Trans-America Trail: A Couple Days in Rural Tennessee

[Stretch]

RocDoc and I decided to travel to the trailhead from northeast Georgia by way of US Highway 129, so here we are at the Deal's Gap Store on the way up.

I'm really not a big fan of "Tail of the Dragon" and its associated hype (nor of the idiots who have turned a perfectly good mountain road into their own unsafe little race track), but here we are.



After traveling on through Maryville and Knoxville, we spent the night at the Days Inn in Jellico, Tennessee.  

The Days Inn parking lot is the starting point of the TransAmerica Trail, a collection of (mostly) dirt roads linked together by Sam Correro many years ago.  The trail travels east-to-west through parts of Tennessee, Mississippi, Arkansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, California, and ending at the Pacific Ocean in Oregon.

http://www.transamtrail.com/

One of the hotel managers spotted our riding gear and asked where we were headed.  Funny, he had never heard of the TAT, and didn't have a clue that a cross-country motorcycle route started right in front of his hotel.  He seemed pleased to be a part of it.

We didn't have time to travel the full length of the trail, but perhaps we can do bits of it over the course of a few years, one vacation at a time.  The Tennessee and Mississippi portions require about four days, traveling Sam's recommended routes and motel stops.  

We had allowed six days total:  Riding from Georgia to the trail head on Thursday, Jellico to Sparta on Friday, Sparta to Columbia on Saturday, Columbia to Selmer on Sunday, Selmer to Isle of Capri Casino in Mississippi on Monday, and a 500-mile slab ride home (by way of the Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale, Mississippi) on Tuesday.

We hit the trail in Jellico at about 9am, with sunny skies and cool temperatures.  The thermometer on my bike registered 39˚F on our way out of town.








Taking a short break near Oneida, Tn.  I was enjoying our usual bike trip board of fair:  Snickers bars, beef jerky, and Mountain Dew - The Breakfast of Nincompoops.




Wolf Creek Road near Elgin, Tn.



Apparently, the State of Tennessee has been in the midst of a rural road paving program, because a large number of the dirt and gravel roads originally surveyed on Sam's maps are now paved roads.  Granted, most of those are single-lane chip-seal farm roads, but paved is paved.




Near Sunbright, Tn.


In the Catoosa Wildlife Management Area, near Wartburg, Tn...



Photos of this water crossing frequently show it with water running across the top of the concrete roadway.  We had been warned to be especially cautious of water crossings like this, as the moss and algae growing on the wet concrete is like riding on greased ice.  But Tennessee (like Georgia) is still in the grip of a drought, so water crossings weren't much of a problem this trip.


Snack and break stop near Ozone, Tn.










Happy Top and Hinch Mountain Roads (same road, with a name change at the summit of Hinch Mountain).


Hinch Mountain from a distance, after having ridden over it.



Flat Rock Road (I think) near Eastland, Tn.


The geologist's son couldn't resist scrambling up the rocks.  RocDoc down below, wondering what the devil I'm up to now.



Near Eastland, Tn.


I had really been looking forward to riding Railroad Grade Road between Eastland and DeRosset.  It's exactly as the name describes... an abandoned railroad with the tracks pulled up and converted into a county road.  

Except...

To hell with that.  We'd come too far to simply turn around and detour without the slightest bit of investigating.










Well, I'll be.  The sign wasn't lying (this time).  Looks like they're doing a jam-up job building a bridge across Clifty Creek.  So perhaps within a few months, Adventure Riders will once again be able to traverse the full length of Railroad Grade Road.


Uh, oh.  Tigger's due for a service.

We stayed the night at the Royal Inn motel in Sparta.  We did not see this guy...



We hit the trail the next morning at about 9am (our usual).  It was considerably warmer this morning, 63˚F, most likely because we were no longer in the foothill of the Smokey Mountains, as was the case the previous morning in Jellico.










Near Rock Island State Park.

We had to detour around the State Park, as one of the smaller bridges over the lake was closed for repairs.


Sometimes the route took us through large expanses of flat farmland.  But it surprised me how soon the route would then turn off onto a narrow gravel road along a creek...




One of the dreaded water crossings, with scarcely a trickle to its name.  The creekbed on either side of the road was bone dry.  I can't figure where even this little bit of water came from.




Near Bell Buckle.


Near Chapel Hill.

When firing the bike back up after this break, I noticed my voltmeter didn't come up to its usual 13.6-ish volts.  It sat at 12.0, with no increase with higher engine RPM.  Hmm.

I kept my eye on it for the next few miles, wondering if it would improve, but it never did.  955 Tigers seem to have weak charging systems, and I knew that going into this trip, so I packed a spare stator in with my tools.  It was about 4:30 in the afternoon by this time, with nightfall about three hours away.  

I found a firm spot beside Moss Road, and commenced to disassembling the left side of my engine (which includes removing the crash bar).  I got the stator swapped out in about an hour, and got the cover mostly sealed up.  I thumbed the starter and read the voltage:  11.8

Crap.

Must be the regulator / rectifier, of which I don't have a spare.  The bike was running off the battery, and the alternator wasn't re-charging it.  Nashville wasn't very far away, so the plan now was to get to a modern motel with internet service ASAP before my bike died.  We stopped for gas before getting on I-65 outside Columbia, and the bike wouldn't restart.  Voltage was too low, and I certainly wasn't getting to Nashville on it.  Modern bikes with dual halogen headlights, fuel injectors, and electric fuel pumps eat up a semi-charged battery a lot faster than it's Olde Skool predecessors.

