Riding Green County Backroads With Paul

Thursday, Jan. 9, 2020, 10:00 a.m.  Met up with my ole and old riding buddy Paul at McDs jct. of US411 and Veterans in Sevierville for a ride up into Green County, TN.  Tomato country during the summer.  Temps were in the upper 40s and climbed to about 65 during the ride.  This is my second ride of the new year and my first ride with Paul in 2020.

Since I left a bit late my Old Island View School House was not a good pic but I have a difficult time passing this place without taking a picture of it.

Met up with Paul and we started our ride doing some backroads out of Sevierville.

The sun was up and very bright this morning.  And a bit warmer than it has been for the past few days.

Love these old neighborhoods we ride through and past.  Has character.

A great day to ride and some nice sweeper curves to let Sweet Thang lean into.

As I stated in the opening, backroads don't mean many straight sections.  They usually follow an old cow trail or a creek and thus are pretty curvy.

The sign is a good indicator.

Lake Douglas must be being drawn down for dam work.  We have plenty of rain lately but this is the lowest I have ever seen the lake this time of year.  So much for lake side property.

A bit farther up the bend.  Lots of fingers off the lake.

We are now rolling through Dandridge, my view of Williamsburg, VA but in TN.  Almost the same architecture. 

 Rolling on toward Green County.  Lots of rolling hills through this area.

Lots of gourds hanging for bird houses.  My Grandfather Ward always kept a string of them near the tractor shed for the Martins that came each year.

Riding through a high dollar neighborhood.

Crossing the French Broad River which feeds into the lake.

A long walk to the water line from this house by the lake.  Actually it's a Fifth Wheel Travel Trailer surrounded or fronted by evergreens.  Still a long walk.

Another Red Barn, just one of thousands in this end of TN.

Looks like we rode up on another one of those missile silos disguised as a silo.  Who do they think they are fooling.

I bet it was hard holding that lawnmower up that high to trim those trees.  Tough on the fingers also.  But the view of the mountains in the background makes it all worth it.

Then we turn onto one of Paul's special roads, gravel, and me with an 850 lb. motorcycle.  Stay out of the loose rock and forget the front brake.  Just some mental notes here.

Then we got back to some good surface roads.

It seems as if this road goes right into the mountains but we know it really doesn't, don't we?

A nice scenic road where the engine rumble sort of echos and perks the body up to do a little stretching out.

The Slab Cafe.  This was our Breakfast/Lunch/Breakfast stop.  It was lunch time but the staff here likes Paul so much that they will make him breakfast anytime he's here just to get rid of him.  A friendly bunch of folks and a good meal.  Yes, we had breakfast at noon.  Paul trying to zip up his jacket after a plate full of food.  No wonder he's called Scooter Trash.

We're back on the road again heading down to Newport, TN.

Babaroosa, a well known biker hangout and campground.  A fun place during the summer.  Usually have outdoor band playing on weekends.  It is right beside the river so if heavy rains come you had better be ready to evacuate.

Coming into Newport from the East side.  Big canning company located here, part of ConAgra.  Hunt's products.

Crossing the bridge to get into the main part of the town and a freight train heading East.

We get back to Sevierville and Paul swings by the shooting range.  He was nice enough to have me as his guest.  This is one of his regular hangouts.

Family Fun Indoor Range, a nice place to shoot a few rounds or attend a class on shooting, etc.  Mainly set up for women to learn to not be afraid of guns and how to use them for self-defense.  On first entry I thought Paul was coming to get a curl and wax job.  The owners are very friendly.  Looks like I will be going back to become a member and do some shooting with my wife.  I did shoot a bunch of .380 rounds in a new to me pistol and shot a few of Paul's 9mm and .380 as well.

Door to door for me was 143 miles of enjoyable fun, or stress relief as it's also known.  Good day, good ride, good friend and made some new friends as well.  And the food was good also.  All in all, a great day to put the knees in the breeze.

