Claypool Hill, VA
My
night’s rest was a good one and in the morning I took my dirty clothes to the
laundrymat and then went to
TheBlueDogArt Café for breakfast. While
there I met Fred Pasternak a local retiree, and Butch Hogan whose wife Sue owns
the restaurant. Annie was the waitress
and lunch cook took my order for eggs, coffee and bacon. Butch engaged me in conversation while also
admiring Sophia and the carriage rack that I have on the back for all my
gear. He noticed my USMC(Ret) gearbox
plate and told me his stepson is an active duty Marine with a coupla or more
tours into Afghanistan under his belt.
After breakfast I returned to the hotel, packed up my gear, headed to
the laundramat and got my clothes, then stopped at the café once again to get a
pic with Butch and I….but this time Sue was there so we got all of us in the
pic.
It
was pretty easy to get back on the Blue Ridge exactly where I got off and I
headed towards Roanoke. The ride was
pure joy. Easy speeds, no traffic, lush
greenery, beautiful views, fresh air. I
enjoyed taking deep breaths of clean air….no exhaust fumes up here! I was so enthralled with this ride that I
must’ve stopped at every lookout to click a photo and look at the valleys below
dotted with farms, small towns, thin line roads barely discernible from this distance
as they meandered through the rolling hills of the valley. Before I knew it the road weaved its way
around Roanoak. When I arrived at Peaks
of Otter I found a lodge/restaurant so I decided to go in and treat myself to a
nice lunch. It was good to take a break
and just enjoy the rest but found the cell phone didn’t connect at this
spot. My waitress was Keegan and she
also filled my empty coke bottles with water for the next leg of the ride.
Back
on the road heading for Fancy Gap per my original plans, it didn’t take me long
to realize that I was not going to make it to The Dragon Inn north of Chilowee
and The Dragon’s Tail if I continued on to Fancy Gap. So, I kicked in a new plan and decided to go
to the 150 mile marker as required by the SCMA for this event then bail out
from there to get back on the I-81 up to Tazewell to ride south on US16 “Back
of the Dragon”.
I
found the 150 marker and took pics. Then
about 10-15 miles later found a paved road that took me off the BRP, down thru
Gap countryside and farms, and into Floyd where I tanked up again. Garmin got me onto the US8 which finally got
me south onto I-81. While speeding along
to Taz I realized that it was getting late and that instead of riding the 16
southbound from Tazewell it would be better to ride it northbound from Marion.
So
I took the 2nd Marion exit which is on the 16 and headed into town
from I-81. As I pulled into a station
for gas, and a receipt for proof of visit, the thundergods moved in and
drenched the area keeping me under the gas station for about 45 minutes. When I left there it must’ve been close to
7:30pm and I didn’t go more than a mile when I came upon the Marion Town sign
and had to stop for a photo proof….as I came to a stop two deer bolted out from
behind the sign where they were feeding and ran up the hill.
Not
too far from the Town Sign, the climb started for the Back of the Dragon and
the first 180 deg ascending switchback was experienced.
The
ride was a combination of good curves but not too many switchbacks. The road was bordered with the treed mountain
on one side and either more woods or dropping cliffs on the other side. Since the sun was relatively low on the
horizon there were mostly shadows; and in some places it seemed the trees
almost made a canopy over the road. It
was a good medium climb up the first mountain and a matching descent into the
valley on the other side. A bit of level
road and then I think it climbed again.
Im writing this about 4 days after the ride so there are a number of
details that I have forgotten. After
coming off the last ridge the steepness shallowed out and the road had two or
three left curves before coming to a right curve through trees whose bark was
completely covered in vines of some sort.
It seemed almost like a jungle. I
wanted to get a photo of this section of the road but a car came up from behind
and I just continued on. Light was
waning so the photo probably wouldn’t come out too well. My Garmin had me arriving in Tazewell at a
spot where the 16 took a sharp right at a stop sign onto another road but the
town of Tazewell was actually another 3-5 miles away.
When
I arrived in Taz it was almost dark and I took a left onto the business 16. This took me through a community and I was
expecting to enter a downtown area but instead rode by what appeared to be a
fairgrounds where I could see the top of a Ferris Wheel over the low buildings. Right after that there was nothing so I
turned around and headed to where I entered the town, turned left, and found a
gas station to get my receipt. Now it
was totally dark and no photo ops.
However,
on the highway in one of the valleys there was a sign showing US16 and Tazewell
at 19 miles. There was still plenty of
light so I stopped for a photo op and on the 2nd photo using the
timer I was walking back to retrieve the camera when dogs started barking. They ran down the dirt driveway and came to
the road’s edge growling and barking at me.
This was a clear sign for me to get outa Dodge. One dog hid in the bushes and glared at
me…the other came about 3 feet into the road and watched me. I knew what they were waiting for….they
wanted to chase the bike as I rode away.
I started the bike and just as I started rolling the both charged
fast! HA!...I was ready for them and
poured on the gas leaving them in the ‘dust’……so much fun J.
After
tanking up I put Maryville in the Garmin and was directed back out to the
fairgrounds and to highway US19 which I think was named ‘Lonesome Pine”. Making a left I felt totally disoriented in
the dark and was very unsure of the direction as I was expecting to make a
right towards I-77 for a southernly run back to I-81. I stopped at some large business parking lot
under their lamp and consulted my AAA map and figured out what Garmin was
doing….it was taking me on a route paralleling I-81…a more direct route of
shorter distance.
At
Cedar Bluff, just outside of Richmond I got rained on…never saw it coming
because of the dark…so I pulled into a McDonalds and had a small bite to
eat. It was already 10pm and my Droid
Maps told me I was 200 miles from Maryville…a good 3 hours from The Dragon Inn
where I had a room waiting for me. So I
called it quits and got a room at the Timberline Lodge, a local motel on
Claypool Hill, intersection of US19 and I think 460. The motel was clean and comfortable but my
windows and doorway faced the highway below and I could hear the semi’s loud
backfiring from engine braking.
It
had been a long day so I called it a night and zonked out. Tomorrow I will stop to visit Dennis, owner
of The Dragon Inn, and then ride the Dragon.
C ya mañana,Gonzo
Twitter: @GonzoCrossUSA
Email: GonzoCrossUSA@gmail.com
Cell: 949-433-0761
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