Friday, December 14, 2012
Friday, December 7, 2012
Monday, November 26, 2012
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Saturday, October 6, 2012
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Sunday, September 23, 2012
Sunday, September 9, 2012
chasin' the dragon
so we made it up to deals gap motorcycle resort at 9pm est, unknown to us much much too late to get a room. place shuts down at 6pm, assuming things are run like a regular motel is, while forgivable, just poor planning. so we had to push on down the mountain into robbinsville, north carolina and score a room in a small old motel named the phillips motor lodge. crazy old 1930's motel with bulletproof clerks window opening into the old-folks-who-run-the-place's living room with photos of the wife on assorted motorcycles framed up on the window shelf. crazy setup...cool old motel, done out in pink crab orchard sandstone; they run a tight ship, place was old and outdated for sure, but very clean. and the owner was sweet as all hell & a cutup too.
the next morning we lit out back up the mountain and scored a room at the motorcycle resort, chucked our bags and headed out for a real taste of the dragon. while fun, the ride is intense enough that i cant see doing it more than a couple of times a day. i kept having to make myself untense, to quit clinching my neck and shoulder muscle, from hunkering down in the curves and extreme concentration. on a sport bike i can see it being a blast, but on my bike i kept worrying about dragging, and from the photos i bought it was a good worry, my kickstand hovers dangerously close to the tarmac in both pics, only a couple of inches at most. and if i had a sport bike i'd have to hang out with a bunch of douchebags that are more of a menace up there than the cars and trucks.
one nearly took jack out in front of me on the cherohala skyway, following his pack of sportbikes out of a gas station on a curve, he was only looking to the left and pulled right out in front of jack, just barely jamming on the brakes in time for jack to swing around him. the guy braked so hard he left a black skidmark. i'll have to give it to jack, he did a damn good job missing the guy and holding it together for at least another few miles before having to pull over, but i could see the tenseness tightening up his shoulders until he did finally swing over.
we spent the rest of the day lazily making our way down the cherohala loop back up to the dragon. i'd take that ride over the dragon anyday. so much prettier(with a chance to actually safely unfocus long enough to see the views); something you cant enjoy on the dragon, no time at all to take your eyes off the road there.
once back at deals gap, we scored beers and grub. damn but they do have one killer smoked trout sandwich there. once done with that we settled down onto our room porch to party, right in front of the tree of shame, and soon had an odd assortment of riders circled around our room talking the night away. an air force osprey pilot who rode a goldwing from new mexico, a really cool 53 yr one legged old school crusty biker from florida, a mild mannered older man who rode in from raleigh on a newer yamaha touring bike, and couple on sport bikes who rode up from south georgia. she was a crazy german chick with white-blond and bright pink hair, on a jacked-up bmw sport bike, who kept passing me rum; which made a short night for me; next thing i knew i woke up in the bed with all my clothes on and it was riding time again.
we had a long breakfast and then took the backside of the moonshiner 28 for a ride over to fontana dam. crazy huge, it is the largest of the tva dams; the lake behind it is way deep, 480 ft deep in some spots. the 28 is a damn good ride too, someday i want to do the whole thing all the way down into georgia. it was as good as the cherohala skyway, plenty of twists and killer views. we coasted down the mountain and stopped at bald river falls, a beautiful chill spot perfect for taking a break.
after getting back up to deals gap we checked out(hated to do that, the place was reserved for a ladies sport bike convention) & hit the foothills parkway into townsend to score a room. another killer road, just a tiny ridge with the roadway in some spots, affording excellent views. someday i'm going to have to go back again and ride that one. we scored a room in the nearly deserted valley view lodge(was huge place and maybe 15% of the rooms were occupied). really nice place(at least the renovated parts); while deals gap resort is muy convenient, a good atmosphere, sufficiently clean and in the heart of it all, this was definitely the best place we stayed. the owner even stopped by and told us to use the carport on the property as much as we like; which would come in way handy the next day.
