Blood Mountain