Day 2 - Trans-America Trail begins

.
I woke up with freezing temperature outside. The top of my tent was covered in frost. After running to the bathroom in the middle of the night, I decided not to undress again since if I zip my sleeping bag all of way, I would be sweating. With clothes on, I could open up a little.

First thing when I woke up, I ran to the bath house and took hot shower. I guess I was there forever - I did not want to get out to the cold again. Well, time is money, so, while trembling I got the towel, get the water off body and got dresses as quick as you can only imagine. If there was a fire, I would not get dressed that quick.

I prepared some oatmeal with coffee and packed the bike. I had to re-edit the routes in GPS since I hadn't done it before. Tennessee's trail has been paved a lot. As far as I can tell, not recently. By how bad the roads are, and how poorly they have been maintained, I can tell for years (if not decades). But the whole ride is just a pleasure. Tennessee in it's finest.

I rode 304 miles the Day 2, averaging 27MPH (don't mind the maximum speed though).

Here is the track for Day 2.

Here are some pictures from the ride with some comments.

Road closed to the Dam of Rock Island State Park (part of TAT),had to go around.

Road to the Whispering Oaks Campground, somewhere between Nashville and Chattanooga (I don't think I spelled it right, but you get it).

It was getting dark and I needed to find a place to crash, and again, had to GO. I stopped at some kinda church. I asked an elderly woman if I could use some amenities in the church. She said that it would not be a problem, just go in, go in between the aisle, then to the left, then around some other stuff...

...just imagine, there is a service going on, then an astronaut walks in, going through, shuts the door, flushes the toilet, walks out wiping his hands of the pants and zipping them up. No... I'll hold for another 10 minutes.

When I got to the campground I started unpacking my bike and guess what, I discovered what was knocking all day long.

That round shit goes into the flat shit. There are four of them. Two on top, and two on the bottom. The top was OK, the two on the bottom did not get their way into each other. Something to watch out next time.

Time for daily maintenance. I rode a lot of unpaved roads and need to clean and lubricate my chain very good to extend the life of it. Well, I don't have a spare with me anyways. Neither I have sprockets. I do have chain breaker and rivet tool with spare rivet master link (in case it breaks).

IF YOU DO PREVENTATIVE MAINTENACE ON YOUR BIKE - YOU RIDE IT, IF YOU DON'T - YOU FIX IT.

That's why it's a good idea to have a centerstand on an adventure bike.
I set up my tent. By the way. When I registered I was given a pleasure to choose whatever the heck campsite I want. Well. I chose the one with post light which plugs in to a receptacle.

It was getting dark, and I plugged in the light - no go. OK, maybe I need to wait until something warms up? While I was waiting, the owner (name is Jeff) shows up on ATV checking if I paid and properly registered. YES and YES. By the way, I'm asking the guy. What the heck is wrong with this county, I wanted to buy some beer at the gas station and there is a law - no alcohol on Sundays to be sold. Jeff was kind - I'll be back he says and speeds away. He comes with two bottles of beer in a bag with ice. How much? It's on Jeff, don't worry. OK, there is a light at my site that does not work. It's the only site with the light, I chose it because everyone else around here is in an RV, I'm in freaking tent. Oh, the receptacle has a short, I did not get time to fix it. I can bring you an extension cord, he says and off he went. Here, I introduce the co-owner of Whispering Oaks Campground somewhere on I-24 between Nashville and Chatano... ...whotever, JEFF:

Take a look at the coffee mug on the table, it ain't mine, and it ain't for beer.
When Jeff gone, I prepared some Indian food. Well, I forgot to get some bread, so...

By the way, the light is fixed. As usually, with an extension cord and duck tape.

Day 1 - Getting to Jellico, TN

.
Hello, friends!

First of all, I'd like to apologize for not updating my blog in time. I did not have access to internet for two nights. Tonight, after completing Day 3, I'm staying at a motel in Holly Springs, MS with WiFi internet

Second of all, I'd like to warn you, this is private blog and and you view and read it at your own risk. Some harsh, curse language will be used, some disturbing images will be posted.

And lastly, even if I don't update my blog, you can always just track my progress using SPOT ME personal tracker.

OK, Day 1 was not a hole lot of an off-road ride, but the goal was to get to the destination, Jellico, TN, where Trans-America Trail starts.

I will post someof the pictures taken that day with some comments.

For Day 1 I rode almost 390 miles, some highway, some slab, and some unpaved trails. My average was 31 MPH, with maximum speed, well,I would not mention that.

Here is my track below.

While riding the Appalachian Trail,some branch got stock in my belly guard, well, it scraped lots of highway pavement after all.

When I got to the first coal mining facility,I rode right in the loading dock. The guy in an excavator did not mind me there, or taking pictures. It was Saturday, so he was doing his business (loading a pick up truck with one spoon of coal), I was doing mine - taking pictures. He actually mentioned that I had to have a helmet and safety shoes. Bro, are you kidding me, I'm a freaking astronaut, look at me, I'm protected better than a turtle.

I camped at Indian Mountain State Park near Jellico, TN. Well, it's a park where we go for a walk some time. Here I watch kids at a playground, behind,some dirty motorcyclist pulling stinky socks and hanging to dry, while camping stove boiling some water for the evening tea.

I went to bed about 9:30PM. Since there is no internet, no TV, no nothing, there is not a whole lot I can do in the dark, maybe waste some batteries. So,daylight - ride, night time - sleep and rest.

I was almost asleep, but lousy kids would not go home and kept screaming at the playground - shut up, go home, do your homework... or something. Well, then geese came around delivering some more poop to the sidewalks.

Everything got quieter when it got colder. I woke up about 1AM. When it got colder, I had to GO. Well, I had a choice, do it in the boot, or get cold and run for the bathroom. Shit, not now...

...I needed dry boots in the morning. When I woke up, the top of the tent was frozen. I checked my thermometer on my bike - 37F (it lies about 5-6 degrees - someone needs to calibrate it).