djh3 Posted October 11, 2018 Share #1 Posted October 11, 2018 Well this Hurricane didnt do us any favors for our trip. WE are supposed to leave Saturday AM to head up to NC for a week. Plans tentatively are I 75 north out of Fla up to Macon. Then US 441 north. But the way this storm is supposed to go, I'm not sure stations will have gas or even power along the way from Valdosta to Macon. Anyone know of a way to check the status on any of this before we leave? Would the state DOT site have any info? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flyinfool Posted October 11, 2018 Share #2 Posted October 11, 2018 (edited) Around here there are very few gas stations that have generators, so if the power is out they can not pump gas. There are a LOT of power outages along your route. Check here https://poweroutage.us/area/regions Looking at Gasbuddy.com there are a lot of stations that do not have a price listed, which could mean they are not open. A lot can change by Saturday. Edited October 11, 2018 by Flyinfool Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YamahaLarry Posted October 11, 2018 Share #3 Posted October 11, 2018 I would expect that at a minimum the major truck stops up 75 would be open. That is a busy busy route. Not sure how much damage there was down around Valdosta, but the were on the "bad" side of the hurricane, and it may have been a cat 2 or less by then. I think you will be ok, that's still 2 days away. I despise that stretch of highway from Ocala or so to Atlanta. Sure wouldn't ride my bike up it. I would be hitting the back roads for sure, even if I had to pull in for the night. Not sure where you are hitting 441 at, but I would assume well before Atlanta. I recently rode it from the Toccoa area up thru Cherokee to Gatlinburg. Fairly nice ride. A few traffic lights along the way, but not many. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djh3 Posted October 12, 2018 Author Share #4 Posted October 12, 2018 I would expect that at a minimum the major truck stops up 75 would be open. That is a busy busy route. Not sure how much damage there was down around Valdosta, but the were on the "bad" side of the hurricane, and it may have been a cat 2 or less by then. I think you will be ok, that's still 2 days away. I despise that stretch of highway from Ocala or so to Atlanta. Sure wouldn't ride my bike up it. I would be hitting the back roads for sure, even if I had to pull in for the night. Not sure where you are hitting 441 at, but I would assume well before Atlanta. I recently rode it from the Toccoa area up thru Cherokee to Gatlinburg. Fairly nice ride. A few traffic lights along the way, but not many. Up 75 to Macon, then over to I think its 441 there and north to Madison. My range is about 180 to stay safe and leave a little for error. Basically my low fuel light comes on them. And being I'm on a fuel injected bike no reserve. So light on look for gas. I figure if I can fill @ Valdosta I should make it north of Macon and should be no problem from there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YamahaLarry Posted October 12, 2018 Share #5 Posted October 12, 2018 Up 75 to Macon, then over to I think its 441 there and north to Madison. My range is about 180 to stay safe and leave a little for error. Basically my low fuel light comes on them. And being I'm on a fuel injected bike no reserve. So light on look for gas. I figure if I can fill @ Valdosta I should make it north of Macon and should be no problem from there. Not sure where you're headed, but I would have to assume maybe the Cherokee/Maggie Valley area perhaps. Hope you have better weather than I did when I pulled into Cherokee. Had just went down to Georgia to purchase/pickup my new to me 09 RSV. The old lady was following me back in the van and just as we were entering Cherokee the bottom fell out of the skies. So, seeking temporary refuge and maybe a bite to eat we pulled into Paul's Restaurant and took a seat on the front porch, which was semi-crowded. The rain let up to a light drizzle while we were waiting on service. A waitress was coming out and serving other customers. After about 20 minutes we inquired about getting service. Response was "not my table". After about 20 more minutes we just got up and left. I wanted to get over the mountain into Gatlinburg before nightfall. Well, as fate would have it. More rain as we topped the mountain. Not sure if you've ever ridden down the TN side of 441 into Gatlinburg, but it is no fun in the rain at dusk, especially on a bike you are trying to get comfortable with. And just as we were hitting the Gatlinburg bypass, I think the contents of the entire skies dumped on us. Short of the story, no more stopping for food. Make it safe back to our resort in Sevierville. Oh well. Rattling over. Safe travels and keep us posted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djh3 Posted October 12, 2018 Author Share #6 Posted October 12, 2018 Saphire NC. Its in the Ga, NC, SC corner. Dunno where we are going to day trip to yet. Got to get past the hole Ga problem first. We had a similar thing happen to us back in 07-08. We stopped up at a look out point in the park. Sky's looked pretty ugly, so we decided to head to Gatlinburg. I didnt make the main road from parking lot and started to rain. 20 min later I think I saw ducks going by in life jackets. Got to Gatlinburg and was going to stop by some place and get out of rain and a bite. No parking anywhere, its all pay to park and blocks from main road. Stooped at a traffic light and water ran over tops of my boots. We turned around and went back to Maggie and Waynesville to get some grab and go and went back to room and ate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YamahaLarry Posted October 13, 2018 Share #7 Posted October 13, 2018 Saphire NC. Its in the Ga, NC, SC corner. Dunno where we are going to day trip to yet. Got to get past the hole Ga problem first. We had a similar thing happen to us back in 07-08. We stopped up at a look out point in the park. Sky's looked pretty ugly, so we decided to head to Gatlinburg. I didnt make the main road from parking lot and started to rain. 20 min later I think I saw ducks going by in life jackets. Got to Gatlinburg and was going to stop by some place and get out of rain and a bite. No parking anywhere, its all pay to park and blocks from main road. Stooped at a traffic light and water ran over tops of my boots. We turned around and went back to Maggie and Waynesville to get some grab and go and went back to room and ate. I've been thru Sapphire before. Best I recall, not much there other than the resort.. Back in 06 we stayed at one of our timeshare resorts in Lake Lure and took a day to go out just driving. First stop was Asheville's Biltmore Estate, and drove over the Cherokee, down to Sapphire Valley and to Flat Rock and back to Lake Lure. I also have timeshare available in Sapphire Valley. Haven't stayed there yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djh3 Posted October 14, 2018 Author Share #8 Posted October 14, 2018 Yup not a lot here, but a place to stay. But price is rite. No problems on way up. Got gas in valdosta and made it to just north of Macon on 441 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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