On Apr 17, 9:52 am, "InfoSuperHwyRoadKill"
hellsgate.com> wrote:>> Well, sorta. I rode to the dam and back five times last week, a couple
>> times venturing off on Central Pike to poke around. Note: this is not
>> recommended unless you're on a "adventure touring" bike like mine or
>> something sturdy, and have balls enough to ride in the nasty detritus
>> at the side of the road. I mainly grew up here and still don't
>> understand "'The Lake People" or even the area for that matter. I
>> mean--I went to the Publix out by Mt. Juliet, and Beautiful People
>> were buying fresh fresh figs. What the fuck? Donelson/Hermitage/THE
>> LAKE is a mystery to me. They have coin shops!
>
>> I actually got the gumption to climb the ramp out of the parking lot
>> from the dam and cross Bell road today. I don't think I've actually
>> seen a full on vista of the lake in ten years. I felt like I was in
>> Michigan or somethin! Very pretty. Maybe I'll get a rod and license
>> and catch me some heavy metals. Is there anything you really wanna eat
>> in that lake anyway? Rode over the dam, left on something Chapel road,
>> left on Central, then you take a quick left onto Lebanon and an
>> immediate right onto Stones river road to get back to the greenway.
>
>> I can't recommend the ride from Two Rivers to the dam enough. It's
>> stellar, with the smell of cowshit, the Stones river, and some pretty
>> neat engineering. Park over by the skate park, ride to the Cumberland
>> greenway bridge to check it out, then back again to the skate park.
>> Hang out a while and wear black socks so the little punks think you're
>> a narc. Great fun! Then take off for the dam. Just follow the
>> greenway, which will merge with some roadway a couple times, and
>> peters out on Stones river road at the end before t-boning into
>> Lebanon. Take a right, there's plenty of shoulder, then scoot into the
>> turn lane, and cross into the Kohls parking lot to pick the trail back
>> up. The three mile stretch to the dam is great fun. I like to take the
>> gravel alternate path in the big grassy field.
>
>> Not sure how far it is from Two Rivers, since I've not ridden my fixed
>> gear with the computer on the route yet, but I'm guessing around seven
>> miles or so. I did two hard hours today on my heavy duty bike @ a good
>> 17mph, so that makes sense.
>
>> See ya out there--and a word of warning again about the bridges out by
>> the cow pasture, some of the transition lips coming back from the lake
>> are 2"+. I've seen a rider ever single day by the side of the greenway
>> fixing pinch flats. So take it slow over those bridges about a mile
>> and a half after the penal institution.
>
> Haven't been on Priest in 30 years. It was too small a lake for too many
> people then. It must be total hell now.
Check out all the crazy development around it via google maps!
http://tinyurl.com/5om48y
I always wondered where people live out there, but it's in these
insular complexes. Very car oriented. Almost no sidewalks. That said,
I've done some poking around on my tough bike, and folks out there are
very courteous. My trick is that I run a very serious looking bike
with front and rear racks, full lights, and panniers on the rear, so
it looks like I'm on tour. I'm in standard bike wear, shoes, and
always in a traditional cap, not a helmet. People pass you much more
closely and dangerously when you wear a helme
--how's that for weird.
Throw one in a bag if you're headed to Hamilton Creek for some off
roading...Anyway, I might stop by Jolly Bicycles this afternoon on Old
Hickory and ask where the hell people ride out there--they do good
business, so there must be some cool back roads.
