Suzuki 2 Strokes

Hi People,

I'm a newbie to the Forum but live just minutes away from Deal's Gap. I'll be happy to provide members with any info (where to stay, where to eat, where to ride in addition to the Gap, etc.) they might need prior to coming here.

If you've never ridden here, please be careful. We lose a few riders every year to the Gap and the Cherohala Skyway.

CaptCatFish

I rode down there from Toronto for the first time this year! Did the Dragon and the Cherohala!
Going to do the Moonshiner next summer!!
I learned a lesson though this year. Next year I'm bringing beer!!! Who'd have thought that Robbinsville is in a dry county!
Cliff!

Yep, its "dry" alright. Pick up trash on any road and count the beer cans. Funny thing is how the Baptist preachers and bootleggers climb in bed together to rail against the evils of drinking anytime there's a petition to legalize it.

IMO, being "dry" has actually contributed to deaths in our county rather than reduce them. Our DUI fatality rate is twice that of surrounding "wet" counties because locals (and others) drive out of county to buy alcohol, then drink and drive all the way home. These mountain roads are pretty unforgiving.......

There are folks with some sense here trying to get alcohol legalized so that we can keep the sales tax and revenue in county (like the other 99 counties in NC). Not to mention reduce DUI-related deaths.......

I sure hope you'll come back to ride regardless. My offer to help still stands............

CaptCatFish

CaptCatFish wrote:Yep, its "dry" alright. Pick up trash on any road and count the beer cans. Funny thing is how the Baptist preachers and bootleggers climb in bed together to rail against the evils of drinking anytime there's a petition to legalize it.

IMO, being "dry" has actually contributed to deaths in our county rather than reduce them. Our DUI fatality rate is twice that of surrounding "wet" counties because locals (and others) drive out of county to buy alcohol, then drink and drive all the way home. These mountain roads are pretty unforgiving.......

There are folks with some sense here trying to get alcohol legalized so that we can keep the sales tax and revenue in county (like the other 99 counties in NC). Not to mention reduce DUI-related deaths.......

I sure hope you'll come back to ride regardless. My offer to help still stands............

CaptCatFish

Sorry to hijack this thread, but what does "dry county" actually mean - No sale of alcohol at all (i.e. no bars), or no take-home sales?

I'm from Australia - they're trialling something like this in a few places and it seems like a pretty inadequate solution there.

"Dry" means no legal sales of alcohol (beer, wine, liquor) to the general public anywhere, anytime (and absolutely no "liquor by the drink"). So this means you cannot buy a beer with your food or buy a six pack to take back to your home. The only exceptions are those lodging facilities that have a tennis court and apply for an exemption. That's right, if you run a hotel or lodge and have a tennis court, a quirk in the NC law allows you to apply for an exception to the county rule and sell alcohol. So for a county of only 8,000 people, we probably have more tennis courts relative to the number of people who play than any other county in North Carolina. Go figure................

So if you come here to ride, there are four places where you can buy alcohol legally within the county (and a few bootleggers as well but you'll have to find them on your own). Or you can just ride out to my home and have a few with me while we sit on the porch, look at the mountains and talk about Suzuki two strokes. Just don't ask me to play tennis

CaptCatFish

Hey Capt.! Welcome to the forum. been to the 2-stroke meet a couple of times and had a blast. Always thinkin bout doing some fishing while I was there for a couple of days or so. Have looked at sites on the web about the area and cant find anything about some good fishing . Like to plug for bass mostly, im sure you guys have alot of trout? Can ya help a feller out? thanks Sonny Gallatin, Tn.

Sure can. Unless you're really into stream fishing, the best place to catch trout (IMO) is Caulderwood Lake. Obviously you'll need a boat. Motor all the way down to the dam and start trolling back (very slowly) toward the boat launch using "cowbells" (available from Cabela's) and nightcrawlers. You also can cast the banks with success using tube jibs (motor oil is my favorite color). The bite is totally dependent on when TVA releases the water to generate current. You can get a pretty good idea through their website about when they are going to do it (varies according to seasonal power demands).

For stream fishing, Snowbird and the Little Snowbird are favorites, as well as the Nantahala River. I don't stream fish much because I keep falling down and the water is very very cold.

For lake fishing, I'm primarily a live bait fisherman. Give me a bucket of shiners and a good rocky point and we'll have a (smallmouth) fish fry (almost) everytime. Winter and spring fishing in cold nasty weather is best. Warm summer days are better spent riding.......

I hope this helps

CaptCatFish

Catfish! I'm in for the fish fry!! I'll bring the beer (Canadian Beer!), you bring the shiners!
I'll be at Deal's Gap sometime in the last week of July next year! Charity Crisp did me a favour and I owe her!! I have to at least thank her in person and bring her down a beer!!
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Cliff!

Consider it done! A fish fry in exchange for Canadian beer is a good trade all the way round.

Even though I've lived here 10 years, I've never been to one of the two stroke rallies. I guess because I sorta got out of motorcycles for awhile (I've been riding since the 60s) and only recently got back in when I bought the Titan. I'm sure I'll have my T500 restoration completed by then and really look forward to getting together with other two stroke riders.

Let's stay in touch and I'll get back out on the lake as soon as it gets cold and nasty .

Best regards

CaptCatFish

Hey Capt.! Thanks for the heads up. Smallmouth is right down my alley, ya`ll can keep the beer cause i`m strickley bourbon all the way(Marker`s Mark). You really should make KTW meet in May its a hoot! Like you I kinda got out of the bike stuff, marriage, kids, job and everything that goes along with it but I did hang on to my H2 all these years. Good luck with the Titan, had a `70 T350 when I was a kid (talk about eaten them cb`s up) and would love to have one now or maybe a Big Bear scrambler ! Sonny

Capt,
Make sure you make it over next May to the 2-stroke get together. I will be the one riding a "pink" buffalo, a cooler of beer, and venison stew in the crock pot. :^)

Kevin

I'll be there, hopefully on a freshly painted and completely rebuilt T-500.

Looking forward to it!

CaptCatFish

Capt, you are in Robbinsville itself or on the outskirts of town. We will be back this coming May towards the end of the month for our annual DG trek.

I live about 7 miles from courthouse up one of the roads that go up the mountain forever, and then dead-end.

It truly is a beautiful place here. The social opportunities are a bit limited (especially for a non-church-going Democrat) but I can't imagine living anywhere else since moving here from Atlanta.

I will definitely plan on connecting with members in May. Depending on how many folks we're talking about (i.e., how many fish do I have to catch and clean), the fish fry-beer drinking party at our home sounds pretty good too.

CaptCatFish

I always stay in Robbinsville at the San Ran Motel, we just went up there about 2 weeks ago for our anniversary and rode up to the Blue Ridge Parkway. It's a lot prettier than the Cherohala but the road is not as good as Cherohala, at least not what we rode on that day. We didn't ride very far north due to stopping at every overlook and taking all day.