When we last left our heroes, they were aiming for the outskirts of DC, and beyond. Their destination; the Smoky Mountains that lay 500 miles to the south…and the Dragon that resides there.
Our departure was slightly marred due to some bad directions received from one of the traffic officers which sent us headed along a very scenic and enjoyable parkway. It was so nice that I said to myself; “Self; this is a very scenic and enjoyable parkway – I hope we can ride it again at some point.” Well, my wish was granted as it soon became evident that it was leading us northwest, while we wanted to go southwest. So, pulling a U-turn and securing a reliable set of directions from the locals, we proceeded to backtrack along the same scenic and enjoyable parkway. (It was the Rock Creek & Potomac Parkway, to Beach DR NW.)
Once back to DC proper, we located the correct turn and headed onto I-66. But all was not well, for no sooner had we begun to tick off the miles, than we saw a highway notification sign lit up with the message; “Major accident ahead, all lanes blocked”. Great. Sure enough; a few miles down the road, the brake lights began to pop up. Before long, we had taken our position in the sea that was man and machine. All around us, bikes, cars and trucks all sat, unmoving. The sun was blasting us from above, and the heat from our idling engines was cooking us from below. Looking along the breakdown lane, I saw nothing but open pavement, so we slid over, put our hazards on, and proceeded to mosey along at a careful pace. As soon as we did that, bikes and cages started falling into place behind us and we were soon leading a motley collection of vehicles along the only lane that was open.
A few miles down, the breakdown lane ended, forcing us back into the stopped traffic. Damn. But wait…there’s an ambulance coming up the breakdown lane behind us. We weren’t going to take any glee out of someone else’s pain, but neither were we going to pass up a golden opportunity. As soon as it reached us, we slid in behind it and glued our tires to its rear bumper, letting it lead us through the sea of metal. It was slow going, but at least we were moving. When we finally reached the accident, we could see there were motorcycles involved. Not what I were hoping for, but I sent them thoughts of health and healing, and we motored off into the distance.
The rest of our ride on that first day (afternoon) was thankfully fairly uneventful. We did pass another accident on the side of the road, just before the exit we were taking. Not sure what happened, but one car was in the breakdown lane, and another was up on the grass, spun 180 degrees. The people involved were out and laying down and being tended to by others. There wasn’t much we could do, so we kept on rolling to our hotel, cleaned up a bit, then shot next door to the Cracker Barrel for dinner, and then back to the hotel. We’d talked about picking up some beers, but it’d been a long day in the sun, so we all agreed to hit the hay and get a nice fresh start in the morning.
The next morning dawned sunny and clear again – another great day for riding! I’ve ridden through these states before, but it’s been ages (’02, I think, with Michigan Paul and his crew). At any rate, while I did recall the great scenery, it was still thrilling as all hell to be motoring down these roadways once again. Beautiful scenery just as far as you can see. It reminded me of Route 17, heading out to Olean; lush green fields and forests for as far as the eye can see, with nothing but the thin ribbon of pavement beneath you, running off into the distance.
As we were blasting these amazing highways, there were scents galore. We passed a sawmill, and the scent of fresh sawdust filled my nostrils (Mmmm!). We passed sections of wildflowers and their aromas surrounded me as we sailed through (Mmmm!). We skirted a BBQ business, the air full of the smells of delicious roasted meats (Mmmm!). We roared alongside an open hayfield, smack dab in the middle of being mowed. Fresh cut grass (Mmmm!). This was heaven! Well, all except for the times we passed the huge farms, with their rows of cow pastures. Ammonia and poop (Pew!)
After a couple hundred miles, our exit arrived and we pulled off for some quieter, yet no-less amazing byways, finally pulling up in Robbinsville center. We’d arrived! Well, not quite, we weren’t at the house yet. After fueling up the bikes and fluid’ing ourselves, we fired up the steeds and headed off to the house.
Pulling up to the driveway, I had to stop and snap some pics of the decoration they have on their mailbox. This thing is sweet! A ‘dragon’ made out of tires!
From there, it was up the driveway to the house, proper. And what a house! Check out this nice slice of paradise!
Jan said she was going to get things settled in, as well as go hit the food store for supplies. That left me and Steve with nothing to do. Ha, right! There was a dragon just a short hop down the road which required our immediate attention. Steve led the way, and we headed off to face the monster.
