The Tale of the Dragon

We arose at 5:30 this morning so as to be ready to leave at 6:30 when Chuck and Deana planned to go.

It was still dark, so Chuck suggested we stay at their home for a few more hours until it was light. Chris went back to bed and slept until 9:00. We were on the road very soon after, leaving Chuck and Deana's indescribably beautiful 'hollow', about a mile across and surrounded by steep hills. A deer scattered into the bushes, cows and a pair of donkeys were occasionally seen on the hillsides. Their home and studio are hidden in trees, next to a creek and up a fairly steep slope. A serene and beautiful corner where they can work without distraction. Plenty of glass doors and windows help you appreciate the exterior views.

 We headed  for Lenoir City, TN to pick up a new camshaft cover for the bike.

Our route took us through Mars Hill and Hot Springs on WV 213. We stopped to check for oil leaks but our temporary repair was holding up beautifuully, so we pressed on into Tennessee. The dealer had changed address a week ago but, six miles on into Knoxville, we eventually found the BMW dealer and purchased the part. We couldn't put it on straight away because the engine was hot. Since the repair was holding up we decided to continue riding.

Lenoir City is close to one of the legendary motorcycle destinations in America, TN 129, a.k.a. The Tail of the Dragon. It is claimed to have 318 curves in just 11 miles, which we are quite willing to believe. We drove this road in a hire car two years ago, and it was this that inspired Chris to want to motorcycle around the US. We stopped for lunch at Firehouse Subs, a diner started by some firemen, and decorated in firefighters uniforms and paraphenalia.

From Lenoir City we rode through Marysville and turned south on the Foothills Parkway, another wonderful scenic ride along the edge of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

The southern end of this meets TN129, where we turned left to head up the Dragon's Tail. The first mile or so is an open and fast approach to the exciting bits. As we climbed, and the road started kicking left and right, the hairs were standing up on the back of Chris's neck.

We were really starting to enjoy things when we came up behind a Mazda MX5. The driver graciously pulled over at the first opportunity and let us through.

With nothing in front of us, we were really enjoying the ride.

It was not long before we caught up with a motorcycle being ridden at 20 to 30 mph. The driver seemed to be afraid to lean over in the corners, and simply puttered along oblivious to everything around him.

As you can imagine, on a road with 318 bends in 11 miles, there are no overtaking lanes, and rarely can you see much road ahead. There are many turnouts where slower vehicles can pull off the road to let faster vehicles pass, but this rider didn't get that concept. He also didn't look in his mirrors, because Chris was constantly flashing the headlight to tell him we wanted to overtake.

We never did get past the b*****d, and when we arrived at Deals Gap, Chris was ready to choke the living s**t out of him.  Fortunately he didn't stop at Deals Gap. We came a long way to ride this road, and never really got to enjoy it totally.

We took a break, had a drink and Chris calmed down. Another challenge faced us - the Cherohala Scenic Skyway. This is a road that starts from NC 129 about fifteen miles east of Deals Gap and heads due west back into Tennessee. Our motorcycle guide rates this road more highly than the Tail of the Dragon.

As we rode off to pick up this road, we came upon a scene of great activity: a motorcyclist had crashed on his way up to Deals Gap. He and his bike were laying in a ditch. We asked if there was anything we could do to help, but someone had already gone to call an ambulance, so we rode on, hoping the rider was not badly hurt. Apparently he was deaf, so people were having trouble determining his condition. We were running low on petrol. Fortunately there was a station near where we chatted to a few friendly bikers.

We decided we didn't need any Dragon Fuel; our bike is quite quick enough without that.

The Cherohala Scenic Skyway is another great road. It starts in the middle of nowhere and ends 50 miles later in the middle of nowhere, so there is negligible traffic apart from a few motorcyclists.

(Many motorcyclists we have spoken to don't even know it exists.) It is a superb road with some of the best views. A perfect evening with no fog and little haze. You felt distanced from civilization.

By the time we reached Tellico Plains it was quite late. We were starting to feel tired. Unfortunately there are no motels .Our GPS told us the nearest was 12 miles away in Etowah, so we continued west.

We found a motel and booked in, before wandering across the road to a Mexican restaurant. The food was disappointing and the beer warm. 

We felt tired, and no wonder - we had ridden 295 miles - the most in any one day since we set out from LA.