On the Road with TNT,

[Chucksklrst]

Day One, From Aurora to Woodward Oklahoma. Ugh,
What can I say. Almost 500 miles of nothing but flat, wind, Cold and then Hot, Did I say wind? And more wind. I am stopped for the night at Woodward OK as I am a bit tired and I also built in two days to get to Fred D's place. 466 miles today. Not that much but I took my time today fighting the wind.

Woke up at 12:30 am to one of the loudest thunder claps that I have ever heard, and then torrential down pour of rain. Great ,this bodes well for my leaving at 6am in the morning. O well, rolled over and went back to sleep. Got up at about 05:00 and was on the road at 0630. Luckily no rain just 34 degrees and cloudy over cast with falling mist. Had this all the way to Limon and then the skies started to clear up. Wind from the north and a bit chilly. Good thing I was wearing my heated gear. By the time I got to Dodge City, Kansas the sun was out and very bright and the temps were warming up quit nicely, Except still had the wind. Was delayed in Dodge City by a train that was shuffling train cars around and blocking the two RR crossings. This took about an hour so I parked the bike and had lunch instead.

Onward to Oklahoma. Again nothing very exciting except more wind and the temps were rising nearing the uncomfortable level. Got into Woodward around 4pm Colorado time and decided I wanted to stop and not push into Fred’s place tonight. Besides, it would be after 7pm by the time I got there. I might have gotten Fred out of bed. .........................Stay tuned for tomorrows episode.

 

[RedNigel]

OK will get better as you get closer to Arkansas

 

[Chucksklrst]

PS: I forgot to mention that, as I pulled into Subway for Lunch at Dodge City another NT pulled into to lot also. The rider was from Dodge City and said I was the first NT he had seen in the wild, ever. He bought his in Hutchinson Kansas. No he is not a computer guy and not on the Forum. I gave him as much info as I could but not sure if he will remember. There are more NT's out there then we think.

 

[Phil Tarman]

Hope you manage to dodge the really bad weather as you move on east, Chuck! Have fun.

 

[bicyclist]

leaving at 6am in the morning

I have a highly technical question, Chuck. Is 6am any time other than in the morning?:tongue:

Saw some weather reports of impending snow. Hope ya gotcher snowshoes.

 

[Chucksklrst]

I have a highly technical question, Chuck. Is 6am any time other than in the morning?:tongue:

Saw some weather reports of impending snow. Hope ya gotcher snowshoes.

Not to worry about the snow as I am in Harrah OK until Sunday morning at my good friend Fred D's. place for a Meet and Eat/ Maint session of the ST1300. Then I will be head to Little Rock AF Base to meet up with Rick. We had a bit too much home made beer to be able to write a second day trip report tonight. So it will have to be in the morning.
See you all at TNT.

 

[Chucksklrst]

TNT Day Two

Left out of Woodward about 0700 Okie time and headed to Fred?s Place. The ride was going to be a short one today. Only 160 miles or so. Fred had told me about little State park that I should ride through as it had a couple of twist and turns in the road. Hey in north west Oklahoma you take advantage of any twists in the road on a motorcycle. So my route turned out to be a bit longer as I detoured to ride thru Roman Nose Stated Park. Was told that the Plains Indian tribes (Cheyenne Tribes) would gather there for Oklahoma Indian STOC back in the early 1800s. Any way it was a nice detour which added about 40 or so extra miles to the trip. The rest of the ride was uneventful until I got into the city proper of OK City. Trying to find a way to skirt the north side of the city and stay off freeways and head east to Harrah. Traffic became quite a bit more pronounced letting me know there really are a lot of people in Okalahoma (Just kidding). Pull in to Fred?s oasis on the planes. Around 11:30am Just as the day time temps started to rise. Fooled around and got comfortable and spend the rest of the day and half the night sitting under the trees drinking Fred?s home made Hard Lemonade, discussing / solving the world problems with Fred. It don?t get much better than that. Sitting around with good friends and discussing Motorcycles, Wifes and other STuff.

