No, this isn't an April Fool's joke or story. However, it did occur on April Fool's Day and what a day it was. Temp at start up was 45* and slowly built up to 70s by late afternoon. Pushed out of the garage at 7:35 to meet bike Paul at entrance of subdivision for 7:40. He was right on time as usual. I dressed in summer gear with a light jacket over a T-shirt, rain liner and summer riding jacket. Used regular winter type gloves instead of the heated ones. Not such a good idea as I forgot that we were heading north where it was cooler. But too late now, let's ride.
We took all back roads to stay out of the morning rush hour traffic and to by-pass Knoxville altogether. Only had a couple of school zones to contend with. Air was crisp, very cool, but that blue sky made everything just wonderful along with Ole Sol beaming down. Trees are budding out, some have already put on their flowers and many shrubs the same. Lots of Daffodils in whites and yellows along with plenty of Redbud and Forsythia. Wait a minuted, I'm starting to sound like a gardener rather than a biker.
This is the route we rode today, give or take a turn off or two. You can see there are not too many straight sections in this route. We rode up the left side of the loop and back via the right side. Crossed several mountains and rode through a number of valleys. No snow, no ice, no salt or salt dust, just you, your ride and Creation.
Farms now have green grass instead of the winter brown, trees budding out and everything is right with the world, well almost. A few glitches in the world but not with us today.
There are lots and lots of Bradford Pear trees up here in East TN. I have learned a thing or two about them. One, they are beautiful when they bloom. Two, the stink when the flowers are gone. Three, they rot easily and with the large amount of leaves, a good wind has the tendency to break them. But they are pretty for a short while.
Another simple church on our path today. And plenty of them in this part of the country also. Would seem as if there would be no sinners around but then all of the churches aren't fill to capacity on Sundays.
Some one that owned this property had a chunk of money tied up in wood fencing. You're only seeing a small portion of it here. Later on we came across a horse farm that was fenced with those white plastic boards and posts. Looked pretty but rather costly. Must have been a banker, a lawyer or a doctor. Certainly wasn't a trucker.
Riding U.S. 25 North toward Kentucky, Dani'l Boone country. It's a nice 4-lane highway and only one of three that we rode today. All others were narrow two lane or barely two lanes.
Crossing from TN to KY on U.S. Rte. 25 requires you to go through a long 4-lane tunnel. It is quite amazing as it is as clean or cleaner than most shopping malls, extremely well lighted and no water drips.
As you can see, the inside of the tunnel is very neat. The bike in front is friend Paul on his Burgman 400 Scooter, a.k.a., The White Rat. This route goes through Harrogate, TN, home of the Lincoln Memorial University and home of the Abraham Lincoln Library and museum. A nice relaxing place to take a stroll back through time.
On the Kentucky side of the tunnel is Middlesboro, KY. But we're not going there as we will turn off to the entrance to The Cumberland Gap National Historical Park. It straddles the Kentucky, Virginia and Tennessee State lines. It's a very pretty place to visit, picnic and enjoy what nature has made. A nice museum there also.
Looking toward Middlesboro, KY and the turn-off to the Cumberland Gap National Historical Park. We're taking a short cut across the edge of the Park today.
And this is the rode we were looking for. Notice the lack of greenery. They are a few weeks behind where I live and they had one bad winter this year. However, in a few more weeks the place will be green and very shady.
This is our road type for the day. The more curves the better. As in a lot of roads in this part of the USA, guard rails aren't included in the design phase in most cases. Rider beware or I should say, Rider Be Aware. One oops may be one too many. Crash, bang, ouch!!
Riding these back roads brings you through all types of living, some like this square log house which is middle class,
a few fixer-uppers all the way to
"certainly this is not to be a place to live in" all the way to
some of these abodes. Friends, some of this area has very little flat land, most of the jobs are logging or coal mining and most of the coal mines have been shut down. When they say you're dirt poor, well some of these places don't even have the dirt.
Then you run across some nice old home such as this. In fact, in the small towns you may see quite a few like this. Looking at some of the places makes you feel really proud of what you have attained over the years.
Just outside of the small towns you pick up some more good roads, this time a little wider. Along the right side is a river we followed for many miles. Today traffic was very very light.
On some of the roads just a small stream flowed and in some instances quite rapidly.
And then some of them looked like this on the other side of the road. Strata. In some places it is black, a coal layer mixed in.
After a couple of hours we came to Smith Recreational Area. A very nice calm lake surrounded by mountains.
And somehow this lone hardwood tree, probably a Maple, was left standing near the end of the roadway. Looked kind of lonesome standing there all by itself.
After a pit stop, for Paul, we were back on the twisties again. This section was great. Wider lanes and long curves. Twisted the throttle a bit along here. Cleans out the carbs.
And along the way this pops up. A one lane tunnel beneath the railroad tracks. At least it was straight so that you could see oncoming vehicles.
This caught my eye as we were passing by it on our way back to the house. At the end of the lane was a beautiful farm house. Bradford Pear trees, all in rows.
In Grainger County the farmers were preparing their fields for planting. To be planted here are tomatoes. They grow hundreds of acres of tomatoes here and are known for their particular tomatoes, sort of like Louisiana is known for its Creole tomatoes. Love fresh tomatoes. Eat them anyway they can be prepared.
This field was just beautiful with its wild clover. Looked a lot like a low growing lavender crop. Unfortunately, I have some of the same stuff in my yard. Can grow anywhere. I think it could grow on concrete. But it's pretty to look at in someone else's field/yard.
Down through the valleys winding up the engine as it won't be long before the ride will stop at Mountain Motorsports in Kodak, TN. Pit stop, free coffee, prowl through the new and use motorcycles, ATVs, etc., and some friendly conversation with the staff here. Great bunch of folks.
Pass another large barn, one of many along our ride today. Can you just imagine the number of people you could put in here for a "Hoe Down". What's a little smell for Blue Grass lovers.
Along side of Cherokee Lake, over a few more hills, around a bunch more curves and hello Kodak. After the stop another 20 miles and I'll be back at the house. A great day for a ride. A great handmade sandwich at a small roadside grocery crammed with any and everything. Nice people run it. A thick slice of pressed ham, several large slices of tomato with some lettuce on sandwich bread and a coke, all for less than $3.00.
The amount of fun was incalculable. The amount of fun, enormous. The stress relief, extreme. Mileage today, 236 door to door. And Sweet Thang loved every mile of it.
So until the next Valkyrie Adventure, smile more, listen more and don't text and drive. I might be the one you hit while distracted.
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