A quick stop along the way, first, though. This is the Cheoah dam, better known as “The Fugitive” dam. This is the dam used in that movie, and which Harrison Ford’s character leapt from. Pretty cool!
From there, we headed over to Deal’s Gap. I was here, finally! I’ve wanted to ride this road for ages, and now I was going to! There it lay, right in front of me! Beckoning me! Taunting me! Daring me to pit my skills against it! It was time! LET’S GO SLAY THE DRAGON!!
Steve led the charge and in no time, we were throwing the bikes left, then right, then opening them up, only to immediately wind them down again as we blasted into the next corner. I could feel the adrenaline hammering away in my veins, but there was no time to think about it. Normally, when riding, you have some leeway to let your mind wander a bit, or to speculate on things like the scenery you’re riding through, or what your plans might be for later in the day. But here, now…to do those things would be pure folly! You Gotta Dial In, Baby! And STAY Dialed In! There’s no thinking about anything other than the lean, feeling the camber of the road as it works to keep you upright, ripping the throttle open and pushing the bike over into the next turn, then back up again, only to be thrown over in the other direction. All four of your extremities are working in unison; clutching! Shifting! Throttling and braking - sometimes both at the same time – you have to keep the engine in its power band! The roar of the engine as you hit the too-short straightaways between curves, the whine of the transmission as you force it down to a lower gear so you can squeeze the most out of the looming turn, then its glee as you kick it up again so you can blast your way to the next one, a mere several hundred feet away. And the whole process continues! Sometimes you get a tiny bit of straightaway to open it up, other times you’re left-right-left again, and when that happens, there’s no camber to help you, you’re on your own. As you crest that middle spot between those switchbacks and the camber switches from one side to the other, it’s just you and flat pavement, so you’d better lift that lean a bit. No room for error here, or anywhere along this road, for that matter! There are skid marks aplenty, indications of riders who have lost to the dragon before!
The road is only 11 miles in length – not long by any real means. Yet you’re so focused, so intent, every muscle in your hands, arms, shoulders, legs, feet is tensed and ready to be called upon. I actually began to feel a bit of an ache in my hands, from gripping the grips so tightly. What a pure rush!!
A little past the halfway mark, there’s a spot you can pull over for a scenic view. We pulled in, set the stands and took a look around. Pure beauty!
Then, it was back to the asphalt to finish what we’d started. The Dragon was mortally wounded, but there was still some life left in it. A few more miles of sheer intensity and sharp turns, and we’d dispatched it, and were rolling out the far end of the Tail and into the open. The road straightens out here, but the posted speed is 40. You’re so amped up from the twisties that you just want to rip the throttle open in pure exultation, declaring your victory over the Dragon! Ahh, but the local LEO’s understand this, and apparently it’s not uncommon for them to hang out and take advantage of these emotions. Having been forewarned by Steve, we proceeded responsibly, and continued along 129 to arrive at the “boutique” Harley dealership which spots this location.
Now the fluid leak which my bike had been sporting for a while had become much worse on the ride down to NC. I had feared it was my tranny, but checking that, showed the fluid to be nice and clean, and right at the level it should be at. Huh. Ok, so maybe it’s the oil (for those that don’t know; you can use the same fluid for engine, transmission, and chaincase – so it’s not necessarily easy to tell where it’s coming from, just by looking at what’s dripping. And since most of the time its leaking is when you’re blasting down the highway, it gets blown all over everything, making it almost impossible to spot where it’s actually coming from.) Nope; the oil is fine, too. So that left just the chaincase. Awesome, maybe it’s the inner primary gasket – that did leak on the original ’08 I had. Steve mused that it might be the plug for the stator, as he’s had issues with that in the past.
For now, I just picked up a couple of quarts of fluid and would check the chaincase later.
From there, we shredded our way back up the Dragon again. Steve let me lead the charge this time and it was a repeat of the first assault. We didn’t stop at the scenic lookout point this time, we just hammered our way straight through. There would be no mercy for the Dragon on this run!
After successfully completing the run once again, we pulled in at the starting point; the Deal’s Gap motorcycle resort.
They have a “Tree of Shame” here, where parts from motorcycles, lost in crashes, are mounted. Some of them have been inscribed with sayings/comments from their owners.
Mounted on the walls inside the store, are pictures of some of the crashes over the years. Some nasty road-rashes have been doled out by the Dragon! (Riders have died, too – just earlier this year; I believe two riders had died in separate accidents.)
