Wildguzzi.com
General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: twowheeladdict on August 20, 2024, 10:46:32 AM
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Click on the photos to see full size images.
I’ve had a Moto Guzzi Lunch on the Calendar for August 10th in Dunlap, TN for a couple months now. It is a couple hours away, and I was planning on going whether it was on a bike or in the car. Sometime at the beginning of the year I mentioned to a forum member that I was interested in the defective Hogwerks light he was giving away to use for a man cave project. He reached out to me a few weeks ago to see if I was still interested in the light. Since he is located down around Rome, GA I started putting a plan together to do a loop ride down to Georgia, up to Dunlap, TN and back home.
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Estimated Route to Lock and Dam Campground in Georgia.
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Estimated Route from Lock and Dam Campground to Dunlap Tennessee
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Estimated route back home after the Moto Guzzi Lunch
I found this interesting tiny cabin at Lock and Dam Park along the Coosa River just west of Rome that looked like the perfect place to relax after a day of riding. Every other camping cabin I have looked at or stayed in consisted of two beds, electricity and AC/heat. You still had to use the campground bath house. This tiny cabin only slept one but had its own bathroom. Perfect for my purposes.
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Perfect Setup for a Solo Traveler
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Only one in the entire campground. Must be an experiment to assess popularity before building more.
When I woke up Friday morning and checked the weather it looked like the next two days were going to be dry and the heat was going to drop a few degrees in Tennessee. Still in the 90s southeast of me in Georgia though.
I set the Garmin Zumo XT on adventurous route and the first destination Bar and Lock Park. At various points in the ride, I would zoom out on the map and take what looked like a more interesting road and let the GPS recalculate which made the adventurous route even more adventurous.
The first hour or two of these types of rides always feel like a day ride because I stick to the fun roads instead of just taking the fastest line out of the area. When you live where the fun roads are, why avoid them just to get somewhere a little sooner.
Here are some photos of the fun roads I pulled from Google Street View, Google maps, and places I was able to stop for a photo opportunity.
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Wall on one side, valley on the other, with the occasional logging truck coming around the blind turn ahead.
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These were captured in February. In August I was riding in a tunnel of trees.
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Maybe a little too adventurous on a fully loaded bike. Might as well have a drink.
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Looking at the road surface made me glad I was on an adventure bike
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I always wonder who the first humans were to find the routes over these hills.
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Definitely better views in the winter.
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No room for error
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I'll wager a trailer axle or two took a beating on this road.
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curves, curves, and more curves
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I-59 runs up the valley past Valley Head, AL at the base of Lookout Mountain. I cross I-59 on my travels. Can't say I have ever been on it.
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Riding up the mountain from Valley Head to Mentone.
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Nice view to the west at the brow park
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My route took me into Cave Spring
Attended a Moto Guzzi Lunch there last year sometime.
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Past an old gas station - Remember when people used these landmarks to give directions?
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And finally, to my destination.
I checked in at the campground, got a photo of the lock, and headed over to the cabin.
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Looking downstream to the west on the Coosa River.
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The Old Lock on the Coosa River. Not sure if boats navigate this part of the river anymore. It looked like remnants of the dam still existed.
I laid out on the bed everything I carried with me on the motorcycle as soon as I checked in so I wouldn’t have to carry it when I was riding around locally and so I would have a place to put the light when I pick it up.
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Everything I need for an overnight ride.
Unfortunately, I didn’t get to meet him because he was working. He left the package in the bed of the pickup truck.
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That driveway is a lot steeper than it looks!
In addition to researching my route, I also researched photo opportunities along the way and around the Rome area. One of those opportunities was an old mill on the campus of Berry College. The mill was located 7.5 miles from the entrance to the Campus. I had to let the co-ed scan my license to enter the campus, and she provided a map of the 27,000 acre campus. Yes, 27,000 acres or 42 square miles of land make up the Berry College property. The co-ed also told me the last mile or so to the mill as gravel.
There were deer grazing all along the roads and laying in the shade. They wouldn’t stay close enough for a good photo, so I had to zoom in where they settled back down after I startled them by stopping within 20 feet of them.
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The deer didn't move far before settling back down
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Alert but not very fearful
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It was worth riding the gravel to see the mill and get the photo with the bike.
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Beautiful and tranquil location. Decided to rest and have a drink.
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Explored the campus and found a little elevation
I like to seek out mom and pop restaurants when I am on rides. For some reason I saw nothing but chains and fast-food joints. Even the Mexican Restaurants were chains. With the heat I was thinking more about staying hydrated than food, and drinking kept me from being hungry for any lunch. After I left Berry College, I felt that I had better east something before getting back to the camping cabin, so I went down some main roads looking for a mom and pop, but only saw fast food and it was always on the wrong side of the road. Eventually I ran out of choices and stopped at a Dollar General for some snacks, drinks, and a cold coffee for the morning. Headed back to the campground to shower and unwind.
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Home for the evening. Very secluded location.
The cabin had a few negatives. The "closet" alcove didn't have a closet rode to hang anything. A small microwave and dorm fridge would have been nice. I was glad I packed my Memory Foam topper and a nice pillow because the mattress was covered in thick plastic. The price was right at around $50.
