A Most Excellent Motorbike Vacation - STAR 2011 - Day 2

Day 2 - Sunday, June 26 - 91 miles

Abort! Abort! Abort!

After generous amounts of beer and wine last night (with dinner, of course), and staying up past my bedtime catching up with our buddy Jon aka "earthdude", I was surprised to awaken this morning as early as I did. But I knew the weather forecast was calling for a 30% chance of thunderstorms, so I wanted to get an early start to beat out at least most of the afternoon rains. A 150 to 200 mile day on twisty mountain roads was on tap, so we would be out there all day.

Shady Valley, TN is our venue today, a beautiful valley nestled in the mountains of East Tennessee near the Virginia state line. The roads to get into and out of the valley; Hwy's 421, 58 and 67 are curvaceous, off camber, challenging roads respectfully known to motorcyclists and sport car enthusiasts alike as "The Snake."

I woke up Roo, we geared up and went downstairs for breakfast. Body's fueled, maps in place - we're ready to go. The sun is shining as we mount up and roll out of the Holiday Inn parking lot. About 20 miles of open highway lies ahead of us before we come to the fanged, open mouth of the infamous "Snake", US Hwy 421.



Every motorcyclists dream sign
Welcome to The Snake - US Hwy 421

 This road is "Mr. Toads Wild ride" all over again. Climbing the mountainside we are presented with breathtaking scenery that could result in serious consequences should one partake of it for more than a split second. Twisting, turning, carving our way up and over the mountain, then descending, leaning the ST right and left into tight off camber curves marked with 15-20 MPH speed limits for mere mortals to adhere to. But the beaST handles them with aplomb until the "snake" spits us out into the valley and our first stop for the day at the Shady Valley Country Store.

With grins stuck to our faces, we pull off our helmets and recognize a BMW motorcycle parked next to us. It belongs to fellow MSTA member John (not to be confused with our Rhode Island Jon), whom we had met the previous night. We went inside, saw him there, and struck up a conversation. We all went outside to sit on the porch, and as we walked through the door the sight that confronted us was unnerving. Right above the mountain we had just rode down was the biggest, blackest storm front, engulfing the mountain and heading right for us. This thing looked like the blob with teeth, and it was moving fast. Where did this thing come from? The wind kicked up ferociously as the sunlight was eclipsed by this monster. Within minutes the rain was pelting our bikes at 45 degree angles as we gathered up our gear and ran inside. Lightning bolts were thrashing in a 360 degree panorama, as if Zeus himself were tossing each one from the heavens.

So we watched and waited it out. Forty - five minutes later the rain abated enough to where it was safe to continue. We donned our rain gear, and the three of us decided to scrub the original ride plans and head back to Johnson City. John, being a local, knew the way back via a shortcut and led us in. A short riding day today - 91 miles is barely a warmup for us - but it's best not to tempt Ma Nature when traveling on two wheels. Better to ride another day. Tomorrow promises better weather, and more surprises are in store........

Next up: The "Snake" revisited