"F" It

[Road Runner]

Josh, what he ^ said.

[D-Eagle]

That's a little cold for camping. Or anything for that manner.
Glad you are enjoying it though. Awesome you are getting in some good riding!!

[Intech]

I have woken in my tent many times with frost lining the inside. 26 is no problem...until you have to get up to pee at night!

[Bugnatr]

I have woken in my tent many times with frost lining the inside. 26 is no problem...until you have to get up to pee at night!

That covers 2 of my top 5 reasons not to camp.

[Cav47]

Enough with the crying about my daily career life I chose. Let’s get to the pics and words.

After this trip I have learned some very valuable lessons.

1. I need to lose 15more lbs of body weight.
2. I need to reduce my gear/packed volume by 15% to take a couple different things
3. I need to have some “emergency” food for getting to camp late and not having any stores out in the middle of nowhere.
4. Having a buddy or 2 to share camping chores is way more efficient than doing it all solo.
5. Off road exploring yields way more fun than I ever could have considered.
6.The BDRX people put together some great riding
7. My bike is an absolute beast and can handle the roughest terrain and not blink.
8. I met a couple guys at TWO and they, like almost all other enthusiasts, are just great people. Re-affirming my believe in humanity.
9. I paired down my picture choices to about 200 for the report. I could have taken 3 times that many.
10. Motorcycles are good for my soul. I can’t believe what a little moto camping adventure can do to my mindset.
There is probably more lessons I will recall as I write the report, but I am ready to go back tomorrow.

I left Thursday morning after teaching Zero hour Driver Ed and getting the building squared away. Walked out of the office in exasperation I needed to reset. Went over to the Unit office to check out and tell the wife goodbye.

Loading the bike seemed to take forever and the finally hit the road about 10am. The first part of the drive is uneventful 2 lane highways for about 2 hours then hopping on the interstates toward the dreaded Nashville and even worse Chattanooga.

Weather is good and the bike is riding decently with the cross winds.


I am able to make some time on the interstates before the bigger cities bit that comes to a halt as soon approach Chattanooga. There is stopped bumper to bumper traffic 10 miles before the stupidity of Chattanooga so I decide to try and get off the interstate. The different GPS apps are all screaming at me to do something different. I get stuck again in traffic on side roads……. A semi hit a low bridge and gridlocked the road again. All in all I spent 90 min in the area. It sucked as usual.

The last 40 miles into TWO are dark curvy roads after a 10 hour drive.


I got camp set up quick and climbed into the bag. I finally could relax. Temps were supposed to be in the 30s, but the wind was blowing hard off the lake. I made a mistake in my new sleeping pad. I flipped it upside down. It felt colder then my old one but I still slept okay in the 0* degree bad, hoodie, beanie, and thermal bottoms with clean fresh wool socks.

I got out of the tent about 7:45 EST. The sun helped warm up things decently.


The shadows over the creek held some frost as I walked to the bathroom. I didn’t see another camper anywhere but there was a few guys in the lodge apartment upstairs. The one I talked to had no idea where they were riding as he was not the navigator. Lol.


I had to take my truck over to the parking area and that was where I met Mike and Rich. Brothers in law to each other. They were also riding the BDRX but staying in “luxury” accommodations like ABBs, Bed and Breakfasts, and hotels. That’s the beauty of the BDR and riders; it takes all kinds and whatever works for you is an option.

Empty campground behind. For those who know, I stayed on the near side of the bridge to keep the truck close in hopes to be efficient.

All my gear eventually found its place on the bike and ready to go. Packing up the first time always is a Tetris type exercise. Getting the heavy things in the bottom and organizing in a smart way to get set up at camp without dumping the whole bag out.


“Hike your own Hike” is a phrase often associated with the Appalachian Trail. I needed to do just that so it struck out ahead of Mike and Rich who were still getting their KTMs geared up.




The best thing about staying at TWO is the good riding is literally right in front of you. Not like 10 miles away but get on the road in front and turn left and you are there. The area is renowned for paved roads but this will be my first time off road down here.

The BDRX here is a 3 section loop with distances ranging from 150ish miles to 100 miles depending on how many bonus segments you take and if you encounter any detours or closed areas.


Getting onto the gravel is a good way to ease into the route.


The first section is easy and making miles click away as I get my dirt legs back.






Some detours were easy to get around and others were locked gates.

I didn’t really study the route ahead of time. Just ride and figure it out on the fly.



It was chilly but I didn’t have to plug in the jacket


The riding difficulty increased in a few areas, but nothing extreme.


The surface was a perfect blend of tacky red clay with gravel and no dust.




The paved road below had a few muscle cars ripping around. I shut off the bike often and just listened to the forest. Just something special about hearing a sports car thunder through the curves.




