Iron Butt CT to TN
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Road Captain
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 588
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From: Naugatuck, CT
Iron Butt CT to TN
Just returned from a week riding some of the most wonderful roads the south has to offer.
Rt 129 (Tail of the Dragon) old hat however still fun
Devils Triagle (Sat/Sun ride ONLY) Great ride however lots of Coal trucks during the week
Cheohala
Clingmans Dome (Highest Mountain Point in TN)
Rt 441 through the Cherokee Reservation
Foothills Parkway
BRP (NC to VA)
Entire week of riding and logged 3185 miles for the week and started with an Iron Butt from CT to TN (See ride report below)
Friday morning May 6th 2011. Iron Butt SS 1000. Naugatuck, CT to Gatlinburg TN.
Well set my alarm for 12:30am to embark on my first SS 1000 Iron Butt. Plenty of sleep and the bike were packed and ready to go. I said my goodbyes to my wife and son as they drifted back off to sleep.
I had placed the heated gear on the bike as the weather reports were showing “frost” alerts for Connecticut, New York and Penn for my early morning departure. Of course it felt warmer outside my house and I thought “Were going South I don’t need the heated gear” (Insert Dumb *** decision here) I left the house at 1:30 to meet Tom and Steve who would be joining me on the jaunt. This was our first Iron Butt attempt. Met at the gas station in Naugatuck and the attendants were happy to witness our leaving and wished us luck on the trip. Our plan was to debark at 2am with our first gas up to mark. Well of course we ended up gassing with a 2:14am start time.
The temperature on Steve’s Zumo said 42 and our course now I am kicking myself for my decision to leave the heated gear home. Oh well mistake #1. We rode out Route 84 through Connecticut, New York and into PA. Yes while my core was warm my hands and legs were a bit chilled. (Even with winter riding gloves and all weather riding pants). Forgetting that riding Route 84 out of Connecticut would put us into the mountains of PA.
Our plan was for gas stops every 140 miles however Steve’s Can Am Spyder was telling us at just over 100 miles he needed gas. We stopped in Milford PA at about 116 miles to gas up and warm up and add layers. All 3 of us ride in a well known riding club and our stops are usually quite long, Shooting the bull and having a drink and such. Since we were on a mission we kept many of our stops to just about 20 min, however my plan was only 15 minutes.
My original route would have brought us across PA and into Ohio and then proceed south from there to our destination of Gatlinburg TN. We were meeting others there to ride some of the best roads this country has. However last look on Thursday before our trip showed lots of rain in PA and Ohio so Plan #2 was put in place and ride a much more south eastern route.
Our trip continued and by about 8am the sun was up and the temps were climbing and we began to drop layers along our route. PA, West Virginia, Maryland, went all without a hitch. I-81 was nice no rain warmer temps. Our turn onto I-64 gave us a slight slow down with some construction and a minor accident. We were making great time and well on our mark of my estimated 19 hours to go the 1055 mile route. This until we hit North Carolina as we entered from VA on I-85. The storm clouds began to roll in and I had such thoughts of my conversation with my wife 2 days before. We had been talking about the devastating tornados that TN, MS and AL had and I knew North Carolina was prone as well. She had lived in the south and was telling me that just around later afternoon (Dinner time) is when most are prone to spawn. Well as I looked at the time it was just that. Hmmm well those clouds looked ominous and threatening. Just then the skies began to drop large rain and we pulled off at the next exit to dawn the rain gear. (Yes things turned that fast to even react to the weather changes). We stopped and waited out the storm and left again heading father into North Carolina on I-85 then BAM. We had gone another 80 miles or so when the clouds rolled in and began dropping large amounts of rain and the skies were full of lightning and the sounds of thunder. Well hey we stopped waited it out and topped off the gas once again. The remainder of I-85 was slower with heavy traffic through Greensboro NC, and then it opened up as we headed to I-40 in Waynesville NC. We had begun to lose day light and recalculating our arrival time it was looking more like 10:00pm we would be getting to our last fuel stop in Gatlinburg TN. Well once again the North Carolina highway system gave us a wake up call. 50 miles from our destination we hit dead stop traffic. I-40 had become a parking lot and 3 lanes of traffic had to merge into 1 lane. 2 miles and 90 minutes later we finally moved to smooth sailing and running in the dark the sweeping turns that I-40 was know for from NC to TN. We hit the TN state line and decided that since we were at 1025 miles already we would get off our exit and obtain out last gas in Hartford TN. (Fitting since Hartford is also the capitol of Connecticut. Where we began our travels.
