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Post by skuuter on Nov 16, 2006 19:16:55 GMT -5
THIS is my Wife's All-Time Favorite Post at RUCKUS CENTRAL, and a Really Great Ride we took...I moved the Posts over here because She and Others always seem to feel this kind of sums up Scooter/Motorcycle Riding for a lot of Folks, and what started the Long Distance Ruckus Group Rides...no Pics because this was waaaaay back before I knew how to post em'... ...ENJOY.........We left Dock's Motel into the Smokey Mtn. National Park, turning right for a beautiful 8 mile, 30mph speed limit beautiful ride to Cades Cove. Cades Cove is an 11 mile scenic loop of paved and gravel roads. It meanders through a valley surrounded by mountains. Old settler homes, churches, and barns are still sitting in their original locations with the family names and bits of history featured at the locations. An old original cemetary with unbelievably old headstone dates sits beside a church. Bear, deer, coyotes, rabbit, squirrel, etc. roam free here and most, if not all can usually be seen on a daily basis. They have bicycle only days in the Cove also, but usually there is a steady stream of cars, trucks, motorcycles, bicycles, and on this day two little Ruckus scooters. The roads carry a 15mph speed limit. We followed the "normal" road for a little over 6 miles before coming to the road my wife has been longing to take for some time. The sign at the right turn-off read...Rich Mountain Road. This road is 7 miles of gravel, rock, dirt, mud, and on this particular day, colorful leaves...both on the ground as well as on the trees. Tennessee Fall at it's beautiful finest. Having years of dirt bike experience, I wasn't worried, but had wonderings if this would be to my wife's liking. In we went, passing a guy on a mountain bike about a 1/4 mile in. I kept looking back in the mirrors, making sure the wife was taking the maneuvers I was laying out as I missed large rocks' puddles' limbs' etc. We finally took our first sight-seeing break at an overlook that is pictured on many Smokies post cards......
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Post by skuuter on Nov 16, 2006 19:45:38 GMT -5
PART 2.....Always wondered where that scene is shot from...now in all it's splender, we knew. I stopped wondering about the wife's dirt / gravel prowess also at this moment. Ear to ear grin and the "I'm having fun" quote settled my feelings once and for all. Standing on the tree-lined cliff we were looking down into the Cades Cove valley at the little white church and steeple surrounded by Fall colored mountains and green meadows. Nature in every direction. We were sharing the view with a photographer as the bicycle rider we passed earlier peddled by. Well, on with the helmets, sips of water, on with the gloves, and back on our way. The Rucks gingerly bounced along absorbing every irregularity the sparsley maintained road could throw at them. Lack of suspension travel not hampering the grin factor in any way. Never an anxious moment. I was becoming more pleased with the little Ruck than I ever had been. Our next stop was a photo shoot moment. The road took another exceptionally scenic 90 degree right turn with an abrupt steep climb. The sun sifted through color lined trees, highlighting mother natures canvas even more. The wife took a shot of me about 1/3 of the way up the climb. My shot of the wife was taken from the flat, through the trees as the little yellow Ruckus sprinted her to the top of the climb. Having caught and passed him earlier again, the bicycle rider peddled by again, waving as he went. Over the leaves covering the road the little Rucks swished, the sound almost drowning out the sound of the stock mufflers. Five mile mark...two to go, or so we thought...........
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Post by skuuter on Nov 16, 2006 20:12:37 GMT -5
PART 3.....We had to this point went up and down hills, peaks, and climbs, but in the overall we had been climbing to the peak of Rich Mountain. Passing the bicycle rider again on the climb, we verbally spoke to each other this time. The Fall air and Rich Mountain Road had made us unintroduced friends. Friends with a common goal....enjoying the rugged road in a way only experienced by 2-wheel travelers. Whether powered by human legs or a little 49cc Honda engine, the feeling is still derived from a freedom not experienced with 4 wheels and vehicle enclosure.This would be the last time we would pass our Klein mounted friend. As we crested the mountain and started down the decent, here he came again, this time with a speed and talent that would go unchallenged by the little Rucks. Having raced bicycles in my more youthful days, my 30 second brain scan of his technique told me immediately that he had raced many times before coming to the mountain this particular day. Pure high speed art form...gotta' love it !!! We started encountering lots of water run-off and deeper puddling now. We trucked on until we came to a sign saying 2-way traffic on the barely car-width road. This might get interesting.......
