UPDATED THREAD - If the weather holds I'm heading to Erwin, TN on Friday.

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Going to take a 3 day ride heading home on Sunday.

Stopping at a WMA gun range north of Gainsville, GA on Fri morning to fire my new pistol.

Then into SC, NC and onto the BRP to Waynesville, NC, to Lake Junaluska, Hot Springs,  jump onto Hwy 19 / 23 for the last few miles to Erwin.

Anyone here know how good the forest road is from Dillingham to Craggy Gardens? I plan on doing some lightweight Adv riding on Sunday on my way back to Atlanta. I've seen some Google earth photos which show a pretty good smooth dirt / gravel surface.

Any suggestions for good roads in the Erwin area?

Keep your eye open for the red 2005 ST1300.  

[Charlie McCready]

Paul, from Hot Springs to Erwin there are some awesome back roads through the mountains, all paved. I remember one was route 352 I think. Tim (Redvalk) can tell ya what the roads are, he does them on the Rune rally.  Good luck !!!

[hubcapsc]

* Then into SC, NC and onto the BRP to Waynesville, NC, to Lake Junaluska, Hot Springs,

I'm jealous... I'd try to talk you into letting me ride with you through those parts, but I'm on-call through Monday... have fun! I rode
through all that Trust and Luck and Hot Springs stuff last year on the way to inZane at Johnson City...

-Mike "there's even a place called Joe right before Hot Springs..."

[RedValk]

out of Hot Springs...25 to 208 to 212. 212 is KILLER. 212 turns into 352 at TN border if i remember...and takes you right into Erwin. Around Erwin, there are several good roads...all around in the mountains. And of course, the snake...421 is nearby not too far from Johnson City! If it's THIS weekend, one of our members on the Rune board is going back to Johnson City to pick up her Rune. The rear end went out (second one to have that happen on the Rune board). They pulled the rear end out of a brand new Rune in the crate...and put it in her bike. She'll be riding around Erwin/JC this weekend.

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out of Hot Springs...25 to 208 to 212. 212 is KILLER. 212 turns into 352 at TN border if i remember...and takes you right into Erwin.

Those are on my route there. Any specific roads around the Erwin area excluding the Snake?

[RedValk]

honestly....no SPECIFIC one...it's kind of like riding in Northeast Georgia in the Helen area...there don't appear to be many BAD roads in the area! most are good! Even I-26 between Erwin and Ashville is pretty good!!!!!!!

the only BAD road i know is 11E. Too straight, too much traffic, too many lights. Stay away from 11E.......or prepare to be bored!

you already said you were doing some of the Blueridge...and of course, i like that. i like the snake. And i really like those roads coming out of Hot Springs. In fact....my favorite route from Maggie...the Junalaska Lake...is to take 209 to Hot Springs...then take 25-208-212/352 to Erwin. That route is 84.2 miles by my odometer...and VERY, VERY good. 84.2 miles pops you out at Jackson Love Hiway....right near the Holiday Inn Express....Ground Zero for the Rune Rally Labor day weekend.

i wish i had the old InZane packet from the last couple of years...it has several good rides in the area of Erwin/Johnson city....like a ride that went around a couple of lakes...etc. Sorry, this is all i can remember right now.......

[Normandog]

On 352 you'll pass 19W on your rt.That's a good ride over to 19E. Comes out about 5 miles south of Burnsville.
Just north of Burnsville 197 is good and gets real good closer to TN and brings you out in beautiful downtown Erwin. The only town I know of that can lay claim to hanging an elephant.  197 becomes something else in TN. 295 maybe  there are several good roads branching off these roads but I cant rember the names of all of 'em.
Jack's Creek, Cane River School Rd. are a couple that I remember.
If I think of anymore I'll post em here. I too would tag along for awhile if I was gonna be home. Hope ya have a good trip.

[RedValk]

eat at the River's Edge.....and besids a spectacular view and great food...the whole Mary hanging story is told on the walls of the restaurant. Take exit 37 (old exit 18)...hiway 81. go north a few miles toward Jonesboro....but a few miles up the road on the left...after you pass a yellow sign with a fork and knive...and then see a sign with a pig on the left...the restaurant is down the hill right there.

[RedValk]

another good place to eat near Erwin...the Farmers Daughter. take 81 north...past Rivers Edge...to hiway 107. Turn left/West....go about another 15 miles....Farmers Daughter is on the left. GREAT food....and lots of it.............  THEY ONLY TAKE CASH AND CHECKS. And ....out of town checks probably are a "no-no" too? Better bring cash......

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Well I left home at 7.45 Friday morning and rolled into Erwin at about 3.30. Lunch was a large beefsteak tomato eaten at an overlook on the BRP.

Ride there was great. Bit of SC, NC, TN. Add alittle BRP to the recipe for a very tasty selection of roads.

There was a group of about 80 Triumph cruisers and Rockets hogging the hihgest point sign at Mt. Pisgah. They had no intention of letting anyone else near the sign for a photo op - ignorant pillocks.

I really like 209 on the way to Hot Springs, NC.

