Many of the sections will show GPS coordinates in the title.  I try and remember to save the coordinates when I arrive at a site, but sometimes I forget to do so.  In those cases I get the coordinates from the GPS software on my computer and show them as "+/-" to denote that they are not exact.

So now here we are at the weekend.  It was supposed to rain today so I didn't plan anything.  Naturally it didn't rain any to speak of.  Tomorrow I am OUT OF HERE!  It's supposed to be clear and 60° and I am on the road!  I don't care where, I don't care how long, I don't care which way I go, but I am going to ride a bike tomorrow.

Update - 01-06-08 - Oh boy did it feel good to get out and ride today!  It was really windy, gusting around 25mph, but it was so nice and warm.  According to the weather service it topped out at 65° today and after our freezer of late last week it really felt great.  I even wore my mesh jacket with a liner and lightweight gloves instead of all my heavy winter gear.

I was going to ride down around Center Hill lake since Highway 96 around the lake is a blast to ride, but the roads were wet from overnight rain so I decided to forego tight, twisty roads for today.  I rode to Smyrna, TN and cut over to Highway 231.  Highway 231 to Murfreesboro and then Highway 96 to Franklin.  Then, since I was so close, I had to make a run down the Natchez Trace Parkway for a bit.

To combat the mid-winter blues I met a friend in Crossville, TN and we drove (yes, "Drove", not "Rode!") to Atlanta, GA. to the Cycleworld International Motorcycle Show.  We left on Friday, spent the night in Atlanta, and came back on Saturday evening.  When we left Atlanta there was about an inch of snow on the ground there with a good bit more forecast for the rest of the day.

The show was good with all of the major motorcycle manufacturers showing off their 2008 models.  All of the big boys were there; Honda, Suzuki, Yamaha, Kawasaki, BMW, Harley-Davidson, Buell, and even Aprilia, Hyosung, and a few others.  There were booths set up by numerous distributors and a LOT of people there!  It was a lot of fun to see some of the new models and a lot of toys and riding gear in one place.

I rode over to Center Hill Lake and across the dam.  Then on up Highway 96 to Interstate 40.  From there I rode up to Baxter, TN and back to Lebanon via Highway 70N.  A hop alongside Percy Priest Lake to I-24 and back home.  About 175 miles round trip and it really, really felt good to get out and ride!

I left Nashville about 9:00 and headed east to Manchester, TN for some breakfast.  After that it was over to Monteagle, TN to see if there was any snow on the ground.  We had flurries in Nashville yesterday and I thought there might be some in that area.  No snow, but I found some great roads and some gorgeous views of the hills.

Needless to say the trip to Monteagle wasn't via the straight and narrow interstate either.  From Manchester I headed up Highway 41-A over to Highway 50 and then north to Altamont.  From there down Highway 56 through Tracy City to Monteagle.  I stopped at the South Cumberland State Park Visitor's Center in Monteagle and the lady I talked to mentioned that there was a natural stone arch bridge in Sewanee, TN so it only seemed natural to stop there for a couple of photos.

I left Nashville about 8:00 and stopped for some breakfast at a local Shoneys restaurant.  I had no real destination in mind and while I was eating I decided to ride down to Jackson Falls to see if there was some water there now.  I rode down there last summer (photos are Here) and it was just a dry mudhole.  Things were much nicer today as the photos below will bear out.

I headed out early for Land Between The Lakes National Recreation Area.  I used to spend some time there when I lived closer but haven't been back in many years.  LBL is 170,000 acres of land located between Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley, crossing the Kentucky and Tennessee state line.  The area is completely undeveloped and there is not a single commercial establishment anywhere within the boundary of the area.  When you live in a large metropolitan city it is such a treat to be away from traffic, businesses, signs, billboards, interstates, people, etc.  LBL also has a large population of Elk and Bison that can be seen from "The Trace".  The Trace, not to be confused with the Natchez Trace Parkway, is a state highway that runs through the area.  It is a low-traffic highway and a great place to ride.  The biggest problem are the deer which are everywhere!

