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Stromette here reporting in after a few day absence. It seems a few of you really like this "Stromette
Travels" thing. I really don't understand the popularity coming from so many folks that are unrelated
to me! I mean, c'mon, you kinda expect the 83 year old Matriarch of the family to say “you're great,
can you write more” but I'm not accustomed to the same coming from strangers! Since I get quite a few
of the same questions from different people I'd like to encourage you to post questions for me or general
V-Strom inquiries right here. I've contemplated starting a separate “FAQ for Stromette” thread but
have been too busy, um, ah, RIDING! Also, if you have any suggestions toss them to me too. If you
haven't figured it out by now I need all the help I can get!
So, the last report was basically about seeing that monster sized catfish (of which was caught by a bluegill
as bait and not by some redneck sticking his arm underwater!) My Dad and I made it to Fall Creek Falls
State Park and spent Sunday hiking the rugged terrain and around the falls. It's said to be the highest
US waterfall (256') east of the Rockies. Here are a few pics of our day there:
(Webmaster Note: I have several more photos taken at Fall Creek Falls State Park on my web site at
This Link for those who might be interested.
My Dad makes a fairly good passenger though his getting on/off the bike needs some work. One particular
stop he decided to stand up on both pegs, swing one leg over and jump off like there was going to be dismounting
points issued. At 6'3 and 220lbs this dismounting dance almost had me and the Strom going down!
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Spent Sun pm and Mon (7/9 & 7/10) in Chattanooga, TN with the Matriarch of my family who is 83yrs old and sharper
than a tack. She is very supportive of me and particularly this National Park tour RTJohn and I are doing
(she's warming up to the Four Corner ride next month--"but do you have to do it all in less than 21 days?!"). On
Mon I had planned to go into northern Georgia and pick up the GA stamp. I wasn't able to persuade her to ride with
me so I drove her in her car so she, just like my Dad, could participate in a Stamping Expedition. We went just
20mi away to the “Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Battlefield Park” located in Fort Oglethorpe, GA. Since I
didn't have my bike, I took a picture of her. Besides, she's more important to me than any bike ever would be:
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The only thing to say about this battlefield is that it's huge and history just seeps from the trees that saturate
the park. We rode thru the entire park and saw the impressive Civil War markers. She really liked seeing
the doe and 2 very young fawns that scampered in front of us. I'll report that the horn of an STS is not nearly
impressive as my Strom's Stebel!
Apparently visiting the park and collecting the stamp really encouraged her to participate in the planning of my
upcoming travels to VT insofar as collecting stamps. I'm sure hearing the Ranger's comments about being
impressed with my Stamping goals influenced her too. At any rate, we spent Mon night planning and did so
with paper maps. I found that 83yr olds prefer outdated paper maps over, say, to a high tech GPS, the
Internet, programs like Streets & Trips, DeLorme Topo, etc., all of which were available in the room. After
our planning session I packed up and was ready to head out early the next morning (Tues) to ride the infamous
Deal's Gap, then head up to Knoxville area to see friends, then meet Stromtroopers on Wed AM to ride. I said
my good-bye's and went to sleep.
Tues AM I awakened to thunder outside and the Matriarch inside alerting me that it was down pouring and repeating
“I don't think you should ride today.” Not a good way to start a day, huh? Well, we watched the Weather
Channel forecast until I could repeat, on cue no less, exactly what Heather Tesch was saying about the rain. Heather
said the rain would end quickly but the Matriarch didn't agree (“she can't see the rain clouds and I can!”). I
guessed that the road would be saturated nonetheless. Having only ridden the Strom ONCE (& very briefly at that)
in rain I'd be hitting a challenging road that was now WET and doing so on a rear tire that was flat-spotted and
nearing the end of it's life. And I'd be doing it alone. So with safety in mind and sadness in heart, I
canceled my Deal's trip. The rain was in East TN and things looked clear elsewhere so, at the Matriarch's
urging, I took a day trip west of Choo-Choo town and went to get the Alabama stamp in Bridgeport, AL at Russell Cave
National Monument. By the time I was geared up and ready the rain had stopped and I never saw another drop all day.
My GPS is set to default my routes on “Medium” sized roads. To get to the AL stamp I changed it to “Minor” which
I've found in the boondocks can be the most scenic roads. The roads I took to get from TN to the AL stamp
definitely qualify as “minor.” (I wish there was a way I could reprogram the GPS to list these roads as
“Strom” roads!). I'd be willing to bet the local dept of transportation boys said many years ago “aw, to hell
with keeping this road up we all drive big trucks anyway” as big chunks of pavement were missing and gravel and stones
abound. It is places like this that the Strom really shines. I definitely wouldn't want to be on one of my
sportbikes on these roads!
