Running the Blue Ridge

June 21


A nice night was spent in Cherokee, NC last night.  It is one of those 'summer holiday tourist towns' you remember as a kid, with big souvenir shops selling cheap toys and crappy t-shirts.

We stayed in the Comfort Suites.  Good setup for three guys.

Gigantic Souvenir Shop

Main Street in Cherokee

After coming down from the Dragon afterglow, today was going to be a first ride on the Blue Ridge Parkway.  The Blue Ridge Parkway was a depression project in the 1930's, and was constructed basically as a scenic and recreational roadway.  (No trucks are permitted on the BRP.)  The road runs up and down and along mountains so the roads are quite windy and suitable for motorcycles.

We would leave NC and the BRP would bring us up ultimately to Virginia.  

Awesome Scenery

Fun Sweepers

We stopped for lunch in the town of Little Switzerland, and we were able to get some great pulled pork BBQ again today.  (Get it while you can!).  

Little Switzerland was also the starting point for a side loop road called the Diamondback.  The Diamondback claims more than 190 steep, climbing curves in just 12 miles.

The road was a lot of 2nd,3rd and some 4th.  Some very tight curves like the Dragon but also some very steep climbs thrown in.

It's made me realize there's a lot more to NC and TN motorcycling than just the Dragon.  A great biking holiday can be put together to include The BRP, the Dragon, the Diamondback and others we did not ride, like the Devils Triangle.  Hmmm.... thoughts for a future trip perhaps?

After riding the Diamondback loop, we hopped back on the BRP and rode to Jefferson NC to spend the night.  

450 km today - quite respectable on the Blue Ridge Parkway!

Slaying the Dragon

June 20.

Like crossing the Golden Gate bridge, and riding the California Coast, this was a day I had been looking forward to for a very long time.  Today we were going to ride a very special section of US-129 in Tennessee and North Carolina, called Deals' Gap, or in motorcycle circles, the "Tail of the Dragon".

For motorcyclists this road is a sort of Mecca, and at one point or another, every serious motorcyclist should make the pilgrimage to slay the Dragon.  It is an 11 mile stretch of road with 318 curves.  Enough said.

Prior to going to ride the Dragon, I am happy to report that Scott escorted Mike and I to a coin wash to get our bikes respectably clean.  I hadn't washed mine since Oregon, and it was filthy.  The jokes about the "Pig-Pen" cloud following my bike were in full swing.

I learned there are a number of photo companies right on the Dragon, that shoot photos of all the bikes going by and post online later for purchase.  I'm sure I will want to buy one of these so it would be nice to be on a shiny bike.

After we loaded up we set off out of Alcoa for a relatively short ride to the Dragon.

Some nice scenery on the way in.

I'm really riding US 129!

Check out the sign, urging trucks to go another way.
Most can't make it through the tight turns, not to
 mention a serious danger for those coming around the turns.

You are greeted by the Dragon at the Tennessee end,
 just before the serious business starts.

HD at the Dragon.  This place must make a fortune selling swag.
They were nice enough to let me store my camping gear
and top bag in the store so I could ride the Dragon without them.

This guy makes a fortune selling and sewing patches.
Got my US-129 from him!

This was the most technically challenging and fun road I've ever ridden, and is certainly worthy of the legendary status.  For those that have been following my blog, in California I raved about the Avenue of the Giants and wondered if the Dragon could be better.

The Dragon has tighter curves and most of the road is spent in 2nd and 3rd gear.  Crazy hairpins, dropping curves.  But there's more traffic around, and frankly there are more accidents that happen here.

There was no way I could snap pics and one-hand the handlebars on this road.  However there are pictures online that give you a sense of what the road looks like.  Click here if you're interested.

The Avenue of the Giants is longer and most time is spent in 3rd and 4th as I recall.  Traffic is much lighter and there are more opportunities to pass if you have to.  The giant Redwood scenery is awesome.

There are +'s and -'s to both but if I could only ride one, it would have to be the Dragon.  It's simply fantastic and there is so much motorcycling atmosphere and camaraderie everywhere; it's great.