More in a few minutes


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[Cav47]

One of the closures was on Duncan Ridge but I was able to ride up the other side. Back to the first locked gate. It was here that I ran into a Mike and Rich. Apparently right after I went by the first closure, they came by and someone from a logging company opened it for them. I still got to ride it. Actually twice!



A unique feature about the BDR is that the roads often pop you out to a local store.


Almost forgot to snag a pic of the apple I bought inside.


Along the route there are extensions added to feature places like Helton Falls







Nice tiered walkways and almost no one around.




There are a few smaller water crossing that are in great shape. Water is clear and little to no algae like Arkansas. A few of them I hit at speed and others I scouted.



Hatchet Creek



The riding up to this point has been easy to moderate. Popcorn Road changed that some. The views are expansive and I lucked out on the weather.


The skies could fool you to believe it was warm, but it was not as you can see the ice and snow still up at elevation in the shade.


Pipcorn Creek is an optional route that lets you know ahead of time it is harder than the regular route.




Sometimes the route got greasy.




I used the buff to keep the cold out.


The rain ruts got bigger as the road dropped in elevation.

The camera never shows the angle of steepness, but trust me, the extension was worthy of the rating.




If weather conditions were bad, this area would be really tough. But I could carefully pick through the harder terrain. Some places you just have to let the Honda eat and twist the throttle.




The water crossings are fun and the miles are great.






The route dumps you out on a favorite paved road known as War Woman Rd. Unfortunately there was another closed road that went north into the woods.


The pink route below I had to skip. But if you look closely you can see the route I was horribly forced to suffer through.


If you know you know.



I have railed this on the FJR, but something about a light weight bike and an empty road is magical. How awesome would it be to ride some super moto tires?




You can see the shadows getting longer as I spend tons of time just enjoying what presented. I was living in the moment. It was exactly what I needed.



As I ride, my thoughts are random and I often think of moto friends I would like to share this with. Sometimes it is cryptic and other times it is obvious who I think of. Apparently this is one of the overt times where we all know where Skooter is headed on his most recent journey. Maybe this is where he gets all of his ‘material’.


Some things just work out for the best. This is one of those times. As I approached Dillard and started to look for a place to camp, I headed into Ingles grocery store to procure dinner. Standing at the meat counter a gentleman asked about my riding gear and we chatted a bit. I asked him if he was local and if he knew any good places to camp. It just so happened that he was the park supervisor at Black Rock Mountain state park for 25 years. He gave me some local knowledge to camp up high because the valley was going to get real cold tonight. The park is the highest state park in Georgia. The man steered me right. The park had all the needed features. Picnic table, fire ring, level tent pad, shower house with plenty of hot water. Oh yeah, the price was cheap. 11 bucks. But I couldn’t get anyone to take my money that night.

I snagged a walk in site that I was able to ride the bike down to.


Complete with bear boxes


Just the basics for dinner. Nothing fancy.


The camp host said wood gathering is okay and I found some hardwood close by that was good and dry.

I snapped a pic of Clayton as the sun disappeared and I set up camp.

Night 2 conclusion in a few


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[Cav47]

Finishing up the day. The fire was warm and hardwood makes for a solid cooking fire. I took my time snacking as I built up a good bed of coals. Plenty of signal to call the wife and look at ideas for tomorrow. Weird though, I couldn’t check my work email.



When you slay the day, you top it off with a thick bone in ribeye. Lumberg would be proud.


The beauty shot


Just the basics to wrap up the night. Ingles has an olive bar and smoked Gouda that are impossible to pass up. $31 bucks for a meal from a grocery store is a lot, but worth every penny.


I did my best to make sure no bears were attracted by leftovers. I washed stuffed.


I washed up the dishes and took a shower at the very nice bathhouse. I only saw one other campsite occupied. Without a doubt, I will seek out that campground again. What a great start to the ride. All the BS was gone out of my head. This was therapy worth committing to.

Section 3 tomorrow. Hope you like the report and it inspires you to find your own adventure.


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[fontanaman]

Excellent report. Good to ride it a newer BDR-X now before it is over loved and the going gets really tough.

[Intech]

Good stuff Josh!

[D-Eagle]

Camping: You lost me at bear box.

Otherwise excellent report!

[Hppants]

I've ridden quite a few of those roads on day trips when I was Summer'd there. Popcorn Road is no joke - IIRC, I turned around on that one. There's another road in that region that was rutted up from the Jeeps and 4x4 vehicles. The ruts were taller than me.

I"m surprised the water crossings were that quiet. You got lucky there to find a dry window of weather in the late winter.

More please!

[El Toro Joe]

Camping: You lost me at bear box.

Otherwise excellent report!