After the obligatory souvenir shirt purchase, we rode some other fantastic roadways in a roundabout way back to the house. I’d love to tell you exactly which ones were where, but I was too busy absorbing all the Amazing Roads and Scenery! (I know it’s going to come back and bite me in the ass. I’m sure next year, Steve is going to tell me to take the lead and I’m going to be looking like a deer in headlights, LOL.)
Anyway, here’s another dam. I don’t recall which one this was, but from the spot we pulled over at, it was kind of tough to see it well through the trees. So, I did what I do. I climbed the power line tower to get a better shot. :-D
When we finally made it back to the house, Jan had dinner ready and waiting. Awesome, thanks Jan! We ate, tossed back a beer, did a bit of yard work, and then jumped back onto the bikes for an end-of-day cruise. Some more amazing roadways, finally pulling up at a boat launch spot not too far from their house. The temps were cooling off a bit, and there was a bit of mist floating upon the water. Too cool a shot to pass up snapping a pic of.
When we arrived back at the house, we settled in for the evening. And there was another surprise! Steve broke out the moonshine cherries. That’s right; moonshine cherries!
Oh yeah, they had also surprised me at dinnertime with presents! They gave me a medical info sheet to fill out, as well as a small pouch which sticks to your helmet. EMT’s are apparently trained to look for this pouch and you can list your medical info/history on it. A very helpful item!
The other thing they gave me was a dragon pin! Nice; awesome roads, and presents, too!
We put the TV on, plopped down into some furniture (more on that, later), and whiled the evening hours away with talk of the day, and plans for the week. With my bike’s fluid leak getting worse, the decision was made to head over to Smoky Mountain Harley Davidson in the morning to have them look at it.
The next morning, we did a bit of yard work while the temps were still comfortable, then saddled up and made the ride over to the aforementioned dealership. We arrived just as they were opening, which was a good thing because there was a rally going on, and there were a ton of bikes pulling in.
They had a cool dragon sculpture out front;
We made our way to the Service desk and, while fibbing a little about our timetable, said we were 1,000 miles from home and could they look at our bikes. Oh yeah; Steve had been having issues with his throttle. It kept cutting out on him, leaving him with a max of 2,000 rpm’s. Turning the bike off and then on again seemed to reset whatever the problem was, but we needed a fix for him, too. They said sure thing, took our info, and rolled our bikes into the vast back area to be worked on.
This gave me time to stroll around and take this place in. It was quite a big place, and they had over 150 bikes on the floor…
Hmmm…maybe this would be a good opportunity to trade up?...
After walking around the floor for a while, I decided to sit in the lounge for a spell. The AC was cranking, making it nice and comfy here. Ahhh, a nice leather recliner. Easing myself back into its welcoming depths, I dropped my shades down over my eyes to block the light out, and just let my body relax. My eyes began to close a bit…yeah…just a quick cat na…CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!, SIREN WAILING!, BELL BANGING!, EVERYONE CLAPPING! Good lord, are we under attack!?!? Nope, someone just bought a bike. Well congrats to them, do you mind if I try and slow my heart down! Holy crap…I’m sure damn wide awake now! A nap is out of the question…not sure I’ll even be able to sleep tonight!
Ok, let’s head outside and see what’s out there. Cool, they have a bbq restaurant and huge stage, where bands play on the weekends. How cool is that?
A side note; while my camera takes awesome pictures, it’s impossible to see the screen when I’m standing in the direct sunlight. Why am I mentioning this? Because my camera has a digital button that if I touch it, it flips the lens around and takes a picture in the opposite direction. This is handy if I want to take a picture of myself, but that’s not what I was trying to do in this instance. And that is why it would be nice to be able to see the screen. Because if you can’t see the screen, and can’t see that you’ve touched that ‘lens flip’ button, this is what you wind up with for a picture.
At any rate, there was a cool antique truck here, too.
Also, because there was a rally going on here today, they’d brought in the Wall of Death show, too.
We received word from the service dept; Steve’s issue was a throttle position sensor, and my issue was a leaking stator plug (Steve had been right). His issue was going to be the much easier (and cheaper) fix. We gave them the go-ahead to make the repairs, and we resigned ourselves to being there a while longer.
What better way to pass the time than get a bite to eat? Chicken, coleslaw and potato salad. Portions were kinda small, but they hit the spot.
