I start my journey as I always do these days: I photograph my trip meter.
PHOTO CAPTION: Speedo start of trip.
Riding west on I-26 to Gate City VA. and US-23 North to US 421/58 West. Once I'm on US-58 West, I know I will be looking out for SR-600 and the start of my Lost Road Ride. I almost missed it! I thought I would find it further west than I did. If not for the car turning ahead of me...I 'm sure I would have missed it!
The problem with this? I wasn't prepared. I thought I would have more time to buy fuel. When I found VA-600, I already had 53 miles on the Lil Girl. I decided to chance it. I know she should get about 90 miles before I was sucking air...and while I did not really study the map before I left, I figured "Hey, there is gonna be a gas station around here somewhere..." uh huh... right. 60 miles gone, 65....70. I stopped to drag out a map. Something I don't usually do, but I wanted to be sure I shouldn't be knocking on the door of a farmer out here...rather than sitting on the side of a lonely 2 lane road. Before I could get the map, a pick-up truck truck stopped and asked if all was well. I asked the guy if there was a gas station within 10 miles. He smiles and tells me of a store ahead, it had no gas but they could tell me where the closest station was. It was 3 miles ahead. This guy was not from around here, he was going home after having bagged his buck. This day was the opening season and he got his boy.
IMAGE CAPTION: Bagged deer at the check station
IMAGE CAPTION: Wildlife check station and convenience store
This is a really nice country store, housing a small restaurant, a wild life game check station, and a convenience store. The inside was quaint with wood floors and heavy wood old time shelving. It smelled good in there, but I was on a mission. Gas, photos...LOST ROADS!
IMAGE CAPTION: Old barn and weathered wood
Almost as soon as I round the corner and head toward Sneedville and the closest gas station (ten miles away) I find an old barn with great weathered wood to capture with the lens. It's not as dramatic in these photos as it should be...I was/am disappointed. I'm in Kyles Ford, TN.
IMAGE CAPTION: couldn't hit the broadside of a barn?
IMAGE CAPTION: barn door?
Oh, by the way...I had crossed over into TN about 1/8 mile before I found the wildlife check station. The name of the road changed to TN-33 South. I find the gas station, I've got 80 miles showing on the trip meter and the pump says I had .06 gas left. Whew...I love riding my little sporty with her 2.3 gallon tank! This store also served hot food. I pumped my gas, moved my bike and ordered a hamburger. Oh it was sooo good!
IMAGE CAPTION: 80 MILES DOWN WITH .06 AND FUMES LEFT TO GO.
I had found Sneedsville. As I rode into town on their main street, I stopped to photograph their court house. It's a stately structure for a town this size. I liked the architecture of the building.
IMAGE CAPTION: Court House in Sneedville
I found the jail museum easily enough, it is on Jail Street...the next block over. It was closed. What a bummer the sign says it's open 2 days a week (both of them weekdays. No weekends.) Oh, and once October is over, it's not open at all. If you want to visit, you must call for an appointment. OK, I should have read the fine print.
IMAGE CAPTION: Jail of Sneedville sign.
As I'm leaving town, I see this bright red structure with the quilt design on it. I like this design on this red building as a back drop for my bike...
IMAGE CAPTION: closed business, red background, and my Lil Girl
Leaving Sneedville on TN-33 you will cross over the Clinch River and come to a "T". Here if you turn right you will find yourself on TN-31 south. This road appears to have one very twisty section on it as you wind your way toward TN-11, it appears to be called "The Treadway". Makes it sound pretty good huh? I didn't go that way. I tipped my bike to the left and followed TN-66 south. I've been on the lower half of TN-66 and found it to be a lot of fun. I've been wanting to explore the upper part of 66 for almost 18 months. It's high time to do so. WHAT A GREAT TWISTY ROAD FOR EXPLORING!
I came across a few "CENTURY FARMS" At one, yes...I stopped to photograph a few out buildings.
IMAGE CAPTION: Century Farm Out Buildings
IMAGE CAPTION: Sign for the Century Farm
IMAGE CAPTION: More outbuildings
You'll find this farm at an area on TN-66 called Stony Gap. TN.-66 is a nice twisting road leading south to RT-11W and back home. It rises to the mountain tops a few times and descends into the valleys below. The sharp twists and turns will test the experienced rider as well as the new rider. It's a road worthy of seeing. Along the way, just before I turned off TN-66 I found this piece of property. It contained so many great shots, but there wasn't a safe place to pull off the road to capture them. I took the chance here after turning around and I got this great shot. Best one of the day I think!