We hit the final gas station and obtained our final receipt at 1029 miles and 21 hours 10 min from our start.
We traveled the back roads slowly from Hartford TN to Rt. 321 just outside of Gatlinburg TN. We arrived at our accommodations for the week at just over 22 hours and 1055 miles from home.
While I was tired as was my riding mates, the trip was a success and enjoyable for the most part. Fatigue defiantly will begin to set in especially when the sun begins to drop and nightfall sets in. (Leave in the dark and arrive in the dark) WHEN I do my next Iron Butt oh maybe a bun burner 1500 I will make little changes except taking my heated gear and maybe a few extra snacks and PB&J sandwiches which BTW really did help in the ride to not be riding with a huge meal in your belly.
The ride was completed on a 2006 Harley Davidson Road King Classic that has morphed over the years to a solo ride Street King Classic. Outfitted with stereo and IPOD (Important items to keep your head in the game) Cheap GPS suctioned to my Speedo. (Had a nice Magellan RoadMate 2200) till it died a week before the trip. Portable CB Midland 75-822 with tech mount and IMC headset. Oh and the best item to date and I have done some 600 mile days and even with my Mustang Seat with back rest monkey butt had always set in. Was the purchase of a Ryder Beaded Seat cover!! Correct 10,000 New York cab drivers are correct. Made all the difference in this ride.
Rt 129 (Tail of the Dragon) old hat however still fun
Devils Triagle (Sat/Sun ride ONLY) Great ride however lots of Coal trucks during the week
Cheohala
Clingmans Dome (Highest Mountain Point in TN)
Rt 441 through the Cherokee Reservation
Foothills Parkway
BRP (NC to VA)
Entire week of riding and logged 3185 miles for the week and started with an Iron Butt from CT to TN (See ride report below)
Friday morning May 6th 2011. Iron Butt SS 1000. Naugatuck, CT to Gatlinburg TN.
Well set my alarm for 12:30am to embark on my first SS 1000 Iron Butt. Plenty of sleep and the bike were packed and ready to go. I said my goodbyes to my wife and son as they drifted back off to sleep.
I had placed the heated gear on the bike as the weather reports were showing “frost” alerts for Connecticut, New York and Penn for my early morning departure. Of course it felt warmer outside my house and I thought “Were going South I don’t need the heated gear” (Insert Dumb *** decision here) I left the house at 1:30 to meet Tom and Steve who would be joining me on the jaunt. This was our first Iron Butt attempt. Met at the gas station in Naugatuck and the attendants were happy to witness our leaving and wished us luck on the trip. Our plan was to debark at 2am with our first gas up to mark. Well of course we ended up gassing with a 2:14am start time.
The temperature on Steve’s Zumo said 42 and our course now I am kicking myself for my decision to leave the heated gear home. Oh well mistake #1. We rode out Route 84 through Connecticut, New York and into PA. Yes while my core was warm my hands and legs were a bit chilled. (Even with winter riding gloves and all weather riding pants). Forgetting that riding Route 84 out of Connecticut would put us into the mountains of PA.
Our plan was for gas stops every 140 miles however Steve’s Can Am Spyder was telling us at just over 100 miles he needed gas. We stopped in Milford PA at about 116 miles to gas up and warm up and add layers. All 3 of us ride in a well known riding club and our stops are usually quite long, Shooting the bull and having a drink and such. Since we were on a mission we kept many of our stops to just about 20 min, however my plan was only 15 minutes.
My original route would have brought us across PA and into Ohio and then proceed south from there to our destination of Gatlinburg TN. We were meeting others there to ride some of the best roads this country has. However last look on Thursday before our trip showed lots of rain in PA and Ohio so Plan #2 was put in place and ride a much more south eastern route.
