Spyder Adventures in Maggie Valley, NC

[blacklightning]

The Spyder Adventures rally in Maggie Valley is scheduled for October 1-4. The NC mountains have been devistated by the Huricane that passed through and there are many road closures and washouts. I have not heard if the rally is still going or not, but if you are going, please check on your reservations. I know that SOCO rd. (main drag through Maggie Valley) looks like an actively running river. There is extensive damage to businesses and homes. There might be hotels and cabins that will not be stayable. If they are open, I know they will definitely appreciate your business (as always). If you have planned riding routes, please be aware that there might be many closures and detures. The dam at Lake Lure is in iminent danger of breaking and evacuations are being ordered right now. Hopefully someone who has further details about the rally will chime in, but just know the NC/Tenn mountains will be different from what we are used to seeing. Keep those in the area in your thoughts and prayers.
BTW, I forgot to mention, parts of I-40 have landslides and parts of 74 are totally covered and look like a river.

 

[Woodaddict]

I saw the triangle Spyder post showing Soco Rd under water. I will have to check at our lodging location to see if it was hurt by the rising water. Its a cabin near the river and HWY 19 between the Spyder hosting location and Wheels thru Time. Our room was on 2nd floor, but the 1st floor should have been flooded

PS, our Charlotte meteorologist had a pic of I40 at NC/TN state line, one direction of travel was washed out

 

[racoon]

I have been planning to attend the Maggie Valley event, so am a little concerned.

I found one site that says I-40 will be reopened by 5pm on Saturday, but it may be only one lane in each direction.

I'll be coming from the Cookeville, TN area, so I was planning on using I-40.
But there are several alternate routes using state roads that avoid the flooded areas.

I wasn't going to leave home until Tuesday, so I have plenty of time to see how things progress.

 

[3Tyme]

I just canceled my reservations, I don't see anyway the area can recover in just a few days

 

[djh3]

WE are planning on meeting a friend for a week about the 12th. So the wife has been checking in with some sites and friends up there. Pictures are bad for a lot of places all of us folks like to ride. 74 from I 40 the Waynesville is under water. The DOT has a posting about the main road in Waynesville partially under water and so on. So defiantly call ahead

 

[blacklightning]

According to a post on the events group page, the rally is still a go. There might be road closures, but hopefully things will work out. We actually moved our trip out 2 weeks later (10/16-20) a long time ago, just to see more colors. I am thinking things should be much better by then. Be careful everyone and post updates on the area and pictures.

 

[Mikey]

I have been planning to attend the Maggie Valley event, so am a little concerned.

I found one site that says I-40 will be reopened by 5pm on Saturday, but it may be only one lane in each direction.

I'll be coming from the Cookeville, TN area, so I was planning on using I-40.
But there are several alternate routes using state roads that avoid the flooded areas.

I wasn't going to leave home until Tuesday, so I have plenty of time to see how things progress.

How did TN fair the storm? My wife and I were going down from Maine to visit family and I was going to haul the bike with me!

 

[racoon]

The best source of information is the Tennessee Department of Transportation website, tndot.com.
Their website currently has this warning:

URGENT: Many roads and bridges in Upper East Tennessee have been compromised due to recent severe weather. All roads in Upper East should be considered potentially hazardous, and motorists should avoid traveling in these areas unless seeking higher ground. Motorists should adhere to all road closure signage and barricades, and should never attempt to drive through standing water.

https://www.tn.gov/tdot/drivers---traffic/traveler-information.html

My interpretation of that message is that anything East of Knoxville, TN is going to be a concern.

 

[racoon]

I poked around some more on the tndot.com website, and found this interactive map of Tennessee.

https://smartway.tn.gov/traffic?features=incident,traffic

It has indicators on the map where there are problems.
There are red circles with a bar through the center that I think indicate closed roads.
And yellow triangles you can click on that show more information.

There is a triangle near Newport, TN on I-40 south towards Maggie Valley. I-40 is littered with red circles in that area.
The triangle message is:

Interstate 40 Eastbound in Cocke - Diversion Route at EXIT 432A: US-411 SOUTH / SEVIERVILLE reported at 11:16 AM 9/27/2024 (Central Time Zone). Eastbound All Lanes Blocked, Left Shoulder Blocked.

Cocke refers to Cocke County, TN where is where Newport is located, and includes part of the Cherokee National Forest.

 

[racoon]

Uh oh. Poking around on the map some more, I realized that 441 that I had been hoping to use is also littered with the red circle warnings, and the recommended diversion route, US-411 goes Southwest from Knoxville towards Chattanooga, TN, not at all in the direction I was hoping for.

I'm going check again over the weekend, and make a final decision on Monday morning, but it's not looking good.

 

[dlwilliams48]

On the NC DOT website there is a statement: "All roads in Western North Carolina should be considered closed.
Motorists should not travel in this area, should not attempt to drive through standing water, and must respect barricades and road closure signs." Not good.

 

[racoon]

So I logged into the hotel's website to cancel my reservation and was told that the discounted rate I booked under was not eligible for changes or cancelations.
And yes, it was pre-paid, so they already have my money.

So I tried to call the hotel, and eventually got a recording from the phone company that the phone service was out.

So I called the hotel chain's corporate customer service, and the person I spoke too was polite and tried to be helpful.
He did tell me that they were aware of the problems in the area.
When I gave him the reservation information, he reminded me that it was normally not eligible for cancelation, but because it was a natural disaster he would try to help me.

He put me on hold, and then came back after a couple of minutes and said he could not reach the hotel by phone.
At that point I asked him if he knew whether the hotel even had power, and he said he did not know.

