The Art of The Longcut…
We arrived at the FCR and proceeded to check out the 'latest' bunk arrangement for us. It's my own fault, I know, but... It's just the nature of this will-of-the-wisp gypsy not to want to commit to plans, schedules, reservations, and all that other normal stuff. Nope, I do prefer to keep our options open and in front of us as long as possible! Last-minute arrangements are always risky, but most of the time things do work out... like this time, for instance.
First, let me say a thing or two about the FCR... SmokinJoe has established a fall gathering affair that has evolved into one of the premier Valk events of all-time! The best time of the year, in the minds of many, for riding around the hills of that area of southern Appalachia, and it clearly is the best time for 'leaf-peeking'. For some of us, it is also one of the best social opportunities available to us! Visiting with friends is always the only thing for certain that I know I'll be doing during that long weekend...
Joe had arranged at the last minute for this always late to the game but frequent participant anyhow to have a bed. I would be staying with four other Valkers in one of the houses 'down below'. Heck, I was just glad I could be wedged in someplace with an unshared bed! I would also be sharing a room with Ross Mashburn (RNFWP)... Again, no problem... I was just happy to have a place to sleep!
SmokinJoe, the early days...
SmokinJoe nowadays…
Early morning coffee while gabbing with other riders, then middays gabbing with other riders... Evenings were spent near the fires... gabbing with other riders! I'm sensing a pattern here... Allan did spread Jackie's ashes at the waterfall near the western end of the Cherohala Skyway... one of her favorite spots... Beyond that, this was mostly a typical, wonderful event by any standard!!! Thanks, Joe, for making it all happen!
RNFWP & DDT sitting near but not too near one of the two fires at the FCR...
Sundays are traditionally the last day of this event when everyone leaves, and in keeping with my own tradition, I was one of the last to depart. Yep, saying farewell to all the good folks who show up year after year, and since this will be my last chance for a long time to exchange genuine feelings of respect and friendship with many of those people, I simply don't want to miss any opportunities! It can also be when a completely unexpected opportunity might pop up...
I happened to be chatting with Ross (RNFWP) when he inquired about my plans... He obviously didn't know me that well then... "No plans,” I responded, “I was just thinking of drifting east towards the eastern Carolinas. Nothing in particular, I’d just be wandering around for a while... Wanna tag along as far as Greenville?" I knew he lived in Greenville, SC, about 150 miles or so southeast of Robbinsville, and that would be on my way... more or less...
Ross immediately signed on, and he even agreed to lead, since we’d be taking a route with which he was more familiar. That route took us to Clayton, GA, where he casually mentioned he knew of a good BBQ place downtown… Well heck yeah! The ‘Q’ was good, too, but the conversation mysteriously took an unexpected turn…
“I suppose you need to get on home,” I mused out loud… Not really came his quick reply… “Could you stay out another night or so then?” Yep… I’ll just call home and let the wife know… So, now our minds went to recalculating other options… We decided to head west instead of east towards someplace he could still make it home from in a day or two… We decided Blue Ridge, GA, would do nicely… We headed off with Ross still in the lead…
During our chat that evening, it was revealed that he didn’t actually need to be home for a week or so… Hmmm, wanna do a coddiewomple, I inquired? OK, came another quick response… What had started out to be a couple of hours together to the turn-off to his place, turned into a thirteen-day ride that covered parts of eight different states… as far west as Oklahoma and Texas, and as far south as Louisiana. Yep, this turned out to be a real ‘Longcut’ for sure!
It was my turn to lead again the following morning, so I did what I often do… I missed a couple of turns and made our longcut even a bit longer… Oh well, I don’t see a problem with that myself, and Ross doesn’t either, apparently… We decided to swing by Decatur, AL, for a CF Penn burger. We got a room in Athens, AL, just a short ride from Decatur and treated ourselves to a great evening meal at a nearby Cracker Barrel.
The following morning, we rode in the quite cool morning chill. Following the ‘furball’ traffic snarl we stumbled into due to a collision on the highway, we made the turn into the CF Penn parking lot… Hmmm, midday and no cars! Yep, we'd managed to make our visit on a day they were closed… Shucks, my bad… “Ever heard of the ‘Free State of Winston’,” I asked my partner? I knew the answer before I asked, of course, because even I hadn’t heard of it until twenty years or so ago, even though I had grown up in north Alabama! And that led us to the next phase of this… longcut…
We did stop for brunch in Town Creek, AL, at the Ranch House Restaurant… Ross had a sandwich, while I stuck with my disciplined protein only order of bacon and sausage.
A nice back road ride down to Jasper, AL, for the evening… and a meal at the next-door Taco Bell. This was turning into a great ride, even though neither of us had had any idea at all what we might find… Not unusual at all to just go wandering around and find pleasurable experiences in places we’d never have considered or even imagined in advance…
The following morning, we discovered a bit of frost on our girls… No problem, we’d just take our time, maybe even have our first meal before heading out to Natural Bridge on our way to Double Springs…
Sign in the café where we dined and enjoyed our first meal of the day… We also enjoyed some banter with the delightful server, too!
Food for thought…
DDT