The tables were cool; old exhaust pipes for legs;
Steve’s bike came out soon after, and since I’d been told mine might take a few hours, the plan was set that they would head off to do some riding and I would just meet them back at their house when mine was done. However, just as they were saddling up to roll out, we spotted my bike returning from its test ride. Huh, how about that, it’s done! Sweet! Ok, they opted to stick aound then, for surely mine would be ready just as soon as I paid for things, right?
Ahh, but there was the whole matter of the obligatory post-service wash. I did mention that the wind blows the leaking fluid all over the bike, right? Yeah. The poor guy doing the wash was working on my bike for an HOUR!
He even had it jacked up and was lying on his back, on the floor, to clean the underside. Talk about being impressed. Even Snoopy got washed (and blown dry).
I wanted to tip the cleaning guy, but when I went to thank him, I don’t think he spoke English.
. At any rate, the bill came in a couple hundred dollars cheaper than I was expecting it to be, so while it was still a big hit to the credit card, it wasn’t as bad as I had been fearing.
We then fired up the machines and headed off to…I don’t know. More great roads, more great scenery, before pulling into a gas station to fuel the bikes, as well as hide in some shade for a bit. As we were relaxing, Jan told me I’d want to walk around the fence beside us and take a pic of what was on the other side. Oh? Ok…hey, look at that! It’s the jail these guys broke out of, way back in ’09!
From there, we rode some more great roadways, down an awesome stretch of road which I can’t recall, but which I definitely want to try and video next time I’m down there. The canopy from the trees overhung the roadways, the river flowed by alongside us…just fantastic! At the end of this stretch, there’s a giant waterfall which we walked over and checked out. (The pictures don’t do justice to the size of this thing.)
Here’s more scenery shots I took on the return ride toward the house. Again; I’m lost and don’t know where we were when I took these.
Jan broke off to shoot home and get dinner ready while Steve took me to the Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest (Google him at some point; an exceptional man and leader, sadly felled by a sniper’s bullet as he led a scouting party during WWI).
Here; his famous poem “Trees”
This is a virgin forest, and is known for its enormous trees! Not as big as the Redwoods, but far bigger than anything else around here. Sadly, though, it’s been under attack from invasive insects. Apparently there used to be massive American Chestnut trees here, but they died out decades ago. Currently under attack are the giant Hemlock trees, due to an insect accidently introduced from Asia in the 1950’s. Most of these ginormous trees had died and were nothing more than standing sticks, though. Standing sticks with giant, dead branches. And these branches would drop onto the paths (and sometimes onto hikers, I guess), so the U.S. Forest Service had to come up with a way to remove them. Motorized equipment is not allowed by law (in a designated, protected wilderness area), so chainsaws were out. They wanted things to still look as natural as possible, so they decided to dynamite them, leaving stumps which look like a natural storm event had come through and knocked the trees down.
Not all the giant trees are gone, though. There are still Yellow Poplars here, and they are Monstrous!! Here’s one with a cool root structure…
Steve stands in for sizing reference. Huge trees!
These things just shoot straight up and then ‘blossom’ at their top. Occasionally they have one giant branch sticking off to one side, but most don’t.
At the top of the path (it looped around and back to the parking lot), there is a plaque, honoring Joyce Kilmer.
Here are two giants, growing in a V. Seemed like a good spot to take a rest.
It was a very serene and enjoyable. A nice tempering to the rip and tear of the Dragon runs, with its calm and quiet environment. Very relaxing…but it was time to saddle up again and head back to the house. We paused briefly at this suspended bridge along the way;
Being the kid I am, I had to walk out on it and get it bouncing up and down. I tried to get it to swing side to side, but wasn’t able to. (I also tried filming it with my camera, but it didn’t come out well.) Steve got in on the fun, too, and between the two of us, we soon had it bouncing in waves, which kept popping me up like a kid on a trampoline. Fun!
Here’s a shot of the rocks I would have landed on if the bridge broke. Cool holes and whorl patterns have been carved in them by eons of water erosion.
Rather than taking the main road back, Steve took me on a back road which sliced up into the mountain – cool, more sharp twisties! And also very cool, at one point we rounded a corner and the hills on either side of us sloped down to meet on either side of the road. Between them, the valley off in the distance. I had to stop and snap a pic.
Back at the house, there was a bit more yard work (we disturbed a Copperhead snake!)…
…followed by another hearty meal. Ahhh, another fantastic day down. A beer, a bit of moonshine on the rocks, and we settled into the furniture again (and again; more on the furniture, later). Steve popped in the TV series “Long Way Round”, the docuMANtary (right Jan? :-D ) about Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman’s journey around the world on motorcycles. I’d heard of the tale but had never seen it. It was quite fascinating and I will probably pick it up at some point. We only made it through about half of the episodes before calling it an evening at around 1am.