bellys filled and room sorted, we headed back up into the mountains to hit cades cove. its always been a place i wanted to see; little did i know what a clutch hand nightmare it was going to be. the place was overrun with gawkers, bumper to bumper traffic in alot of places because some dbag(or several carloads of dbags) wouldnt pull his car over while he took pictures of freakin deer. deer? damn!!! finally resorting to shouldering the bikes around a long line of stuck traffic, we hightailed it out of the cove and raced the sun back down the mountain, arriving back in just enough time to take a sundown swim in the pool back at the lodge. we spent the night witnessing and quickly being appalled by the american family vacation nightmare that is pigeon forge. there was a classic car show going on and there were several hundred thousand gawkers and rubberneckers cloggin up the strip, so we ate as quickly as possible and headed back to townsend for a late night drunken swim session. townsend is so chill comparatively, may i never see the streets & crowds of pigeon forge/gatlinburg again.
the next morning after filling our bellys with swine and coffee, we headed back up into the mountains, intent on making our way to the carolina border. i kept forgetting to look up a place i wanted to see the whole trip, but luckily i spotted a sign on our way and we took a detour to the ghostown of elkton tn. in all my research for my colorado ghosttown tour last summer i had run across this place on the internets but had never been there. it was an old logging town/camp that had been turned into a summer resort town for rich knoxvillians once the area was all logged out and there was no more use for the narrow gauge railroad. once the park service started buying up land to convert into the smoky mountains national park, the old time logging town folks quickly sold their land, but the summer folk negotiated a lower price for the property in exchange for lifetime leases of the cabins and homes until the end of the original owners life. the last of the leases ran out in late 1990's, so some of the structures are still in decent shape, and soon to be somewhat renovated, budget allowing. really cool stop to walk around. or camp someday. there is a campground within walking distance to the old town.
we pushed on up to clingmans dome, and at 6600 ft i froze my ass off and my carbs were none too happy. spitting and sputtering bastards. needless to say our visit to the top of the smokies was needfully short. i couldnt feel my hands by the time we coasted back down the pass. luckily it was all downhill, allowing me to let off the throttle enough to crotch some warmth in both hands alternatively as we went. unfortunately, the rain found us back down at the lower sea level so the rest of the day was a wash, literally & figuratively. thank the gods for that carport back at the lodge. my boots are still wet, but my cheeks hurt from all the grinnin'........best vacation ever
the next morning we lit out back up the mountain and scored a room at the motorcycle resort, chucked our bags and headed out for a real taste of the dragon. while fun, the ride is intense enough that i cant see doing it more than a couple of times a day. i kept having to make myself untense, to quit clinching my neck and shoulder muscle, from hunkering down in the curves and extreme concentration. on a sport bike i can see it being a blast, but on my bike i kept worrying about dragging, and from the photos i bought it was a good worry, my kickstand hovers dangerously close to the tarmac in both pics, only a couple of inches at most. and if i had a sport bike i'd have to hang out with a bunch of douchebags that are more of a menace up there than the cars and trucks.
one nearly took jack out in front of me on the cherohala skyway, following his pack of sportbikes out of a gas station on a curve, he was only looking to the left and pulled right out in front of jack, just barely jamming on the brakes in time for jack to swing around him. the guy braked so hard he left a black skidmark. i'll have to give it to jack, he did a damn good job missing the guy and holding it together for at least another few miles before having to pull over, but i could see the tenseness tightening up his shoulders until he did finally swing over.
we spent the rest of the day lazily making our way down the cherohala loop back up to the dragon. i'd take that ride over the dragon anyday. so much prettier(with a chance to actually safely unfocus long enough to see the views); something you cant enjoy on the dragon, no time at all to take your eyes off the road there.
once back at deals gap, we scored beers and grub. damn but they do have one killer smoked trout sandwich there. once done with that we settled down onto our room porch to party, right in front of the tree of shame, and soon had an odd assortment of riders circled around our room talking the night away. an air force osprey pilot who rode a goldwing from new mexico, a really cool 53 yr one legged old school crusty biker from florida, a mild mannered older man who rode in from raleigh on a newer yamaha touring bike, and couple on sport bikes who rode up from south georgia. she was a crazy german chick with white-blond and bright pink hair, on a jacked-up bmw sport bike, who kept passing me rum; which made a short night for me; next thing i knew i woke up in the bed with all my clothes on and it was riding time again.
