In early August 2021 I drove a loop through Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, and North Carolina for 16 days. The main purpose was to get to the BMW Riders Association (BMWRA) 'Game of Roads' National Rally in Waynesville, North Carolina at the Smoky Mountain Event Center.
I started the trip out by first attending the Indiana Airhead Tech Day in Crown, Point Indiana. I heard it was quite a few people that attended, but I had not yet attended this Tech Day despite not being too far from my home. It had been a long time since anybody was holding a Tech Day because of Covid. I left home in the morning and in a few hours was there. This was actually at the Indiana Airmarshal's house, and there was a huge turnout of about 40 riders, some even went so far as to bring their family members since some of them lived nearby. They adjusted the valves on an R65, troubleshooted a short of a headlight then installed an LED headlight, troubleshooted a neutral light on an oil pressure switch, replaced a worn center stand, and a couple other small things on other bikes. It was a great event, and I saw some familiar faces and met some new ones. I stayed until late afternoon only since I had to get the rest of the way across Indiana, traversing the state the short way, to spend my first night in Fort Wayne, Indiana. I'd be returning to Indiana on the way back, but that would be traversing the state the long way.
Shortly after leaving Fort Wayne, Indiana, I crossed into Ohio. As I was going through Ohio I drove through this one town and at the edge of town I saw the back of a giant sign. I looked back in my mirror to see it was a giant sign with a picture of Neil Armstrong, so I turned around to get a picture of it. Then after that, I had to drive a while to turn back around so I could continue on my way. That's when I noticed a small sign that said space museum. I should mention the road I was on had virtually nothing on it, but when I turned for the space museum sign there were tons of stuff. I effectively had bypassed the town and didn't even know it. It turned out to be Wapakoneta, Ohio, the home town of Neil Armstrong, the first man to step on the moon. It was a cool museum that included several space suits he had worn and even a moon rock. There was also a video talking about the moon landing. It was well worth the small detour and it was free.
In Columbus, Ohio, I stopped to take a picture of the downtown and the State Capital building, they call it the Statehouse. Since it was Sunday, there was virtually no traffic and parking on the street was free. Most of the businesses were closed but I was able to walk around the capital and get some nice photographs.
I was going to be spending several days in Athens, Ohio. The town promotes what they call the Windy 9, that's Wine-dee not Win-dee. It is 9 motorcycle routes that are supposed to be nice for motorcycle riding that begin and end in Athens, Ohio. I didn't really plan to see much more, mostly just enjoy the driving. The average of the 9 rides is about 88 miles (142 kilometres), with the longest being about 103 miles (166 kilometres). When I arrived in Athens Ohio, I stopped at the sign to take a photograph. This guy on a bicycle stopped to see if I needed any help. Come to find out, he recently bought an old Airhead and I told him about the BMWRA rally I was going to as well as the Airhead organization. He was also on the Athens city board and worked with the guy who actually created and promoted the Athens Windy 9 motorcycle roads that I was here to ride. What are the chances?
My first Windy route was Windy 1 (Rim of the World), an 87-mile (140-kilometre) loop that goes northeast of Athens. Within the first couple miles, the road was down to one lane because of a landslide they were cleaning up. Fortunately, it got better after that. After lunch in Athens, I drove the Windy 6 (Pioneer Pass), a 103-mile (166-kilometre) loop that goes east of Athens. There was a little road overlap, but it didn't matter since these roads are all new to me. It worked out well, each of the 9 routes return to Athens, so I had lunch and then went out for the afternoon on a different Windy route.
The next day, I started out the morning on Windy 8 (Black Diamond Run), a 103-mile (166-kilometre) loop that goes north of Athens. The route goes through many former mining towns, so I stopped at Tammy's Country Kitchen in Nelsonville for lunch. Athens has a ton of chain restaurants, but not sit-down restaurants with family type meals. The afternoon ride was on Windy 5 (Zaleski Zipper), a 92-mile (148-kilometre) loop to the west of Athens that includes driving through the town of Zaleski, Ohio.
