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| Oct. 2010 | Newsletter of the Louisiana Chapter of the Motorcycle Sport Touring Association | P.1 |
Despite several of our members being spread around different parts of the USA we had a great lunch ride to our favorite Pigout BBQ in Natchez, MS. Tony and Lee are deployed to Texas and a couple others are on road trips to the Smokies dodging the leaf peepers. Still Dave and Dennis and Drew (the three D's?) were able to meet me and fellow Concours rider Paul Thibodeaux for some great riding and food, see story below. Our planned Halloween overnight trip to Vicksburg has not attracted any riders however so Stacie and I will carry on the tradition on our own. (story in next month's newsletter) We also have Drew's ride reoport of his trip to the Smokies on his BMW cruiser, thanks Drew!.
Our annual (since 1990) Louisiana Chapter weekend event, Cajun Christmas, is just around the corner. Registrations are trickling in from other states, including including a Indiana, Missouri and even California and Oregon! Still plenty of cabins available, reserve yours now! See full details below.
Later...
Bob
by Drew T. Newcomer
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It has been over 11 years since I viewed the mountains and rode the twisties in Tennessee and North Carolina. So, several months ago I decided it might be nice to take a fall ride to this part of the country. It is not really all that far and I always try and take a ride when the weather starts to cooperate to some place different. On the morning of October 2 I headed east on I-20 before the sun came up. North of Jackson I turned onto the Natchez Trace Parkway as daylight began to filter through the trees. Now, the "Trace" has a 50 mph speed limit but there is no commercial traffic and I was on the cruiser and wasn't in a hurry. I enjoyed the scenic ride, with very little traffic in either direction. After a pleasant ride for 100 miles or so, I turned east on MS 41 to Amory, MS where I refueled (no gasoline on the Trace!) and continued east on US 278 to Cullman, AL. A few miles east of Cullman, I found AL 69, which is a nice country road, to my stopping point at Guntersville. I had ridden 450 miles and was ready to stop - the temperature had warmed considerably by that time. I found a Best Western that had a restaurant and bar so figured I couldn't do much better than that. I checked in my room and watched LSU play Tennessee. I was very upset when LSU couldn't manage the clock and when the snap went right by the quarterback and LSU lost, I disgustedly turned off the tv and went to the bar. Surprise, surprise!!! By the time I got to the bar LSU had somehow won the game. I walked in and saw the fans in the stadium cheering like crazy and had to ask the guy at the end of the bar, "just what the hell happened?" He filled me in on the "too many defensive players on the field" phenomena and we watched the replay about a dozen times. I had a nice meal of tuna with a nice Riesling and rested very well. I left Guntersville on Sunday morning heading northeast on highway 79 which parallels Guntersville Lake. I continued northeast on US 72 north of Scottsboro and on into Tennessee. Now, the plan was to avoid Chattanooga and I certainly did that! I got lost somehow (and this is with map and GPS!!!) and certainly did avoid Chattanooga. Somehow I ended up on TN 28 to Powell's Crossroads where I headed north on 283 till I turned east on 111 that took me to US 27 which is where I was supposed to be anyway. 27 runs from southwest to northeast and I was headed in the right direction. And, all was not lost. My little detour proved to be quite scenic with plenty of twists and turns and ups and downs. I headed east on TN 68 a few miles south of Ten Mile, TN. 68 took me to US 411 and Madisonville, TN. Clouds were starting to gather at this point and I was concerned that I might encounter some rain, which was not supposed to be part of this vacation. I continued north on 411 through Maryville and on into Sevierville. In Sevierville, I turned south on US 441 and headed to Pigeon Forge, where my rental cabin awaited. Problem was the rain started to come down and I had been given the wrong directions for my cabin. After riding into the mountains in the rain and finally getting someone on the phone that told us (my friend Nancy was in a rental car, having flown into Knoxville) that we were in the wrong place!! So, after extracting the proper location we were able to find where we were actually going to spend the next six nights. I was glad to stop. It had not been that long of a day, mileage wise, but riding into a high traffic area in the rain and trying to find something that was not there had tried my patience. But, we did manage to reach our destination safely, so suppose I had nothing to complain or whine about. Woke up to continued rain on Monday so Nancy and I utilized her rental car to explore the area. Same thing happened on Tuesday. Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg is a very "touristy" area and traffic can be a nightmare. And, October is the most popular month. While the area is nice, souvenir shops and go cart tracks were not what brought us here. Sun dawned brilliantly on Wednesday morning. After breakfast and letting things warm up a little, it was time to ride. 321 took us south to Townsend, TN and Smoky Mountains National Park. Cades Cove is a historic area and we enjoyed the 11 mile loop that meanders through this historic place. From Cades Cove, TN 73 (very nice road for bikes!) took us back to 441 and Gatlinburg and on to Pigeon Forge. Thursday woke up like Tuesday and it was time to head to another area of the park. 441 heads southeast to Newfound Gap and Clingman's Dome, the highest point in Tennessee. We had dressed warmly and it was a good thing. Temperatures were very brisk at this elevation, but the ride and scenery did not disappoint. After stopping several times and climbing to the observation tower (it is a half mile walk up a steep grade which warmed us up considerably!!) we continued southeast to Cherokee, NC. I had visited Cherokee over 40 years ago, but can't say I remembered much about it. We visited the Cherokee Indian Museum and walked through town and noticed the economy was suffering as several "going out of business" signs were evident. We headed back over the mountain and enjoyed the view from a different perspective. Friday, the sun was out and calling. The plan was to "do the Dragon." We rode south to Townsend again and the Foothills Parkway. Fog did slow us down and hold us up. Foothills is like the Trace. No commercial traffic and no services. It is a beautiful ride, though, and well worth the effort. When we arrived at the intersection on 129, time had escaped from us and we turned north instead of south. We would have to slay the Dragon another time. North on 129 was most enjoyable. I had not been this route on my previous smoky mountain visit. It leisurely finds its way to Maryville where we turned back east to Townsend and 321 which took us back to our cabin. Saturday it was time to head home and Nancy had to be at the Knoxville airport for an 8am flight. I waited for the sun to come up and rode back to Townsend and Maryville where 411 now headed in a southwest direction back to Madisonville and 68 which now would take me to I-75. In an effort to knock down some miles, it would be an interstate trip home from here. I rode 75 to Chattanooga then I-24 through town to I-59 to Birmingham. As much as I enjoy riding motorcycles I absolutely HATE riding them on the interstate through large metropolitan areas and I was very glad to get Chattanooga and Birmingham behind me. After about 430 miles I stopped in Meridian for the night and enjoyed watching LSU defeat Florida in Gainesville. For those who have never visited and rode the Smoky Mountains I highly recommend it. However, be forewarned that the Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg area is very busy at times and if your visit is to enjoy the great motorcycling in this area you may want to consider lodging in Townsend, or Tallassee TN, or even Cherokee, NC. |
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by Dave Dickson
Dave has done his usual fine ride reporting work but since he and Dennis met Paul & I in Natchez I will just give a quick debriefing of our ride prior to that point:
October 16 I met Paul Thibodeaux, 2010 Concours 14 at McDonalds in St. Francisville. After a little McBreakfast and a wait to see if any stragglers would show, we rolled out US 61 to Angola Rd. and as far as Sligo Rd. We negotiated Sligo's narrow twisting pavement to Lake Rosmound, crossed 61 to Laurel Hill and continued the twisty & narrow thing on Cornor Road to Jackson-Woodwville Rd. Quickly through Woodville to marvelous MS 563 for the really good stuff and finally MS 33, Liberty Rd and John Quitman Parkway to the Pigout Inn near the banks of the Mississippi. We had to cope with voluminous Balloon Race traffic for the final few blocks, but not really bad. Amazingly we arrived at exactly the prescribed 11:30 am and ordered food without having t wait in line. Drew Newcomer was already seated and waiting for us, having arrived on his BMW from the north.