we had a long breakfast and then took the backside of the moonshiner 28 for a ride over to fontana dam. crazy huge, it is the largest of the tva dams; the lake behind it is way deep, 480 ft deep in some spots. the 28 is a damn good ride too, someday i want to do the whole thing all the way down into georgia. it was as good as the cherohala skyway, plenty of twists and killer views. we coasted down the mountain and stopped at bald river falls, a beautiful chill spot perfect for taking a break.
after getting back up to deals gap we checked out(hated to do that, the place was reserved for a ladies sport bike convention) & hit the foothills parkway into townsend to score a room. another killer road, just a tiny ridge with the roadway in some spots, affording excellent views. someday i'm going to have to go back again and ride that one. we scored a room in the nearly deserted valley view lodge(was huge place and maybe 15% of the rooms were occupied). really nice place(at least the renovated parts); while deals gap resort is muy convenient, a good atmosphere, sufficiently clean and in the heart of it all, this was definitely the best place we stayed. the owner even stopped by and told us to use the carport on the property as much as we like; which would come in way handy the next day.
bellys filled and room sorted, we headed back up into the mountains to hit cades cove. its always been a place i wanted to see; little did i know what a clutch hand nightmare it was going to be. the place was overrun with gawkers, bumper to bumper traffic in alot of places because some dbag(or several carloads of dbags) wouldnt pull his car over while he took pictures of freakin deer. deer? damn!!! finally resorting to shouldering the bikes around a long line of stuck traffic, we hightailed it out of the cove and raced the sun back down the mountain, arriving back in just enough time to take a sundown swim in the pool back at the lodge. we spent the night witnessing and quickly being appalled by the american family vacation nightmare that is pigeon forge. there was a classic car show going on and there were several hundred thousand gawkers and rubberneckers cloggin up the strip, so we ate as quickly as possible and headed back to townsend for a late night drunken swim session. townsend is so chill comparatively, may i never see the streets & crowds of pigeon forge/gatlinburg again.
the next morning after filling our bellys with swine and coffee, we headed back up into the mountains, intent on making our way to the carolina border. i kept forgetting to look up a place i wanted to see the whole trip, but luckily i spotted a sign on our way and we took a detour to the ghostown of elkton tn. in all my research for my colorado ghosttown tour last summer i had run across this place on the internets but had never been there. it was an old logging town/camp that had been turned into a summer resort town for rich knoxvillians once the area was all logged out and there was no more use for the narrow gauge railroad. once the park service started buying up land to convert into the smoky mountains national park, the old time logging town folks quickly sold their land, but the summer folk negotiated a lower price for the property in exchange for lifetime leases of the cabins and homes until the end of the original owners life. the last of the leases ran out in late 1990's, so some of the structures are still in decent shape, and soon to be somewhat renovated, budget allowing. really cool stop to walk around. or camp someday. there is a campground within walking distance to the old town.
we pushed on up to clingmans dome, and at 6600 ft i froze my ass off and my carbs were none too happy. spitting and sputtering bastards. needless to say our visit to the top of the smokies was needfully short. i couldnt feel my hands by the time we coasted back down the pass. luckily it was all downhill, allowing me to let off the throttle enough to crotch some warmth in both hands alternatively as we went. unfortunately, the rain found us back down at the lower sea level so the rest of the day was a wash, literally & figuratively. thank the gods for that carport back at the lodge. my boots are still wet, but my cheeks hurt from all the grinnin'........best vacation ever
Monday, September 3, 2012
Sunday, August 26, 2012
lookin good
dice magazine's new movie teaser for 6over.
6 Over - Teaser from Wild Honey Productions on Vimeo.
Saturday, August 25, 2012
farewell ride
rode up to chattown to see the lil brother one last time afore he moves way out in the cold ass rocky mountains where i shant be visiting any other months but july and august. figuring it'll be a long time until we can party down together again, i played hooky friday and hit the highway. after a biscuit stop in triune and a brief visit with my cousin in shelbyville i jammed it as fast as i could through middle tennessee until i snaked up the switchbacks onto the cumberland plateau, and then i eased off the throttle and took a lazy afternoon crawlin up and down the mountainsides. took the time i'd been meaning to spend in cowan at the railroad museum since my last visit; last time i rode through i had time constraints. even got caught by a mile long coal train, emptied at the tva power station and deadheading back to montana for more.