However, before we started with the Lemonade, Fred let me drive his Miata. What a blast. Almost makes me want to get rid of a couple of bikes and try and stuff a MX-5 into my garage. Anyway off to bed need to get some sleep and help get ready for tomorrow Meet and greet.

 

[Chucksklrst]

TNT Day Three

Today was a down day for riding. The bike went only to the gas station and back. A total of three miles. The spot never was turned on and I help Fred get ready for his great Meet and Eat. Really, I just watched and stay out of his way. Got to see old faces (some real old faces). Some new faces and I finally got to meet the ST Legend Fred was telling me about. Got to show off the little ST700 and explain it virtues and short comings. Stayed away from Fred’s Hard Lemonade today. (Had too much last night)

Thank you again Oklahoma ST group. You guys are the best. Many big thanks to Donna and Fred Adkins for putting me up for two nights and feeding me. Tomorrow Fred is going to ride part way to the Arkansas state line. Will be meeting up with a NT rider friend of mine ( Rick/ Falcon AF) for the rest of the trip to Pigeon Forge. Going to be stopping at Little Rock AF Base tomorrow night. See you then

 

[banjoboy]

Chuck, thank you for your ride report and pictures. I just saw your pictures of Roman Nose State Park in Oklahoma, a place I went as a boy 50 years ago. Funny what pictures bring up.

terry

 

[Chucksklrst]

TNT Day Five

Spending the night in Little Rock AR, was a bit uneventful. Left the Best Western about 06:15 and headed out. Skies were cloudy and it was questionable if it was going to rain on us our not. I decided I did not want to ride Freeway to Memphis, so we took Highway 70 that parallels I-40. I have the time, as my trip plan was to do just under 400 miles a day and take it easy along the secondary roads. Today’s goal was to get to Huntsville Ala. As I said in my last post, I want to visit Red Stone Arsenal, as I was there 45 years ago as a young soldier.

After about 100 miles of secondary road riding along the swamps, and the hitting every little town and police force along the way, we decided to get back on the freeway for the run through Memphis. Glad I had the GPS to guide us through the Interstate exchanges, as they can be confusing at times when surrounded by 18 wheelers. The Zumo 550 let me know what the proper lane was for smooth navigation through the maze of morning commuters, and 18 wheel monsters. Also it looked like it wanted to rain on us and I wanted to get through the city before the rains. I did want to get a picture of the Mississippi river as we crossed over the bridge into Memphis, but the flow of traffic just carried us along at a good clip. So no pictures of the Mighty Mississp.. From Tenn. we dropped down into Mississippi along route 72. Highway 72 is a nice smooth ribbon of 4 lane that runs along the northern edge of Mississippi into Alabama. Great road that runs all the way into Decatur Alabama.

Some where along the way we stopped for gas and I went to open up the right pannier lid and the lid catch broke. Unable to get the lid to close securely. Now what to do? Rick has some good old duct tape and that secured the lid until we got into Huntsville. There I found a Wallmart and bought a luggage strap and strapped the lid closed. All is fine.

Any way after that minor set back we found Redstone Arsenal and both Rick and I showed our Retired Military ID and entered the main gate. Rick kept asking me if I remembered any thing . I can’t remember what I had for breakfast how am I going to remember 45 years ago. However, it is amazing what the mind can do. Lots of memories of back then started to come back. Just not the ones I was looking for, Like where my old Nike Hercules School house and my Quonset Hut barracks area. Poor Rick, I rode around the Post making U turns, winding up in the back of the now defunct ammunition storage area, making more U turns. Trying to remember a place the did not resemble my memories of 45 years ago. Rick never fussed at me and he did let me indulge in a futile attempt of bringing the past back to the present, never once complaining.

