Man it is late in the year (this was weekend Oct 13), but the forecast is really nice, so Faye and I decided to take a weekend trip. As usual I get the map out and mentally draw a circle and look for good destinations, preferably someplace we haven’t been. That gets more difficult as time goes along because we’ve been doing this sort of thing for more than 30 years. I want good, twisty roads through a great landscape. Most of that is easterly or maybe northeasterly. Ah, the Cumberland Gap. I had read something recently, but not recalling very well I internet visited and there were enough interesting things for a weekend.

 

I mapped out a route (and trial rode some of it to make sure I knew where I was going). We started out at 10:00 am to avoid the coolest temperatures and therefore not have to carry as much gear. This is a major consideration since the Virago gets packed fully when Faye is with me.

 

I have a nice route that is all two lane, but I hop on I840 to 40 East to skip roads we’ve ridden before. Just past Lebanon we take the Linwood Road exit north to Hwy 141 and go east. 141 is a nice, narrow, rural, two lane, mostly smooth and lightly populated with traffic. There are more mail boxes than there used to be, so you can’t bomb full bore anymore, but, for the most part there’s little to worry about but local traffic (that might include farmers and tractors).

 

141 stays near I40 most of the time, so easterly progress is good. The only deviation is a bit of a dip south to Center Hill Dam and lake. Following the Caney Fork River up toward the dam, the road is rough because parts of it slid into the river and the temporary patch work is rough. Otherwise the road is smooth and predictable.

 

141 ends at Hwy 56. Hwy 56 travels on 40 for a few miles, but you can avoid that by taking a right and a quick left at the first gas station. The road isn’t marked, but it is Old Baxter Road which is really old Hwy 56. Take this road and in a few miles you are on today’s Hwy 56 headed north.

 

Hwy 56 is a good smooth road with wide shoulders. Not a great motorcycle road, but certainly more fun than an interstate. It does have some character and is enjoyable up to the intersection with Hwy 53.

 

Hwy 53 north is a bit more like it. A little narrower with rolling hills and sweeping curves. A fun road. It turns into Hwy 61 in Kentucky. More of the same type of road. Enjoyable. In Burkesville, we head east on Hwy 90.

 

Hwy. 90 is more rolling landscape with fewer distractions and can be pretty quick if you want it to be. Signage is poor at Hwy 127. Take a right for about ¼ mile and 90 continues on the left.

 

At Monticello we took Hwy 92 east. This could have been easier if I’d known to take main street toward downtown and hit 92 quicker.  I guess if you always knew, it would take some of the adventure out of it.

 

92 is much more interesting as we really got into the foothills. A nice, challenging road with good climbs, drops and swoops. The surface is all good, but there are some spots with dirt/sand that has washed into corners. It was a good ol’ time all the way to 25E where we headed south to our room in Middlesboro.

 

Just past Middlesboro is the long tunnel under the mountain, with Tennessee and Virginia on the other side. You may have to go there for your favorite beverages and Middlesboro does not have all the favorites.

 

Next day was for exploring so we headed north on 25E and went east on 119. Interesting landscape. Lots of climbs, with slower traffic, but almost always a slow lane for slower traffic. Here is where I observed two types of local traffic: 1) Not in a hurry and 2) Knows their own roads and goes fast. Fast traffic was often a Nissan Titan pulling a trailer with four wheelers and maybe a deer or two. On this road you can let them by if you want or go with the flow.

 

At Harlan we caught 421 north. This is a real mountain road. The Virago eats this stuff up. Big torque means great climbing.  At 221 we headed west. This is a true local road with only locals. There is one large coal operation, but the coal is loaded onto rail cars, so no coal trucks to contend with. Interesting but not nearly like 421. So, back to 25E and Middlesboro.

 

The park entrance is right at the entrance to the tunnel. There is a very steep climb up to an observation area that lets you look out over three states. This is a great place to take some pictures.

 

Next day, time to go home. Our hotel is on Hwy 74 which meanders down into Tennessee, so it is an easy start. After several miles, we are engulfed by the mountains. No mail boxes, a little traffic.

 

This is a coal road. Very little else going on. Occasionally we encountered a tractor trailer loaded with coal either creeping down a ridge to the road or already on the road. This is a mountain road with a lot of switchbacks. You have to remember that a tractor trailer, even with a relatively short trailer, needs the whole road. The road is pretty good, paved all the way through (I thought it might turn into gravel). There is heavy dust and leaves in places. This could be a little difficult if wet, but it was dry all the way through.

 

In Tennessee the road turns in to Hwy 90 just after dropping out of the mountain. A good clean interesting two lane … except for one spot. It was heavily shaded and two enormous swoops in the pavement bottomed us hard. To the Virago’s credit, it didn’t flinch, but we very nearly got spinal compression from the impact. The damaged road was not marked with any kind of warning and with the shade I never saw the swoops.

 

Beyond that, 90 was a lot of fun all the way to 25W. We did have some fast local traffic to contend with and, after the swoops, I laid back some and let the locals by.

 

25W north to 297 in Jellico is a nice ride too. 297 south is out of the mountains and into the foothills, but still nice. We headed west on Hwy 63 and more of the same. We took 27 south to 62 and kept westerly toward the house.

 

At Monterey we ate at a nice, old fashioned Dairy Queen and then blasted on home on I40.

 

650 miles total and a lot of fun. Everything was perfect except for two major and unexpected swoops in the road. Not so bad overall.