[Wassup]

Myself and 2 buddies are in Florida, Virginia and Ohio and are looking to plan a trip over the summer.

Chattanooga is roughly equidistant for the 3 of us, so we are looking for suggestions for places to see or things to do in Eastern Tennessee.

We have, for the moment, ruled out Tail of the Dragon, due to the inexperience of yours truly. I have just gotten back into riding after 30 years and would prefer to have more miles under my belt before I tackle TOD.

Can anyone suggest any nice riding areas up that way?

Thanks

 

[outdoors4me]

Hey,

Chattanooga's aquarium is great and the area around the aquarium is pretty cool.

You also might want to take a rafting trip down the Ocoee River. It's about 40 minutes northeast of Chattanooga and the ride is scenic.

Beck

 

[vampyre]

I live in Chattanooga. I am new to riding, only been riding since December, and lived here 3 years.

The Aquarium is nice, there is a reservoir on Raccoon Mountain that has a nice twisty road getting up the mountain. It is 5 minutes from my work, and I ride that lots at lunchtime.

The Ocoee area is very nice, scenic, plenty of twisties, it is a little NE of Chattanooga, near Cleveland, TN.
I can give you more details if you like.

Riding up on Lookout Mountain is nice as well, breathtaking views.
Chris

 

[MikeB]

We have, for the moment, ruled out Tail of the Dragon, due to the inexperience of yours truly. I have just gotten back into riding after 30 years and would prefer to have more miles under my belt before I tackle TOD.

I think that the TOD myth is getting out of hand when people start to avoid the road. It's really nothing special, just another curvy road among many in that region -- and the TOD doesn't even have any elevation changes to make the curves challenging or scenery to make it interesting. In fact, for that reason I wouldn't usually recommend going out of your way to ride it but if your friends want to do it you should indulge them. Believe me, your riding skills will not be challenged unless you are trying hard to drag low-hanging bits. The nearby Cherohala Skyway IS worth a visit, though, a nice road with good views.

But if you decide later you want some excitement, come out here and I'll show you some one-lane-wide, 180-degree switchbacks up a 20 degree slope.:lol:

 

[Towmoter]

Without knowing what you like to see just look at this website http://www.tnvacation.com/. If you see something you like, post back and you will get an answer.
Do not worry about the Dragon. It would be a good road but there is way to much traffic, you can only do 30-35 mph so it is like a Sunday ride. Besides you can’t miss the Smokies, Blue Ridge Parkway and the Cherohala. And you should swing over to No Georgia and go to a Southern Tradition the Dillard House for Lunch or Supper.

 

[zodder]

For me, the best thing to see in Chattanooga would be the "Thanks For Visiting Chattanooga" sign on the way out of town. :wink:

 

[Wassup]

For me, the best thing to see in Chattanooga would be the "Thanks For Visiting Chattanooga" sign on the way out of town. :wink:

LOL!

 

[Wassup]

Thanks for all the suggestions.

To be honest, I was willing to give TOD a shot, but my buddies were concerned about my skill level and suggested it would be better if I waited until I got my riding skills back. Maybe by the fall we will change our minds.

And, it did not just have to be Chattanooga specifically, we were just looking for someplace that was fairly equidistant from our houses. Somewhere in the 600 mile range from Canton, Alexandria, and Orlando.

 

[Towmoter]

For me, the best thing to see in Chattanooga would be the "Thanks For Visiting Chattanooga" sign on the way out of town. :wink:

I've been to Toronto, Vancover, Calgary and Thunder Bay and I have never had a bad word to say about them. Why do you insult the South East?

 

[zodder]

:wink: = j/k

 

[Leveredge]

Zodder lives in NY. Our brains don't thaw out until about mid-July. It gets to mid-30s here and we think we are having fun riding. WTH do we know!

 

[zodder]

LOL. I can't argue with that!

 

[nsshirai]

Chattanooga is a beautiful city with friendlier people than those yankees in NY.

As far as stuff to do, downtown's got a giant freshwater aquarium (which was where my first summer job was), coffee shops and restaurants, a pub and a few bars, etc. The Bluff View Arts District and associated pedestrian bridge leading to the north shore of the TN River has lots of cool stuff --- neat things to do and see on both ends of the bridge.

As for riding, we've got a 20-degree 180-switchback road too -- it's called the "W" road and winds its way up Signal Mountain on the northwest side of town. Lookout Mountain, on the southwest side, has some pretty awesome roads as well -- take Ochs hwy up the side of it and spend some time exploring up there. Lots of Civil War era stuff to check out, if you're into that.

The surrounding area is gorgeous -- I especially recommend US-64 E, take I-75 North to Cleveland and then hit US-64 East toward North Carolina - it'll take you by the Ocoee river and through some of the most beautiful wilderness in this part of the country. You'll be riding a winding road alongside whitewater streams, centuries-old forest, and the Appalachian mountains. If you head further north toward the Knoxville area, east of there is an area called Sevierville and Gatlinburg which get up into the Great Smokey Mountains, which has some great riding. On the other side of things, if you take I-24W toward Nashville you'll come to a place called Monteagle Mountain with some nice back roads that wind around the Winchester/Sewanee area. The Jack Daniels distillery isn't too far from there either. Funny thing is, it's located in a dry county.

Let me know if you've got more questions. Chattanooga and the surrounding area is beautiful, and the city itself can be lots of fun if you give it a chance.

 

[Wassup]

Thanks NSS, that sounds like a nice area, I love Civil War stuff, so that is a definite possibility. And Lookout Mountain sounds appealing too.

 

[gopjohnny]

dont miss eating at the chattanooga choo choo hotel,

 

[mountain bike mike]

dont miss eating at the chattanooga choo choo hotel,

i had catfish there back in '94. pretty decent food...the service was very good.

the aquarium is VERY nice. here on the west coast, we have a few salt-water aquariums. the chatanooga aqu is the only freshwater aqu i've visited. i really liked it.

 

[CosmicCowboy]

If you hit the Nashville area, you also have the Parthenon, and everything Music City has to offer.

But I'd rather sight-see in Chattanooga.

 

[Towmoter]

:wink: = j/k

Just what does this mean

 

[mountain bike mike]

:wink: = j/k

Just what does this mean

the emoticon represents the idea that zodder was only joking when he made his cooment. he didn't mean it. all in jest.

 

[Jim Mann]

Tennessee riding

My group will be riding/camping up the Natchez Trace Pkway, cruising through Nashville and across N. Tennessee, criss-crossing the Smokies, dipping down through the N. Ga. Mountains, and coming back through the Nantahala/Ocoee area and Lookout Mountain on the way back home. We leave in 2 weeks, and I can't wait! That is a beautiful area to ride in. We will hit the Dragon in mid week to avoid the lions share of the rocket crowd. Jim Mann