Maggie Valley Overnighter

On Friday afternoon, October 9th, five riders (Bob K, Larry, Mark, Robert, and Steve) ignored iffy weather forecasts and gathered at the Chevron in Ball Ground for an overnight trip to Maggie Valley, on the edge of the Smokies.  A sixth rider, (Dan) joined them in Blue Ridge for dinner, and later provided overnight accommodations in his cabin – special thanks to Dan!

 While at the Chevron the five enjoyed talking bikes and thoroughly making their new friend, Danny, proprietor of the Chevron, envious of their pending adventure ( they wouldn’t be surprised to see him back on a bike and joining their next ride).

  Seeing storm clouds heading up from the south, they hurried out of Ball Ground just minutes ahead of a pop up shower that doused the area. As they approached Tate, Larry turned right on 53 and took the group on its first (and hopefully last) “Tour de Tate”, past chicken coops, and over railroad tracks, until Larry finally turned off his confused GPS and decided to wing it (with much better results).

 They enjoyed beautiful weather and delightful back roads through the Burnt Mountain and Doublehead Gap areas on the way to dinner at the newly rebuilt Toccoa Riverside Restaurant near Blue Ridge.  After Dan joined them, on the refreshing riverside deck, a lively discussion ensued about the gravel drive leading up to Dan's cabin.   It had been described as everything from “just a little hill” to the “mountain of death”.  Two in the group hadn’t been there before and were a little concerned about the latter description.  However, after their cool dusk ride to cabin, everyone agreed it was just a little hill – no issues at all!  More fun and fellowship was enjoyed by all, until late in the evening – thanks again to Dan, for opening his cabin to us.

 It was kickstands up at 7 a.m. Saturday and they rode toward Blairsville in cool thick clouds and, as if on queue, a ray of light lit up the Golden Arches beckoning them to a quick bite and hot coffee.  As they left McD's, the clouds lifted and they enjoyed the  ride thru Murphy and Andrews and, especially, the Nantahala River Gorge and the twisty approach to Maggie Valley.

 Their destination was the renowned Wheels Through Time motorcycle museum – quite possibly the country’s finest collection of early American motorcycles.  Everyone is familiar with Harley’s and, to a lesser degree, Indians (and they have plenty of them), but what about Crockett’s, Henderson’s, Ace’s, Excelsior, Reading Standards, and the only Traub known to still exist. They are all there in a fun, hands-on, period-like setting. No glass cases here!  And with this special twist… everything runs, and the proprietor will even fire up whatever strikes your fancy, that in their case was a 1918 Ace 4 cylinder board track racer.

 As they prepared to leave, skies threatened, so they all donned rain gear.  It was a good call as the rain started shortly thereafter.  They left Maggie Valley via the renowned Blue Ridge Parkway with its alleged spectacular views (on some other day maybe) and rode through thick rain/clouds/fog which tested their skills on the twisty road. They now understand why the solid white line on the side of road is called the “fog line”.  They made their way to Sylva for lunch at Nick and Nate’s, with its large covered patio - perfect for wet bikers.  Skies cleared and they thoroughly enjoyed North Carolina’s smooth 4 lane roads connecting Sylva, Franklin and the western reaches of NC, passing through beautiful mountain scenery.  After dropping down to Young Harris, they picked up GA’s “Mountain Parkway” and zipped almost all the way home in the sunshine, as they say… “gettin’ while the gettins’ good”.  Not until south of Jasper did they encounter another pop up, but after such a fun trip, even a last dousing couldn’t wipe the smiles off their faces.