Checking Out The Bike

On Nov. 13, 2014 my bike, Sweet Thang, got rear-ended by a fellow biker.  After much haggling with insurance companies I settled with my company and bought the bike back.  I immediately started listing needed parts and with my usual dealer ordered them.  They came in rather quickly and I had the dealer to install the new front fender and tire.  While doing that they found that one of the new brake rotors I had just installed was bent so they ordered a new one.

What you find out about a motorcycle is that it is somewhere between having a nuclear power plant and an airplane.  Every part, large or small, is expensive.  The pic to the left shows the rightside saddlebag, replacement cost, approx. $1600 for the box, lid and chrome supports that hold it in place.  Chrome guardrails, another $230.  No labor charges.

This red panel is about $250 and it's plastic.  The good thing about the parts as they are already painted so no having to match colors at a body shop.

The front fender is $735.  You can buy a car fender for less.  Tire is another $160, new rotor $195.  Then you toss in about $500 labor for just doing the front end work and checking for alignment.  The saddlebag and guardrails along with all support materials I put on myself.  Two full days and a lot of getting up and down on the garage floor.


At 5:00 p.m. Wednesday afternoon I pushed her out of the garage and took a spin around the neighborhood.  To my knowledge nothing fell off.  So Thursday I put my normal amount of stuff back in the saddlebags, strapped the right lid down with a bungie cord, put the heated gloves back on the bike and re-set the palm throttle (a little device attached to the end of the right handle bar grip so take some strain off your fingers when riding).

Friday morning, Dec. 19, 2014, temp at 8 a.m., 34.  Sky, clear and blue, chances for rain today 0%.  A good day for a ride.  So I backed out of the garage and headed to Hardee's to have coffee with the Elderlies.  After coffee I rode to the bank and back to my local grocery to gas up.  And on Friday's the points from buying groceries allows you to get $00.30 off a gallon of gas, $1.99 today.  I filled up the tank and headed to Mountain Motorsports, my bike dealer to thank them for the work done and the speed they helped me get back on the road.

After a quick visit I hit Interstate 40 eastward.  Wanted to run it good for a while since it had been sitting up for a month.  A good way to clear the carb jets.  The air was brisk and my heated gloves felt wonderful.  All suited up made the ride very comfortable, even at interstate speeds.

After some gray days the blue sky made you feel so much happier.  The traffic was light and with 3 lanes to ride in made riding even more enjoyable.  Good conditions for carburetor jet cleaning.  And clean we did.  Sweet Thang has an alto voice when the air is cold and she was just humming along.

A few miles up the road you cross some finger lakes from Douglas Lake, a TVA lake that generates the electric power for my area.

After Douglas Lake you start to see the mountains way off in the distance.  A site to behold for sure.

By the time you start getting near the city of Newport, TN the mountains are looming larger on the horizon.  At the junction of U.S. 321 and I-40 I peeled off onto the off ramp heading for Cosby, TN.  This was the same highway where the wreck occurred.  I pulled over into a large store parking lot and did a quick wrench adjustment to my left mirror and then struck out for Cosby.  This area, Newport and Cosby are well known for making "Moonshine Whiskey".

Cosby is really just a long highway/street.  You would definitely consider the area rural, not urban.

The highway runs along beside a stream and it does have a couple of small motels and businesses.  Most people go to Newport for purchasing things.

 On the way into Cosby you will pass Carver's Apple Orchard along with their restaurant/gift shop/market.  It is an old orchard and they have some competition as there are a couple more orchards in the general area. 

After a few miles of rolling hills and wooded sides you come into Gatlinburg where 321 connects with 441.  

Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge really go out for the tourists and locals with decorations applied based on the season.  Lots of lights and lighted objects.  It is really pretty to drive through the areas at night just to see the lights.

Notice the different colored Christmas trees at the intersection of 441 and River Road (to the right).

The main drag through Gatlinburg.  Lots of gift shops, restaurants, arcades, etc.  Great family oriented area of TN.  Believe me, the amount of traffic you see here is absolutely not the norm.  In summer it is bumper to bumper and the cross walks have the right of way.

At the end of Gatlinburg a short distance from the last traffic light you start to enter the Great Smoky Mtn. National Park.  I would say they have had a billion pictures taken at this particular location.

A couple of miles later you can either go over the mountain to Cherokee, NC or make a right turn at Sugarlands Visitor Center and run along the park to Townsend.  This is what I did.  In the winter everything seems to turn to shades of gray with an occasional evergreen tree thrown in.  A beautiful drive.

Since the road was once a railroad and follows the Little Pigeon River it is rather curvy with some of them being really tight.  As you can see, not much traffic to deal with today.

The river is ever changing. This time of year the water will be really low unless right after a rain.  During the Spring a lot of the rocks you now see are under water.   

This is probably one of the most photographed waterfalls in the park.  During the Spring the water will be from the left as shown all the way across to the right side.  I even know a couple of crazy people that waded across the cold water just to go see the falls up close and then waded the water back to the highway side of the river.  Some LSU kids. Duh!!!

