OK.....the week of 19-22 looks like a plan.

We can watch the weather and confirm......I can leave with short notice on Wednesday the 14th if it looks like the weather is perfect and better than the following week.

Hay Dave ,

The weather for Stagecoach is looking good for this week.    Its a little cooler than I'd like .    I'm thinking we almost waited to late in the year for a mountain trip (45 deg. nights and 70deg. days).  
But
Unless the forecast changes  ,  I could leave Wednesday Morning .    I'll check the Stagecoach campground to make sure I have a camping spot before I leave.

Mike:

I am camping with with Deb and will be home this afternoon, and I can look at the routes today. Since the weather is so dry I will likely trailer thee Savage down - which will also provide me with a place to sleep.

Are we staying at MO’s?  Her place is called the Kickstand Lodge - it is in Stecoah, NC.

Mike;

It appears that the overnight temperatures next week are only warmer on Mon/Tue - but not not much warmer the other days.....and that is subject to change over the next week (could be better or worse).

If the overnight temps are scary - we could camp in the area with electric hookup and I can bring a small heater and extension cord for you to use.  You could stay in the bunkhouse, we could get a cabin, or a heated room at the Two Wheel Inn is about $100 a night and it has heat, a bath and a garage that will hold two bikes.

I believe the better weather gamble is to go this week rather than gamble on next week being warmer and dry.

I will have my car there and we could drive to Robbinsville for breakfast and start riding once the temperatures come up and the fog burns off.

If you want to go on Wednesday I can drive down Tuesday night and then ride the Savage and meet you in Wartburg on Wednesday.

Dave



 

MM:

Don't worry about them not answering the telephone at Kickstand - they don't sit by the phone and wait for calls.  Deals Gap does not take camping reservations and you just show up.....so if Kickstand is closed I will get us a spot at Deals Gap (and there are other camping spots around).

I will be leaving this afternoon and camp overnight, then on Wednesday morning I will leave on the Savage to meet you in Wartburg at Diddie's Market.

Mike and I found each other at Diddie's Market.  It was a local convenient store that was popular with the local workers for grabbing lunch.  They did not have any place to sit - so we elected to get on 116 and start riding the Devils Triangle - there was a restaurant on the route and we ate there.  All of the other markets/stores on the route were closed as it is now off season and a weekday.

The Devil's Triangle was a nice curvy road with very little traffic when we were there.  The route is not well marked and when we got to 62 and needed to head east to get home we didn't see any route signs until we had ridden through town and got to a large intersection.....then we discovered we had to turn around to head back to the Dragon.  Most of the ride home was nice.  Lenoir has a frustrating traffic light phasing where you sit at a red light and when it turns green - the following one turns red and you have to stop at every intersection......that makes the trip really slow through town.

The days are comfortable riding - the nights are a bit chilly.  I did discover the bath house has a washer and drier that are free and positioned near the shower - I can throw my towel in the drier while I shower and then get a nice hot towel after my shower!

Today we will go wherever Mike want to ride.  His little Royal Enfield Meteor has no problem keeping up a brisk pace even when loaded down with gear.

Yesterday a motorcycle police officer pulled up beside me - and flashed me and my Savage Cafe' a "Thumbs Up" and said "Sweet"!  Mike said I was going a bit over the speed limit at the time........but I was pulling away from a big intersection where we were in a merge lane and I had sped up to make sure I could merge safely.  The officer didn't seem concerned about it.

Lancer:

Yep - Yesterday Mike and I were at a gas station in Murphy l00king at a map to find the most fun way to get to Hiawasee, and an office stopped and gave us directions to get to the routes we needed.

When riding around this area it is a bit sad to see the shops and restaurants that have closed down in the past few years.  The small mom and pop stores are still having trouble.  Several shop owners that I have talked to say business is still down, and when winter comes and the tourists leave it will be worse.  I don't know if Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge have been affected as much as these rural areas.

Yesterday we rode from Deals Gap down to Fontana Village and took the back rode called Fontana Heights over to 129.  It is a really twisty and fun road that has to be ridden a bit slower than the Dragon as the corners are tighter.  We then rode 129 south and went to Hiawasee and up Bell Mountain for the view.  We then rode over to Clayton and took Warwoman over to 28, then rode north on 28 home.  The last 10 miles along the lake was done just as it was getting dark - and the part of the trip along the lake was really buggy!  (Now I know why most of the folks get back to Deals Gap before dark).