Erwin itself (sorry residents) I found to be pretty much uninspiring.

The mom and pop motel looked like a cross between a flop house and a rent a bed by the hour sleazeoid.

The Holiday Inn is right next to the main highway with a gas station for company - nothing else. The Super 8 has a great view of an electricity sub station, the Best Western looks like a cell block. I got out of town and headed north a short way. Found another motel overlooking a golf course that looked it was used for long term accommodation, junk cars in the parking lot.

Headed south on 16 / 26 back towards Asheville. Had a god zoom, zoom up and over the mountains. Was ticking along just over the posted limit so didn't have to pucker when the state trooper parked on the state line appeared in view.

Was going to stop overnight at the Motel 6 on Tunnel Rd but decided to have a change of scenery and headed for Cherokee, NC (MISTAKE).

Booked into the Pageant Inn (motel).Here's the review I posted on tripadvisor.com

$75 with taxes for a badly kept room.

The main light switch inside room 116 didn't work.

The opening inside edge of the door was coated with dirt.

The double beds had been moved revealing clean wall paper compared to the dirt on the rest of it.

The bath had accumulated dirt in one corner.

The grey (supposed to be white) towels were so thread bare you could see the color of the skin of the palm of your hand through them.

No shampoo in the room.

The carpet was so thin it felt like walking on colored concrete.

The mini fridge worked so well it froze solid everything put in it.

The sheets looked clean with fresh fold creases.



I had often wondered what the inside of Harrah's Casino was like. I'm not a gambler by any means but I have stayed in some pretty nice casinos in Las Vegas, Bellagio, Venetian etc.



Walking into Harrah's was like walking into a Jeff Foxworthy / Larry the Cable Guy comedy set. So many gap toothed, saggy  tattooed, baggy fleshed, boozed up, smoking rednecks AND that was just the women.



Decided to go crazy and play the 25c machines. Couldn't put a $1 into eh machines $5 was the minimum. Didn't have a $5 so being that kind of a guy I slipped a 10 spot into the hot slot of the machine sending me the right vibe.



Well quicker that a stutterer could say Jiminy Cricket I was down $1.75. Humph my vibe was off. Time to try another machine. I cashed out and got my barcoded cash slip and walked the aisles of some of the finest human specimens able to drag knuckles on the thinly carpeted floor. None of the machines would accept my cash slip so I asked an attendant what the problem was. I was told that I would have to join the players club because 75% of the machines wouldn't accept the cash slip without the players club card being inserted into another slot on a machine.



Taking this as a sign that I was not to spend my money I cashed in the cash slip for cash and headed back tot eh charms as listed above of the Pageant Inn.



Up early on Saturday morning I was out of Cherokee at sunrise heading back home so I could do some runs of the school bus routes I start Monday. Want to make sure I don't leave anyones child behind.



In Clayton, GA I picked up a voice mail from Friday - T-Mobile really sucks - from my new Supervisor at the bus yard telling me I was to be assigned full time to the routes I'd been given and the the driver who had sat with me when doing a practise run on Thursday wouldn't be with me on Monday.


Thankfully Erwin wasn't an attractive place or I wouldn't have heard my voice mail until today.


Friday was about 460 miles and Saturday dashing straight home was about 130 miles.

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Gainsville, GA train crossing

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SC Hwy 178

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NC Hwy 215 to BRP

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Badly piloted Concours 1400

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Lunch on the BRP

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BRP view

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Sign hogs

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Flowers

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Yee - Ha ! curve

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Spot the road

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Saturday morning in the Smokies.

[Thunderbolt]

I really like the BRP.  Oh, I hope those busses have camera's so you can back up your claims of abuse BY children!!

[..]

Yep, cameras for everyones protection.

Tomorrow is the big day when I fire up "Bessie the Bannana Bus" for real and transport a total of 216 students to and from their schools.

2 elementary routes and 1 high school route.

Bessie is an old girl and doesn't have much get up and go. On a fairly gradual incline she can do about 25mph. 

[Stanley Steamer]

Yep, cameras for everyones protection.

Tomorrow is the big day when I fire up "Bessie the Bannana Bus" for real and transport a total of 216 students to and from their schools.

2 elementary routes and 1 high school route.

Bessie is an old girl and doesn't have much get up and go. On a fairly gradual incline she can do about 25mph. 

As long as the "Wheels on the bus go ROUND and ROUND...round and round......"......

Good luck and be sure to leave your knives, guns, and grenades at home....

[RedValk]

different strokes i suppose....we LOVE Erwin and the Holiday Inn. Biker friendly hotel....has a bike wash 365 days a week out front....lots of bike groups stay there...great riding nearby. Is the town of Erwin "spectacular"? Nope. But lots of decent places VERY nearby to eat, ride, etc. anyway, we love Erwin so much, we go back EVERY year and hold the Rune Rally at the Holiday Inn Express. This will be our FIFTH year....this Labor day weekend...and i'm eagerly looking forward to it along with all my Rune friends 

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I was looking for accomodation with external doors.