My Deal's Gap Trip

[TimmyB]

Well we loaded up the truck and rented an enclosed UHaul and left Ilion on Wednesday morning. We drove through some nasty rain for most of the trip and we were glad we rented the trailer to haul his newer Harley Fatboy and my friend's Ducati Monster that I borrowed for the trip. (traded my gsxr for a couple days)

We stayed at the Kickstand Lodge, where Scotty and I camped during the first stop of our x country trip. Mo, the owner/operator remembered me and was happy to see us. The cottage we rented sleeps 5 and costs 50 bucks a night, perfect for a group on a budget.

Thursday we rode the dragon and headed north towards Cherokee and on to Pigeon Forge to ride the Smokey Mountain Parkway to Gatlinburg. We hit some rain which turned to a downpour and a nasty T-storm in Cherokee but waited it out at a gas station until the worst was over, the skies cleared and that was the last drop we felt for the rest of the trip. We racked out early with plans of an early ride.

Friday we were up at 5am and hit the road for a sunrise ride over the Cherohala Skyway, breakfast in Tellico Plains (best blueberry flapjacks), and south through Ducktown and Turtletown. (no joke). these were some of the best roads ive ever seen! A couple more laps on the dragon followed by a dip in Fontana Lake and we headed out for another ride which lasted until midnight.

Saturday I took a solo ride through the Hellbender, the fog was lifting over the river and hovering about 12 feet above the road for a surreal ride, then off to the gap, which was completely empty! I waited at the lookout for a good 10 minutes for someone else to come and chat for a bit.


The Kickstand Lodge www.kickstandlodge.com


Nasty Storms ripped down some signs


Little Bro and his wife, first trip



Start gap photos











The Duc on the Smokey Mtn Parkway


Brett's Harley


Sunrise ride


OH! THATS how they were made...stupid Geologists


Breakfast at the Prospector's Diner in Tellico Plains



Dragon Fuel! no i didnt buy it, $7.99/gal


Solo ride through the Hellbender



Lonely Overlook


He had a sticker that read "Nuke Unborn Gay Whales" just about offends everyone! love it.


Pride




Can't wait to go back.

[KB]

I miss the gap.

Nice shots.

KB

[MotoFreak]

Sick Tim...you look good in those tight leather pants...

[hskater26]

awesome. i love deals gap im taking the ducati down there in a week and a half. my sister lives in knoxville which is only about an hour away. ive done it once in my car and once on my old bike. cant wait to do it on the ducati. such an amazing road it always goes by so fast too!

[SP GSX-R]

Now thats a trip def worth doing and one i wouldnt mind starting to plan soon

nice pics

[FTMS]

Nice pics Tim. Looks like it was a good trip.

[scubasteveRR]

looks like it was a lot of fun... the pictures are great!! I can't believe those stupid Geologist either, whats there issue?

[markbvt]

You should ride down next time instead of trailering. The Blue Ridge Parkway and the mountains of West Virginia make for a hell of an awesome way to get down there.

--mark

[TimmyB]

You should ride down next time instead of trailering. The Blue Ridge Parkway and the mountains of West Virginia make for a hell of an awesome way to get down there.

--mark

Riding down there is something I will have to do someday. A few weeks ago I trailered to San Diego and road in some beautiful areas, Utah being my favorite. (other than TN). We camped in National Forests and such, and were impressed at the number of adventure types who would ride in, pitch a tent, and be gone before we woke.