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I arrived Russell Cave and walked into the Visitor Center to get the stamp. I was met by a Ranger who said
“Howdeee, welcome to Russell Cave... are you one of 'em Iron Azz people?” I laughed so hard I almost dropped
my helmet! Apparently another Iron Butt rider had been there last week and had explained the collecting of
stamps to the Ranger. Here are some of the pics en route to Russell Cave and at the Cave entrance itself:
(note the change in road condition just past the sign---the road is perfectly smooth, perfectly lined blacktop
then it becomes essentially junk. That's the AL/TN line. This is a great example of what I've experienced
in many places in several states...that Federal dollars make a big difference to county roads in nowhereville):
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I left Russell Cave and basically just rode the "Minor (aka "Strom") roads in TN that run near the AL line. The
weather (sans the humidity) and scenery was just superb. While at THE stop light of a one-red-light-town a pickup
truck pulled up beside me carrying a pair of young men who said “we seen ya back dar comin' out o' Blacksmith's Rd and
we wuz gonna race ya after we seen yur tag says you ain't from Tennysee. But then I seen it says yur a girl and
we both said we ain't racin' no girl who rode all de way frum Areezona. I said “you probably made a good choice
because not only did I ride from Arizona but I'm originally from Tennessee.” They started whooping and high-fiving
each other and then said: “You go girl!” I didn't catch their names but I'm thinking “Cooter” and “Cletus” would
have fit. Here are some pics from the day's ride:
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A view in front of me...
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..and from the same place behind me:
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I ended up back in Chattanooga in the late afternoon after covering about 250mi and going nowhere in particular
other than collecting the AL stamp. This type of riding, er exploring, is something I really enjoy. Having
a GPS is almost mandatory though unless you fond of asking Cletus and Cooter for help.
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This place doesn't have a National Park stamp but it gets a big stamp of approval from many, many people, huh?
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Let me tell you that there is no way possible to describe the smell as you ride past this place. WOW!
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I left Chattanooga early Wed AM so I could meet SmokyMtnVstrom around 8:30 in Maryville which was about 100mi
away. The fog riding up I-75 was quite thick and warnings were posted reflecting such. I definitely
feel safer riding with my auxiliary “Moto Lights” in conditions like this. Not so much for lighting my
path as for making me more visible to other vehicles. I decided to pull off at one of the exits and take
a picture of what the lights look like in thick fog. The pic doesn't reflect how thick the fog actually
was but you get the idea:
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I met SmokyMtnVStrom at the local Harley-Davidson parking lot off Hwy 321. I arrived early and while cleaning
my windscreen I watched the employees of the HD shop arrive for work. I was astounded that so few rode a bike
to work. A lost BMW LT rider (RTJohn would tell you that's an oxymoron) pulled off and asked me if I knew
where some road was located. I looked up the directions on my GPS and told him. I saw he had a TN tag
but apparently he didn't see my AZ plates.
Rode with SmokyMtnVStrom about 150mi then went back to my Dad's house in Nashville and ended a super 450mi day. I
had just taken my helmet off when RTJohn called. He had just arrived Paonia, CO for the “Top of the Rockies” BMW
rally after leaving the Boise, ID rally. Said he ran into a bad storm, nearly hit a bear, and saw both elk and
deer roadside. He reports he's slowly learning to use his new GPS and that Phoenix tech support has been very
helpful (thanks, Burk!). He has been busy getting stamps too. His route from Boise to CO included stamps
in OR, ID, MT, and WY. He will pick up both KS and MO en route to meet me this coming Monday evening in Louisville,
KY. When we meet we should both have 12 states total. Since we will collect the corner states (WA, ME, FL)
on our USA Four Corner ride next month that leaves us with needing 10 more states to satisfy the “25 different states”
requirement. Thanks to the paper maps and the Matriarch I now have a route for us leaving Louisville & going to
VT that includes bagging stamps in OH, WV, PA, and NY as well as keeping us off toll-roads, something RTJohn absolutely
detests. We will get the VT and NH stamp while at the rally then get MA, RI, NJ, MD, & VA, which would give us 26
total states. We both agreed that starting our Four Corner ride not needing any state stamps except the 3 corner
states (we already have CA) would be preferable; the idea of having to find a certain Visitor Center before it closes
that's in the middle of nowhere and to do so during pouring rain or who knows what conditions doesn't sound much fun,
huh? We're both wanting to still collect as many stamps as possible despite satisfying the minimum requirements.
I arrived back to Nashville to several packages waiting for me, of which I'll explain more later about 2 of them, but
one delivery was my new rear tire (thanks, SWMoto!). Tomorrow will be the day I take the wheel off and haul it
in to have the new tire mounted. If all goes well I'll be scuffing it in a bit on the Natchez Trace Parkway
late afternoon then riding with Stromtrooper SCraig on Sat.
I joked with RT that he jinxed my day at Deal's Gap w/rain since he has never ridden it and I'd be doing it without
him. Guess what's now on the list to do on our return jaunt from the VT rally? I've missed my riding partner
and am looking forward to meeting RT on Monday.
Chickamauga and Chattanooga NBP: http://www.nps.gov/chch/index.htm
Russell Cave NM: http://www.nps.gov/ruca/index.htm
Great Smoky Mountains NP: http://www.nps.gov/grsm/index.htm>
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