Wednesday morning, 7:00 a.m., 5-6-15, temp. mid-50s with a high in the valley of 86. Pushed Sweet Thang out of the garage, dressed in summer gear with rain liner. No chaps today as they are black, leather and hot when the temps get above the mid-70s. The air was fresh and crisp, just right for a long all day ride. As I rode out of the subdivision I snapped the above picture, looking eastward at Ole Sol waking up with a hot orange-red color. It's going to be hot, hot, hot.
A little ground fog hung over the fields and pastures along Boyds Creek Highway giving a bit of soft haze to the scenery.
Meet-up point was the Exxon Station and Convenience Store about 5 miles from my house. We use it since it is convenient to rider Paul and me. I got there early and grabbed a cup of coffee. I don't know why I do this as each time Paul will arrive early also and I've only sipped about a half of a cup. Oh, well, into the trash bin and don the helmet and gloves. Today it's time to ride.
There was another rider with us today, friend and biker Robert that lives in the back section of my subdivision. I didn't read the last email Paul sent as by that time I had logged off for the day. Robert rides a Can-Am Spyder or better known as a reverse trike, two wheels in front and one in the back. The cloud formations were absolutely beautifully colored with the early morning sun peaking through them.
We tooled up Boyds Creek to TN 66, right turn onto 66 into Sevierville and left onto U.S. 411 toward Newport. A few miles up 411 we turned onto Jones Cove Rd. to take us up to Cosby and the Foothills Parkway over to I-40.
About half way across the Foothills we pulled into a turn out to take a morning picture of the mountains. Like big waves in a green ocean. Morning mist was hanging in the valleys this day with the normal haze of the mountains, thus Smoky Mtns.
Friend Robert takes a sip of water while Paul takes a picture. Paul is originally from Missouri but has lived in a number of states over his working career. Robert is from Pensacola, FL area and is a retired Navy guy. Three old geezers enjoying a day of riding.
We hit the interstate for a good ways and then turn northeast to take us up a bunch of back roads with a stop at an Ingle's Supermarket for some fresh Apple Fritters and coffee about 9:30.
There are a lot of very large old farms up in this part of East TN with large two story houses. Apparently large families to work the farm required a large house to put them in.
Along our route today we came across this little fixer-upper. Sure hate to see these old homes just fall down. But you can't save everything. Seems such a waste.
Love back roads like this. Nice surface, sweeper curves and every once in a while a thriller (a curve that sneaks up on you just to get your attention).
If you miss the turn at this intersection you're going to be in for a very sudden stop. And believe me, the pole will be the least of your problems. It's called stone, rock, immovable object.
We were headed to the town off in the distance. And you could smell it from where we were. It has a large pulp mill which has a very pungent aroma.
This is only about a hundred miles from the house but Spring is still occurring here.
Ahh, the Fritter Factory. Paul can't ride past an Ingle's without stopping. Today I tried something different. It was croissants with doughnut icing on them. Delicious, especially with a hot cup of coffee. Put me on a sugar high for sure.
A few more miles and we would be getting very near our turn off for the Blue Ridge Parkway. Here we're in a nice valley run.
These beautiful bushes are rhododendrons. They are more common at higher altitudes than in the valleys. Might get one to plant in my yard, somewhere where the lawn mower can get around it.
Made it to the Blue Ridge Parkway. This is rode stretches from Cherokee, NC to Danville, VA, over 400 miles. Very few facilities like gas stations on it as most are a few miles off the Parkway. Beautiful scenery with a 45 mph speed limit. Pretty any time of the year but especially in the Fall with all of the leaf colors.
There are also a number of tunnels along the Parkway. We would travel through three or four on the short stretch we would be riding. I say short, it was more like 20 miles.
As you can see the trees at the higher altitudes are just starting to leaf out. The temperature at this level was in the lower 50s with a high today of 55.
Scene shot of the mountains from the Blue Ridge Parkway (BRP). You can make postcard shots all day along the BRP.
Today we passed a lot of bicyclists. Now these peddlers have a lot more stamina than I do. This is not a rode for greenhorn bicyclists. It is a serious road with steep climbs, sharp curves and not much maneuvering room.
Mount Mitchell in the distance, one of the highest points along the Blue Ridge.
The parking lot for the top is still several miles beyond the visitor center. There's a campground and a restaurant up on this mountain.
This is a short tunnel on the way from the BRP to Mt. Mitchell parking area.
We make the final turn to Mt. Mitchell.
Then we take the "Million Dollar" shot. Sweet Thang posed with the mountains in the background. Elevation, 6578 ft. above sea level. That means it's 6582 ft. above New Orleans, LA.
After a pit stop, a bottle of water and a snack bar we mounted up again to head back to Seymour. Mt. Mitchell, NC is a very pretty place to lay around and hike for a day or two or three. But this was a one day affair. I didn't take many pictures on the way back but you can just about reverse the order shown here and see the same scenery.
It was a grand day. Riding with two friends in the open air, listening to the exhaust rumbling along through the mountains. It just doesn't get much better than this. I could easily do a continuous ride around the country, even the globe, if I had a sponsor to pay for the fuel, food and maintenance (mostly tires and oil changes). Just time your rides for the season changes. Don't want to get caught in ND, MI, etc., in the winter.
Total miles ridden today was 277. Time spent, about 9 1/2 hours. Scenery seen, to much to count. Fun scale, 100%+. So until the next Valkyrie Adventure, thank the Lord for what you have, tell your family members you love them, and enjoy life.
