Arguably, the Cherohala Skyway is the best 43 miles of pavement in the southeastern United States. It exists because it is beautiful.
On day three of the tour and I am currently trailing my riding partner, Elio Dimacali, who is pushing the pace to a level that is right at the edge of my comfort envelope. I’m piloting my 2022 BMW R1250GS Adventure. Dimacali serves as the lead sled dog on a 2016 BMW GSA. Talk all the trash you want about GS riders, but these big heavy ADV bikes on 50/50 tires are carving the road with aplomb and there ain’t a Starbucks anywhere in sight.
In this moment, there are clear skies, dry tarmac, stunning views, and the pure unmitigated joy of riding the Skyway. I am happy in the happy place singing an old Pixies song, “This Monkey’s Gone to Heaven.”
The trip started three days ago in Tallahassee, Florida. My 9-year-old grandson needed to be delivered to Huntsville, Alabama, to visit family. The details of why are not important but he is the only human being I can’t live without, and I didn’t really want to take him let alone leave him for a week. I decided to stay in the area to make sure he was happy being away from home for a few days so the only reasonable plan I could come up with was to trailer my GS and disappear to the happy place never being more than 3-to-4-hours away in case an ex-fil was necessary.
On the way up, the boy and I stopped at one of the best state parks in the Georgia system, Cloudland Canyon State Park to go camping. Well, glamping would be a more apt description since we stayed in a yurt. Glamping in a yurt is a trend that seems associated with hipsters or the bourgeois nouveau riches. A traditional yurt is a centuries-old design from the steppes of central Asia. In its basic form, it is a portable round tent. The modern version at the park is non-portable with furniture, electricity, AC, and heat. At this park you will need your own linens. It’s a short walk to a clean and serviceable bathhouse. Staying in these yurts amounts to staying in a large, electrified tent. A far cry from sleeping on the ground.
Cloudland is an absolute gem. The spectacular canyon itself was formed on a time scale that is measured in hundreds of millions of years. A combination of plate tectonics and erosion created this unique geologic feature. The first time I visited the park was an eye-opening experience. On that trip, weather conditions created a temperature inversion that trapped a thick viscous fog bank in the canyon with bluebird skies all around. The fog presented as a great floating lake of cotton candy. It was one of the most memorable travel experiences of my life. The yurt experience, short hike, and campfire made the child happy and that made me happy. Pointed west toward Huntsville we travel with the rhinoceros-sized bike in tow.
For this trip, I packed my camping gear. Full disclosure, I have not camped in a tent off a motorcycle since 1994. I am not great at math but that sounds a lot like 30 years ago. My body does not tolerate the same things at 59 as it did at 29. But I am anticipating taking the little boy tent camping in the future, so I need to test the theory that it is possible. I am not concerned about gear. The gear will handle it. The primary potential problem with the GS is that it will carry WAY TOO MUCH. I must be careful not to overpack. Part of the therapeutic nature of moto trips is the week I spend packing, thinking, “Do I really need this?” No, the question is not if the gear will moto-camp but rather, will the monkey moto-camp? I intend to find out.
After arriving in Huntsville and getting the little boy settled, it was time to unload the BMW I nicknamed “Rhino” and head back east to Tennessee for the moto portion of the trip. It is stifling hot while I de-trailer the bike and start strapping down gear. I have meticulously paired down all the camping gear to one large dry bag that will sit on the pillion seat right behind my butt. Easy to unload and get set up this evening. I am sweating profusely in the 90+ degree heat. I look at the camping gear and ask the question again, “Will this monkey moto-camp?” As I wipe the sweat off my brow and contemplate sleeping in a tent the answer is emphatically, resolutely NO! This monkey will not moto-camp in mid-June. I threw the dry bag back in the truck and got the Rhino moving. Try again, maybe in October.
Motion and airflow are my temporary salvation. It is a sweltering afternoon, and the Rhino needs to dispose of about 190 miles before dark to meet my riding buddy at Cherohala Mountain Trails Campground near Tellico Plains. The Rhino eats up the miles with alacrity. The proprietor, Wayne Friedberg, checks me in to my cabin, and we have a pleasant get to know you chat. Friedberg has put 14 years of effort into developing the campground. There are 5 acres of tent camping area and seven small cabins with electricity, air conditioning, a clean bathhouse, free coffee and a very decent breakfast service.