Well, after about two hours of U turns, and “I think it is over here” I stumbled upon the old Nike Hercules Missle assembly hangers where I went to school. The Classroom buildings of past had all been taken down and new buildings stood in there places, but the hangers were still there. I also did find the ground that Quonset Hut Village ( My old Barracks ) once stood. Now a new fancy, guarded, gated, and no pictures allowed, facility covers that hallow ground.
It is true what they say “ You can never go Home again” So we stopped at the Post Burger King , had a bite to eat and headed to the Motel 6 about 9 miles away. After fighting the Huntsville Rush Hour traffic getting to the motel we called it a day. Got a good nights sleep for the next days adventures.

 

[Comanche]

Thanx for this, Chuck. Very enjoyable.

I have a sister living in Huntsville. Her husband is retired Army. He was part of the Patriot missle program. When he retired, he just took off his uniform and the next came back to work in civilian clothes working for Georgia Tech.

I also recognize the photo of the missle as taken from the slab in front of the Arsenal.

Keep the reports coming.

 

[Phil Tarman]

Sounds like you guys have missed the bad weather. Keep that up!

 

[wphillips007]

Rick, I love your observations! You missed your calling as a stand up comedian!

 

[Woodaddict]

must be those Tom-Tom units, I had one, got some of those same miss-directions. Switched to Garmin, seems better

 

[Chucksklrst]

TNT Day Six

O6:30 and Huntsville is fading away in the rear view mirror. We left the Motel at 06:00 to try and beat the morning rush hour. After experiencing the evening Rush Hour the night before, sure did not want to deal with it in the morning. Near 80 miles later we stopped for gas and Breakfast at a Micky Dees and was mistaken for being motorcycle cops by one of the locals. He wanted us to go stop traffic on a divided highway so the Mc Donald’s 18 wheeler could back out of the parking lot. Not on your life. Enjoyed our coffee and a McGriddle and motored on to Alabama 72 which took us back into Tennessee on to I-24. A few mins. later we were into Georgia and in about 15 min back into Tennessee again, through Chattanooga. After dodging the 18 Wheel Monsters again we exit Chattanooga on to I -75. North to Cleveland and finally back off the freeway. I really don’t like riding freeways if I can help it. And I know that on the way home from TNT I will be running 1500 miles of freeway. Ugh, ugh. Anyway we jumped off the freeway at Cleveland onto 64,411, and then on a wonderful little twisty, up, down ,and a round country road. 310,39, into Tellico Plains.

I am leading on this little country road with my music playing in my ear and just enjoying the calmness and solitude that only a narrow gentle twisty road can bring. As I round the bend I see a motorcycle rider ahead of me. Apparently the rider is going a bit slow as it was only a few min. before we caught up and settled in behind. The road did not allow for passing so I was just content following this rider for the next 16 miles into Tellico Plains. As I pilot my NT along I am studying the rider’s cornering technique ahead. It finally dawns on me this rider, ahead of me, has the physique of a female and the bike is a small type sport bike. Her dark hair is flowing in the wind from under her helmet and her posture on the bike was…… well I digress here. Rounding the next curve the little sport bikes brake lights come on and the rear tire locks and skids. O crap I haul down on the NT’s brakes, being careful not to lock my brakes as I do not have ABS, and look for some stopping space. Hoping Rick is not to close behind me. Everybody comes to a stop OK. Ahead of us and around the bend is some kind construction operation, which from my stopping point I can not see. About 8 or 9 cars are lined up waiting. In the ensuing wait the young lady rider and I strike up a conversation on proper braking technique and what to do when the rear wheel is locked up. She was only 20 years old and had been riding for a bout a year. Could have been my grand daughter. Anyway she sauntered up to the stop sign holder and found out about a small single lane road thought the woods to detour the stoppage.

