Top Of The World and Foothills Parkway Ride

Tuesday, April 23, 2019.  Cool start but knew the day was to warm up so dressed in layers so I could finish the day in Summer mode.  Set up ride with Ole and Old Riding Buddy, Paul on Monday evening.  He had a doctor appoint early so I waited for him at McD's in Seymour.  He showed up around 9:30, drank a cup of coffee and at 10:00 we headed out with Paul leading.  Thought about taking backroads up to Top Of The World Community, catching the old section of the Foothills Parkway and riding it all the way through the new section.

We headed out of Seymour East bound to run some backroads towards our first destination, Top Of The World.

It is so refreshing to see all of the green coming out after the dull gray of winter.  Of course, my sinuses are going crazy with all of the pollen in the air, but take a few pills and go on with life.

Nice reflection in the pond atop a hill.  We are riding through farming country so lots of big pastures and grazing cows and horses.

The gentleman that owns the property across the road from this little cabin said that 5 generations had lived in it.  I guess it is kept up just for historic value.

The mountains in the background make a nice backdrop for that deep red bush, whatever it is.

And if I had to guess, this tree is dead and will one day become firewood or mulch.

We stopped off at Lem's to check and see if the little bakery run by the wife of a friend of ours, had something sweet and fattening.  Yes, it did and we bought it and devoured every crumb.

Paul, my riding buddy, is that old geezer standing by the white rat, a Burgman 400 scooter.  He has a sticker that refers to him as "Scooter Trash".  The other bike is Redbug.

Heading on up to the Top Of The World we run alongside a nice little flowing stream.  Not Niagara, but a close second.

This road is not very wide, is two way traffic and is full of blind curves and hills.  Riding here means concentration or you're hurt.

The higher you climb the more you notice that as the elevation gets higher the vegetation is just feeling Spring.

One of the few straight stretches we rode on today.

Nice long flowing curve, sort of lets you hang out there a bit.  Feeling the breeze on the knees.

The mountains look far off and from here they are but not so far that you can't make them in an hour or so.

We came out of the Top Of The World community and caught the Foothills Parkway about half way the old stretch.

We will ride the old stretch and meld into the new stretch at US 321, taking us to Wears Valley where we get off on US 321 but farther down.

The sky was very blue and the clouds were wispy and very high.

Post card picture.  In fact there are a lot of post card pictures as every bend and turn gives you a new scene to look at.

Ole Sol was doing its best to take the morning chill out of the air.  And by the time we got back to Pigeon Forge we were stripping off a layer of clothing.

It just so scenic.  There are a lot of bridges that are hanging off the side of the mountain on the new stretch of the Foothills Parkway.

And yes, they are still doing some construction on it even though it should have been finished a long time ago.

Here's a shot looking at the road clinging to the side of the mountain.

From almost any vantage point the scenes are beautiful.  Need a 3-D photo so the humps and bumps of the mountain stand out more.

Yes, the roadway does continue and we just need to make another curve to get there.

A good day for a picnic or to be out of doors.  It has been nice to not have rain for a few days.

After a coffee at the HD Dealer in Pigeon Forge we took off for Newfound Gap, the top of the mountain.  The sign was letting you know to watch out for snow and ice on the roadway.  Ha, it was in the 70s already.

I love riding to the top of the mountain.  It's like riding through a tunnel of trees.

You can still see the scars from the fire that almost got into Gatlinburg a couple of years ago.  This was one of the most photographed sites in the park but not so photogenic 

Looking at the turn off for the Chimney's Picnic area, the white Dogwood tree is in full splendor.

 It's a very nice scenic ride from Sugarlands Visitor Center to Newfound Gap, especially if you're not having to follow a slow tourist that's never driven on curvy mountain roads.

 We passed by the Newfound Gap parking area which was bustling with tourists today.  We decided to go on up to Clingman's Dome for a look see.  This pic is slightly blurred but that yellow showing in the green grass is thousands of Dandylions, a.k.a., wild onions.

A nice view of the mountains from the Clingman's Dome parking area.

At this angle they become very hazy.

Just past the Newfound Gap parking area on the way back down the mountain, you are alerted by the sign that it's going to be a bit crooked.  And often you get to smell the odor of burning brake pads from people that have not driven in the mountains very much.

Back to the valley, we ride into Pigeon Forge heading back to Seymour.  It was a great day to ride.  Beautiful weather, beautiful scenery and great friendship with fellow biker.  We haven't ridden much in the last few months due to moving, weather and him on vacation to Florida which then left him sick for a week upon his return.  So this was like a reunion.  Total miles today, 155.  And everyone of them enjoyed.