I had intentionally taken the north, east, and west Windy routes while staying in Athens. I was planning on taking a southern Windy route when I left Athens to get to my next destination in Kentucky. I left Athens by driving Windy 2 (Southern Dip), a 92-mile (148-kilometre) loop that goes south of Athens and along part of the scenic Ohio River. Of course, when I got to the southernmost point, instead of returning to Athens, I continued along the Ohio River through West Virginia and into Kentucky. Overall, what I did of the Windy routes was really nice, a definite improvement over anything I have near where I live. It took me a while to get comfortable taking the curves, but I know for sure I saw improvement in my driving just in those few days of twisty, oh sorry, windy roads.
I was taking 2-lane roads whenever I could, and about 10 miles from my hotel for the night, the traffic came to an abrupt stop. I could see all of the flashing lights but it was just far enough ahead that I could not see what was actually happening. Fortunately, I was in a position to get off the road and go into this little town and wait it out. I had a bottle of water that I took out and drank, but traffic still was not moving. I then looked on my phone to see if there were any restaurants in the town, and there it was - an ice cream shop. I ordered a caramel apple shake and enjoyed that, but traffic still was not moving. I then walked around the small town and bought an orange/pineapple drink in the liquor store, but traffic still was not moving. I walked around a little bit more, and finally saw traffic was moving. It was about a 90-minute wait, but there was no alternate route I could take. Once I drove through where the accident occurred, I saw 5 cars crashed as well as a semi-truck. I finally arrived in Pikeville, Kentucky. The town has a nice historic town center. Also, in the town I saw the Dils Cemetery where the Hatfield and McCoy's are buried. I was a bit surprised that it was not very well maintained, it is pretty small and high above the town on a bluff.
When you're on a motorcycle, the ride is a big part of the fun especially when you have nice roads. I spent the day driving down to the rally in Waynesville, North Carolina. It was a hilly drive with a lot of wide sweeping curves. After checking in at the hotel, I went and registered at the BMWRA rally. I walked around the Smoky Mountain Event Center and looked at the bikes there and took a quick stroll through the vendor building. I stopped at the Airhead tent and saw a couple familiar faces. I only saw one other bike like mine.
One of the places I have got parts for my motorcycle during my rebuild during Covid is Boxer2Valve (B2V). One of the owners, William, also created a whole bunch of great videos on the repair and maintenance on my bike, the old BMW Airhead. The videos are very detailed and take you through every step of the way. They were very helpful the last couple years for all the work I have done (my pictures of the work are posted on my website). They opened their facility in Hendersonville, North Carolina to the rally goers and gave a tour, had live music, and provided food. It was pretty cool to see the facilities. I was able to take a scenic route back to my hotel after the B2V tour. It was through the scenic Pisgah National Forest and was a great twisty road. Unfortunately, it rained most of the way back, but a great road otherwise. I dried off a little at the hotel, the sun came out, then I went back to the rally for the rest of the day.
Because the area around the rally is so scenic, besides just attending the rally, I did spend time riding during the day. I spent part of a day driving the Haywood County Loop, a 60-mile (97-kilometre) loop all around the county. It is very twisty and very exhausting. Along the way I found a good country restaurant for lunch. Then late in the afternoon I went back to the rally for one last go round. The closing ceremony was planned for the last night of the rally, then some entertainment after that. Alonzo Bodden, a comedian that came to fame for winning The Last Comic Standing show in 2004 performed. He mostly did improv working off the crowd. He rides motorcycles, and has several BMW motorcycles.
I had added a couple night's stay at the hotel near the rally so I could enjoy the numerous roads that are ideal for motorcycle riding after the rally was over. Unfortunately, the weather was not looking good all week here, lots of rain planned. Even worse, the only places within walking distance are a Shell gas station and a pizza place. So, if I want to get any food I'll still have to drive somewhere regardless of rain. However, the first day after the rally I had great weather in the morning, drove about 50 miles (80 kilometres) on a nice road, the sun was out and perfect temperature, roads dry. I stopped in the small town of Waynesville, Tennessee (the Gateway to the Smokies) to walk around and take some pictures. For lunch, I stopped at a restaurant in Maggie Valley and had chicken and dumplings. So far I had driven over 100 miles (161 kilometres) with no rain yet, but now it's cloudy. I had been driving on highway 276 and highway 19, I know that doesn't mean much to you, but to me it was great motorcycle roads and both roads also gave me easy access back to the hotel in the event of rain. I did officially remove a couple of the new tire nubs on the side walls. I got back to the hotel about mid-afternoon, and shortly after that the rain really started coming down heavy. After a couple hours, it stopped and eventually cleared up and dried out. So, I was able to drive a little bit more before having dinner back in Waynesville. That turned out to be a pretty nice riding day after all.
