Headquarters for the 2017 ECFR is moving back to Tellico Plains this September. Not Bryson City. Make your reservations accordingly.
Quote from: ddlewis on June 20, 2017, 08:58:26 AM
Headquarters for the 2017 ECFR is moving back to Tellico Plains this September. Not Bryson City. Make your reservations accordingly.
This may have been discussed elsewhere...or maybe the info is well known to the regular ECFR attendees, but when is this rally? :scratch_one-s_head:
Hey Cap.. normally the third full weekend and the week leading up to it. Sept 16-17 it looks like.
Most will probably stay at same campground you came to last time. Wayne and Kellys place.. "Cherohala mountain trails" I think. Hope you can make it.
Ron,
The date is on the back of your rally shirt too...
Randy - RPM (http://www.rpmracingca.com)
Quote from: racerrad8 on June 21, 2017, 10:46:42 AM
Ron,
The date is on the back of your rally shirt too...
Randy - RPM (http://www.rpmracingca.com)
Oh...good point! :good2:
Quote from: ddlewis on June 20, 2017, 09:59:35 PM
Hey Cap.. normally the third full weekend and the week leading up to it. Sept 16-17 it looks like.
Most will probably stay at same campground you came to last time. Wayne and Kellys place.. "Cherohala mountain trails" I think. Hope you can make it.
Damn...timing is just a bit off. I'll be running the Dragon the weekend before...and should be in Iowa by the ECFR dates. Enjoy!
You don't "run" The Dragon on a weekend, you "watch" the Dragon on a weekend. It's a Harley parade. It's a fun scene, but if you want to lean over in corners at all, you will want to stick around until a weekday. (Or, choose from one of the dozen better FJ roads in the area.) And as a bonus, if you stick around a day or two into the next week, you'll start to catch the early FJ attendees.
Quote from: Bill_Rockoff on June 23, 2017, 07:16:42 AM
You don't "run" The Dragon on a weekend, you "watch" the Dragon on a weekend. It's a Harley parade. It's a fun scene, but if you want to lean over in corners at all, you will want to stick around until a weekday. (Or, choose from one of the dozen better FJ roads in the area.) And as a bonus, if you stick around a day or two into the next week, you'll start to catch the early FJ attendees.
yeah what he said...... I like watching the circus on the weekend but ride the Dragon one day during the week...
Quote from: Bill_Rockoff on June 23, 2017, 07:16:42 AM
You don't "run" The Dragon on a weekend, you "watch" the Dragon on a weekend. It's a Harley parade.
Exactly. It's more of a zoo, than it ever has been.
Quote from: Bill_Rockoff on June 23, 2017, 07:16:42 AM
You don't "run" The Dragon on a weekend, you "watch" the Dragon on a weekend. It's a Harley parade. It's a fun scene, but if you want to lean over in corners at all, you will want to stick around until a weekday. (Or, choose from one of the dozen :sorry:better FJ roads in the area.) And as a bonus, if you stick around a day or two into the next week, you'll start to catch the early FJ attendees.
Yeah, that advice is often offered up at the mention of the Tail. I've done it on weekends, weekdays, in the rain, sunny days, alone and with "FJ" rallyers and have enjoyed them all. I'll take what I get on whatever day I'm rolling though.
On additional roads...I've run the tail, Cherohala, Fontana Dam and the length of the BRP. Any othe "hidden Gems" or favorites you might recommend?
28 from HWY74 down to Franklin, then Wayah Rd and 129 back to Robbinsville
All the roads in the north Georgia mountains. Look for Suches, Ga on the map and everything around that area and east is great; 60, 180, 19, 348, etc.
Quote from: FJ_Hooligan on June 23, 2017, 05:53:50 PM
28 from HWY74 down to Franklin, then Wayah Rd and 129 back to Robbinsville
All the roads in the north Georgia mountains. Look for Suches, Ga on the map and everything around that area and east is great; 60, 180, 19, 348, etc.
Thanks...didn't want to steer too far away from the thread topic, but this seems like great local info!
Quote from: FJ1100mjk on June 23, 2017, 08:19:27 AM
Quote from: Bill_Rockoff on June 23, 2017, 07:16:42 AM
You don't "run" The Dragon on a weekend, you "watch" the Dragon on a weekend. It's a Harley parade.
Exactly. It's more of a zoo, than it ever has been.
