Big Stone Gap, Virginia

October 11th - 12th, 2003

Trip Statistics:

Time Traveled - Weekend Ride
Miles Traveled - 408
Accommodations - $85
Gas - $10
Food (Estimated) -

by Phil and Kim Smith, Walling Creek KY

It was about 8:45 Saturday morning when I finished loading the trunk and tank bag and fired the engine on my 20 year old Suzuki.  It had rained during the night but the road was dry now and the fog was beginning to lift.  It was still cool at about 55degrees but I like riding in the cool of the morning, it is refreshing.  This was to be the first time out with the Country Roads group for my wife and I, first time riding with any group for that matter.  The old 650 started right up and we headed out or our “holler” in Wallins Creek towards the main road and a weekend of fun and adventure.

            We turned onto US119 and headed toward Pineville.  Traffic was light and we made good time, it was about 40 miles to Middlesboro and another 20 or so to the Veterans Overlook off of US25 at the top of Clinch Mountain.  A light rain was just beginning as we pulled into the parking lot at the overlook.  We were a few minutes early so took cover at the restaurant (you know the place- the one with the sign advertising vinegar pie) to wait on the others to arrive.  In a few minutes I saw three Harleys pull into the overlook so I went over to introduce myself.  I was greeted by Dan, Judy and Bruce and Yvonne Pirtle who came up from Chattanooga to join in this ride.  They had all ridden up from the Knoxville area that morning.  It was still trying to rain and we all could have used some coffee, so we returned to the restaurant to pick up my wife and sit out the shower.  Well… the food was inviting so we had a quick bite and some coffee.

            The shower was short lived and we soon found ourselves on the road and headed for Pineville KY.  Dan had asked me to lead the way since I was from the area and knew the route we were to take.  We stopped in Pineville to fill the fuel tanks before starting up Straight Creek.  This was a route that the club had not traveled before so I continued to lead.  KY 221 was a nice road to travel by motorcycle, it can be crowed with coal trucks at times but, we didn’t see any today.  The two lane road winds through about 25 miles of Bell and Harlan countys paralleling the creek past country churches and cow pastures following the Northern base of Pine Mountain to the Junction with US421 at Bledsoe KY in Harlan county.  At this point we turned onto US 421 and began to climb to the summit of Pine Mountain.  Near the peak, there is a nice break in the trees that reveal a great view of the smaller mountains below and to the north, on a clear day you can see several counties from here.  We passed the summit and started down the other side passing beneath the locally famous “overhanging rock”, an enormous bolder that was too big to move at the time the road was built so they just left it hanging out over the road.  It has been there this long, I guess it is not going anywhere anytime soon.  After a few more minutes and a lot of turns we come out at the junction with US119 in Baxter KY, just a few miles from the town of Harlan.

            It was just a quick run up US119 north 22 miles to Cumberland KY where again we left the path more traveled and cruised up the two lane to Benham KY for a stop at the Benham Inn and restaurant where we planned to have lunch.  Much to our dismay the Inn has stopped serving lunch on Saturday and we were turned away hungry.  It is still a cool place to visit but don’t go if you’re hungry.  We decided since it was still early in the afternoon and we were all starving, we would go back to Cumberland for lunch.  We decided to give Charlotte’s Hoagie Shop a try, it seems to be very popular with the locals.  The food was good although there was some speculation among our group that someone had to go out back -catch the chicken, pluck it,  cook it for our meal.

            Refreshed from our meal and ready to travel again we mounted up for the final leg of the day’s journey.  We rode back up the two lane through Benham and Lynch past the Coal Mining Museum and an old brick building that once housed the Lynch Colored School.  There was a ceremony of some sort taking place at the mine portal and from the looks we got as we passed, the attendees didn’t have much use for motorcycles so we didn’t stop.  Children playing in the front yards or sitting on the porches smiled or waved as we passed through the little town of Lynch.  The two lane slowly began to gain elevation as we passed the Lynch Country Club with it’s unusual seven hole par three golf course.  This leg of the journey was the high point of the day.  We climbed the winding road about 3,000 ft above the valley below to the Summit which is the highest point in the state of Kentucky. As we crossed the top of the mountain and began our descent into Virginia, we were greeted with a burst of beautiful fall color and a glorious view of the carpet of colorful trees covering the valley below.  We stopped along the side of the road several times as we descended the mountain road to gaze upon the autumn splendor, it was truly breath taking.  As we neared the foot of the mountain our machines flowed over the curves like water over the rocks in the clear mountain stream that ran beside the road, spilling into the narrow meadows and pastures of Appalachia.  In a few minutes we reached the day’s destination, the Comfort Inn in Big Stone VA.

            The Hotel was far above the average chain type hotel.  Dan tells me that it is owned by wealthy local business men that take a lot of pride in their hotel and have made a much more than you would expect.  Our room was a suite with a Jacuzzi, a couch, microwave and fridge, gas fire place king size bed and a 52” big screen T.V.  What more could a man ask for.  We all gathered in Dan's room that evening for dinner of Pizza and a few adult beverages while watching the night race at Lowes Motor Speedway in Charlotte NC (and flipping back and forth to the U.T. football game but they lost so we won’t talk about that….., besides I am a UK fan just waiting for basketball season).

            The next morning we loaded the bikes again and after topping off the fuel tanks, mounted up for a short run over to Duffield and up US23 a short distance to the Natural Tunnel State Park.  At the park we took a short walk up to an over look where we could gaze down to the railroad that runs through the tunnel.  Beside the rail, runs the creek that over thousands of years has worn away the over 300’ of stone and formed this natural wonder that is large enough for a full size coal train to pass through! Yes, it was remarkable.  After a short visit at the museum and welcome center we bought a $3.00 ticket to ride a chair lift to the base of the tunnel.  We were joined by a 15 year old local boy who visits the park everyday.  He could hear a train coming 5 minutes before any of us could.  We  spent several minutes looking for trout in the stream and hiking to the oldest cabin in Scott Co. VA which has been restored on the grounds of the Natural Tunnel.  After several pictures and another train, we boarded the chair lift again and rode back to the top where we mounted up and rode back to Duffield.

            By this time it was lunch time so we stopped at the Hardee’s in Duffield for lunch and talk of past and futures rides and club activity.  After lunch we saddled up for the last leg of the VA portion of the trip.  We cruised down Wallen Ridge and US58 following the base of the majestic Stone Mountain.  This was one of my favorite parts of the trip.  US58 is a great road to ride on, you can open it up a little more but there are still plenty of great curves and the whole area is just beautiful, lined with stately colonial style homes, country farm houses and little white churches.  We took our final rest stop at a filling station at the base of the mountain below the “White Rocks”.  We said our final goodbyes and exchanged e-mail addresses with our new friends before mounting up for the final run back to Cumberland Gap.  As we approached the exit at the gap we pulled up beside our new friends, then with a wave and a “beep” of the horn we parted ways and motored through the Cumberland Gap Tunnel and back up US25E to Pineville.  We turned onto Us119 and sped home to see our twins who had spent the weekend with their grand parents.

            The others in the group started this trip from the Knoxville TN area and ended at the same point.  I am unsure of the exact route they traveled from and back to the Knoxville or the exact mileage for their part of the trip.  When I pulled into my drive way we had traveled about 290 miles.  The old 650 held up pretty well only being a little slow starting one time when it was cold in the morning.  When we finally dismounted there were three things that were very, very clear to us:  our butts were tired; we really need a bigger bike; and above all, we loved riding with Country Roads.  Thanks to all of you  who make that possible.