My last full day at my rally hotel was supposed to be another day of sun in the morning and then rain in the afternoon. I managed to get some quality riding in the morning, just in case they were right about the afternoon rain. I went to the historic town of Canton, North Carolina. It has a small-town center, with a bunch of old buildings. Surprisingly, quite a few of the buildings were actually empty. They should work on developing the town more, kind of like how Waynesville was. After Canton, I drove some more nice back roads and it got cloudy but never rained all afternoon. I ended back in Maggie Valley at the Wheels Through Time vintage motorcycle museum. They have a large collection of old motorcycles, mostly Harleys, but in a real cool display (backgrounds looked like settings from the 1930s or 40s). I then grabbed a late lunch and went for another hour ride (somewhere, don't know where). It did rain for a minute, then stopped. After that, I stopped to fill up with fuel and then back to the hotel. Since it still wasn't raining, the weather report was wrong, huh, I went for a late afternoon ride and made a stop at the scenic Soco Falls. I'm not really seeing many 'sites' this trip, but enjoying the bike riding and the roads...
The day I checked out of the rally hotel in Waynesville, North Carolina, they were calling for rain all day. Fortunately, I didn't have far to drive, but in bad weather it's tuff. The GPS is saying 57 miles (92 kilometres) and about 90 minutes to Gatlinburg, Tennessee. There are back roads to get there I would take if the weather was nice, but I'll be taking the Interstate for most of the route. However, on the Interstate there ended up being a multi-vehicle accident that stopped the traffic. Fortunately for me (as fortunate as it can get for this situation), I made it to the rest area at the North Carolina and Tennessee border to wait out the accident traffic. Inside the facilities were toilets and the vending machines, but there was no place to sit down (except for the obvious place). Fortunately, there was 1 (and only 1) covered picnic table at the rest stop. When I first arrived, there were a couple guys smoking under the picnic table cover, then they left and I grabbed it. I waited there a short while before traffic started moving. In case you forgot, it was going to rain all day.
When the Interstate traffic finally did start moving (but the rain persisted), I did start driving again and got to Gatlinburg, Tennessee. I spent the afternoon walking around the town of Gatlinburg (where I'm spending the night after my short but very wet ride). Gatlinburg is in a nice mountain setting surrounded on all sides by high ridges, with the Le Conte and Sugarland Mountain massifs rising to the south, Cove Mountain to the west, Big Ridge to the northeast, and Grapeyard Ridge to the east. Even the mountain range names are pleasant in this part of the country. It was raining so heavy, I actually bought an umbrella in order to be able to walk around all afternoon. Luckily, my hotel had underground parking, but it's at street level so shouldn't flood. Despite encountering rain the entire way to Gatlinburg, I am completely dry. The rain pants, boots, jacket, all kept me dry. The biggest problem are the gloves. Even though they have a Gore-Tex waterproof lining, when you put your hands inside the dry part of the glove, the rain runs down the sleeve of my jacket and gets inside the glove. I will have to start putting the gloves on first, then put the jacket on, but that might be a tight fit. Last time I was here in Gatlinburg (it was also when I was on the motorcycle in 2019), it was so crowded, I literally drove through and left without stopping since it was a mad house back then. I enjoyed a great steak dinner across from my hotel. It did rain all day; their weather forecast was accurate. Luckily it was a short drive day.
Gatlinburg is at the edge of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. I left Gatlinburg and drove through the park and turned around in Cherokee, North Carolina to drive back again, about a 65-mile (105-kilometre) round trip. Afterward I stopped in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee but since I spent a few days there when I was here last time, I just had lunch and moved on. I took the scenic route to Knoxville, Tennessee where I was spending my next night. I got there early enough in the afternoon to walk around the Knoxville city center. They had the World's Fair in 1982 and have a really nice park area. One of the left-over items from the fair is the 266-foot (81-metre) Sunsphere, giving Knoxville a unique skyline. Once again, my hotel had underground parking. Did I forget to mention there was no rain and I had a pleasant drive?
Since my holiday was almost over, I had a long driving day to start the trek to get heading back home. I had about 250 miles (402 kilometres) to get from Knoxville, Tennessee to Louisville, Kentucky. I had 2 options. I could take the Interstate in about 4 hours or take nice twisty back roads for a 6-hour journey. Obviously, I chose the latter...
