Ride suggestion for this year Fall Color ride

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The Ultimate Hard Enduro Race - Red Bull Hare Scramble 2013	powered by Aeva

[Bighead]

ok with me but I am Not taking the Fat Girl up that hill

[Smokinjoe-VRCCDS#0005]

I'll be right behind the big guy on the red ST 

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I'll be right behind the big guy on the red ST 

I know a great forest road from Bald River Falls up to the Skyway.

Have ridden it on a Valk, a KlR and my ST.

Coots words.

Cherohala Wilderness Adventure

A Motorcycle Tale by Jim Baker

Sunday, Britman and I met at KC’s Corner Café in Fairmount, GA for a ride to The Cherohala Skyway. We avoided the arrow-straight US 411 and crisscrossed it north to US 64 where we encountered a roadblock near Greasy Creek. The weather had forecasted balmy weather, but my temp gauge reported 37 degrees.

We detoured up TN 314 to TN 30 and Reliance. From there we went up TN 315 and 39 to Tellico Plains. Over lunch, we decided to go to Bald River Falls, six miles off The Cherohala. Many of us have been to the falls, but few of us have been beyond.

Britman and I ventured beyond and enjoyed ten more miles of paved road, beautiful river vistas all the way........perfect for a club ride.

At the end of the paved section, we turned around and headed back. About five miles back, Britman suggested we try a road that he and his wife, Terri, had driven in their SUV. I said, “I’m game” and off we went. That ain’t exactly what I said, but this is a public forum.

Well now, this is a dirt Forest Service road that runs twelve miles up to The Cherohala. The elevation at the point of origin is about 1,600 feet, climbing to4,300 feet at the intersection with the Cherohala.

The first five miles or so were uneventful with firm, packed ruts to follow. Then it got interesting as the ascent began. The Forest Servicehad placed fresh gravel at frequent intervals. These stones were fist-sized. It was like riding The Dragon on pool balls. At mile 11.5, my sport bike front tire just buried itself in the large, loose rocks. I struggled on and finally made it through. My heart was pounding and my sphincter was squeezing.

Britman had made it through ahead of me and was awaiting my arrival. So, at mile 11.5, we decided to get our breath. My GPS showed that we were just a half a mile away from The Cherohala and paved road. Going back down through the large gravel was not an option. Up traction......down fraction.

Just then, we heard the thump of a Dual Sport coming down the hill. He stopped, swung off and announced himself as “Blue”. A rugged native of the mountains on a Honda 650 Thumper with what looked like a welded-on lawn mower seat...........this was a Rider. Sported Dockers on his big-old feet. Sport-tourer jacket and leather chaps. Said he liked to get out and ride when iťs sunny. Said he had to violate the road blocks. Our hearts sank.......had we gone through all of this to reach a road block?

Blue said, “No, that was way back yonder at Joyce Kilmer Forest, I just rode around it.” Whew!!!
It would be nice to have Blue as a member of the club, but I’ve got a feeling that Blue ain’t gonna be a “member of nothin’..........ride on, Blue. Blue thought we were crazy. He kept on looking at our bikes and asking, “Came all the way up from Bald River, didya”? You know, Blue was probably right, but it was a most glorious day. Iťs like life.......you fall down, you get up. My GPS indicated we had a half-mile to go, so we asked Blue what was ahead. Blue said the last stretch was awful rough...........It was.

We made it and high fived each other as we reached pavement once again. We caught our breath and grooved The Cherohala sweepers on back to Tellico Plains.

[T-Bird]

 Good story ( I can't imagine you and Coot slowing down on any road   )
Paul, I know the road you are talking about. It used to be all dirt and was a decent back road. Here is my story about that road.  In 1982 there was a Air force C-141B crashed at the top of Tellico Mtn. about 1 mile from where they were working on the Cherohala,  The National Guard came in and closed the Cherohala down and wouldn't let nobody head toward the wreckage. We rode our dirt bikes to river road and took that road up the Mtn. to the crash site. I have never seen a plane crash up close before, and was surprised when we reached it. The plane hit  solid rock, the plane and crew was completely annihilated. When the guardsman realized we were there, it was if we had stumbled onto area 51, we were ushered out of there with M-16s pointed at us. I have been back there many times since then and to this day if you dig around in the dirt and rocks you can still find fragments of that plane. I learned later the Air force was experimenting with that plane for low altitude surveillance and they were flying by instruments only that day.... and no bodies of the crew were found...only fragments.  

