Counseling for the Daring Traveler
It all begins when you decide to break away without the “group of tourists” surrounding you. You may be planning to go it alone, with a companion or with a few friends that share your enthusiasm for adventure; and it’s not that difficult! Perhaps this site will offer some helpful advice to motivate you into action, to decide where to go, when to go and how to plan to get there. There may be even a thought or two on what to do when you arrive at your destination. This advice comes from a well seasoned traveler that rarely uses a travel agent or travel agency to plan for me and my traveling companions.
An Awesome eBike Getaway…
According to Bicycling Caitlin Giddings recent article “The Best Long Rail Trails in the U.S.” we just hit one of the best! The Greenbrier River Trail…
Headed out Friday morning and stopped to ride a fairly new railtrail: Jackson River Scenic Trail out of Covington, Virginia. Only 14 miles of trail so far, this is a pristine ride with rock cliffs on one side and a beautiful river on the other side. We trekked out 7 miles from the Intervale parking area then crossed the Smith Bridge and rode out to Cliff View Golf Club & Inn for lunch and then returned to the vehicles to continue our journey on to Marlington, West Virginia where we would stay for two more days of riding.
These shots of Jackson River Scenic Trail can only make you imagine what a great little trail this is!
The Locust Hill Inn, Cabin & Pub become home away from home for a couple nights…and it was a nice choice…current owners Paula and Dave (selling this nice spot and retiring to travel) were very friendly and accommodating. Staying here allowed us to plan a ride on the Greenbrier River Trail (GRT) from Cass to Marlington for the first leg of this trail…26 miles.
Marlington is a quaint little town with a couple nice places to eat besides Locust Hill Pub; Cass is famous now for its authentic steam locomotive rides; and the GRT actually ends here…but we started in reverse!
We left my truck here in Cass (used it to haul all 4 bikes to our starting point) and had it shuttled back to the inn by Greenbrier RIver Shuttles…Which made it easy to plan our one day ride without moving a lot of vehicles back and forth!
Riding this trail is loaded with great river scenery, a very cool tunnel, lots of deer, flowers and trees for cover from a bright sun…BUT one must always be prepared for the unexpected; such as a fresh fallen tree blocking the trail…eBikes are not light objects to lift across a large tree!
And lastly be FLEXIBLE…our planned second day got rained out! So we left for home earlier than schedule but stopped to visit a remarkable West Virginia park called Beartown State Park…and what a surprise! Rock formations you may only ever find here. This is a must see place when you travel to West Virginia to ride the Greenbrier River Trail.
We will return to continue on with our ride on the GRT!
Staying in Touch…
Despite the many years since our initial gathering as young airmen to serve our country, periodically we come back together. The Reunion triggers remembering our times together and catching up with stories, laughter and some tears for those no longer with us.
This time Louisville, Kentucky was the meeting place. And while I had never spent any time there, it is a place I will go back to visit for biking, hiking or just city strolling. A lovely city indeed and certainly a place to tour!
Famous for the Kentucky Derby, you do not want to miss a visit to this horse racing mecca…
Want to party in the street: try this is lively section of Louisville…
Don’t leave town before stopping in The Brown Hotel to eat an iconic Hot Brown meal…
Finish your tour with an Ohio River sunset overlooking the historic George Rogers Clark Memorial Bridge making for a peaceful evening stroll downtown…
eBiking Gatlinburg TN…Days 2 & 3
Since the roads are super crowded with vehicles around here as well as in the Great Smokey Mountains; and since the roads are very narrow without shoulders to ride on, we were advised to try Townsend (a short drive away)…
A “local” suggested we stop and visit this pathway along the river, which we did.
And we discovered a beautifully cared for pathway loaded with plants and trees!
So my suggestion is to pack your bikes and take in the roughly 10 miles of paved path around this quaint little town called Townsend. Stop a the local shops along the way and enjoy a leisurely day in “the peaceful side of the smokies”.
And for our final day around Gatlinburg, we traveled to Cades Cove.
Note: the best time to bike this area is when the loop road is closed to vehicle traffic!
Biking the Cades Cove loop was a nice 11 miles of scenery full of flowers, trees and historical spots to visit. An occasional sighting of bears would gather spectators along the way. But the drive back to Gatlinburg via Little River Gorge Road and along route 441 was quite spectacular.
This trip far exceeded our expectations…
…for the beauty of springtime in the mountains of Tennessee!
eBiking Gatlinburg TN…First Day
The Smokeys are best left to hiking rather than biking! But we decided to give it a go anyway…
This trail is very easy…the hardest part is probably avoiding pets and people!
The scenery and sound of rushing water from the West Prong of the Little Pigeon River…makes this a relaxing ride.
From town about two miles of trail riding you will come to Sugerlands Visitor Center…there are restrooms, vending machines and you can then hike about half a mile to Cataract Falls, just to stretch your legs.