At the North Carolina end.

The Tail of the Dragon "Monument"

"The boys" all safe and sound, with huge smiles on!

Awww.... and I was just about to do all three of these.

Bikes everywhere.  Cars are completely out of place.

Nice view from a look out point we stopped on the ride back.

After riding the Dragon back to the Tennessee end, we collected my bag and camping gear and reluctantly rode away, headed to Cherokee NC where the Blue Ridge Parkway begins.  We rode the Foothills Parkway as well as US-441.   These were fantastic bike roads by any standard, but seemed to pale compared to riding the Dragon.

There was certainly more holiday traffic but still a very enjoyable ride for the rest of the day.

Scott in front...

...and Mike following

...and me from Mike's vantage point

Check out this road sign.  And yes, it is what you think.
It's a 360+ degree corkscrew on a mountain.  Wicked.

Rock Star Biker.

Some nice people we met during a the rest stop on the state line.

The start of the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Blue Ridge Parkway tomorrow!

Hunka Hunka Burnin' Rubber

June 19.  Graceland.

I'll preface this by saying I've never really been much of an Elvis Presley fan.  I can appreciate his contribution to popular music, given what preceded him, but his music is a little "older generation" for my tastes.

However, since I was ultimately headed to the Knoxville area to ride at Deals' Gap, the road would take me to Memphis.  I thought it would be an interesting thing to stop by Graceland and have a look before heading out of Memphis.  I had no idea how big this Elvis thing is...

I had it in my head that the few curious passers-by could stop by Graceland and pay a couple bucks to somebody in a clapboard ticket booth outside and then you could go wander through..... I also imagined "Heartbreak Hotel" would be a clapboard motel with twenty or so rooms, with doors that open to the outside.  Boy, would I discover how wrong I was...

Graceland is setup almost amusement park like, corralling people to get tickets with set times to tour.

I suddenly started to get really weirded out.  I was at Graceland, basically to see a bit of American cheese, but then started to realize that hundreds of people around me were on some kind of 'pilgrimage' to Graceland; some sort of lifelong dream to see it.

In the end I actually found the whole experience a little creepy.

The entrance to the ticket buying building

You get to stand in line for the privilege of
spending $32 to walk through Elvis' house.

Honor Elvis' life and memory with a bobble head doll of him.

I can't believe I am doing this.  I am surrounded by fanatical weirdos.

Dining Room

Living Room

Kitchen 

Basement TV room.  He had three TV's to watch at the same time.

Pool room.  Walls and ceiling covered in fabrics.

The famous "Jungle Room".

Shudder.

Despite the house decor being extreme 1970s fromage,
 the outdoor acreage was very nice.

Elvis' Gospel Grammys.

The Gold Record Aisle

I wonder where I can buy an outfit like this, from the fat Elvis collection?

You know you have a lot of dough when you can buy your own jet.

Fun at the HD store

My trip to Graceland was complete.  Bucket list, check.  My piece of advice if you're travelling into Memphis and have time to do one thing?  Hands down and without question go to Beale Street, have some BBQ and listen to a great Blues band.  Graceland would be a distant second.

Despite being at the ticket booth before Graceland opened at 9:00, we ended up pulling out of Memphis at noon.

The plan was to avoid interstates again, and make a stop at the Jack Daniels factory in Lynchburg TN.  Unfortunately by the time we arrived at Mussel Shoals (think of the song "Sweet Home Alabama"), we realized we would show up at JD's just around the time they were going to close.

New plan. Stop for lunch in Mussel Shoals for some more Tennessee BBQ, and bee line it to meet Scott in Alcoa TN.

We saw a lot of this...

...and some of this.

I had no idea that Huntsville AL had a Space and Rocket
centre museum.  In a perfect world it would have been nice to stop.

With the power of text messages we were able to meet Scott part way to Alcoa, and he rode back with us.

Scott's bike was much shinier than our ditch pigs.

After about a 725km ride, we got some late dinner and decided I wasn't blogging again.  I'd catch up tomorrow somehow.

Next day: Deals' Gap - Tail of the Dragon!