I made a crucial mistake while hydrating during the day and with the drinks I picked up from the Dollar General. I normally alternate “Body Armor” low calorie drinks with water, and when I went through what I was carrying from home I ended up with Bai Waters because the Body Armor drinks weren’t in the cooler. Bai Water contains caffeine. I can’t drink caffeine after the morning because I have a hard time going to sleep. After tossing and turning for what seemed like hours, I looked at the bottle I drank half of before going to bed and there it was “Contains Caffeine”. This is all I needed. Being sleep deprived and riding a motorcycle is not a combination I was looking forward to.
I crawled out of bed at the first ray of sunlight in the sky and started packing up. I probably didn’t need it, but I downed the cold coffee and some nuts and then loaded up the bike. I figured I’d get north of Rome before there are many people on the roads. Cars and deer are constantly on my mind these days and the lack of a good night sleep wasn’t helping.
I stuck to the adventurous route for today, but I also had to be in Dunlap in time for lunch.
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Old building along the tracks.
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Store? Home? Meeting house? I can only imagine.
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The Gordon-Lee Mansion in Chickamauga
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Went around the block to get a photo of this mural in Saint Elmo at the eastern base of Lookout Mountain
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Sometimes I just stop and take a photo since my camera captures the location so I can later see where I went
The GPS wanted to take me through part of Chattanooga before climbing over Signal Mountain, but I didn't want to deal with the traffic so I decided to climb Lookout Mountain and follow the Tennessee River to the Sequatchie Valley and up to Dunlap.
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Climbing Lookout Mountain
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Beautiful view and Rock City overlook straight ahead
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I came off the north end of Lookout Mountain and then followed 41 along the river until I got to 27.
41 was shrouded in tree cover so I only got an occasional glimpse at the river travelling through the gorge. The temps dropped to a cool level that was very comfortable to ride in. I had to keep alternating between raising and lowering the helmet sunshade.
27 is a nice ribbon of road winding along the eastern edge of the Sequatchie Valley with nice elevation changes and a lot of shade.
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Even the google car caught a motorcycle in action showing how popular this road is among riders.
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There was even more shade when I rode this stretch of road.
I was really enjoying the ride up 27 and eventually caught up to a rider on a Moto Guzzi. I figured he was going where I was, so I followed along behind him until we came to an intersection. He decided that I should take the lead the rest of the way since I knew the roads better than him. We arrived at the lunch spot with 10 minutes to spare.
There were 10 Moto Guzzi riders that rode in for the lunch. At some locations we will see riders on vintage machines, but we are definitely seeing more and more on bikes within the last 10 years. The V7 and the V85TT are definitely the most popular models being sold by Moto Guzzi.
I guess I was hungry, so I forgot to take a photo of the restaurant, the group, or the food. Unfortunately, the menu item I was looking forward to sold out and I made a hasty second choice that I regretted.
Here are a couple random photos I did remember to capture after lunch. There were quite a few motorcyclists at the restaurant that weren't with our group.
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Moto Guzzi V7
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3 Moto Guzzi V85TTs
Some of the guys wanted to explore some more before heading home so we shared routes and interesting points of interest and then said our goodbyes and headed off in our separate directions.
I decided to climb out of the valley on Fredonia Road instead of the main route travelled by everything from passenger cars to semi-trucks, and of course me when I am in my truck pulling the trailer.
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Fredonia Road
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Stopped in a curve on Fredonia Road
Fredonia Road put me up on the Cumberland Plateau where I enjoyed a little respite from the afternoon temperatures. I stayed up on the Plateau until I reached Sewanee.
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Welcome to Sewanee!
My fuel was getting low so I took a break in Sewanee before heading down into the heat of the valley and looked for gas stations that carried non-ethanol with 90 octane or higher. There was one right around the corner from me, but it was closed. The next one was at the base of the plateau in Cowen. So back on the bike and down through the curves I go.
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The descent from Sewanee to Cowen. Hard to capture how fun these curves are on an overview map
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Definitely one of my favorite antique stations, located in Cowen, TN
I now have a full tank of gas, put more hydration in my body and my goal was to find the shadiest roads the rest of the way home.
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and when I run out of shade find a shady spot of a break and more hydration.
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Shade and greenery are definitely cooler than sun and concrete.
500 miles total on the bike over the two days. 8 gallons of fuel for an average of 62.5 mpg.
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Glad you made it to the over-shot mill wheel at Berry!
I'd hoped you'd like it! :thumb:
Nice trip write up.
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Cool trip report! :thumb:
Still happy with your V85TT?
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Looks like a nice adventure. I enjoyed the photo log!
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Cool trip report! :thumb:
Still happy with your V85TT?
Still happy with it. I consider it my sporty touring bike. My tours do not include interstate highways.
The heat off the catalytic converter is ridiculous
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Passed near the Lock & Dam area and by the old Foster's Mill store on the way up to lunch. They briefly opened again a few years back and closed shortly thereafter.
I took the long way home from the lunch meet with the route per your suggestion by Fall Creek Falls park. Went to Pikeville, Spencer, McMinnville, then down 56 to Tracy City. Good stuff, but no pics, just kept going.
Should have brought my Guardia up next to yours. Two Guardias together is amusing but my record was 4 including mine one day at TWOS. Such improbabilities only happen there, right? Believe a RGV250 showed up that day too.
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Some extra pics of the lot and restaurant.
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500 miles total on the bike over the two days. 8 gallons of fuel for an average of 62.5 mpg.
This is very compelling information. I love my 1200 8V, but that mileage makes you think....
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This is very compelling information. I love my 1200 8V, but that mileage makes you think....
Keep in mind that is all 2 lane curvy hilly riding with max speeds about 65 mph but most around 50 mph