The Lazy Destroyer
09-13-2010, 11:57 PM
Been busy with the new house and "life" in general so I haven't really been riding much this year. Yesterday I figured would be a good day to be selfish, so I set off towards the hills. I wasn't sure where exactly I wanted to go, so I set off on a favorite of mine and went from there.
Set off from home while it was still dark. Got a little chilly and foggy as I went further up 400 but nothing too bad. I passed by a group hanging out in the parking lot of Moto400, would later find out this was Mr McBride's ride.
Passed by the "usual" suspects: rockile, Turner's Corner, hiker's store, Dales. Headed up towards Morganton. Made it the whole way and never came up on a single vehicle :eek: Definitely the ultimate clean run. Only saw a handful of cars coming the other way, too. Sometimes being the early bird has its advantages.
From there, went up 60/68 towards Tellico, then the Skyway. I took a detour from the Skyway towards the Gap, this time on the west side of Santeetlah Lake. What a rough road! Finally made it to the Gap, decent amount of bikes but otherwise pretty tame. Lots of LEO presence, though.
From there I made my way to the Foothills Pkwy:
http://thelazydestroyer.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/09-12-10-Day-trip-to-the-mtns/DSC01491/1006871963_kYijM-L-1.jpg
Never been on it before, it had some nice views. Pretty early on I saw a turtle on the middle of the road. Decent size, too. Looked like he had a long ways to go. I stopped and gave him some assistance, and dropped him off deep into the trees to make sure he stayed out of harms way. No pics of the turtle though, there wasn't an easy place to pull off so I wanted to get back on the bike quick.
Panorama (click for larger size):
http://thelazydestroyer.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/09-12-10-Day-trip-to-the-mtns/Panorama/1006975634_3dUev-L.jpg (http://thelazydestroyer.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/09-12-10-Day-trip-to-the-mtns/Panorama/1006975634_3dUev-X3.jpg)
Another overlook:
http://thelazydestroyer.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/09-12-10-Day-trip-to-the-mtns/DSC01501/1006876229_MRskA-L-1.jpg
From here I made my way towards Little River Rd. This looked good on my GPS but was super-busy! Winds along the river for a good while.
http://thelazydestroyer.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/09-12-10-Day-trip-to-the-mtns/DSC01502/1006876873_3LbYp-L-1.jpg
http://thelazydestroyer.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/09-12-10-Day-trip-to-the-mtns/DSC01504/1006877735_DcHXN-L-1.jpg
http://thelazydestroyer.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/09-12-10-Day-trip-to-the-mtns/DSC01508/1006879172_DAx5n-L-1.jpg
Joined up with 441, dealt with more traffic but still some good views:
http://thelazydestroyer.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/09-12-10-Day-trip-to-the-mtns/DSC01510/1006880221_Epa5j-L-1.jpg
http://thelazydestroyer.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/09-12-10-Day-trip-to-the-mtns/DSC01513/1006881729_5U6VP-L-1.jpg
By the time 441 opens up, I was pretty tired, so I just kept on going south and kept on the highways back home. All in all, a good day though:
http://thelazydestroyer.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/09-12-10-Day-trip-to-the-mtns/Map/1006998499_CmMBB-O.jpg
Set off from home while it was still dark. Got a little chilly and foggy as I went further up 400 but nothing too bad. I passed by a group hanging out in the parking lot of Moto400, would later find out this was Mr McBride's ride.
Passed by the "usual" suspects: rockile, Turner's Corner, hiker's store, Dales. Headed up towards Morganton. Made it the whole way and never came up on a single vehicle :eek: Definitely the ultimate clean run. Only saw a handful of cars coming the other way, too. Sometimes being the early bird has its advantages.
From there, went up 60/68 towards Tellico, then the Skyway. I took a detour from the Skyway towards the Gap, this time on the west side of Santeetlah Lake. What a rough road! Finally made it to the Gap, decent amount of bikes but otherwise pretty tame. Lots of LEO presence, though.
From there I made my way to the Foothills Pkwy:
http://thelazydestroyer.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/09-12-10-Day-trip-to-the-mtns/DSC01491/1006871963_kYijM-L-1.jpg
Never been on it before, it had some nice views. Pretty early on I saw a turtle on the middle of the road. Decent size, too. Looked like he had a long ways to go. I stopped and gave him some assistance, and dropped him off deep into the trees to make sure he stayed out of harms way. No pics of the turtle though, there wasn't an easy place to pull off so I wanted to get back on the bike quick.
Panorama (click for larger size):
http://thelazydestroyer.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/09-12-10-Day-trip-to-the-mtns/Panorama/1006975634_3dUev-L.jpg (http://thelazydestroyer.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/09-12-10-Day-trip-to-the-mtns/Panorama/1006975634_3dUev-X3.jpg)
Another overlook:
http://thelazydestroyer.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/09-12-10-Day-trip-to-the-mtns/DSC01501/1006876229_MRskA-L-1.jpg
From here I made my way towards Little River Rd. This looked good on my GPS but was super-busy! Winds along the river for a good while.
http://thelazydestroyer.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/09-12-10-Day-trip-to-the-mtns/DSC01502/1006876873_3LbYp-L-1.jpg
http://thelazydestroyer.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/09-12-10-Day-trip-to-the-mtns/DSC01504/1006877735_DcHXN-L-1.jpg
http://thelazydestroyer.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/09-12-10-Day-trip-to-the-mtns/DSC01508/1006879172_DAx5n-L-1.jpg
Joined up with 441, dealt with more traffic but still some good views:
http://thelazydestroyer.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/09-12-10-Day-trip-to-the-mtns/DSC01510/1006880221_Epa5j-L-1.jpg
http://thelazydestroyer.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/09-12-10-Day-trip-to-the-mtns/DSC01513/1006881729_5U6VP-L-1.jpg
By the time 441 opens up, I was pretty tired, so I just kept on going south and kept on the highways back home. All in all, a good day though:
http://thelazydestroyer.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/09-12-10-Day-trip-to-the-mtns/Map/1006998499_CmMBB-O.jpg