The next morning, we hit the yard work a bit again (which I thoroughly enjoyed – it was great being able to help out!) and then we were off to the Smoky Mountains National Park. Along the way, we paused to snap some pics of this sight; old cars lining a river bank.
Apparently there used to be way, way more cars here but they seem to be being cleared out, probably for environmental reasons.
From there, we continued our journey, eventually reaching the Clingman’s Dome Road to the parking lot at the top, parked and I did my touristy thing and snapped some pics.
We were mosieing around when word came down from the path (that led up to the observation tower) that a black bear was just off to the side! Sweet, let’s go see the guy! He was (from what I overheard) about 2 years old, and didn’t seem to care one way or the other that we were all standing on the path, aiming our cameras at him.
I kept asking Steve to go move the log the bear was hiding behind, but he was having none of that.
Anyway, from there, we rode back down the mountain and then made our way to Gatlinburg, TN. Why Gatlinburg? Because that’s where Ole Smoky Moonshine is located!
That’s right; free moonshine tasting!
Of the ones I tried, I liked the Strawberry flavor the best. Steve agreed and purchased a bottle for the house. I picked up a strawberry and a grape, and they are safely HIDDEN at home. (So for those of you reading this, you can forget about making a beeline to my house.)
They do their distilling right on the premises…
From there, we took the Foothills Parkway back toward the house. Steve and Jan let me race ahead and blast the corners. These aren’t as sharp as on the Dragon, they’re larger “sweepers”, so average speed here was probably 50 or 60 (and hitting 80+ on the straightaways. Did I mention my bike was happy to come home?)
When we got back to the house, I shot off and hit the Dragon for another down and back run, then pulled into the official Tail of the Dragon store. See, across the street is the Deal’s Gap store and I’d already purchased some shirts from there, so now it was the TotD store’s turn. Oh yeah, I also needed to pick up my official Tail of the Dragon sticker for my bike!
They have some cool ‘dragons’ out front;
This guys is stainless steel – pretty sharp! (Sharp looking, not sharp edges.)
After that, I did some bopping about and found another worthy spot to stick my bike into, for a photo opportunity…
So now I had my official sticker and slapped it onto my rear fender. Nice! That looks great!
Now about that rear tire, though… When I’d gotten my bike inspected (not two months earlier), that tire didn’t get a second look, there was plenty of tread on it. Between a couple of months of riding back home, and the sheer abuse heaped upon it over the past couple of days on the Dragon, I was in sore need of a new one. (We’d actually talked about a new tire already and Steve had brought me over to Wheeler’s, a nearby shop, so we could make an appointment for the following day.)
The night was still young, so Steve and I hopped back onto the bikes and he brought me to see a nearby cemetery. First, a bit of info; the road leading to this cemetery is 2 miles of unpaved dirt, stretching along steep drop-offs and some sharp turns. Who sticks a cemetery 2 miles deep into the mountain, along a treacherous road? And if that isn’t kinda creepy enough, the cemetery itself was something to behold. This thing was pristine! Everything looked like it had been staged mere moments before we got there! All the fake flowers looked brand new; shiny, clean, not a speck of dirt on them. And they were everywhere! Whoever mows this place has to pull them all up, then mow, then replace them. I couldn’t get over it – the whole thing, while appealing to the eyes, was just plain creepy. I felt like I was in Steven King’s Pet Semetary movie or something.
This was a grave of an infant that someone had turned into a crib of sorts. Touching…and CREEPY!
The dates on the markers went back quite a ways. Being in the middle of nowhere makes it pretty tough to get adequate medical attention, let alone decent general care. An indicator of such, was all the grave markers for babies born and passed on the same day. Were they stillborn, or did they just not last one day? It was a question we could not answer. Here was a particularly sad sight; twins, both born and died on the same day.
That was enough of that, and we headed back to the house for some day-capping moonshine, followed by watching Rebel Rousers, a movie predating Easy Rider, and one of the original B-movies of the motorcycle genre. It was rather racy for its time, and while not Oscar material (LOL, not by a long shot), it was still entertaining.
