Post by skuuter on Nov 16, 2006 19:16:55 GMT -5
THIS is my Wife's All-Time Favorite Post at RUCKUS CENTRAL, and a Really Great Ride we took...I moved the Posts over here because She and Others always seem to feel this kind of sums up Scooter/Motorcycle Riding for a lot of Folks, and what started the Long Distance Ruckus Group Rides...no Pics because this was waaaaay back before I knew how to post em'... 
...ENJOY.........We left Dock's Motel into the Smokey Mtn. National Park, turning right for a beautiful 8 mile, 30mph speed limit beautiful ride to Cades Cove. Cades Cove is an 11 mile scenic loop of paved and gravel roads. It meanders through a valley surrounded by mountains. Old settler homes, churches, and barns are still sitting in their original locations with the family names and bits of history featured at the locations. An old original cemetary with unbelievably old headstone dates sits beside a church. Bear, deer, coyotes, rabbit, squirrel, etc. roam free here and most, if not all can usually be seen on a daily basis. They have bicycle only days in the Cove also, but usually there is a steady stream of cars, trucks, motorcycles, bicycles, and on this day two little Ruckus scooters. The roads carry a 15mph speed limit. We followed the "normal" road for a little over 6 miles before coming to the road my wife has been longing to take for some time. The sign at the right turn-off read...Rich Mountain Road. This road is 7 miles of gravel, rock, dirt, mud, and on this particular day, colorful leaves...both on the ground as well as on the trees. Tennessee Fall at it's beautiful finest. Having years of dirt bike experience, I wasn't worried, but had wonderings if this would be to my wife's liking. In we went, passing a guy on a mountain bike about a 1/4 mile in. I kept looking back in the mirrors, making sure the wife was taking the maneuvers I was laying out as I missed large rocks' puddles' limbs' etc. We finally took our first sight-seeing break at an overlook that is pictured on many Smokies post cards......
...ENJOY.........We left Dock's Motel into the Smokey Mtn. National Park, turning right for a beautiful 8 mile, 30mph speed limit beautiful ride to Cades Cove. Cades Cove is an 11 mile scenic loop of paved and gravel roads. It meanders through a valley surrounded by mountains. Old settler homes, churches, and barns are still sitting in their original locations with the family names and bits of history featured at the locations. An old original cemetary with unbelievably old headstone dates sits beside a church. Bear, deer, coyotes, rabbit, squirrel, etc. roam free here and most, if not all can usually be seen on a daily basis. They have bicycle only days in the Cove also, but usually there is a steady stream of cars, trucks, motorcycles, bicycles, and on this day two little Ruckus scooters. The roads carry a 15mph speed limit. We followed the "normal" road for a little over 6 miles before coming to the road my wife has been longing to take for some time. The sign at the right turn-off read...Rich Mountain Road. This road is 7 miles of gravel, rock, dirt, mud, and on this particular day, colorful leaves...both on the ground as well as on the trees. Tennessee Fall at it's beautiful finest. Having years of dirt bike experience, I wasn't worried, but had wonderings if this would be to my wife's liking. In we went, passing a guy on a mountain bike about a 1/4 mile in. I kept looking back in the mirrors, making sure the wife was taking the maneuvers I was laying out as I missed large rocks' puddles' limbs' etc. We finally took our first sight-seeing break at an overlook that is pictured on many Smokies post cards......
One half mile(my odometer showed 7.4 miles since the Rich Mountain Road quest started) later and we went onto pavement...not one inch wider, just paved. The road started to twist into a spaghetti bowl of right and left hand higher speed curves, weaving in and out of shadows and sun-lit patches of fairly new sticky asphalt. If it were summer on this day you could really run some speed on this extremely inviting road. Taking in the narrowness, and the leaves strewn on the road, I thought better of it. Mr. Road Race Ruckus will have to wait for another day for his spirited fun. We wound by beautiful cabin-style homes built virtually against the road....not a lot of space between the road and mountain bluffs. After a 12 mile total ride since turning out of Cades Cove, we came into Tuckaleechee Valley...home to Tuckaleechee Caverns...another must-see if you are a closet-speelunker. A very good tour. This valley also contains beautiful scenery made up of rolling farmlands and horse stables. We rode until we came to highway 321, turning right again , we were on our way back to where we really call home....Docks Motel in Townsend, Tn. .............