TAT 2018 on a GS Rallye

Does look amazing :thumb2

Why is there a folding plastic step strapped onto the 690 :confused:
 
Does look amazing :thumb2

Why is there a folding plastic step strapped onto the 690 :confused:

Mspenz - the folding step is a redneck dual-purpose camping chair and bike stand. It ended up on the back of the GS eventually as Russ got fed up moving it every time he needed to use his fuel can. :)


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Does look amazing :thumb2

Why is there a folding plastic step strapped onto the 690 :confused:

So he can get up on to the bike, silly!

Great report, looking forward as ever to trying this one day.
 
Mspenz - the folding step is a redneck dual-purpose camping chair and bike stand. It ended up on the back of the GS eventually as Russ got fed up moving it every time he needed to use his fuel can. :)


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Nice :D
 
Day 6 – North Carolina

We survived our first night in the boonies and woke up with the birds.



Russ got straight back to fire duty.



We take in more forest today as we wind our way west across North Carolina.



The trail takes us past Mountain Crossing Mercantile, a kind of General Store and Diner run by cool outdoor types /hill billy’s .





We were early and had to wait a while for the kitchen to fire-up so drank some coffee before opting for “The Hawks Bill” – 2 Eggs, Double Bacon, Gritts, Hash browns and Toast.



It came with ‘Biscuits and Gravy’ too for some reason. Biscuits are like salty scones and gravy is like white sauce. It tastes better than it sounds.



We’d noticed that getting a good breakfast was harder than we expected. More often than not, what we imagined we’d get on reading the menu was disappointing in real life.
We also learnt that it is impossible to gauge the quality of the food from the appearance of the establishment.
This breakfast wasn’t too bad, but we’ll revisit the breakfast experience as the trip progresses.

Russ wearing his Dyfed Dirt Bike Club shirt back to front again.



The route took us along sections of Blue Ridge Parkway https://www.blueridgeparkway.org/ a famous scenic drive with lots of places to stop and take in the views. These are called Overlooks.



The TAT criss-crosses the Parkway utilising forest roads where possible and re-joining the tarmac for sections before taking another offshoot.
We reached one of these turns to find the barrier closed. There was no road closed sign and it was easy to ride around the gate.
So we decided to continue and find out why the road was closed.

Here’s what happened (apologies in advance for the low-res video).






We made it out the other end.



And continued through postcard America.



We took in an optional section called Hurricane Creek Road which was tougher than the standard route and great fun, before looping back on ourselves to reach Rocky Bluff Campground

It rained quite heavily in the afternoon and were were soaked so we didn’t manage many pictures.





The best days' riding so far and another 213 miles on the clock.
 
Brilliant! :thumb2

What are grits anyhoo?
 
Day 7 – More North Carolina

Not too much to report today.

The route took us along more of the Blue Ridge Parkway and then back into the forests of NC.



First stop was the Pancake House in Cherokee for another average breakfast!



The highlight of today was another closed road. No tree this time but plenty of wash outs.



It rained heavily again in the afternoon and so camping wasn’t a good option. After arriving at Andrews, we diverted off the trail to the nearby town of Robbinsville and the luxury of the Phillips Motel.





We spend the evening with a group of Canadian riders who were also staying at the motel and had a good chat and a few of beers.

Only 150 miles today. We were hoping for better weather tomorrow.
 
Day 8 – The Trail of Tears

Robbinsville was dry in the morning.



We were soon back in the forest.



With views over the Smoky Mountains.



The trail takes in a section of the Trail of Tears. The path taken during the forced relocation of Native American peoples from their ancestral homelands in the Southeastern United States, to areas to the west of the Mississippi River.




 
I have run out of popcorn :inlove:popcorn,
after re-reading this excellent posting again.....
 
Thanks for the positive comments guys.

I'll try to get get this report finished before the end of the year!

Mark
 
Day 9 – Georgia and Tennessee

We’d crossed the State Line into Georgia at some point yesterday afternoon. It’s not easy to notice when you cross a State Line on secondary roads, there is often little to indicate the change visually and it’s not obvious on the GPS either. The car number plates or ‘tags’ are often the first tell-tale, and confirmation comes when we stop for fuel or food and examine the GPS a little closer.

We had camped overnight in a forestry camp site which was nothing special as I didn’t take any pictures.

Today’s route was mostly road work heading north out of Georgia and into Tennessee.



And zoomed out a bit for perspective.



We enjoyed a brief stop in Chattanooga, famous for the 1941 song about the Choo Choo, before following the route of the Tennessee River for a few miles.



The Tennessee River is approximately 652 miles long and was once popularly known as the Cherokee River as many of the Cherokee had their territory along its banks.





After stocking up with supplies at the Save-A-Lot in Tracey City, we decided to knock-up a few hot-dogs in the car park, much to the amusement of the locals.





This guy rocked up for some shopping and had a brief chat.






Then eventually, we hit ‘America’s Top Value Inn’ just outside the town of Feyetteville, TN. As you can see it’s a popular place!





Russ got to work on some routine maintenance.



Plastic food for dinner.



Then back to the motel.







Only 164 miles on the clock for today. Must try harder tomorrow.
 
When I've done this before, we started about 100 miles north east of Knoxville TN. Has he changed the start point?
 


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