[robin]

Good story Paul thanks for sharing
You to T-bird

[KY,Dave (AKA Misunderstood)]

Good stories. So now there will be 3 rides. Spirited, leaf looking and dual sport 

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Good stories. So now there will be 3 rides. Spirited, leaf looking and dual sport 

There's a milder forest road off Wayah Bald Rd, Junaluska Rd, Big Choga Rd that leads to Hayesville, NC. Big fat Valkyrie tires float over the gravel and rocks. 

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I knew I had this saved somewhere   This is the DO NOT RIDE on a road bike forest road.

My route was to take me to the north side of Hayesville, NC just above the Georgia State line. To get there I was going to ride south on Wayah Bald Rd for a few miles and then head west on Junaluska Road to Big Choga to the dirt road. Now this dirt road I had already used to go up and over the mountain to get to Hayesville but looking at maps and Streets & Trips it seemed there was a better way to go which would get me back onto blacktop near to where I usually did.

After about a mile of dirt I turned left onto the section I had never ridden before. I’m not a stranger to taking the Valk off  blacktop http://www.northgeorgiamotorcycleclub.com/stories/jb001-cwa.pdf is a story written by a friend of mine I had persuaded to ride on dirt with me.

The dirt road I normally use is wide enough for 2 vehicles and only slightly washboarded on a couple of the bends along its 5-mile length.

Immediately the unknown dirt road is narrower and obviously not traveled as frequently. This I deduce by the few tufts of weed growing in the center of the single track. The track rises pretty sharply on bends tighter than those at Deals Gap. Oh well the sooner I go up the sooner I go down. Still rising the track is deteriorating slightly but forward motion keeps the Valk pretty steady. Up I ride with the weeds in the center getting more prolific.

After a couple of twisty miles the option would be to turn around and retrace my route. Easy to do if not riding a bike the length of the Valk. I reckon I would either have to have my front wheel up a slope or the back wheel getting close to the edge to be able to complete the 180-degree maneuver. I have gone too far (stubborn) to be able to back down so I press on. At last I reach the summit and start to gingerly descend on the worsening surface. Minimal maintenance has been done to the track and in sections it feels like I am riding on pool balls on top of marbles. The handlebars are wagging from side to side and the front wheel keeps trying to slide away. It’s a strange feeling knowing that to stop falling over when the wheel slides I have to release the rear brake to get more forward speed and hence more stability.

By now the blackberry bushes are starting to crowd the track and I have to close my visor to keep them from hitting my face. As I do this I realize I have trapped a small bug inside my helmet so quickly I lift the visor and try to blow it out whilst still keeping the Valk from steering itself towards the drop off on my left. If I go over there I’ll never be found. The bug escapes and the visor comes back down. Why didn’t I stop to do this? I just knew if I stopped whilst going down the steep “slippery” slope I ran the risk of the bike falling over.

I’m now at the bottom of the slope and there is room to turn around and go back but after 3 ½ miles I know the end must be just around the corner. In fact just around the corner is a shallow stream I have to ford. This is done easily with both feet up on the pegs. A hiss of steam and the track starts to rise again.

Now the surface is not only covered in loose rocks and stones but also slick with water and moss. This section is in perpetual shade and my headlight modulator sensor ceases to work the light is so dim. The front wheel is wagging so much it feels like I have a flat.

This dimly lit section last for a short time and I start to break into sunlight once more after having to ford a deeper, wider stream. Only have to dab once with my left foot to keep the bike straight on course.

Up the track rises again and now it’s so rough I have to keep a firm grip on the handlebars which are wagging faster than a dogs tail. My grip on the gas tank with my thighs is getting tighter and tighter and I’m moving forward at about 4 miles an hour. So far I’ve gone 5 1/2 miles. Up and up and up. Rounding a bend there’s a small clearing to my right occupied by four horses and their on foot riders. I chug slowly by under the incredulous stare of all four. I raise my left hand for a quick wave and one rider bemusedly raises his in return. Going down a slope and rounding a very sharp hairpin bend I see why they stared. The track is now completely broken up with water channels running at a very gradual diagonal. These try to capture both front and rear wheels to make me ride off the edge into the trees alongside and below. For the first time I have to stop and use both legs whilst I paddle walk the Valk up and over these ruts. This continues for about 100 yards. Great for trail riding on a horse. I guess that’s why the riders were out. They knew there was no chance of a motorized vehicle coming along!

