We took another couple of days off after the hard working summer of 07. We were still clearing our heads from the Tennesee Highway Patrol fiasco of July, August and September. We decided to explore the Big South Fork area of Tennessee and Kentucy. We had been in the area a number of times, but never with our bikes. We didn't really know what to expect, but we found some great and unusual places. It was just what we needed for a quick break. Of course our weapon of choice was once again the KLR 650s.

BIG SOUTH FORK – Day One

Nancy entered the Knoxville Track Club Big South Fork trail run for about the tenth time. This 17 mile “out in the woods” trail event is one of her favorite now that she has all but given up on the hard surface street races. She and five friends, all members of the unofficial Quick Chicks Running Club, usually make a weekend of this event by camping, running and then celebrating after the race. Nancy and I decided to combine a motorcycle trip along with the camping trip so I arrived late Saturday afternoon after the race and helped the girls celebrate around the campfire that night. They all stayed up later than I did !!

Sunday morning the Chicks were recovering as Nancy and I unloaded the bikes from the FunMover and prepared maps for the day’s ride. We didn’t have much of an idea of where to ride, so we just picked a direction and used MapSource to plot a course. Sometimes this works and sometimes we have to recalculate when we hit a trail instead of a road.

Big South Fork National River and Recreational Area is a 125,000 acre State Park located in northern Tennessee/southern Kentucky between Jamestown and Oneida just off TN 297. The area is extremely popular for horseback riding and 90% of the visitors bring their horses. Motorcyclists need to be aware of this and be ready to pull over and stop to let horseback riders pass safely.

We stayed in the Bandy Creek Campground which has 180 campsites with 100 sites with water/electric available. Another camping area, Blue Heron Campground, is located on the Kentucky side with 45 water and electric sites. You can make reservations on-line or by calling 877-444-6777. Campgrounds are open April – October.

We headed out of the Campground on the West Bandy Creek gravel entrance and made a quick stop at the old Oscar Blevins Farm. Life was not easy on these old homesteads.

Back on the KLRs we came to the paved TN 297 and took a right westbound. After a few miles of country sweepers in horse country we came to TN 154 and took a left southbound. Staying on 154 through Pine Haven we bypassed Jamestown and came to TN 52. For the next 16 miles 52 offered some good and okay riding. There was a real mix along this route with straights, sweepers and ever a few sections of tighties.

At Alpine we took a right on Alpine Road which is also shown as Dogwalk Road on some maps. Heading farther north on these well maintained backroads we were soon on McDonald Road and then TN 111 which is also shown as TN 42. This boring road took us northward through Wirmingham, Midway, Boom and Sunset where we came to the Dale Hollow Lake. This place had a big marina, restaurant and vacation rentals which looked to be quite popular. Much of the lakefront which extends for many miles and crosses into Kentucky in part of the Dale Hollow Wildlife Management Area. A large portion of the Kentucky lakefront is Dale Hollow Lake State Park which offers a lodge with guest rooms, restaurant and a small camping area.

Crossing the high bridge we continued north on TN 42/TN 111 through Smyrna before jumping back onto the backroads at TN 325 eastbound to Byrdstown. We almost stopped at the main street diner for lunch, but something kept us going. A few miles farther and we took a Red Bull break at the big curve at Mount Airy. A photo looking back at the way we had come showed a couple of great curves.

At US 127 we took a right and stopped at the interesting looking Forbus General Store, Established 1892. The front porch was scattered with pumpkins, several crude weathered Indian carvings, signs from the past, the omnipresent temperature gauge, a couple of political stickers, and a roughly drawn map indicating the distance to several cities including for some odd reason Muncie – 325.1 miles. There was also a sign for the “World Pig Championship” to be held the last Saturday in February. We wanted one of the entry forms and rules, but they had all been taken. No telling what this could be.

Inside the store we found many items that had likely been there on opening day in 1892. Behind the counter the cook was working over the grill wearing a Jimmy Buffet T-shirt that said “If we weren’t all crazy we would go insane”. The “Everyday Special” was advertised as a “Fried Bologna Sand. - $1.59” but on the overhead menu it was shown as $1.39. So don’t ask for the Special and save some money. At the back of the store a group of men were engaged in and animated card game of some kind.

Since we were getting hungry we decided to try the Forbus BLT. The cook pushed the Special BLT with egg and cheese added and we fell for it. The sandwich, which we planned to split, set us back $1.95. It was so good we wish we had ordered two. We should have grabbed a piece of fudge too. If you are ever in the area look up this store. As the T-shirt says, it is located between Possum Trot and Hippie Mountain. That’s 325.1 miles from Muncie. Just look for the snoozing hound dogs.

Coming out of the store we took a left and headed north on TN 200 AKA Caney Creek Road. In 4.5 miles we crossed into Kentucky. At Powersburg we took a left onto KY 1009 and took it all the way to KY 90, a 4-lane. All of these country backroads had been rather uninspiring except for the rural scenery.

Racing northeastward to Monticello we jogged over to KY 167 south which took us through Number One, Wray Gap, Oilton, Sumpter, and Mount Pisgah where we entered the Daniel Boone National Forest and spotted smoke ahead. KY 167 had terrible pavement and there was a small construction zone near the Tennessee line. We spotted quite a bit of smoke as we headed south.

As we crossed back into Tennessee on TN 154 we saw the forest fire and many Forest Service personnel on the scene. A little farther south we pulled into Pickett State Park for a Red Bull.

A few more miles to the south and we were heading back to camp on TN 297. We forgot to bring eggs for breakfast so we made a quick stop at the small backwoods store. As I scanned the dates on the cartons, the most recent ones were six months old. The woman behind the counter piped-up and said the eggs were all fresh from yesterday from a local farm. Our favorite, when we had chickens we really enjoyed the free-range fresh eggs. Nancy was quite excited when I told here.

Back at the campground we took a little walk before dinner to see the horses in the nearby stables. Back at the FunMover we started a campfire and discussed the days highlight …. the Forbus BLT Special.

SUMMARY:

TOTAL DISTANCE: 136 miles

TOTAL TIME: 5.5 hours

HIGHLIGHTS: Bandy Creek Campground
Several good sections of twisties on TN 52
Forbus General Store and their BLT with egg and cheese $1.95