It is nice to stop along the way and just listen to the water swirling around and over the rocks.  Very peaceful.  You often see people with their lawn chair set up and reading.

You can tell it stays pretty damp in this area as that light green stuff on the rocks is moss type vegetation.  Looks a little spooky with that overhang.  Don't believe I'd travel under it for fear it would fall in.

This area is the turn off for Townsend.  If you go straight it goes to Cades Cove which is just a wonderful peaceful place.  Old farm homesteads, a couple of churches and very often numerous deer and turkey along the 12 mile one-way loop road.  If you're lucky you may even see a Black Bear.

There's at least one person that reads this forum that will know immediately what this meal is and where it is being eaten.  I donate this fine meal to that person who has eaten several of them.

After lunch I caught 321 through Wear's Valley and on to Pigeon Forge.  The Valley is growing with several new business places.  A lot of people have summer cabins here.

And now back in Pigeon Forge which makes Veterans Hwy. in Metairie and Lapalco Blvd. on the Westbank look like restful neighborhoods during the summer and Fall.  Today, not so busy which made it nice not having to negotiate 3 lanes of traffic with people from out of state not knowing where they're going.  Famous expression, "Turn here now".  Bam.

Rode by one of my son's house but didn't take the time to count the number of leaves on the ground.  It's easier to measure them, now about 4".  This was taken from one of his neighbor's front yard where I stopped in for some hot coffee and a hand full of fresh baked cookies.





It was a great day to ride.  Very little traffic to contend with, brisk temperature and slow enough to just sit back and take it all in.  Since I had worked really hard for 4 days it was nice to have a R&R day.  Next ride I hope to take to Cade's Cove to capture some winter scenes and maybe get a few pictures of wild animals, four-legged ones.

Total mileage today, 152.  Experiences, to many to count.  So until the next adventure, ride safe, enjoy life and have a very Merry Christmas.

Ride to Cosby, TN or Mashing Bikes

Thursday, Nov. 13, 2014.  Had made plans with three East TN Bikers to make a run today as it was going to be warmer than tomorrow.  Sarge lives near Cosby and I had never met him.  Chris lives in Maryville and I had never met him either but did know his son Ian.  Paul, I ride with often.  So Chris was going to meet me in Seymour and we were going to ride to Cosby to meet Sarge and eat some BBQ.  Paul was leaving later and was going to meet us.  Sky was definitely sunless, slightly foggy with a mist hanging in the air.  At 10:10 a.m. we pulled out of Seymour.  Destination, ride US 441 to Sevierville, run US 411 for a few miles and then take TN 339 a nice well surfaced back road across to US 321 into Cosby.

Leaving Seymour, TN for Sevierville.

Jones Cove Rd., TN 339, from Sevierville to Cosby.






Road surface is great as it was resurfaced about a year or two ago.  Still a lot of color but this rain and cold will kill that soon.

The dampness really pulled the darker colors out along the way.  Lots of old farm buildings and houses, some still in use.

Since the road was wet we were taking our time riding this route.  Chris had not ridden this road before.  He's an avid rider but does most of it in Europe where he taught school on military bases.

Some soybean fields have already been harvested but saw one that may get lost with the rain and snow.

We took our time, went to the BBQ place and it was closed so we decided to go to Carver's, an apple orchard, store, restaurant not to far away.  We ordered our food and then Paul showed up.

After a lengthy time of eating and talking we decided to leave and go back via Interstate 40 due to the weather and dropping temperature.  Paul was going to ride back via some back roads.  Sarge led off, I was next and Chris followed me.  Sarge was going to turn off to go to his house and Chris and I would continue on to the interstate.  About 3 miles before we got to the interstate, a red pickup stopped due to on-coming traffic to make a left turn.  An old Toyota pickup was stopping behind him.  Then I was stopping, going real slow but had not actually stopped yet.  Unfortunately, Chris didn't stop and ran into the rear of Sweet Thang.  The following pictures are the result.   

Right rear saddle bag and bag guard rails destroyed.  Inside the saddle bag was some rain gear, tool bag, air compressor (badly damaged) and other sundries carried for short or long hauls.  All of this hit the highway.

Another view of the right saddle bag.  The Red cover beneath the rider's seat is also broken as the saddlebag guard rail hit it and the back of my right leg.

The impact drove my front wheel beneath the rear bumper of the pickup, which was being driven by an off-duty TN State Trooper.












 


Another view of the front fender.












Since the metal was driven into the tire it cut a 3' ribbon of rubber out of the tire down to the cord.  The impact also caused me to break the end portion off my right throttle grip.

I had a hit to my right calf and feels like I strained my ACL on the left leg probably catching myself to keep the bike upright.  I came out very fortunate as the bike can be repaired (expensively).  I had just had the front tire, rotors and pads replaced on the bike.