I'll let Dave tell the rest:
The October LAMSTA lunch ride to Natchez was all that the fall outing promised to be. Dennis and I met Bob Chappuis, Kawasaki Concours 14, Drew Newcomer, BMW R1150RT, and Paul Thibodeaux, Kawasaki Concours 14, in Natchez at the Pig Out Inn at 116 South Canal Street at 11:45 AM. We were 15 minutes late. It was 15 minutes of lost conversation I missed. I enjoy the company and camaraderie as much as the riding. Being late was due to my faulty random road planning.
No dirt roads. We started out from New Orleans with a serene and enjoyable Lake Pontchartrain crossing at an even 67 MPH. There were plenty of radar emitters on the 26 mile long Causeway keeping everyone at a legal speed. The water was dotted with guys who spent money on bait rather than riding gear. The cool, clear, utterly blue sky epitomizes the delight of October's weather, easily the best weather month in the entire year for south Louisiana.
On the north shore and clear of Covington, Dennis and I challenged the GPS to give us something interesting. I had programmed in the destination; then we would just head off in the general north and west direction to get us to Natchez. Mr. Zumo would recalculate and re-direct us. Then we would veer off on some other wee tree-canopied road. That was fun. We were on some farm/country roads that were 12 feet wide at best. Hills and sharp unmarked turns were included. Dennis was standing on the pegs "dirt-biking" of a couple of roads whose surface was questionable. We were both wearing big smiles as we rolled west on old Highway 84 into Natchez. Natchez, which for hundreds of years has been a pivotal river and land destination, with magnificent antebellum homes, graced with Southern charm and having a violently fascinating history often filled with exciting events.
Finally in old Natchez, with its safe from General Sherman architecture still intact, we made our way to the heart of downtown Canal Street stop sign by stop sign. The Pig Out Inn was the first destination Dennis had ridden this red BMW R1200RT a few years ago for another LAMSTA lunch ride. This time, however, we carefully backed into the parking spaces next to the familiar bikes of our buddies. The line for food was out the door. It was such a beautiful day that everybody in the county was out and about as well, as well an above average number of bikers. Adding to the crowd, were happy excited visitors to the balloon festival going on in Natchez. And that fact was surprising, upon recollection, as Natchez is hilly (?).!
The lined moved quickly and the food was really good. We did ride with Bob and Paul after the lunch of pulled pork and barbequed beans at the crowded, noisy Pig. The enigmatic GG [Drew? (Ed.)] was there and then gone. The man is a ghost, he writes often for the LAMSTA and you hear his name, then he is a memory. "I vant to be alone".
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NOVEMBER LUNCH RIDE DATE: SATURDAY NOVEMBER 20 WHERE: TBA MEET: TBA WHEN: TBA LUNCH: TBA I have a couple of ideas in mind but am leaving this ride as TBA and SOLICITING ROUTE AND LUNCH SUGGESTIONS. Got a favorite route or lunch spot? We would love to hear it! Just email me the details and I will publish on the website an email to all members. |
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CAJUN CHRISTMAS Répondez S'il Vous Plaît (RSVP/REGISTRATION FORM - Please REGISTER if you are coming!) |
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Information Sheet: Twentieth AnnualCAJUN CHRISTMAS 09 |
| We will have a catered catfish dinner Friday night at the park held in lodge #18.$11.00 Pre-Pay is REQUIRED for the catered meal. Tentative Menu includes fried catfish filets, french fries, cole slaw, dessert and ice tea. Saturday we will ride some of the best roads that Louisiana has to offer with a lunch stop at Grayson's BBQ in Clarence. Saturday night we will have our Christmas party and cookout at lodge #18. Hamburgers, Cajun Sausage, Hotdogs, and Gumbo and softdrinks will be served. BYOL or beer!. $11.00 per person to cover the Saturday night meal and are requesting pre-registration in order be sure to have enough food. The festivities will conclude with our traditional Cajun Gift exchange. For more details please visit the Cajun Christmas website |
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That's all for now. Keep riding and smiling....
Bob Chappuis, Editor [email: bob@this domain]