“My wife Kelly and I, both ride and love meeting people with common interests in motorcycles and moto travel,” Friedberg said.
As I look around the dining area I take in the eclectic collection of moto gadgets, art and Star Wars memorabilia. Apparently, Wayne is also a serious nerd. My kind of guy.
“It’s a great find, with good facilities, communal bonfire area, free firewood and most importantly a 5-minute ride to the base of the Skyway and some of the best riding in the south,” Dimacali said.
One of the first things Friedberg asked me was if I had been to see the new bridge at Bald River Falls? I told him that I did not know it was open again. The Tennessee DOT closed the bridge for a major update and it has been closed nearly two years.
“It opened 2 days ago,” he said.
“Well, that will be my first destination after breakfast,” I replied.
Just east of town, River Road runs adjacent to the Tellico River. It is a shady, cool lovely ride to Bald River Falls. The updated bridge has a pedestrian overlook that I don’t remember existing on the old one. Recent rain nourishes the falls, and it is running swift, powerful and majestic. Bald River Falls is a tourist destination that attracts both bikers and vintage car enthusiasts. One visitor was driving a meticulously restored 1971 MGB. Devil nostalgia influences me once more as I tell the owner the first car I drove at 13 years old was a 1972 MGB a family member owned.
It is time to leave the falls. I suggest we continue via River Road until the paved section transitions to dirty/gravel for roughly 16 miles, eventually climbing up to Stratten Gap where the unpaved intersects the paved route. The North River Road is gravel and continues through the national forest on to the Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest. This route is spectacular during the fall color, but it is now summer, so we choose to get on the Skyway tarmac and run fast to Robbinsville, North Carolina. The route we take is a sublime adventure touring ride. It never gets old.
After a grocery store deli lunch, we decide to ride up to Deal’s Gap. Not to ride the Tail of the Dragon, but to admire the bikes that show up at the base of the run. On the way up, we ride through the Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest.
I was under the false impression I knew where I was going and did not pay close attention to the $1,000 GPS and missed a turn. We wound up on a road called Maple Springs Overlook passing signage that indicates no outlet. In the spirit of adventure riding, I decide to see where this road leads or in this case ends. At the terminus of the road there is a concrete path leading to a composite board observation deck with a purely epic view of the Nantahala National Forest. What a wonderful navigational mistake. Worth every minute spent getting there and getting back on track.
Onward to Deals Gap Motorcycle Resort, where there are some very nice motorbikes in the parking lot. It is a treat to look them over and talk to the owners. After a few conversations and a ridiculously overpriced ice cream from the restaurant we head back toward our campground in Tellico Plains via the Skyway in the opposite direction. First time I have ever gotten to ride it in both directions on the same day. Moto Bliss!
That night, we chat with other moto-campers and join three others at the free wood fire pit. What is it with dudes, bourbon and the inevitable desire to build a roaring campfire during a muggy summer night? One of life’s mysteries.
Next morning it was time to part ways. I need to head back toward Huntsville. I thanked Elio for a great time and head west to fetch the boy. The GPS tries to push me toward Chattanooga. I want no part of the prodigious construction induced traffic delays. I direct the $1,000 compass to navigate to the small town of Monteagle, Tennessee. I have fond memories of the area, so I want to revisit. On the way, I found several twisty two-lanes with abundant views and distantly familiar farm smells that remind me of the rural areas of Ohio where I grew up. Nostalgia can also be a pleasing distraction.
Monteagle turns out to be a good stop. I secured a room at my favorite kind of hotel where I could pull the Rhino right up to the window, unload and keep an eye on the bike. The Smokehouse Lodge and Cabins are clean, comfortable and affordable. The helpful staff put me in the back of the building opposite the main road and told me I could park my bike right by the door. Perfect! They even loaned me a bicycle to ride to dinner. If I ever return, I know where to stay.
On the last day I arrive in Huntsville to reunite with my grandson. I re-trailer the GS and we head south for a 7-hour drive back to Florida. Reflecting on the trip, I had little to no anxiety. I rarely looked at my phone, and I was not stressed about my job or chores at home. For me, riding is better than therapy. I need to figure out how to ride more often.