However, my friend Chris was riding his son's restored 1975 Suzuki.  Chris was thrown over the handlebars and landed on the grassy shoulder on his left shoulder, head and side.  He was transported to the hospital nearby and later transported to the University of Tenn. Medical Center in Knoxville.  He sustained a broken collarbone, several broken ribs and a damaged spleen.  The off-duty state trooper called in the 911 call and aid was there quickly.  However while waiting those few minutes, I noticed the headlight on Chris' bike was still on and gas was dripping out of the tank.  So I walked over and switched off the key, pulling it out at the same time and the bike caught fire.  The ambulance attendant used up a 10 lb. dry chemical extinguisher but it didn't put out the fire so when the fire truck arrived a minute or so later they put it out with a fire hose from the pumper.

The day started out with several guys that had chatted with each other over a forum but only two had actually met.  Our meeting was great, our lunch was great but the days ending sort of sucked.  A tow truck took Chris' bike to Sarge's to be picked up later.  Sarge came back and stayed with me until my tow truck arrived.  I rode back to my bike shop with the tow truck and called my old riding buddy Ron, to pick me up.  All in all, we were very lucky.  I always try to get God to ride with me and again he was there.  It goes to show that when you're trying to be careful, you can't necessarily count on everyone else doing the same.  Would I ride with Chris again, you bet.  Am I thankful for both of us being alive, you bet.  Will I ride again, you bet.  I have come to the conclusion that I may need to remove the right saddle bag from my bikes as this is the second time I have been hit from the rear and the right saddlebag took the brunt of the blow.

As the weather chills, conditions change.  Make sure you change with them.  Ride safe.

Celebrating USMC Birthday With Cades Cove Ride

Today, November 10, 2014 is the 239th Birthday of the United States Marine Corps.  I salute past and present members, Semper Fi.  So to celebrate this notorious and glorious day, I met up with a biker friend to do a Cades Cove Loop ride.  I left the house at 8 a.m., chilly if I do say so, in lower 30s with frosty roofs.  I was bundled well for the ride so no worries.  Stopped and had a cup of coffee with "The Elderlies" at Hardee's and then on to the bank.  From the bank I took back roads over to U.S. 411 and shortly after hitting it I turned onto some more back roads finally coming out on U.S. 321 at Walland, TN, a small community about half way between Maryville and Townsend.

The air was crisp and so were the colors of the leaves.  The weather has had some effect on leaf colors this year but they still are pretty to view.

An old store/house along the backroad traveled this trip.  One of those "We have almost anything you don't need" places.

Looking at the Smokies off in the distance, shrouded with fog and the morning haze which is almost always present.  Thus the name "The Smokies."

This roadway traverses alongside a small river which makes it rather scenic.  At the point of this picture the left side of the roadway is part of the Agricultural Studies Dept. of the Univ. of Tenn.  Smokies on the horizon.

By the way, there are no guardrails along most of this route so if you miss a turn in the road you could get your vehicle washed or maybe the word is dunked.

The sky was so blue this morning such that the camera can't really do it justice.  I just love those mountains.

 This section of the road is nearing the community of Walland.

At this point I left the back roads and traveled U.S. 321 through Walland and into Townsend.  Notice the fog hanging onto the edge of the mountains.  Most of the fog was due to the river on the left side of the highway.

Leaving Walland for Townsend.  The fog and the clouds resemble smoke from a large fire, just white instead of dark.

Entering Townsend.  It is a rather busy place during the summer with all the vacationing families but during the winter it is rather quiet.  Well, to put it bluntly, it's just downright dead.

It does have several restaurants which serve good old country style meals.  The one pictured here has one heck of a grilled ham and cheese sandwich with beer battered fries.  And don't even think about needing catsup for those fries.

Shortly past the above restaurant you enter the National Park.  The river on the left is the Little Pigeon River which is tubed by hoards of people in the summer.  When the rainfall is low during the late summer months you do more dragging than floating.

Then you make a right turn onto the road that takes you exclusively to Cades Cove Campground and Loop Rd.

The leaf color was very pretty this morning with the sun filtering through the trees.

Not far from the Townsend entrance to The Park is a tunnel.  Yep, most people just have a compelling drive to honk their horn when they get inside of the tunnel.

After about a 6 mile drive you get to the Cades Cove Loop.  Picture on the right is as you enter the loop which is a 12 mile one way drive.

There are several family farms within the Cove but are now totally owned by the National Park Service.  They still raise horses here and bale the grass for hay.  This is done by a contract farmer.

Even with the morning haze you can still see some color on the mountain side.

The closer you get to the mountains the more color you will see.  In a week or so most of the leaves will have dropped from the trees and the only color other than gray will be the green conifer trees.









Scenes around the Cove.

A small stream on the backside of the loop.  The splitrail fence is at the Old Mill visitor's center.

Along the road leading out of the loop.

Lingering color, fading fast, enjoying it greatly while it lasts.  A good ride with a good friend (loves Community Dark Roast Coffee with Chicory) in a beautiful place on a special day.  How much better can it get.  After a cup of coffee at the Cades Cove Campground Store, we saddled up and headed back to Pigeon Forge via U.S. 321.  At the Parkway, we parted company, each for his own house.  I hope your day has been as good as my day.  Ride safe.