So until the next Valkyrie Adventure, I wish you all a safe and fun filled time.  And if you have a few moments, think of our military, country leaders and our first responders here at home.  Ride/drive safe.

Frost Bowl Ride, Jan. 1, 2020

Wednesday, January 1, 2020, New Years Day.  Temp. is 34 degrees at 8:00 a.m.  I am heading South to meet up with a group, Country Roads Group Riding, in Walland, TN.  They have been doing this ride for about 20 years.  They ride to Townsend then down to Cades Cove in the Smoky Mtn. Nat. Pk. and do the 12 mile loop then back to Townsend to have lunch.  This year lunch was at one of my favorite restaurants there, The Riverstone.  Hello grilled ham and cheese sandwich with beer battered fries.

Beautiful sunrise this morning but I was busy putting on my winter riding gear to take a pic.  Here's what it looked like at 8:00 a.m. when I left the house.

Heading for Walland on this route you pass several very nice homes.  As a friend of mine says, they are the
1% ers.

Getting ready to make a left turn in a bit. This is the Univ. of TN Agriculture Center.  Sun was out, sky pretty and blue with some puffy white clouds.  Air, chilly, as I was on Redbug and it doesn't provide much wind break.  At these temps and 45mph, it gets a bit icy.  However, gear keeps me warm.

Meet up at Marathon gas and convenience store in Walland.  Also acts as the Post Office also.  First bike is Redbug, second is a 1998 Honda Valkyrie with the same color scheme as my 1999.

After topping off the tank, sucking down a cup of coffee we headed out for Cades Cove, a.k.a., the Frost Bowl.

We have now entered the Loop Road.  It appeared to be a great traveling day, then we caught up to all of the vehicles taking a last look at the Cove before the road is shut down for repairs.  I mean the road just outside of Townsend where the tunnel is.  The tunnel is going to be worked on for about 2 months.

A serene look at the mountains withing the Cove.

More of Cades Cove before the road starts curving around.

A lonely tree exhibiting no leaves on a cold winter morning seems to be the start of a story of some kind.  

Continuing the ride.  Total of 22 bikes I believe I heard the count right.  All out for a first day of the year ride.  I was positioned No. 5 from the front.

From practically any angle, the scenery is grande.

One of the two churches in Cades Cove.

Blue sky to the left and the second church to the right.

On the backside of the Cove.

Those clouds look like a roll from the exhaust of a very large plane.

We pulled over at the parking area for the grist mill to take a short break.

After the break we mount up and head out for the rest of the Cove ride.

Nice looking 995cc Triump Tiger.

We ride past several old farm houses, some with barns and Spring houses.  There were a number of families living in Cades Cove until it became part of the National Park lands.

Riding out toward the end of the Cove.

This is one of the old farm houses.  The first little building you see is the Spring house where they kept their butter and milk along with other eats that needed refrigeration.

Looking off the right mirror is another old house and a storage shed.

It is a quiet and somber place.  No electricity, no farm tractors in its first days, no internet, TV or telephone service.  Wonder how we would fair living like that today?

I also notice a lot of storm damage to the trees along the route to the Cove and in the Cove itself.  This past year we have had some severe storms with high winds.  Park policy is to cut it out of the road and leave it where it falls.








We ended the Loop Ride and headed back to Townsend to the Riverstone Restaurant.  After eating and saying goodbyes I mounted Redbug and we headed back to the house.  The temperature had warmed up some to about 44 by the time I got back to the house.  It was good to see these folks as I don't get to ride with them very often.

Door to door for me was 90 miles.  Not a real long ride but a very enjoyable one.  2019 was full of things I would like to forget but they did happen.  Senseless killings, terrible forest fires, tornadoes by the dozens and even a few hurricanes.  And a lot of hatred between people.  I sure hope this new year gives us more of a 2020 vision and a much better outlook.  So, when the weather is nice, take a ride/drive someplace and see what is going on.  See some of the prettier things of life.  And close to the top of the list, be safe.

Until the next Valkyrie Adventure, may the sun smile down on you and may the worries of the world be nonexistent.