Down the track goes again and levels out with yet another stream to ford, the biggest so far. I’m able to put the Valk onto its sidestand and test the depth of the water with a stick. The stream bottom is made up of small stones with a good solid rock surface underneath. About 9 inches deep in the center and 6 feet wide the edges slope gradually and I make it across with minimal water in each boot.

7 miles traversed and I must be getting to the end of the dirt road soon. There are a couple of old wooden shacks covered in weeds off to the side and I hear the faint echoes of a banjo playing in the back of my mind. Scenes from Deliverance, X-Files and Wrong Turn flash through my head and my right hand forces a tad more gas into the engine causing the back wheel to slide away. My thighs are aching and sweat is dripping off my nose. Who knew going so slowly could be such hard work. Constantly changing from first to second and back has meant I have only had to use the rear brake for the past 1-½ hours. 15 more minutes and here is the blacktop.

I know if I stop straight away there’s a chance that my legs will cramp up and I’ll drop the bike. So I decide to ride for about a couple of hundred yards and then stop to give my legs a chance to relax.

Rounding a bend my jaw drops. There are about 100 Harley Davidson’s of all shapes and sizes parked all over the road and verges. Customs with rear wheels the width of a cows butt. Choppers with extended forks, full dressers and people walking in the road. I hit my Fiamm horns a couple of times to open a path through them. All the pedestrians freeze. They must know it’s a dirt road just around the bend so WHERE THE HELL HAVE I COME FROM? I thread my way through them with the dust accumulated from my 8-mile dirt road rising from me and the Valk.

One rider with WOLVERINE printed on the back of his T-shirt wobbled his bike out in front of me and quickly rode onto the grass verge in response to a couple more blasts on my horn. Now I’m through the gaggle of bikes and riders and open up the Valk hoping to get more dust off me.

I look in my mirror and 15 or 20 bikes have pulled in behind me. I assume that they heard my horn and thought the group was on the move. OH well I don’t mind leading them a merry dance. There’s a couple of customs I can see and a couple of bikes with passengers. Now I’m on a road I’ve ridden 3 or 4 times before so I just ride at a good peg scraping speed around the bends slowing down a little on the short straights. The bends are only 30 to 45 mph. In my mirrors I can see riders crossing the centerline trying to keep up. This continues for about 5 miles when I see another large group of bikes parked on the right in front of a “General Store”. Five or six people step out in front of me waving their arms in a slow down motion. Now I’m sure these guys are friendly but I move over to the left and pass them by as the bikes behind me pull over and stop.

Into Hayesville and then southwards home.

No more dirt roads for me for quite a while.

[Mr Whiskey]

"I know a great forest road from Bald River Falls up to the Skyway."
It's known as the North River Corridor. Been campin' there for years......
http://camping.about.com/od/campgroundreviews/fr/ucpcg847.htm

If you could still get through (I don't know) on the OHV above Green Cove Campground that would bring you out in Hanging Dog, Nc. Jus' keep headin' south from Bald River Falls, don't turn anywhere. Did that on the ol' cb750!

[Mr Whiskey]

Hey Brit, could you do the first 3 miles of that on a Wing ya think? (Coot said the first 5 miles were hard pack.)
That's where McNabb Creek Campground is, 2.7 miles up. Haven't been there in a long while & would like to see the place again. I know from what I remember, you sure couldn't change your mind & turn around so would like your opinion before I commit with Sugar on the back.

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Hey Brit, could you do the first 3 miles of that on a Wing ya think? (Coot said the first 5 miles were hard pack.)
That's where McNabb Creek Campground is, 2.7 miles up. Haven't been there in a long while & would like to see the place again. I know from what I remember, you sure couldn't change your mind & turn around so would like your opinion before I commit with Sugar on the back.

There's some sections of old blacktop that were in fairly good shape last year.

However 2 up AND camping gear. That's entirely your choice to make.

[Mr Whiskey]

Thanks, we'll try it without the trailer first, jus' to see.
It'll make a good day ride from here. 360s outta Madisonville to Cherohala is one of our favs, & Sugar loves Bert's Hometown Grill & Pizzeria.
Catch ya later.