Central Time

Pictures are up!

That’s right, I’ve gained an hour. Slow and steady progress towards the west. The Smokey Mountains? Been there, done that. They sure are beautiful though, check them out:

In the past few days I’ve experienced more than I may be able to convey. I’ve been in the worst situations but also met the kindest people. I’ve been rained on but also sweated profusely in the Tennessee humidity. I’ve pedaled up mountains and traversed a plateau. There have been more flat tires, some which came at the worst of times. All this amounts to a few stories worth remembering though, so here it goes:

Day 19, part II:

The unexplained picture – Music on the Square. I got a full dose of country music and fiddle playing, and they even announced my presence at the end (yes, the town is that small). I met some more great people, and got a good night’s sleep in a comfortable bed. Of all the towns I’ve been through, I definitely liked Jonesborough the most. They even had a farmer’s market in the morning.

Day 20:

The rumors are true – Tennessee is hot, humid, and home to a few disgruntled redneck farmers. Of all the stories I could tell, this one is probably the most interesting...

Being that I concocted this route myself, I knew that there was going to be at least one section that took me the wrong way. What I didn’t expect was to get be terribly lost far from any road, in the middle of nowhere.

That’s right. It all started innocently enough, I bore right at a fork instead of the left that I was supposed to take. When I realized it, I booted up the GPS and plotted a way back on course. But what ended up happening was that my detour turned into a seasonal road, which turned into a gutted out gravel road, which turned into a river leading into a briar patch surrounded by barb wire. Mind you, this was all while being chased by two dogs.

Now if you don’t know, the internet defines briar patch as: “A thicket formed by any of a number of unrelated thorny plants.” Emphasis on THORNY PLANTS.

So my options were:
1. Retrace my path two miles up the hill, where I left the dogs
2. Hop over the barb wire, and plow my way through the briar patch until I found a road

…Guess which one I chose?

About a half mile later I had worked my way up a hill covered in pickers, dodging a river and managing to not alert anyone that I was blatantly trespassing. I finally got to the other end of the fence, and saw a house lying on the other side. Needless to say, I carefully navigated my way over the barb wire (bike trailer and all)...at which time a dog started barking and a pickup truck come speeding towards me.

I flew back on my bike, rode as fast as I could towards what I thought was a road, and just when I could taste freedom I ran into more barbed wire and was cut off by a redneck farmer screaming at me. Now it should be a given that by this point I was freaking out, but just in case you haven’t gathered that yet...I WAS FREAKING OUT.

I explained the situation to the farmer, who ordered me to wait while he checked if I damaged his fence. A few tense minutes later, he came back to tell me everything looked fine, and I needed to get lost. I apologized vigerously, he gave me directions of his land, and I was finally back on course.

The damage? My legs looked like they were going to fall off, I had two flat tires (pickers and tires do not get along), and I lost my ipod, my rear fender, and my dignity. Alas, I rode on.

Quite a few miles later I got to the Greenbriar Island Campground, about ten miles out of the Smokey Mountain National Park. It was a really beautiful lot, and I met a very nice family who invited me in for the night.

Their first words to me? “You hungry...we’ve got extras!” Yes please.

After a delicious dinner of chicken, beans, bread, beef, macaroni and cheese, and cake, I washed up and relaxed for the evening. This is also a first – they had a spare tent set up for me. Thanks for the accommodations, the food, and the company!

Here they all are:

Miles covered: 65

--

Day 21:

I planned today to be a little easy. 35 miles up to Cades Cove in the park, then camp out for the night. I had no problem with sleeping in, and when it started to rain, I waited it out and stayed nice and dry. I even ate an awesome breakfast with everyone that I stayed the night with – eggs, bacon, pancakes, biscuits - the works.

When I finally grabbed the bike to go, I was greeted by a (at this point, not so unexpected) surprise. My trailer tire was flat...I’ll blame it on the briar patch.

Once I got the tire up and running, I rode in to Gatlinburg (the ultimate tourist trap) and picked up a few supplies. Then I finally entered the park. The ride turned out to be pretty easy, lots of downhill until the end, and a nice scenic 11 mile loop touring the mountains. Here's a glimpse of the treck:

I stopped for lunch halfway into the ride and sat down with a few people who were eating a certified southern picnic (which they generously shared with me). Pork rinds, watermelon, some sort of baked peanuts, and pineapple.

Here's the food and the company:

Once I got into the Cades Cove area, I got one of the greatest gifts of the whole trip. Remember how I unfortunately lost my ipod? Well a family that I briefly spoke with in Gatlinburg ran into me again up in Cades Cove, flagged me down, and gave me another one. Now it may or may not be filled with country music, but I’m still blown away over the fact that they would give such a great gift to a stranger.

That incredible event was followed by meeting a wonderful family in the campground who let me stay with them for the night. I got the hammock set up, and sat down with them for a nice hamburger and bean dinner (with more cake for dessert). Thanks again everyone for the generosity, it was great to meet you all!

And here’s a picture:

Miles covered: 40

--

Day 22:

After a wholesome breakfast of oatmeal and cereal, my route out of the mountains took me on a road called Parsons Branch, which was a really crazy but awesome ride. Eight miles long, four miles up the mountain pass and four miles back down. The pass? Over 1,000 feet of elevation gain..on a one-way seasonal road. That’s about as much mountain biking as you can do with a trailer.

Casualities? Blew out my IT band in my left knee, and popped my front tire (definitely should have lowered the pressure...)

Parsons Branch dumpted me out on what is called the “Dragon,” a winding road notorious for motorcycles, beautiful scenery, and accidents. Luckily it was pretty empty when I was on it...

With no more spare tubes and not a bike shop in sight, I held my breath the rest of the day, hoping that my tires would hold up. Just my luck, the rear ran over some glass and I got a flat. Luckily I was able to patch it up and carry on for a few more miles.

I found a very nice campground to spend the night in, and met another great family that fed me dinner. All in all, lots of easy riding, and not a very eventful day...which right now, is alright with me.

Oh, right, here's more mountains:

And..wait..is that...BEARS!

Miles covered: 90 (the most so far!)

--

Day 23:

No flats yet! I did get rained on all morning though...

The worst thing about the 100% Tennessee humidity? Once something gets wet, it stays wet. My feet are feeling that one.

I got a wonderful breakfast cooked for me at the campsite this morning by a guy named David, and kick-started the day in style.

I went through a very quaint town called Spring City about 15 miles into the ride, and met a bunch of nice, helpful people. In a conversation about being chased by dogs, one guy even drove out to his office and picked me up two cans of dog spray. So now I can at least ride with a small degree of security.

Right now I’m camped out in Crossville, Tennessee. I’ve gone 40 miles so far, and hopefully have a few more done before the day is over. When I rolled into town I was relieved to find out that the central time zone granted me one hour, so I had a nice lunch, jimmy-rigged a new fender to the bike (think the "open house" sign days, but new and improved), and headed for the library.

Here's some other cool stuff I saw:

Best be getting back to it though, wish me luck...