IMAGE CAPTION: best shot of the day on TN. 66.It's early, I want to continue to explore new roads, so I turn off on Caney Creek Road. I didn't know where it would lead, how long it was, or what conditions I would find. As it turns out, it was rather tame and only lead me to TN-70. But I did find some cool things here!
IMAGE CAPTION: Roadside wonder...
IMAGE CAPTION: I'm a fan of Corvettes...
I soon found my way to TN-347 East. I cruised a few back roads, can't remember the names, and I found this great shot!
IMAGE CAPTION: Lost roads and forgotten cars
The rest of the the ride home is uneventful...when I rolled into my driveway, I had 173 miles racked up. It was another great day y'all!
Now, it's time for YOU to ride some LOST ROADS!
Till next time .... ride well, be well....
I am so envious of your adventures Chessie. I would love to just take off and see some of the things you stumble across. You always manage to find such great treasures in your travels. I really enjoy the pictures, and some of them are pretty amazing, but one stuck out in my head more than the others. I am a huge Coca Cola fan and in one of the pictures of hay bales, there is a real old Coca Cola machine in the background. It immediately caught my eye!
ReplyDeleteGreat photos, I love photos of old decaying farms, it's sad but also the reality of our times. High 40's? I assume you have heated gear. I also went out today, did over 250 miles for a Polar Bear ride, started low 40 and never touched 50, brrrr, it was cold.
ReplyDeleteMichael, I was wondering who would notice that Coke machine. It was for dispensing the glass bottles! Yes, I too enjoy finding these things!
ReplyDeleteGeorge, no...I don't have heated gear. I ride in layers. I was wearing a long sleeve T under a short sleeve T, with leather jacket on top. My jeans are normal jeans cuz the weather wasn't that cold for flannel. Then my chaps. My gloves are layered too. I was wearing cotton garden gloves 2 pair. I have a few pair of heavy riding gloves, but I really do hate them. Too constricting.
It never got above 54 degrees that day for me. But when I was in the sun it felt warmer and I truly enjoyed the entire day!
So you were riding a polar bear ride! So very cool!
Wow, you braver than me ;-) I know what you mean, my heavy duty gloves are too constricting too and also prevent me from feeling the heat from the heated grips :-) I do wear winter riding pants, not heated though.
ReplyDeleteFor me - the best photo is a toss up between the one with the bus and the one with the rusted car in the front. Love them!
ReplyDeleteChessie I love reading your posts, I cannot believe that there are so many wonderful old barns around there! Absolutely fantastic. You must make a heck of a lot of stops on a day's ride but it is so worth it, and those old vehicles......! The scenery is magic and your photos fully do justice to your wonderful riding area.
ReplyDeleteHey Chessie... that's not a Corvette. I believe it is a Kellison J-6 Panther which was a kit car built in the 1960's. I've only seen 1 in my life... where did you see this rare bird?
ReplyDeleteSwag, it sits on a hill on SR-70 Here is a link to where it sits.
ReplyDeletehttp://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=Sneedville,+TN&daddr=TN-70+S&hl=en&geocode=FZNmLQIdCzQK-ykJeVyhUAxbiDE3kpvN8_w9VA%3BFZnvKwIdnLUN-w&mra=dme&mrcr=0&mrsp=1&sz=14&sll=36.43178,-83.013725&sspn=0.03073,0.084543&ie=UTF8&t=h&z=14
Hey George, Heather and "The Rider"! Thank you all for coming, checking out the blog and photos! I'll tell ya the truth, when I ride 125 miles it often takes me 5 hours!
ReplyDeleteI stop a-lot!
Looking good, you did well in spite of your lack of sun. At least you have the sense to check your gas and be concerned. When Raptor and I went out once, he didn't even realize he was on reserve when we left... It took forever to find someone with a gallon to get us on the road.
ReplyDeleteThe truck with the deer in it takes me back a bit, too... it's been a while since I was out a-shootin'
Brady
Behind Bars - Motorcycles and Life