So until the next Valkyrie Adventure I wish each of you a Blessed Day and days full of fun and adventure.  Remember, no texting while driving.

Spring Ride to Shady Valley, TN

Saturday morning I turned off the alarm clock, donned my winter/summer riding clothes, pushed Sweet Thang out of the garage into a low 40s crisp beautiful morning.  This morning I was to meet up with Dan "Big Dan" Harvey and others at the 407 Exit McDonald's for a leisure trip to Shady Valley.  Sweet Thang has just gotten out of the shop after having a new water pump installed so this would be a crazy way to do a shakedown ride.  However, who said that I was totally sane anyway.

The morning view from the house at 7:40 a.m.

Passing my old School House on Boyds Creek heading for the meet up.

Nine bikes total with two Ladies and 7 hairy legged old men pulled out for a day of fun.  The temp was to get up into the 80s by mid afternoon and they did.

East TN does not lack a church to go to if you're interested.  All sizes, shapes, colors and denominations.  Choosing one is not difficult.

We wriggled our way through some good back roads and finally hit a nice run up into Green County, known for its delicious tomatoes.  Fields are being prepared for planting, however, Mother Nature can't decide if it's Winter, Spring or Summer yet.

Tomato hot houses used for starting the plants later to continue growing in there through the late Fall.

We skirted along the edge of Cherokee Lake on our way up.  Just a tad low.  Must be drawing down for repairs.  It's not due to the lack of rain around here.

I'm sure going to miss these old steel structure bridges.  They are slowly replacing them with the newer concrete bridges.  Lattice work is a lot prettier than scuffed up concrete.

The first break of the morning.  Pit stop, coffee stop and Bulldedeaux Stop.  Dan's wife, Janet, rides behind him and when not asleep, takes pictures of the group and places.

After the break we're off and running for the mountains just below the VA line.  In fact, we will pass near the Bristol Speedway.  It's quiet there today.

The Bradford Pear trees near home have mostly lost their blooms and now have green leaves.  Up here, about 100 miles north they are still blooming.

Rolling hills and mountains in the distance.  Nice big farms and ranches in this area of TN.

Did I mention that the Pear Trees were in bloom?

An old railroad bridge crossing a river.  Getting old, can't remember the name of the river.  But it has water flowing anyway.

 Never get tired of this scenery.  Country roads, mountains and plenty to look at.











Crossing another river.

Some of the group is ahead of me and these are some that are following.  We had a mixture of bikes, HDs, Indians, Honda, Ducati, Victory, 

A nice scenic river setting.  You can almost picture a canoe slowly riding the current.

I caption this pic "Keep TN Clean".  Some places are really in need of TLC.

This ride involves a lot of curves.  In fact, it could be listed as a serpent ride.  One road was "The Snake", one section "The Rattler" and a lot of areas were as crooked as a snake's trail.  But all were a lot of fun.

A nice sweeping curve.  You can just lay into your groove and hang there as the curve is a continuous curve but always be prepared for a change.

There are some really nice homesteads in this area.  Big pastures and fields.  The tractors used here are a lot larger than those around where I live.

One of the many old farm homes in the area.

With the various lakes and rivers there seems to be no lack of RV Parks or boat launching areas.

Remember, I said some of the road were as crooked as a snakes trail.  Well, this is just a better stretch of that kind of road.

It's still winter in this area.  No green, just gray.

Riding alongside Lake Wautauga.  It is a reservoir for another lake that has a hydro-electric plant.

One of the many marinas around the lake.

And Spring has sprung.  This is a beautiful Cherry Tree in full bloom.

A simple but pretty old farm house.

Lots of soil up in this area.  Where I live the soil is red clay and rock.  Here it is really a nice loamy soil, good for growing.

A curved bridge.  Now the new section of the Foothills Parkway has a lot of bridges that are curved and that hang off the side of the mountain.  Will have to do a story on that area soon.

Nice pasture for some grazing horses.

Pretty Spring flowers alongside the highway.

And the flowers seem to come in all colors, these are very vivid.

As with most rides, they come to an end.  We've had great weather with great friendship, great food and a great country to travel.  Here on the bike the world's problems seem to disappear but sadly it's not that simple.

So if possible, stay positive and believe me that is somewhat difficult to do.  But well worth a try.  So until the next Valkyrie Adventure, be thankful of what you have.  You could lose it.