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billyjackjimbob

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Everything posted by billyjackjimbob

  1. Sunday around 4:30 the phone rang and it was my friend Greg calling to see if I was up for a ride on Monday as the weather was going to be great and he had several vacation days left to use this year. Knowing that I start my new job with Sherwin Williams on Thursday, Greg knew I was probably able to enjoy the day on the bike. When asked my very first response was "Deals Gap?" "I've never been..." Greg replied. He was looking for a day ride but not for what was about to transpire. We agreed on the destination as I promised him we could make it there and back without freezing or getting killed. What we didn't know until well into our ride was how wonderful the trip was to be. We rode US25E to the Cumberland Gap and then on to Morristown and Newport TN. If your heading to the Great Smoky Mountain National Park from I-75 north of Lexington, KY let me explain that you can enjoy some really nice riding from Corbin, KY to Gatlinburg via US25E. The route is all four lane from that point on but winds through the Cumberland mountains of eastern Kentucky and Tennessee and allows cyclists an opportunity to be entertained by good curves and beautiful views of mountains and lakes. And the route only adds about 30 minutes verses taking the slabs of I75 and I40. From Newport TN you take 321 right into Gatlinburg and bypass the mess of Sevierville and Pigeon Forge. Greg and I stopped in Gatlinburg at Calhoun's for a BBQ sandwich. Then we were on our way through the national park towards the Foothills Parkway and Deals Gap. To my surprise it was all deserted. I've never gotten to really ride the great roads on the park due to traffic which normally prevents speeds in excess of 25mph. Willing to risk a ticket, we opened the throttle a bit and really enjoyed the Little River Road. The Foothills was totally empty and provided a great pass! Deals Gap also... totally empty less a small group of state workers clearing trees in one small section and a pack of about six GapRats and Motards who, like ourselves just couldn't pass up a great day! They were much more LOCAL than Greg and I and were pretty much amazed we would make the 465 mile round trip for a few passes. OH... but what a few passes!! To get that road completely free of traffic and enforcement... that's pretty much priceless. Here is a video of the Little River Road pass in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. Like you've never seen it!
  2. Carri and I had a really good time at the 9th TMAC event this past weekend. Sunday morning we were up and on the road by 8am so I didn't get to say many good bye's. We left early so we could ride nothing but back roads home to central KY and make it in time my step daughter's softball game. The route took us across NC 215, one of my favorite roads of all time. Hope you enjoy the video. <iframe width="853" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/VEssuC4boko" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
  3. Last summer Kenny and I took a four day adventure through five states with only one destination planned, VA 16. Running from Tazewell to Marion The Back of the Dragon lives up to the hype and then some. The beauty of the mountains and valleys in this region are breath taking. The views simply cannot be ignored but the switchbacks are so good you will have a hard time finding a good spot to enjoy the views. One of the top five routes I've had the pleasure to experience. I hope you enjoy the ride.. [media=] [/media]
  4. To motorcycling junkies like us DC I agree, the only music we need is that sweet V4.
  5. The whole area is beautiful and full of great roads. Thanks for checking out the video and be watching for more to come.
  6. Great shot. Great bike! One of a kind!
  7. Yesterday I had a great day of riding. Five of us made rode the Hillbilly Triangle here in Eastern KY and I was able to get video of the entire loop. The loop is about two hours of video that I'll have to edit for some time before a video can be published. So, to keep you entertained for a while, check out my video of the DiamondBack at Little Switzerland. Look closely and you might just see yourself in some of the pictures. :) The video is from last May but the pictures are from the Bristol rally in 07, I believe it was. Great times! Great memories. Enjoy the ride!
  8. So just before the old PC died, I had purchased a domain and web hosting from GoDaddy to start my very own site aimed at promoting my home state of Kentucky as a motorcycle adventure destination. Right now it's pretty much just a skeleton of a page as so much of the content I had planned on using was lost with the old PC. The new machine is working great and just last week a friend of mine informed me he has managed to get the old hard drives to spin up as slaves. With that my motivation soared and the basic page was created last week. Also, I got my first ride video uploaded to YouTube from a ride this year. The video is up front on the page. Stop by and check it out. There will be much more content added in the weeks to come. I welcome feedback from the group as this is my first endeavor into the world wide interwebs. Hopefully, I'll be able to lure sport riders, adventure riders, cruisers, and wingers to the Bluegrass state for new adventures. www.hillbillytriangle.com
  9. My good friend managed to get the drive spinning up enough to use as a slave. So... I get it back on Thursday (after he downloads the 7-8000 mp3s on there). There will be much iTunes migrating and video editing. Look for many new updates!
  10. Well, as you may or may have not noticed, I've been off the air for a little bit. Work has been a little busier and my home PC decided to go the way of Buell last week. So, I'm writting you today from my new PC. I got it from www.ibuypower.com and it's a pretty sweet rig. Intel i7, GeForge 560 2GB video card, Sound Blaster Audigy SE, 8GB of DDR3 1600, 1 TB hardrive, liquid cooled in a cool tower with touch screen temp. control. The sadest part is that the old PC was ok, but the hard drive died so tons of pictures and a years worth of GoPro HD filming is gone. (I guess I'll have to go ride all that stuff again now.... :rolleyes: ) Anyway... I'll hope to be posting more interesting threads soon.
  11. Another nice day here in central KY for January and some friends and I managed to roll up about 240 miles. Our destination, the little town of Lorretta, KY. Home of the Maker's Mark distillery and the Abby of Gethsemani, home of the Bourbon Fudge Monks. We chose this area for it's rolling hills and winding roads. Nothing like the mountains of eastern KY but a very beautiful and fun area to ride. The day started with breakfast at in Berea at the Dinner Bell where I had steak & eggs with biscuits and gravy. Yum! There the route was discussed and once all of our group had assembled we were off and running! Nothing but back roads 100 or so miles each way through beautiful farm country with short runs of twisties thanks to the "knobs" in this part of KY. The Knobs are the results of the limestone in the area that cause the round hills which in turn call for curvy roads. Good stuff. But, with the farms come cattle and with cattle comes round bales of hay being moved and.. mud. Along with the salt from earlier in the week, the road conditions were not trustworthy of high speed riding, so a nice cruising pace was set. And seeing how we really shouldn't be riding at all on the 8th of January, no one was complaining. Here are some photos!
  12. billyjackjimbob

    Maker's & Monks

    Pictures from Jan. 8ths ride to Lorretta, KY. Home of Maker's Mark and the Bourbon Fudge Monks.
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