I stopped at the Golden Pond Visitor Center because I head been told that they have a dated stamp there that I could add to my Passport Stamp collection and sure enough they did.  This Visitor Center is roughly in the center of the area, and I had planned to head north on The Trace to view the Elk and Bison on the north side.  But, as I said, plans change and I was COLD!  Even though the actual temperature there was much the same as in Nashville it felt much, much colder than 41° because of all the lake moisture around.  It was also sprinkling rain and I didn't want to push my luck.  I didn't know at the time that it was 41°, all I knew was that it felt much colder than Nashville and I was concerned about it being close to freezing.

I was surprised to find that there were Bison ranges on the south end as well, and even more surprised to see a small heard of them garzing beside the road.  I had to stop and take a few photos of them since that isn't something that I get to see every day.  Photos of these huge monsters are below.  The cold didn't seem to bother them at all, but they appear to have pretty good fur coats to!

It was 39° when I left Nashville and I was actually comfortable heading northwest on I-24.  That changed as I got closer to LBL though.  I was grateful for my Gerbing heated gloves, and almost wished I had brought my heated socks (which I consider to be the ultimate source of pain in the universe.  I'd rather be cold than put those bear traps on my feet!).  A few miles down The Trace it started to warm up though and by the time I got to the south end at Dover, TN it was nice and warm again.

I stopped at Ft. Donelson to see if the eagles were around (I was told by a Ranger that they were nesting at this time) and lo and behold they had a new Passport Stamp that I hadn't gotten the last time I was there.  I didn't see the eagles but I scored another stamp so it was worth the stop.

Centennial Park - 02/23/08

Planes, Trains, and, well, "Bikes", I guess.  Sorry, no automobiles.  I was going to ride to Clarksville today but when I got up there was a little snow on the ground and it was 30°.  I don't mind riding when it's cold but I draw the line at snow.  So, I drove to Clarksville.  The roads were dry but sometimes I just don't trust the weather around here in the winter.  It's always a bit colder in Clarksville than in Nashville so I just didn't want to take the chance.  When I got back home it had warmed up a little so I decided to ride somewhere.  As a "Trip" this one is a complete flop since it was only 22 miles door to door, but since these were the first miles I've put on a bike this week it felt good to get out some.  Besides, I have a new Metzeler Z6 on the rear of my VFR that needed a couple of heat cycles put into it.

I rode to Centennial Park just outside downtown Nashville to take a few photos of the North American F-86L that I knew was on display there (GPS coordinates: N36.15056 W86.81566).  It was cloudy, damp, and cool (about 37°) or in other words a lousy day to do anything.  The photos below show a few breaks in the clouds but they didn't last long.

Oh well, at least I got a few miles in.  Next week looks a little bit better but not a whole lot.  I'll sure be glad when spring gets here, I am tired of cold weather and gray skies.

Natchez Trace Parkway - 02/24/08

Well as usual the weather guessers completely missed today.  The forecast was for 52° and I think it topped out at 42°  They started with a 60% chance of rain and then went to a 30% chance of rain.  52° with a slight chance of rain is good enough for me so I headed out.  It was 39° when I left and I kept telling myself, "It's gonna get warmer ... it's gonna get warmer ... it's gonna get warmer."  Then I changed to, "That's not rain on my face shield ... that's not rain on my face shield ... that's not rain on my face shield."  I finally quit kidding myself.  "It is in fact 39° and isn't going to get much warmer and it is raining all over me.  I'm cold, I'm wet, and I'm going back home."  I need a good "Disgusted Smilie" because I am disgusted with this weather and I'm not a real big fan of weather guessers right now.  The forecast for tomorrow is 59° with a 20% chance of rain.  That means it will probably be sleeting when I head home from work ;(

PART I - Saturday, March 1, 2008

The VFR and I headed west today.  I didn't really have a destination in mind when I left home, so I just headed west.  I stopped for some breakfast near the interstate and thought I might head west.  Just riding down the slab didn't seem like much fun so I headed west on Highway 70.  When I got to Dickson, TN I decided to head for Waverly, TN since I have been wanting to get by the airport there for a couple of years.