i meandered lazily, smoking at least one cigarette in every town square i came across, waded in a couple of creeks. it was a good ride, but i was sore and sunburned by the time i rode in high above moccasin bend; the city is gorgeous from up there, been more than three of decades since i came into chattanooga from that side.
we partied down, ate seafood and even did some late night drunken drywalling(well he did, i stuck to the partying).......enough so that he woke up with the hurls. the groans and the nap-time face clued me in that he was going to be worthless for several more hours & led me to tighten up the chain, bungee up the gear and hitch up my already grungy jeans; pointing the front wheel northwest i headed out, suck creek road here i come. i still haven't managed to find it coming from the west, and i know i've said it many times already, but damn i love that road. i imagine it's what the dragon is like, but shorter.
so down into the sequatchie valley and back up the plateau, i hit foster falls on my way through grundy county. just didnt have it in me to hike down and back up out of that gulf, but someday. coming back in, just to the east of tullahoma i turned off at a sign for ledford mills thinking i might see an old mill, but found out later it is on private property and that you can't drive to it. as i'm mistakenly on that fools errand i notice a pull off on this tiny one lane rd and look back barely in time to catch a glimpse of a waterfall. super secret 12-15 ft waterfall at the end of this tightwalled run-off canyon. seriously great smokebreak/snacktime spot. well worth the detour...
pretty uneventful ride through the flatland, but spotted a storm just before unionville. i pulled over at a store and waited a good 30 minutes and no movement out of the clouds, so i decided to try and make the gas station at unionville. when i got there it was still clear so tried to make the gas station at eagleville. no such luck, but i pressed on until the drops got so big and frequent each one felt like hitting a junebug at 50mph. i got thoroughly drenched before i ran across this tiny station in bfe and huddle up under shelter with another couple of bikers. finally gettin back to the highway sopping wet, i didn't have to worry about the heat anymore; miserably refreshing...
i pushed on into the city and arrived satiated,dirty as hell and sore as a blond whore in bangkok. win
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i meandered lazily, smoking at least one cigarette in every town square i came across, waded in a couple of creeks. it was a good ride, but i was sore and sunburned by the time i rode in high above moccasin bend; the city is gorgeous from up there, been more than three of decades since i came into chattanooga from that side.
we partied down, ate seafood and even did some late night drunken drywalling(well he did, i stuck to the partying).......enough so that he woke up with the hurls. the groans and the nap-time face clued me in that he was going to be worthless for several more hours & led me to tighten up the chain, bungee up the gear and hitch up my already grungy jeans; pointing the front wheel northwest i headed out, suck creek road here i come. i still haven't managed to find it coming from the west, and i know i've said it many times already, but damn i love that road. i imagine it's what the dragon is like, but shorter.
so down into the sequatchie valley and back up the plateau, i hit foster falls on my way through grundy county. just didnt have it in me to hike down and back up out of that gulf, but someday. coming back in, just to the east of tullahoma i turned off at a sign for ledford mills thinking i might see an old mill, but found out later it is on private property and that you can't drive to it. as i'm mistakenly on that fools errand i notice a pull off on this tiny one lane rd and look back barely in time to catch a glimpse of a waterfall. super secret 12-15 ft waterfall at the end of this tightwalled run-off canyon. seriously great smokebreak/snacktime spot. well worth the detour...
pretty uneventful ride through the flatland, but spotted a storm just before unionville. i pulled over at a store and waited a good 30 minutes and no movement out of the clouds, so i decided to try and make the gas station at unionville. when i got there it was still clear so tried to make the gas station at eagleville. no such luck, but i pressed on until the drops got so big and frequent each one felt like hitting a junebug at 50mph. i got thoroughly drenched before i ran across this tiny station in bfe and huddle up under shelter with another couple of bikers. finally gettin back to the highway sopping wet, i didn't have to worry about the heat anymore; miserably refreshing...
i pushed on into the city and arrived satiated,dirty as hell and sore as a blond whore in bangkok. win
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Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Sunday, August 19, 2012
life is good
me and jack rode aimlessly around the hills of cheatham county, up and around sweet home rd and various anonymous sidelanes...at one point crawling up this one lane rd up a tight valley, there was a barn with a spraypainted sign saying "mind your own business, NO SPEEDING!!!" in drippy red paint right in a sharp curve. we were definitely watched all the way down this road...crazy vibe, beautiful holler though.