One more vote for this view of the Dragon. Whenever I tell people I'm going to the Blue Ridge, they always ask, "Are you gonna ride the Dragon?" and I tell them, "If you're in the area, go there, see the circus, take some pictures, buy a t-shirt, then
leave. There are far better roads in the area, and you don't even have to pick a route...just pick a general
direction."
I haven't gotten to ride with him in far too long, but John The Beer Scientist used to say "Avoid any road that has its own t-shirt." Especially on weekends. Then again, maybe he and I were both a little cowed by how quickly his step-dad was able to ride away from us on his Sportster; Ralph would pass slower traffic where neither of us would, probably because *everyone* was "slower traffic" to Ralph but not necessarily to me and John.
I like all the roads around there. I'm a fan of TN 68 south from Tellico Plains, but part of that is that I always associate it with East Coast Fall Rallies. 441 runs parallel to The Dragon to the north, connecting Gatlinburg TN to Cherokee NC, although on weekends that's likely to be worse than Deal's Gap. Andrew and I took a terrific trip last weekend to Asheville and found 178 north to Rosman and then 215 north toward Asheville to be as pretty as ever going north; we took 64 west to 60 south to get home.
Like Rock says above, it's hard to go wrong in that part of the world, it's all good riding. That's why Andrew settled in Rome GA after college; good motorcycle roads everywhere, and he'll be close enough to Tellico to join us for dinner most nights and then go to work the next day.
Quote from: Bill_Rockoff on June 24, 2017, 06:29:31 PM.. 441 runs parallel to The Dragon to the north, connecting Gatlinburg TN to Cherokee NC, although on weekends that's likely to be worse than Deal's Gap. ..
It's a trap! It looks like super curvy mountainy goodness on the map, but don't fall for it. Far as I can tell it's a never ending 24 x 7 caravan of 25mph campers and RV's in both directions :dash2:
maybe if you could catch it at the right time. Off season, if there is one.. It would be a cool road if not for all the traffic.
I would say the same thing about the road through the Smokey Mountain National Park.
4 excruciating hours of 20 MPH RVs and tourists, and that was on a Tuesday.
NEVER again!
Wait, I just looked it up, 441 IS the road through the park. STAY AWAY!!!
I would like to attend the rally in Tellico this Sept. I had a great time at the WCR last year, but now live in So. Carolina. Clue me in on accommodations, weather, etc. Thanks.
Quote from: Yamahahammer1300 on June 30, 2017, 10:23:51 PM
Clue me in on accommodations, weather, etc. Thanks.
https://www.cmtrails.com/ (https://www.cmtrails.com/) is rally central. plenty of camping , and has some sleeping cabins, with a central bathroom / showerhouse
if you want private bathroom and bathing stay here: http://tellicologcabins.com/ (http://tellicologcabins.com/) its a few miles away from CMT , they have everything from basic cabins to 6BR houses.
usually pretty warm. i have never brought my cool weather riding gear to tellico and i have never needed it .
...and if you plan on goin up to the BlueRidgeParkway (you should) . bring a tinted shield for your helmet w/clear glasses. so you can pop open your tinted shield when you go thru tunnels . if you try to go thru the dark tunnels with your sunglasses on you might die.
Are there any of the ECFR attendees that will require a 2017 rally shirt?
If you would like one, please add you name to the list of attendees with your shirt size.
FYI, I am running equally low on small, medium & large. I have plenty of XL, XXL and XXXL.
Randy - RPM
Thanks for the info TRoy. :hi:
Is there a list of attendees? I'll be attending, along with a friend.
I posted in the T-shirt thread for a XL short sleeve and XL long sleeve....
Also, did anyone book a large cabin and have room for 2 people, or is everyone booking smaller cabins on their own?
Thanks,
Mike.
So, I called the Cherohala Mountain Trails Campground & there is another group that has the 3rd weekend in September reserved, so there were no spots for me to reserve. :Facepalm:
Does anyone have any ideas on a location?
Kris & I are planning on coming down with our oldest, Alex, 3 bikes, my FJ, Kris' 390 Duke & the Ninja 250 and the 3 dogs.
George & Kris
GDFJ12
Check out here a few of us are staying at this site.
http://www.tellicologcabins.com/cabins.htm (http://www.tellicologcabins.com/cabins.htm)
Kris Alex & I are booked for Cabin #4 from Wed. evening to Sun. morning. We're looking forward to more riding & stuff.