It all started out good. The previous night's forecast called for a 50% chance of rain, by the morning they were only saying a 10% chance. Woo-hoo! Back roads it is. About 35 miles (56 kilometres) into the ride, in what appeared to be the middle of nowhere, I hit something and heard a loud noise. These backroads are narrow, have no shoulder, and have no place to pull off. Fortunately, it probably was about a half mile and I was able to pull over on a shoulder at a stop sign. I almost pulled into a church parking lot, which would have been disastrous since no one would have seen me (well, not until the next Sunday anyway). Being on the side of the road at the stop sign, I couldn't be missed.
With the bike running, I got off of the bike, pulled it on to the center stand, walked around the bike, and that's when I saw all the oil coming out. I quickly shut the bike off, and the oil stopped. The oil was coming out only when the engine was running and it was under pressure. I looked underneath the bike and did not see anything cracked or broken. The oil was hot, the exhaust was hot, the engine was hot, there wasn't much I could do until it cooled down. As I was lying on the ground looking at it, a car pulled up to see if I needed help. That was quick! It was Mike and he was not from around that area, but was willing to help me. The next couple guys that came were from the area, and confirmed what I thought to be true. I was in the middle of nowhere and I had sketchy cell service.
It looked like the oil cooler might have been damaged based on where I was seeing oil. Amazingly, I had with me an oil cooler filter bypass bolt. I know, right! I had never used it before, and didn't know how or if it would work. In the meantime, the one guy drove me down the road about 3 miles to this guy he knew who worked on dirt bikes. I figured worst case, maybe he would have a motorcycle trailer and I could store the bike there if I needed to order parts. But at that point, there wasn't anything the dirt bike guy could do to help. When I returned, the bike had cooled off and I was going to try the bypass. When I went to remove the one oil cooler bolt, I noticed it was loose. WHAT!?!? I tightened the bolt, started the bike, no more leak...
Whatever I had hit, somehow loosened the one oil cooler bolt. I could see the mark on the bolt from whatever was kicked up from the road. Incredible. Would probably never happen again. I continued on my way with no more events. Just to be safe, one of the guys followed behind me until I got to the next town. I checked everything and it all looked good, so we parted ways and I was on my own again. I only lost a couple hours, so I shifted the remainder of my journey to the Interstate to my hotel in Louisville for the night. I did manage to stop at the Kentucky State Capital in Frankfurt, Kentucky so at least I did something today. At the next trivia night, you can impress everyone by knowing the Kentucky state capital is Frankfort, Kentucky...
When I woke up in Louisville the next morning, I found no puddle of oil underneath my motorcycle so it was a good day. I spent the lovely day in Louisville, starting with a factory tour of the Louisville Slugger baseball bat factory. They produce over 4 million bats, and it isn't that big and really only has a few machines. I then took a 90-minute trolley tour that highlighted a lot of the city with stops along the way. We had a stop at the Churchill Downs horse race track. I walked to see The Thomas Edison House, where he lived for about a year in 1866 just before moving to Menlo Park. He returned to Louisville in 1883 to light up 5,000 of his incandescent bulbs. This was near the 4 bridges area, 4 bridges that cross the Ohio River and connect Kentucky with Indiana. One of these bridges was a former train trestle bridge which was converted to a very long pedestrian bridge. It's about one mile across the river, so I briefly crossed into the town of Jeffersonville, Indiana. There's also a nice riverfront park that goes along the river on the Kentucky side.
On my last full day of my holiday, I had only about a 115-mile (185-kilometre) drive from Louisville, Kentucky to Indianapolis, Indiana for the last night. There isn't much in the way of scenic drives between the 2 cities, so it was more a matter of a 'I have to drive this way to get home' scenario. When I did get to Indianapolis, I spent most of the afternoon walking around the downtown area. There was not only the Capital building, but several monuments and landmarks around the city. One of them was a plaque referencing the last public performance by Elvis at the Market Square Arena on June 26, 1977. The arena no longer exists, but The King's legacy survives. My room had a tremendous view of the State Capital, or as they would say in the U.K. I had a Capital view...
The last of the driving was the uneventful but traffic filled 225 miles (362 kilometres) from Indianapolis to home. Total for this trip was 2,417 miles (3,890 kilometres).
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