He said he was going to open a case for me, and would escalate it to his manager, and to call back in a couple of hours and they should have an answer by then.

Hopefully they'll do the right thing, or I'll open a case with my credit card company.

 

[Woodaddict]

Watching TV last night and this morning. Mountain area is total devastated. Between wash outs and power issues, the rally will just not be held weather it's official or not. Might be considered a 1,000 year flood

 

[JayBros]

The pictures my daughter, an eastern NC resident, sent me show nothing but total devastation. I too have seen the NC DOT quote dlwilliams48 reported. This is the time any motorcycle rider should put their personal desire for a gathering with friends and acquaintances on some of the best riding roads in our beautiful country on a totally cold burner and close the door on Maggie Valley this year.

 

[Tango]

Value Accessories says the rally is still on. Flooded has receded. Roads are open. YA, right. Disappointed that they have not canceled the rally. Puts people traveling to the rally in danger!!! We just canceled our reservations at the Quality Inn, and got a cancelation reply and number. :thumbup: Tom :spyder:

 

[BajaRon]

So I logged into the hotel's website to cancel my reservation and was told that the discounted rate I booked under was not eligible for changes or cancelations.
And yes, it was pre-paid, so they already have my money.

So I tried to call the hotel, and eventually got a recording from the phone company that the phone service was out.

So I called the hotel chain's corporate customer service, and the person I spoke too was polite and tried to be helpful.
He did tell me that they were aware of the problems in the area.
When I gave him the reservation information, he reminded me that it was normally not eligible for cancelation, but because it was a natural disaster he would try to help me.

He put me on hold, and then came back after a couple of minutes and said he could not reach the hotel by phone.
At that point I asked him if he knew whether the hotel even had power, and he said he did not know.

He said he was going to open a case for me, and would escalate it to his manager, and to call back in a couple of hours and they should have an answer by then.

Hopefully they'll do the right thing, or I'll open a case with my credit card company.

Your CC company will have your back on this, I would think. But I commend you for giving the merchant the opportunity to make it right first. That will also help you if you do need to go the next step. It is a shame and I feel for the sponsors. But having a large influx of visitors to a town that has been devastated by flooding and wind, with more on the way, may not be the best idea. I wish those who do end up going the best of luck.

 

[ulflyer]

BajaRon: thanks for the info and updates as they occur. I'm scheduled for rear rotor replacement at your shop Tuesday PM and am hoping the roads will improve. My route will be thru Boone to 321 to Greenville where we plan on staying the night before heading on the Maggie. Will check in with you Monday.

 

[racoon]

Your CC company will have your back on this, I would think. But I commend you for giving the merchant the opportunity to make it right first.

I wanted to resolve it amicably, but I don't think Choice Hotels had the same idea, or at least their corporate policies won't let them resolve it.

So I did call the corporate customer service number again, and then went round and round with a different person, including twice being put on hold while they checked something.
No surprise, but they still can't get ahold of anyone at the hotel.
And the excuse this time for not canceling the reservation is that they can't make changes to the reservation, and that's only something that the hotel manager can do, possibly because of the discounted rate I booked.
Choice Hotels has opened an official "case" and given me a case ID number I can refer to the next time I follow up with them.

I paid up front for 4 nights (Tuesday - Saturday) and it's looking like I'm not going to get a refund.
And no one knows if the hotel is even open at this point.

What I'm thinking now is that if they still won't cancel the reservation by noon on Monday, I'll pack my stuff, and on Tuesday morning I will be headed to Maggie Valley in my AWD Honda Ridgeline, and the Spyder will stay at home in the garage.

I'm pretty sure I'll have to take a completely different route, as the most direct route, I-40, is closed.
The secondary route I found, I-40 from where I live to Kodak, TN and then South on 441 to Cherokee, and then 19 East to Maggie Valley won't work, as 441 is also now showing as closed.

Somewhere I found a reference online that suggested 411 as an alternate, but that just seems crazy, as it heads Southwest from Knoxville, TN, and Maggie Valley, is Southeast of Knoxville.
So I may be wandering the backroads of Tennessee on Tuesday.


And of course there's another twist to the tale, that has absolutely nothing to do with CAN-AM motorcycles or the weather!
The credit card number I used to make the hotel reservation is no longer a valid number.

At about the same time as I made the Maggie Valley hotel reservation I noticed a charge from a company in California that I'd never heard of. I found their website, and I had no idea who they were, so I reported the charge to my CC company. The company ignored the CC company's query, so the charge was reversed, and the CC company issued me a new card with a different number. In order to dispute the Maggie Valley hotel charge I'd have to go to my bank, sit down with one of their advisors, and try to explain the situation.


And all of this reminds of that "Ancient Chinese Curse": May you live in interesting times, and have only girl children.

Of course that's not actually something that originated as a Chinese curse, and isn't ancient, either, but it sounds good.

 

[Tango]

Go through your CC to cancel! :thumbup: Tom :spyder:

 

[Navydad]

One thing folks need to take into account when seeking alternate routes. I always use two lane and less traveled roads going from Ohio to Maggie. It's hard to tell how many small bridges and culverts I pass over. How many of these are now compromised or gone altogether? These closings may not be mentioned as much as the main Interstate closings will be. Hot Springs area comes to mind. I have seen the pictures and have no doubt there is road damage in that area. Another point is this disaster just occurred and folks are still in the early stages of assessing things. Checking on your reservation isn't high on the list of priorities right now. Oh yeah, Blue Ridge Parkway is closed in NC and well into Va.