The engineering company I used to work for designed a runway and taxiway improvement for them and I did a lot of the design.  I changed companies while the project was under construction and never got to see what it looked like when it was finished.  That's one more of the places I wanted to visit on a bike off the list.  It's getting pretty bare now since I've manage to hit most of them.  Guess I'll have to add a few more new ones.

I took Highwy 70 all the way to Waverly.  Coming back to Nashville I took Highway 13 south to Linden and picked up Highway 412 east to Hohenwald.  There I picked up the Natchez Trace Parkway about 75 miles south of Nashville and rode it up to the northern end.  Finally a run down Highway 100 back home.  All told about 212 miles in absolutely perfect weather for a change!

PART II - Sunday, March 2, 2008

I was invited to ride with a friend from the VFR World forum so I took him up on it.  I met him in Lebanon at noon and we rode to Hartsville to meet up with a couple of his other friends.  His friends brought some other friends and by the time we left there were a dozen bikes.  Big groups are normally not the way I ride, but this was a lot of fun and I had a great time.  I appreciate the invitation and look forward to doing it again!

Update - 03/08/08 - We got between 2" & 3" of the white stuff.  The sun came out about mid morning and the streets cleared off and dried up but it stayed pretty cold all day.  I did go for a short "Ride", about 1 foot out of my basement.  That was just to say I have "Ridden" on snow ;)  The basement door is partially covered by my deck above so there was less than 1/4" of snow there.

Cumberland Gap was the site of one of the major crossings of the Appalachian Mountains in the mid-18th century.  There were few easy (easy being a relative term!) ways to cross the spine of mountains that range from Alabama to Canada on horseback or with a wagon, and Cumberland Gap was one of those crossings.  Hunters, traders, pioneers, and even buffalo used the gap as a means for crossing from the east to the west side of the mountain range.

I left Nashville at 6:00.  As usual when heading east on I-40 I stopped at the Waffle House in Gordonsville, TN and then met David in Crossville at 8:30.  We took the back roads to Middlesboro, KY, of course, and got there about noon Nashville time.  We didn't stick around very long because I still had a pretty good ride to get back to Nashville.  I got home about 6:45pm so it made for a long day.  I wish I had had more time to spend at the park, David really wanted to see parts of it, but I'm not a big fan of interstates around Nashville at night on a motorcycle.  They are bad enough during the day but get even worse at night, and Saturday is the worst of all!.  As it was I beat sunset by less than 30 minutes.

Saturday - 04/05/08
I recently got a line on some Tennessee Historical Commission stamps that are similar in nature to the National Park Passport Stamps that I collect.  There are a number of them located in close proximity to Nashville so today I decided to get out and try to collect some of them.  I got five stamps (Belle Meade Plantation,  The Parthenon,  Manskers Station (2 stamps), and the Sam Davis Home) and got skunked on three more (Cragfont, Rock Castle, and Wynnewood) because they were closed.  Two of the sites that were closed were supposed to be open but most assuredly were not (see the photos below).  The third looked like a tornado went through it, and in reality I'm pretty sure that one did.  It is under reconstruction so I have no idea when (or even if!) I'll ever get a stamp from that site.

All in all a good day for riding.  Not great, not even as warm as it was supposed to be, but compared to some of our recent weather it was still a good one.  It was in the mid 40's when I left home with a high of 61° forecast.  It appears to have topped out at about 53° so once again the weather guessers missed by a mile.  Oh well, at least it wasn't raining and it wasn't windy so those were good things.  We never did see the sun but it is supposed to be sunny and 74° tomorrow.  Guess we'll have to see whether they get anywhere close to being right.  I'm meeting a friend at noon to ride the Natchez Trace Parkway and it would be nice to see some sunshine for a change.