The next morning we headed over to Wheeler’s but found that a number of other bikes had shown up early and were in line ahead of me. No problem, Steve had a route in mind which would eat up the time needed before our appointment. We blasted off and I found myself on yet another amazing stretch of road. This one had the twists, the turns, the forest canopy, the mountain views off the steep sides – awesome! But even better, our destination point was a waterfall where the rocks extended out from the side of the mountain. The highway department had paved a lane underneath, allowing folks to park their vehicle underneath and take a picture. How cool is that!
From there, it was a race against time to get back to Wheeler’s. We wound up being an hour late for our appointed time, but it worked out perfectly. He’d been running behind schedule and when I arrived, I only had to wait a few minutes before being wheeled in.
45 minutes later, my bike was wheeled back out with a new “sneaker” on, and it set me back less than I was expecting it to. Sweet! New rubber! Let’s go rip it up on the Dragon! :-D
There was one more assault upon the Dragon for this kid. It was Thursday night, we were leaving in the morning, and I just had to do it. I gave it all I had, scraping metal at every turn. Lefts, rights, throttling, braking, control-skidding…I was in complete control! The Dragon was mine! I’m the master of this roadway! There isn’t another rider in the world that can tame this slice of asphalt as well as I am!!
And that’s when a guy on a crotch rocket shot around me like I was standing still. He disappeared around the next corner like a floating apparition, his bike almost horizontal, his suit’s knee pad leaving sparks on the pavement in his wake…and leaving me feeling quite a bit more modest about my abilities, LOL.
When the ‘down’ run was completed, I immediately turned around and hammered my way back up it. Ok, this is it; the last run for this trip; I had to go faster! Harder! Intenser! (I can make up words if I like.) The turns kept coming, and the bike screamed a combination of complaint and celebration as each turn was entered and executed. All too soon, the turns ended, and I’d reached the last straightaway. Exhilaration coursed through me as I exited the Dragon’s lair, victorious once again. Pulling up where Steve and Jan were seated, I set my kickstand, killed the bike…and lifted my hands, palms flat, into the air. They were trembling! Ahh, the effects of adrenaline – so worth it!!
After relaxing a bit (and letting my pulse return to normal), we took some back roads to the house, making a nice stop for some Ice Cream! along the way. It was a great way to cap what had been an awesome and amazing few days in NC and TN.
But wait…had it really only been a few days? Yep; Monday afternoon, to Thursday night. It didn’t seem possible that we’d crammed so much into such a short time (it felt like it’d been at least a full week!). I didn’t want the vacation to end (but my bike sure did, LOL!).
Let’s see, what else have I not covered. We did a bit of target shooting, that was a blast.
Also, Steve had recovered this from the overgrowth behind his house; an antique "Twirl go 'round". Anyone else remember these things from when they were growing up?
And oh yeah; I’ve been promising you something about furniture. Well ya see, Steve and Jan have this recliner in their livingroom. They warned me ahead of time that no matter who sits in it, they always wind up dozing off…
At first I scoffed at this. My first night there, I was wide awake and not tired at all. Surely I could handle a simple chair. But sure enough, not 5 minutes after sitting in it, I was fighting to keep my eyes open. After that, I kept to the couch. Steve, ever one to take on a challenge, tried his luck several times during our stay, and each time; the chair was victorious.
And there you go; the NC portion of my awesome Rolling Thunder, Tail of the Dragon adventure. Steve took a map of the area and used a black marker to indicate the roads we’d ridden. After all the riding, and all the miles we’d done, I was certain he was going to mark up half the state. Nope…
We’d barely put a dent in things. Fantastic! That means there’s still TONS of roads to ride! But that will have to wait until the next time. We’d had our fun for this chapter and it was time to get ready to head home. We’d chatted about doing an Iron Butt for the ride home, but we scrapped that and just pushed about 600 miles on Friday (up into PA), then rolled the last 400 home on Saturday.
The ride home was rather uneventful, if not hot and long. We hit some traffic spots, and also hit some scenic spots.
All too soon, I was rolling into my driveway (and my foot-tall grass which needed mowing, immediately!). The ride was over, I was home. 2,965 miles, many of which were adrenaline-pumping, mind-blowing, thrill-filled twisties. Man, I wish I were back down there, riding those again.
This was definitely one of the best vacations I’ve ever taken and from discussions we had down there, it has a great chance to become an annual event. I can’t wait. (I’m not even sure I can wait ‘til next year…) What an amazing, amazing time.
We Rode Hard, We Took Chances...And we Slew the Dragon!