we eventually made our way to dunbar cave to enjoy the cool air. i could totally imagine hanging out watching roy acuff at the dances there back in the pre-air-conditioning days, fan on a stick in one hand and an rc cola and moonshine in the other. very pleasant cool breezes blowing up out of the grate over the mouth. reminded me of the square dance i went to as a child with my mama & the fambly in the mouth of ruskin cave one time back in the 70's.
we hit the bent wrench roadhouse on the way down off the highland rim, but couldn't house the jukebox because there was a band set up. actually not bad, decent "southern rock", but still...i really like to take over their jukebox when i visit, by far the best jukebox anywhere out in the sticks around there. we then ended up riding along the cumberland river into the cool fisherman/river trash community down in neptune bottoms, very low and slow speed limits posted, but a really cool ride along the river. really neat vibe to the place, seemed like nothing but boat freaks, almost like a lake town. i could see myself living in one those little houses.
jack peeled off in cheatham county and i rode on back into the city to spend my time welcoming sundown, nursing beers and staring off into centennial park. another perfect fall-ish summer day.
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we eventually made our way to dunbar cave to enjoy the cool air. i could totally imagine hanging out watching roy acuff at the dances there back in the pre-air-conditioning days, fan on a stick in one hand and an rc cola and moonshine in the other. very pleasant cool breezes blowing up out of the grate over the mouth. reminded me of the square dance i went to as a child with my mama & the fambly in the mouth of ruskin cave one time back in the 70's.
we hit the bent wrench roadhouse on the way down off the highland rim, but couldn't house the jukebox because there was a band set up. actually not bad, decent "southern rock", but still...i really like to take over their jukebox when i visit, by far the best jukebox anywhere out in the sticks around there. we then ended up riding along the cumberland river into the cool fisherman/river trash community down in neptune bottoms, very low and slow speed limits posted, but a really cool ride along the river. really neat vibe to the place, seemed like nothing but boat freaks, almost like a lake town. i could see myself living in one those little houses.
jack peeled off in cheatham county and i rode on back into the city to spend my time welcoming sundown, nursing beers and staring off into centennial park. another perfect fall-ish summer day.
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Sunday, August 12, 2012
friday rock quarry ride
me n jack rode up in the back way to clarksville, over the river and into the city from the southwest bridge. then on to lunch at the bent wrench roadhouse out on highway 12, just before you come down off the highland rim. decent food, cheap beer and a damn good jukebox to be way out in the middle of nowhere. then we rode down into the cumberland basin just this side of ashland city for some sweet rock quarry trespassin' to wash the dust off, the water was perfect. damn good day to be in the wind
Saturday, August 4, 2012
rip charlie sigler
you was a damn good motorcycle grandpaw to me, the trips to the liquor store just wont be the same anymore. you and the stories about all the motorcycle brands i've never heard of that you've owned over the course of your life, and the way your one good eye would twinkle when you'd talk about riding will be sorely missed, brother. i'm sorry you never got to get back on the road again after going sick, the itch to do it was always almost palpable when we'd talk about the wind. i'm glad i got to catch the tail end of the last chapter of your life...
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Friday, July 13, 2012
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Sunday, June 24, 2012
signal mountain swimming hole
went up to signal mtn with my lil brother; namely a pawpaw arwood's old place with his grandsons. he built the only landing strip on signal mtn and started flyin cesnas off the side of the mountain in the 50's. story goes that he had moved on to ultralights by the time they were kids...he liked to get liquored up and buzz their house a few miles on other side of the mountain and yell down at them. he had some cool old junk around the place, lots of bikes of different sizes; they said he got his first harley in the mid-1940's. after driving back up from the swimming hole, i stained my hands a deep hue picking black & blue berries; totally worth standing still long enough to get swarmed by skeeters. and what a drive it was, deep down into a ravine where a creek was plugged up sometime in the 40's. accessible by 4wd only, nathan was barely able to squeeze it in between trees in alot of spots, got bruised up in the back of the truck in others; being tossed around with two dogs poking my bare feet and family jewels with clawed paws all the way down. even though it was only nipple deep it was cold as hell, plus there was some loud gun shootings & crazy water eating dog splashings, some beer drinking and float floating going on...good times
the old landing strip
the old landing strip
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