At a bike event earlier this month a friend said he had not been to Mt. Mitchell in 30 years and another couple said they have never been to Little Switzerland. I told them we do those rides all the time and would be happy to plan and lead. I sent out the invite to several and three replies came back YES, we are in.
From left to right is Little Ralphie, world famous rapper, Cosmic Razorback, Carolina Girl, Ronnie, Lee, Rhonda and Rodney. I have to say that I am a more disciplined rider leading a group. Ronnie complimented me on my riding skills and every enjoyed the route, pace and stops. If you follow my rides you’ll recognize Ralph. We’ve riden together for 15 years now and have logged a lot of miles together.
So, my plan did not work out. There is a rock slide on the BRP with the road blocked south of Little Switzerland. Okay we can run down Diamondback and back up Highway 80 right. Well everyone want lunch at Little Switzerland Inn. I called for reservations and was told they are closed to the public. Having a HUGE wedding and they booked the entire INN, restaurant, parking and all. Time for plan B.
Guys, trust me, I have a surprise ride and you’ll like it. We met Saturday the 17th at the Sheetz in Yadkinville. The weather was looking beautiful.
Problem #2 that I had to consider is my alternate route would bring us through Downtown Boone. Always slow to, but cool, being a quaint setting and college town. However, today the Appalachian Mountainerers have a home game against Troy and ESPN was in town.
We rolled out on Highway 421 North and traffic was much heavier than normal with 4 out of five vehicles with App flags and stickers. The excitement was in the air.
As we rolled through Wilkesboro traffic was slow, then we climbed the mountain and passed the entrance to the BRP. It cooled off a little which is expected and we made our first stop in Boone for fuel and a bathroom break.
Suprisingly we cruised through downtown Boone with ease except for getting caught at almost every traffic light. We were on Belinda and enjoying the tunes and got a few thumbs up from fans walking to the game.
In no time we crossed into Tennessee, passed through Mountain City and presto we were on The Snake. Two of the couples had never ridden the Snake before and were hoping we would were turning back for 2nds.
A few photos from the General Store at Shady Valley. It was the largest number of bikes I have seen there in some time. Of course my last ride there earlier this year was on a Wednesday.
Yes, we are in Tennessee. Everything is Orange!
A few shots from the General Store. The Carolina Girl tried her hand at the piano.
We leaned right out of the parking lot heading North on Hwy 133 toward Damascus, Va.
This is a beautiful ride that follows the Beaverdam Creek and takes you through the worlds shortest tunnel known as Backbone Rock. I have pictures of this tunnel several pages ago from a solo ride I did if you want to see them.
We arrived in Damascus and headed to the Old Mill Inn for lunch. This was an excellent stop with outdoor seating on Laurel Creek. There was something on the menu for everyone. The food, service and atmosphere were very good. We will return!
Fried Green Tomatoes were a hit.
Damascus is known for bicycles being on the Virginia Creeper Trail. The weather brought everyone out this day. The shuttle buses were running and the trail was busy.
It was hard to pass one of our favorite ice cream stops, at Wicked Chicken but we were stuffed. Stay tuned because I had a second dessert destination timed perfectly.
Just east of Damascus the road splits. If you go right you climb the mountain and roll back down to Mountain City. But lean left onto Hwy 58 and you are in for a real treat. When you are met with warning signs about curves and length limits, it’s go to be a good road, right!
This stretch of road is one of our favorites. It runs alongside Laurel Creek and the Virginia Creeper Trail. As you climb in elevation you cell signal goes away and tree cover is so great the temps drop as well as your XM signal. You roll through some beautiful Christmas Tree farms and there are a couple of good switchbacks.
Our next stop was at Corner Market & Cafe / Log House Restaurant for a water and bathroom break.
We then ran down 93, to 113 to 18. Our next stop was at Freebornes which is one of our favorite stops. Their desserts are always good and everyone enjoyed Apple Empanada with ice cream and coffee. It was delicious!
Before leaving we walked across the parking lot to Wild Woody’s to see Linda and check out the new junk! LOL
There was this cool old Datsun 1600 out front for sale. $2500.00 or best offer. Did they really drive it all the way from Georgia?
Here are a few pictures from the cool bar and wood work back at the Old Mill Inn.
I've been to Damascus, VA several times to ride bicycles on the Creeper Trail. The first time we went I took the Crooked Road from Independence to Damascus. That is one twisty road! Just the other day I was thinking drive that road on the motorcycle sometime...
Last edited by mseawell1022; 09-25-2022 at 07:17 PM.
I happy to report that the "Smoke Out" came back to Salisbury for 2022.
It was Friday September 9th. I took the day off and it was the Carolina Girls first ride on Olivia after getting the engine repairs. This was a Friday and Saturday event and sadly on Saturday the rain came in and it was not a good day for them.
It was well worth the ride over. We met people from Florida, Colorado, Michigan, Ohio, New York and God knows where. I hope this event continues to grow and becomes what it used to be and much more. Glad to support them and we saw some cool stuff!
We arrived before noon and not a lot of bikes outside. Most were riding in through the gates and a lot of folks in the back camping.
We got our tickets and spoke with a guy from the Outlaws waiting in line also. He was pretty funny, like us not sure we were in the right line or not. There were several Outlaw Chapters set up in some of the buildings where the vendors had old bike parts for sale.
A little on the History of the Smoke Out:
A one day pass was $20 bucks a person. They offered three day passes and camping options also.
Several well know builders represented indoors for the bike show.
Notice the reversed intake and exhaust on the bike below. Super cool. I met the builder and have another of his bikes pictured later under their tent. Nice work!
09-25-2022 | 05:14 PM
NC, TN, VA, ShadyValley
