I was all caught up on work and the weather was too nice to sit inside so I decided to take a break.
It was time to head up some roads I hadn’t been on yet so I decided on Cookeville, TN about an hour and a half or so on the back roads. As a relatively new rider, I’m still getting time under my belt before I do any big highways yet. So nothing crazy, and nothing super fast. But the back roads and state routes is where I tend to find my best pictures and have have the best times.
ROUTE GOING: 31E-N to 45E running through Hermitage past Andrew Jackson’s Hermitage Home (you should check it out sometime) down to catch the 70N-E.
Once on the 70N-E I passed through Mt. Juliet, Lebanon, Rome, Carthage. Up to this point the roads have been open with lots of rolling farm land. There were cows and horses grazing off and on. I need to get better at scouting out places to pull over so I can take pictures but more often than not, there aren’t a lot of places to pull over. The road got more windy and challenging for me going through Chestnut Mound heading towards Cookeville.
I was tempted to take the 70S-W back home after lunch but had passed this awesome weathered roadside motel sign (above) and knew I had to head back and take a few frames while the lighting was great and the skies blue and filled with clouds.
ABANDONED:
I also stumbled on this abandoned and long forgotten building. There was a cracked island pad out front that might have had some gas pumps on it back in the day. I’m guessing this was a filling station and small store back in the day.
Inspiration is all around if you look for it.
If you have a favorite route with some scenic landscapes or want to ride together sometime, feel free message me.