Is there a central area we might all gather at? What about a bonfire? We need somewhere to get together & bench race with the group! ;^)
George
gdfj12
Quote from: gdfj12 on August 03, 2017, 08:58:15 AM
Kris Alex & I are booked for Cabin #4 from Wed. evening to Sun. morning. We're looking forward to more riding & stuff.
Is there a central area we might all gather at? What about a bonfire? We need somewhere to get together & bench race with the group! ;^)
George
gdfj12
Party at Georges!
Sheila & me gotta come home friday :nea: so we'll be spending sun & mon nite in cherokee, then tues - thurs nite on rafter rd
T Roy,
We're nearby so look us up.
Carey
Quote from: carey on August 31, 2017, 03:55:29 PM
We're nearby so look us up.
..meet up at TelliCafe every day at 10:30? :sarcastic:
Quote..meet up at TelliCafe every day at 10:30? sarcastic
I've never been a fan of Tellicafe because the service is slow. This year, I've offered to cook breakfast for my crew. Maybe we can meet at 10:00 :rofl:
I bet we wouldn't have encountered that problem at Bryson City.
:biggrin:
Quote from: gdfj12 on August 01, 2017, 12:38:20 PM
So, I called the Cherohala Mountain Trails Campground & there is another group that has the 3rd weekend in September reserved, so there were no spots for me to reserve. :Facepalm:
Does anyone have any ideas on a location?
Kris & I are planning on coming down with our oldest, Alex, 3 bikes, my FJ, Kris' 390 Duke & the Ninja 250 and the 3 dogs.
George & Kris
GDFJ12
Is there any consideration of moving the Rally location due to Hurricane Irma?
Quote from: mojorisun on September 09, 2017, 12:14:59 AM
Is there any consideration of moving the Rally location due to Hurricane Irma?
No. I'll be there.
Quote from: mojorisun on September 09, 2017, 12:14:59 AM
Is there any consideration of moving the Rally location due to Hurricane Irma?
Your kidding right...........
Road report from the area...
I rode in on Friday night and camped in Robbinsville. I rode the Tail from the Robbinsville side out and back again at around 9:30am on Saturday and basically had the road to myself. Did come up on a minivan going slow and figured as much, but quickly realized he was stuck behind two guys on Harleys! I made quick work of passing them up and was in the clear.
I then had some lunch in town and did the Cherohala Skyway, Tail, Fontana Dam Loop and WOW...what a ride! The Cherohala going west is PERFECT pavement and my average speeds reflected that. From the peak, the road was *slightly* degraded for about two miles...but that's like complaining about the glovebox in a Ferrari... the remainder was excellent pavement! I finally ran into a group of Harleys in the last two miles to the Deals Gap Resort and pulled over to give myself some road to play on. I caught up to them again just before the resort. Seems everyone had a casual pace on the Fontana Dam section, but were usually happy to let me by. Great loop!
I left camp this morning heading out on the Dragon and although the road and traffic was great, I wasn't feeling it and took it slow. I finally woke up a couple hours later when I found myself on the "Kentucky Rattlesnake". About 40 miles of the 192 through the Daniel Boone forest that was awesome!!! It had ONE turn with a slight crack...and that was it. Simply beautiful!
Hope you all enjoy your time there...I seem to be riding a couple of days ahead of Irma!!
I've got beef jerky! We'll be there on Wed. morning'ish.
George
All, I understand you likely have accommodations already, This year, the campground did not get reserved due to location changes. The campground had a full booking that cancelled last night and now has cabins, tent and RV sites open amd an empty pavilion for the nightly gatherings. Call in and book if you wish. Troy and Sheila stopped in last night and are in the Tellico Rafter Road cabins as they are each year.
Have safe travels and I hope to see you here.
Eh, Hurricane Irma in Tellico Plains would have been about like riding during a 25th percentile Boone rally.
I'm gonna have to miss this one. I'll be going to Florida to help my mom take care of a few things. George & Kris, our kids are probably too old for us to arrange a play date, but it's awesome you're bringing Alex. Andrew may show up for evenings and/or a couple days this weekend, he specifically chose his work location (Rome GA) because of its proximity to all those great motorcycle roads.
Enjoy, the weather looks sensational.