This backwater burg is governed by people whose credentials to manage a water fountain in the middle of a desert would be questionable.  It's amazing to me that in the 21st century we still manage to put people in positions of making decisions that affect other people's lives when they don't have the apparent intelligence to get in out of the rain!  To back these statements up I offer the following photographic evidence:

	This nice brick sign is one of three that I am aware of that were constructed last year.  Looks like a good idea, doesn't it?  Nice quiet suburban area, nice brick sign to welcome people.  Looks nice, great idea, spend a bit of the taxpayers money for something useful for a change.
	But let's take a closer look at things ..... Here's another view that shows where the sign is actually located.  Huh, you ask!  Surely that solid brick, 8 foot tall sign isn't located right smack dab in the middle of the intersection!
	It certainly is!  I told you we had a bunch of really bright people doing the planning around here!  Someone in the government of this town approved the construction of a solid brick sign right smack in the middle of the intersection of Trousdale Road and Elysian Fields Road.  And believe me there is no way whatsoever to see through it! But surely, you say, it isn't large enough to hide a vehicle behind!
	Well, let's see ...   How about a Ford Freestar SUV?  No, not the black car at the left of the photo, look closer.  Click the image to the left and look right at the edge of the sign.
	Oh, wait!  There it comes!

I only hope the person that approved this construction reads this.  Better yet I hope he has the opportunity to damn near get mashed while riding a motorcycle and turning onto Elysian Fields at the same time as someone else decides to turn left on Elysian Fields from the opposite direction.  Neither of us saw the other because of that damn brick sign stuck in the middle of the intersection but we nearly gave Southern Hills Medical Center some business!  Neither of us would have been at fault because there is so much traffic at that intersection at certain times of the day it is difficult to watch everything.  I was in a Yield lane so technically I would have been at fault, however there was a car behind me that went straight when I turned, and I didn't think the turning vehicle would try to beat him.  He tried, I couldn't see him, he couldn't see me, and we nearly met at the back of that damn sign.  Luckily I had enough power to get away from him so nobody got hurt.  This time!  I was lucky.

I didn't take any photos along The Dragon since there are not a lot of good places to stop.  If you want to see photos of the activity along The Dragon check out KillBoy.Com or US129Photos.com.  They are there just about every weekend and have many, many photos of the motorcycles, cars, and the area in general.

After The Dragon we headed back west toward Crossville.  Just west of Watts Bar Lake and the Watts Bar Nuclear Facility we were stopped in some roadway construction.  When the flagman let us go, I got about 1/4 mile or less and my bike died.  Literally.  It chugged a couple of times like it was out of gas, and that was it.  I knew it wasn't really out of gas since I had filled it up about 100 miles previously.  I pretty much ran the battery down trying to get it to run before finally giving up.  Luckily David had a motorcycle trailer at home so he rode home, got his trailer, and came back for me.  Right now it's still sitting in Crossville waiting for me to get it back home and to the shop.

Oh well.  I'll get it home, and I'll get it fixed, and we'll ride some more.  503 miles from the time I left home to when it croaked.

I decided to ride to Murfreesboro, TN (which is only about 30 miles from home) and grab a couple of Tennessee Historic Commission stamps for my Passport Stamp Collection.  They are at the Oaklands Historic Mansion and the Cannonsburgh Frontier Village.  The sites didn't open until 1:00pm and I just had to get out and ride earlier than that.  As usual when I have no particular destination in mind I headed down the Natchez Trace Parkway for a while, then came back up and cut across Highway 96 to Franklin and then on to Murfreesboro.

Cannonsburgh is a frontier village circa 1800-1925.  The name Cannonsburgh was the original name of Murfreesboro, and construction of the village was begun in 1974 as part of the American Revolution Bicentennial project.  It is immaculately maintained today and well worth a visit if you happen to be in the area.

Fort Donelson National Military Park at Dover, TN was the site of a major Civil War battle that began on February 14, 1862.  The park memorializes the soldiers on both sides of the battle.  It is rich in history, and is just an interesting place to visit.  I've been there several times over the past few years and enjoy the visit each time.