There was the familiar collection of hotels, truck stops, and restaurants at that exit (46, it turned out to be), so RocDoc helped me jump-start it, and my Tiger limped into the parking lot of the Holiday Inn Express.  RocDoc ran inside to see if a room was available, and when he gave me the high sign through the window, I killed the engine.  It hasn't run since.  (I'm now in the middle of performing the 24,000 mile service mentioned earlier)

Being Saturday evening, little could be expected in the way of finding parts, least of all electrical parts for a British bike.

I was quite disappointed for a few minutes, as I had been planning this trip for several months.  But as we settled in and got a bite to eat at Stan's Restaurant across the road, things came into perspective.  I hadn't been kidnapped by marxist rebels in Colòmbia as Glen Heggstad had, nor was I 70 years old and alone in a hospital with a broken leg in Africa, à la Ted Simon.  

Things were actually quite good.  I was holed up in a modern hotel with my best friend.  We had air conditioning, refrigerator and microwave, and free access to a computer in the lobby.  There was a variety of restaurants within walking distance, and unlike Jellico, we could buy beer at the convenience store next door.

I spent most of the day Sunday looking for Triumph dealers on the internet, and called a bud back home who knows a great deal more about bikes than I do.  I was also able to get hold of Paul from NPR Ducati in Watkinsville, GA who used to be one of the big wheels at Atlanta Triumph-Ducati.  He was a tremendous help, pointing me toward aftermarket parts that were both higher in quality than OEM, and more easily procured than going through regular channels.  

I quickly found that of the Triumph dealers in Tennessee and Alabama who aren't closed on Mondays, precisely none of them could even guess when they could get me a regulator / rectifier.

Rick's Motorsport Electrics got a nod of approval from Paul, so I decided to go with them (and a spare).  But by now, we were out of time.  Even if the parts were shipped next-day air, I wouldn't have the time to get the bike together, get on the road, and be home Tuesday night.  So I had the parts shipped home instead.

And I ended up doing this...


In all, it was quite a good trip.  It wasn't what we had planned on, but it wasn't unpleasant by any means.  Instead of five days of great riding, we had three days of great riding and a couple days of chillin', eating, drinking beer, visiting, and watching the 'Mythbusters' guys blow shit up.  Not at all a bad way to spend some time off.

We've already decided to ride back up to Columbia in the spring, picking up where we left off.

[HockleyBoy]

Nice report an pics, Stretch. Shame about the Tiger but as you say at least you had a few good days riding and the weather there looked pretty good compared to what we have been having here.

[fano]

That is a sad picture, but at least you had three good days.  

[german]

Very nice report, how did you finish with charging problem? let me comment you that I have the same problem with my bike since 1 year, 3 times I have had to return from long trips,  I have replaced the stator, regulator, battery, and the problem continues

Thanks in advance for your comments

[Stretch]

how did you finish with charging problem?

I didn't.  I brought the bike home in a rented van.

Let me comment you that I have the same problem with my bike since 1 year, 3 times I have had to return from long trips,  I have replaced the stator, regulator, battery, and the problem continues

Swell.   :roll:

I hope I'm not in for the same.

[swamper650]

Sorry your trip was cut short... great roads and trails. I noticed you were running an agressive tire. My question is, would a tire like  the old Tourance  carried you through? Since I have 32K on my Tiger, I will be looking into carrying both a stator and reg/rectifier.

[REGULATOR]

good trip report,

   is this somethign that should be fixed in advance?

those roads didn't look too bad,    Still debatign on  those TKCs , another round of Tourances, or somethign else for when I need tires soon...

yours look pretty good (front wheel in the pics) shape

[HappyMan]

Nice post and pictures Stretch.  Really sorry to hear about your bike.  Bummer.

[Stretch]

would a tire like  the old Tourance  carried you through?

Tourances would do just fine.  The eastern sections aren't technical at all.  The rub would be if you did the trip in or just after heavy rains.  While most of the roads are paved or gravel, some are bare dirt, which would be slicker than greased moose poop when it turned to mud.

But even TKC's aren't much good in slick mud.

[Stretch]

is this somethign that should be fixed in advance?

No, there's no way to predict when a charging system will go belly-up.  Some guys here have more than 70,000 on their bikes with the original stator and RR.

I'll just travel with spares.  They're both small parts.

[REGULATOR]

awsome,  some of the ADVRIDER guys that are in the regional forums (A.A.R.S.E.)  speak of a series of trails/dirt roads connecting parts of GA and SC and supposedly have a 200 somethign mile route plotted nearby..

need a new rear tire before I attempt anything though, my tourance is shot after 6,000 ( but its also an 8 year old original tire)

[offtheback]

I am dying to do the TAT.  I will atleast do colorado and Utah next year.  Thanks for a great RR and pics.  Hope the bike keeps from giving you continued fits..

[HappyMan]

Stretch,

I'm thinking it might be time to part that bike of yours out.  It's probably no good what with the 24K on it and all....Sooooo, can I have your front rotors?  You don't need to take them off the bike, I'll come down and pick up the broken down old girl and bring her back to my place so you don't have to go through the work of taking them off and mailing them to me.  :roll:

[JetdocX]

Nice try, Stretch.  At least you had some fun.  Putting your bike in a U-haul sucks large mule schnizel.

[Stretch]

Sooooo, can I have your front rotors?

They're warped.  Again.

JetDoc, yes, heap big schnitzengruben.