Biker Rags

DAY RIDE TO PITTMAN CENTER

Once again, ready to ride!
Once again, ready to ride!

 

On Wednesday, April 27, 2016, we took a Day Ride through the mountains to our destination Pittman Center- just outside of Gatlinburg.

 

Pamo kicks off the ride in this video. (I don’t get it right though.)

We left our home in north Knoxville at 9:30am. It was one of those days that was beautiful, but with afternoon storms in the forecast. So we prepared by packing our rain gear along with a light jacket.

We rode south on Alcoa Highway to Maryville where we took 411, then took 129 south. We rode south to Chilhowee Dam where we made our first stop.

Backside of Chilowee Dam
Backside of Chilowee Dam
Below the dam.
Below the dam.
Hi Jeff!
Hi Jeff!

From Chilhowee Dam, we continued for a short distance on south 129 to The Foothills Parkway.

Entrance to the Foothills Parkway.
Entrance to the Foothills Parkway.
Always a great road to ride.
Always a great road to ride.

Pamo talks about the Pit Boss Bell half helmet:

We add a bit more gear to ride through the mountains:

Then we traveled over the Foothills stopping along the way for a few photos:

View from the Foothills Parkway.
View from the Foothills Parkway.
Jeff enjoying the view.
Jeff enjoying the view.
Hi Pamo.
Hi Pamo.
Once last look at the view.
Once last look at the view.

After exiting the Foothills Parkway, we turned right onto 411 where we rode through Townsend and took 73.

Highway 73 traveling through the Smoky Mountains.
Highway 73 traveling through the Smoky Mountains.

73 is a beautiful rode that took us through the Smoky Mountains heading toward Gatlinburg.

We made a pit stop at the Visitor Center just outside of Gatlinburg.
We made a pit stop at the Visitor Center just outside of Gatlinburg.

After leaving the Visitor Center, we rode through Gatlinburg then took 321 south to Pittman Center.

View of the Pittman Center just outside of Gatlinburg.
View of Morning Mist Village in Pittman Center- just outside of Gatlinburg.
Another view of the Mountain Mist Village in Pittman Center.
Another view of the Morning Mist Village in Pittman Center.
More shops and restaurants across the street.
More shops and restaurants across the street.
Walking around inside Mountain Mist Village.
Walking around inside Morning Mist Village.
Mountain Mist Village
Morning Mist Village

The restaurant we had planned to eat at was closed and the only other close by restaurant was packed- so we decided to take 454 to Sevierville.

Once in Sevierville, we stopped at our favorite A&W to get hamburgers, fries, onion rings and a root beer float. YUM!

Jeff preps everything.
Jeff preps everything.
A lot of food and really tasty!
A lot of food and really tasty!

After enjoying lunch, we took 321 south to Chestnut Hill- the home of Bush’s Baked Beans.

Bush's Baked Beans General Store, Restaurant and Museum.
Bush’s Baked Beans General Store, Restaurant and Museum.
This is always a fun place to stop at. Very tourist friendly!
This is always a fun place to stop for a break. Very tourist friendly!

From Chestnut Hill we took 92 heading toward Dandridge.

We stopped at Angelo’s to take a few photos:

Here's the bridge and backside of the dike over Dandridge.
Here’s the bridge and backside of the dike over Dandridge.
View from behind the restaurant at the marina. Always beautifully maintained.
View from behind the restaurant. Always beautifully maintained.

We rode through Dandridge, then took 25/70 back into Knoxville.

We got back home at 4:30pm.

There's one of our cats coming up to say hello.
There’s one of our cats coming up to say hello.

Our total ride was 175 miles and it never did rain! Yay!

Jeff and one of our fur kids.
Jeff and one of our fur kids.

Jeff wraps up the day in this video:

You can view our entire list of DAY RIDES by CLICKING HERE.