No need to worry about bear if you're camping with Pants...they will stay very far away. IYKYK

[fontanaman]

Popcorn Road is no joke - IIRC, I turned around on that one. There's another road in that region that was rutted up from the Jeeps and 4x4 vehicles. The ruts were taller than me.

More please!

+1 Pants. Here is a BDR map of Josh's adventure. I checked out the Chattangooche BDR X Updates to see the Popcorn Road is rated red. I have learned to avoid red BDR roads. At 69 I don't need such challenges, it is challenging enough be this old. At this age I like roads where I smile not roads that make me go ah shit!

[Cav47]

Section 3 Dillard to Elijay. About 140 planned miles. A couple of added sections. Temps in the low 40s overnight with light winds and no humidity.


The next morning opened up very well. You could see the cold air down in the valley and fog settled there.

The campsite was tight, but plenty of room for what I carried with. If I moved the bike back up the trail a little, another tent would fit fine.



The sun warmed things up quick to the 50s and I knew I was going to be able to leave the heated jacket in the bags.


The 100yd walk to the bath house after my morning tea was pleasant. I did see a couple bigger spiders and one that had a big body (recluse?) in the corners. One made its way toward my backpack. I un-alived him because he didn’t understand boundaries.


The path back to the walk in site. As I got close, a herd of 5-6 deer bounded away after a quick grunt at me. Staying in out of the way places has it benefits.


Loaded up and ready to find what else is around the next corner.


One last perspective with a panoramic view.


I buzzed by this last night to try and get set up for camp. The park needs to be explored more next time.



Watersheds toward the Mississippi and the Gulf or the Savannah River and the Atlantic.


The elevation sign was way below where I camped. My park friend said I would be camping about 3,300 ft. I believe him.


A quick jaunt back to the route was less than 5 miles. Just west of Dillard where the gravel started I ran past a house and the smells were sublime. The sign along the road was was small, but a double back was in order.

It was still early and I couldn’t tell, other than the sign, that the bakery was open.

This nice lady, who is the owner gently pushed the door open and invited me in.

She engaged me in the story of the store and how they make all the food. Ingredients, processes, and sourcing of said items flowed freely from her. I made her give me the rundown of a few select items that looked especially good. Since she made them all, my favorite kept changing. A few of them were still warm and she even popped back to the kitchen to retrieve more from the oven.


I will include her card in the next post.

Since I simply could not pick one..............and no one was gonna tell me different, I picked these three.

The bananna bread was hot out of the oven. Great at 9 out of 10. The cinnamon roll was a average at 7, but the blueberry scone was 13/10. I should have bought more.

As part of her property, she has a little gazebo and I took my bounty to eat and enjoy it over looking the pond.





Right away the track starts climbing around the mountain. Plenty of places to stop and listen to the forest.


You really could feel the temps vary in the shade and elevation changes.



The tunes were going right along with the landscape. The XT GPS is a great unit in my opinion. It does everything I want and seems to be intuitive to what should happen. Music pairs easily with my old Sena 10 everytime. The screen and controls are familiar and do not jump around weird with gloves on. Information is quickly accessed if you know the menus and what buttons to push. The tracks upload easily once you know the right sequence. I am very happy with the unit.


3,300ft is no mountain when we talk about the west, but around here that elevation works just fine.



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[gixxerjasen]

Deer on the walking trail = benefits
Deer on the riding trail = assholes

Looks like a score on that bakery.

[Cav47]

Here is the best part of the bakery experience. Well maybe not the best, but definitely a perk. The name Quizzical plays a part in each order. She has a sign that says “Ask about the trivia question for a discount.” So I asked and she pulled a card from a trivia pursuit type stack. And asks if I would like Modern American history. I tell her I was a history and science teacher, maybe that might be a little unfair. She responded with “I hope you get it right”.

My question was “Which American company was originally named Cadabra?” I was already pretty sure, but before I could answer she asked if I wanted to hear the choices. Intel, Apple, Amazon, and Google were the choices.

I said “Amazon” and she gave me 50% off the bill for a total of $5 dollars. I gave her a $10 and sheepishly said keep the change.

The location is close enough to a paved road I would go back on the FJR or vehicle. I just looked it up. It’s .8 miles off of Betty’s Creek road on Patterson Gap Rd. Valley Springs Lodging. Apparently there is a bed and breakfast there.


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[wheatonFJR]

Josh, awesome report. I especially liked the part where you smushed the big spider guts. No manners on that spider at all. A true motocamping trip. Kudos sonny! Lol

[fontanaman]

The moment the spider died I could almost here "F" It.

Great ride report and good on you for getting out there in the cold. Later in the year this route is likely to be very crowded with head on collisions a distinct possibility.

[escapefjrtist]

Most excellent ride report and mental calibration Josh!

~G

[bigjohnsd]

First rate!