Personally though my favorite part is the family of Bald Eagles that flourish there.  There are a few photos of them below.  They are somewhat fuzzy because my camera was at maximum zoom and I was leaning against a tree trying to hand-hold it.  I never seem to have a tripod when I need one, and I have two of them at home.

For anyone wondering about the status of my V-Strom after it Stranded Me a month ago, it is back home and appears to be fixed.  Turns out that one of the wiring harnesses got pinched by a clip on the bottom of the air filter box.  Over time the clip cut its way into the harness and would intermittently ground out one of the wires going to the ECU.  When it did the fuel injection, the ignition, everything was dead.  The guy who fixed it (thanks, Ray!) is a very, very good tech and it took him 6 hours to find and fix the problem.  I'd still be down there looking for it.  It's still relegated to trips pretty close to the shop (close enough that my AMA MoTow service will get it there without me having to push it!) until I get some confidence in it again, but I suspect it's fixed.  Truth be told, I'm just having a great time riding my VFR!

I was also a bit disappointed with the museum itself.  While it does document the life of Buford Pusser it is just a regular suburban house in a regular suburban neighborhood.  I knew that before I went but I guess I expected more.  Oh well, it was a fun trip regardless.

Aircraft are machines, just like any other machine, but to some of us they are so much more.  They are a part of someone's life.  The pilots who fly them, the maintainers who keep them flying, even the staff who keeps up with where they are at all times.  I looked at the cockpit and I could almost sense a phantom pilot checking his instruments as he brought the machine to life and a phantom gunner checking his armament.  I could sense the vibrations in the airframe and the banshee howl of the turboshaft engine as the helo became a living, breathing entity once again.  I could see the airplane rock slightly on its skids as the rotor brake was released and the rotors began to turn.  I could see the 20mm M197 cannon on its chin turret start to elevate and train as if it had a life of its own as the gunner exercised it and checked its operation prior to takeoff.  I could see the Crew Chief salute the pilot and release the airplane to him.  I could feel the thunder in the ground as the rotor bit the air, the pilot increased collective, and the monster lifted into the air, tucked its nose and lifted its tail to go Fly The Friendly Skies like the great bird of prey that it is.

All in all a good day riding even if I didn't get the stamp.  311 miles door to door and some airplane pix!  I also passed 5,000 miles for the year so far, and it's still only May!

The club was the Tennessee Defensive Pistol Club, and we had some pretty good matches at that range.  We were more than just a group of friends, we were also competitors with a great deal of respect for one another.  But it all came to a screeching halt.  In the photos below you will see a "Road".  It's actually just a path that is grown up.  At the end of this "Road" are the remains of an old house.  I say "Remains" because there is virtually nothing left except rotted wood, a sort of foundation, and an uncovered well just waiting for someone to fall into it.  The owners of the property claim that it is the birthplace or childhood home of some minor politician, and as such is a "Historic Landmark".  We used to have a gate at the main road, just to the left of where my motorcycle is parked, to keep people from getting into the range, but the owners of this cheesy "Historic Landmark" decided that this was unacceptable since it prevented people from being able to "Visit" their "Historic Site".  Keep in mind that this is a weed infested, junkyard with absolutely nothing resembling anything "Historic".  But small-town politics talk and we had to take the gate down.

The board of directors of the club unilaterally decided that this was unacceptable and we moved the range.  All we had to do was put up a fence, which is there now and was put up after we left, but to the club's BOD this was not acceptable.  Can you say stupid?  After that everything started falling apart, the "New Range" was a joke, the BOD started making decisions as to the club's direction without consulting the club membership, the officers resigned, and eventually everything fell apart.  All that is left now is some weed infested pistol bays and a few rotting benches and target stands.  Oh, and a "Porta Potty" that hasn't been pumped out in over 5 years.

One of the photos below shows a gated road.  After the pistol club moved out the owners of the "Historic Landmark" put up a gate to prevent people from getting to their "Historic Site".  Did I mention anything about small-town politics?  It's all about who you know and what you know about them.  If you know somebody you can get anything you want done.

There are a few more photos from when I was there in July, 2006 at This Link.