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Post by skuuter on Nov 16, 2006 20:38:34 GMT -5
PART 4..... I hand signal my wife to stay single file and to the right as our first grill-coming-at-us car met us in a right hander. My immediate thought was...where does everyone go if it's two cars instead of a car and shoulder-width scooters One half mile(my odometer showed 7.4 miles since the Rich Mountain Road quest started) later and we went onto pavement...not one inch wider, just paved. The road started to twist into a spaghetti bowl of right and left hand higher speed curves, weaving in and out of shadows and sun-lit patches of fairly new sticky asphalt. If it were summer on this day you could really run some speed on this extremely inviting road. Taking in the narrowness, and the leaves strewn on the road, I thought better of it. Mr. Road Race Ruckus will have to wait for another day for his spirited fun. We wound by beautiful cabin-style homes built virtually against the road....not a lot of space between the road and mountain bluffs. After a 12 mile total ride since turning out of Cades Cove, we came into Tuckaleechee Valley...home to Tuckaleechee Caverns...another must-see if you are a closet-speelunker. A very good tour. This valley also contains beautiful scenery made up of rolling farmlands and horse stables. We rode until we came to highway 321, turning right again , we were on our way back to where we really call home....Docks Motel in Townsend, Tn. .............
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Post by skuuter on Nov 16, 2006 21:04:15 GMT -5
PART 5....Arrived back at Docks and ate a lunch of hamburgers reheated from their prime condition the night before. We were joined by our close friends, the owners of Docks. I proceeded to load my white 06 Ruckus for the trailer ride home. We were leaving the yellow 04 in Townsend. It has taken up permanent residence and recieving lots of love and tender caring from it's new female owner. It gets to live at Docks......terrible to be jealous of a lucky scooter. Oh well, such is life. We had a fantastic ride.....acually the most fun we've had with the Rucks. This weekend definetly sealed our affection for the little scooters. As soon as the wife's black 07 arrives, we'll be back there to join the little yellow 04 for more great memory-making. The new owner is a member of THE RUCKDOOM now, but I don't want to blow her cover as Docks owner unless she OKs it first. Super people, super place though. I will repeat....WE do need to put together the perfect Ruckus Central Annual Ride this Spring in the beautiful Smokey Mountains. Have already discussed it with Docks owner......IT CAN BE ARRANGED....and I will be more than happy to handle ride leading, mapping routes, food planning, etc. Well, hope you enjoyed my feeble attempt at describing our last little adventure. If anyone ever wants to go up, let me know. The Spring Trip.....LET'S GIT-R-DONE......and yes, chanito and Kami, I'm working on the pics.....don't beat me yet....Thanks Ruckus Friends, skuuter...... ;D
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Post by skuuter on Oct 31, 2012 13:31:50 GMT -5
The Yellow 2004 Ruckus we left at DOCKS in this Story is now owned by Kami's Brother Joie, the White 2006 I owned at the time was owned later by Sharron (DOCKS Owner) who sold it and now owns the Big Ruckus 250 that my Wife owned...oh yeah, Bill (Sharron's Husband) owns my Wife's Last Silver Wing 600 Scooter..... ;D.......We will be doing a Mountain Bike Ride this coming Spring, 2013 ( Yes, the Pedal Kind...I'm only "60"... ) and ALL Members of RUCKUS CENTRAL will be invited...some around Townsend riding and maybe some Cades Cove and/or Rich Mountain Road..... ;D
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