Our trip continued and by about 8am the sun was up and the temps were climbing and we began to drop layers along our route. PA, West Virginia, Maryland, went all without a hitch. I-81 was nice no rain warmer temps. Our turn onto I-64 gave us a slight slow down with some construction and a minor accident. We were making great time and well on our mark of my estimated 19 hours to go the 1055 mile route. This until we hit North Carolina as we entered from VA on I-85. The storm clouds began to roll in and I had such thoughts of my conversation with my wife 2 days before. We had been talking about the devastating tornados that TN, MS and AL had and I knew North Carolina was prone as well. She had lived in the south and was telling me that just around later afternoon (Dinner time) is when most are prone to spawn. Well as I looked at the time it was just that. Hmmm well those clouds looked ominous and threatening. Just then the skies began to drop large rain and we pulled off at the next exit to dawn the rain gear. (Yes things turned that fast to even react to the weather changes). We stopped and waited out the storm and left again heading father into North Carolina on I-85 then BAM. We had gone another 80 miles or so when the clouds rolled in and began dropping large amounts of rain and the skies were full of lightning and the sounds of thunder. Well hey we stopped waited it out and topped off the gas once again. The remainder of I-85 was slower with heavy traffic through Greensboro NC, and then it opened up as we headed to I-40 in Waynesville NC. We had begun to lose day light and recalculating our arrival time it was looking more like 10:00pm we would be getting to our last fuel stop in Gatlinburg TN. Well once again the North Carolina highway system gave us a wake up call. 50 miles from our destination we hit dead stop traffic. I-40 had become a parking lot and 3 lanes of traffic had to merge into 1 lane. 2 miles and 90 minutes later we finally moved to smooth sailing and running in the dark the sweeping turns that I-40 was know for from NC to TN. We hit the TN state line and decided that since we were at 1025 miles already we would get off our exit and obtain out last gas in Hartford TN. (Fitting since Hartford is also the capitol of Connecticut. Where we began our travels.
We hit the final gas station and obtained our final receipt at 1029 miles and 21 hours 10 min from our start.
We traveled the back roads slowly from Hartford TN to Rt. 321 just outside of Gatlinburg TN. We arrived at our accommodations for the week at just over 22 hours and 1055 miles from home.
While I was tired as was my riding mates, the trip was a success and enjoyable for the most part. Fatigue defiantly will begin to set in especially when the sun begins to drop and nightfall sets in. (Leave in the dark and arrive in the dark) WHEN I do my next Iron Butt oh maybe a bun burner 1500 I will make little changes except taking my heated gear and maybe a few extra snacks and PB&J sandwiches which BTW really did help in the ride to not be riding with a huge meal in your belly.
The ride was completed on a 2006 Harley Davidson Road King Classic that has morphed over the years to a solo ride Street King Classic. Outfitted with stereo and IPOD (Important items to keep your head in the game) Cheap GPS suctioned to my Speedo. (Had a nice Magellan RoadMate 2200) till it died a week before the trip. Portable CB Midland 75-822 with tech mount and IMC headset. Oh and the best item to date and I have done some 600 mile days and even with my Mustang Seat with back rest monkey butt had always set in. Was the purchase of a Ryder Beaded Seat cover!! Correct 10,000 New York cab drivers are correct. Made all the difference in this ride.
Road Master
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 1,152
Likes: 13
From: Southeast WI
Thanks for the detailed ride report. Wow, that was a pretty ambitious first day of riding. Not for me, but I guess that is one way to conserve days off so that you had more time in your target area for more enjoyable rides. Let us know about the rest of the trip...roads you rode, places you stayed/ate/drank, etc.
Thread Starter
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Road Captain
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 588
Likes: 2
From: Naugatuck, CT
Rt 129 (Tail of the Dragon) old hat however still fun
Devils Triagle (Sat/Sun ride ONLY) Great ride however lots of Coal trucks during the week
Cheohala
Clingmans Dome (Highest Mountain Point in TN)
Rt 441 through the Cherokee Reservation
Foothills Parkway
BRP (NC to VA)
Entire week of riding and logged 3185 miles for the week and started with an Iron Butt from CT to TN (See ride report below)
Above are the other roads we manned up to while down there. We stayed in a condo right off the beaten path of main st gatlinburg. Easy in and Easy out to the Mountains on Rt 441. We ate many meals in our condo however if you do the Dragon this year about 5 miles from the Top (TN) side hit up this fantastic little BBQ place called the Dragon Pit. Great pulled pork and other items.
Devils Triagle (Sat/Sun ride ONLY) Great ride however lots of Coal trucks during the week
Cheohala
Clingmans Dome (Highest Mountain Point in TN)
Rt 441 through the Cherokee Reservation
Foothills Parkway
BRP (NC to VA)
Entire week of riding and logged 3185 miles for the week and started with an Iron Butt from CT to TN (See ride report below)
Above are the other roads we manned up to while down there. We stayed in a condo right off the beaten path of main st gatlinburg. Easy in and Easy out to the Mountains on Rt 441. We ate many meals in our condo however if you do the Dragon this year about 5 miles from the Top (TN) side hit up this fantastic little BBQ place called the Dragon Pit. Great pulled pork and other items.
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