Rick’s and my plan was ride into Tellico Plains and pick up the Cherohala Sky Way , 165, over to Robbinsville and then ride up 129/115, The Dragon. So off we all go through the woods on this little one lane, half /*** paved road, on the detour, following the little sport bike. It winds around, up, down and over the creek a few times. A 25 mph ride through the humid forest of North Carolina. We emerged onto our original route about 6 mile from TP. Still following this young lady rider. Ahhhhhhh………. To be 40 years younger. Pulled off the road into Tellico Plains so Rick could get his camera ready for the Cherohala Sky Way ride. That was the last I saw of young lady rider.

I put Rick in front of me as I have ridden the Cherohala a few time in my motorcycle career. I have all the pictures that I need, so being it is Rick’s first time here, he needed to lead and stop for is photo ops as he feels necessary. It was a fun and spirited ride. I think Rick got into the riding and forgot about the pictures as we only stopped once on the Skyway. After a bunch of peg scrapping and a lot of smiles we arrive at Robbinsville. Time for lunch, re-hydration and collection of our wits to get ready for the Dragon. Heading out to slay the
Dragon it starts to sprinkle as we are following a rain squall. The road up to the starting point was fairly dry but the actual 11 miles of the dragon the road was wet and the painted lines were slick. Rick to a conservative pace and I followed with out any disagreement. I , again, have ridden this section of road a few time in the past , so Rick leads, so to get his pictures. Nice ride. Would have been better if the road was dry. Rick got his pictures of the Tree of Shame and did the tourist thing . We slayed the dragon , albeit, at a slower pace. Riding down the other side on Tennessee 115, the road dried up and the curves turned into higher speed sweepers. Some more fun smiles. On into Maryville and then some more rain on twisty 321 into Pigeon Forge. Got to the motel before it started the real raining.

 

[Phil Tarman]

By golly, those two bikes sure look familiar. So do the places. Wish I was there. :-(

 

[wphillips007]

What?? - only one picture of the young miss................

 

[WVRider]

Thanks for the report and pics. Anxious to get down there.

 

[KMGuy]

Day One, From Aurora to Woodward Oklahoma. Ugh,
What can I say. Almost 500 miles of nothing but flat, wind, Cold and then Hot, Did I say wind? And more wind. I am stopped for the night at Woodward OK as I am a bit tired and I also built in two days to get to Fred D's place. 466 miles today. Not that much but I took my time today fighting the wind.

Woke up at 12:30 am to one of the loudest thunder claps that I have ever heard, and then torrential down pour of rain. Great ,this bodes well for my leaving at 6am in the morning. O well, rolled over and went back to sleep. Got up at about 05:00 and was on the road at 0630. Luckily no rain just 34 degrees and cloudy over cast with falling mist. Had this all the way to Limon and then the skies started to clear up. Wind from the north and a bit chilly. Good thing I was wearing my heated gear. By the time I got to Dodge City, Kansas the sun was out and very bright and the temps were warming up quit nicely, Except still had the wind. Was delayed in Dodge City by a train that was shuffling train cars around and blocking the two RR crossings. This took about an hour so I parked the bike and had lunch instead.

Onward to Oklahoma. Again nothing very exciting except more wind and the temps were rising nearing the uncomfortable level. Got into Woodward around 4pm Colorado time and decided I wanted to stop and not push into Fred?s place tonight. Besides, it would be after 7pm by the time I got there. I might have gotten Fred out of bed. .........................Stay tuned for tomorrows episode.

Growing up in Arkansas and living in Aurora now myself, I've done that drive in a car. I spent a lifetime in Kansas one afternoon. I usually do it at night and if we push hard we can be into OK by the time the sun comes up. Not sure if I'd want to do that at night on a bike though.

 

[Phil Tarman]

I have ridden from Fort Morgan to Paris, Texas, almost entirely at night. It was in January and it got dark about the time I passed Colby. It rained on me when I was on the turnpike NE of Tulsa and got light just as I got to Paris. I enjoyed the trip.