One thing that most folks mentioned at one time or another on each major leg of the trip was the fact that they didn’t like packing and unpacking the bike each night. I’d say “travel light” but the definition of “light” is a bit different for each person.
Those are NOT my clothes and that is NOT my motorcycle.
My packing and unpacking the motorcycle consisted of the clothes I was wearing, a helmet, and one (count ’em folks – one) bag. And it was a small bag. But, hey, I’m not pointing fingers. I’m just saying that everybody was pleased to be in one hotel for more than one night. With no bags strapped to the bike, it would handle much better in the turns. And we had some serious turns coming up — U.S. Route 129, also known as “The Tail of the Dragon.”
The next two days offered opportunities to ride two of the best touring roads in America. Five routes were offered on the rally maps. Each route was a loop and three of the five loops included The Tail of the Dragon (US Rt 129) and the Cherohala Skyway (NC Rt 143 & TN Rt 165).
I am pleased to report that none of my motorcycle parts are on this tree. The Tail of the Dragon is said to have 318 curves in only 11 miles. Many riders challenge themselves beyond their personal riding abilities and the consequences of such behavior yield “ornaments” for the tree seen here. I made my peace with the Dragon a couple of years ago and felt no burning urgency to revisit a couple of roads I’ve already enjoyed.
Many participants had not yet been on this road but the tour offered a remedy and off they went. I already have that “check in the box” so I wanted to do something different.
The Smoky Mountain Harley-Davidson shop in Maryville, Tennessee has two affiliate shops in the area. As is the practice of most dealerships, there is a pin associated with each shop. I decided that my ride for the day would be to the affiliate shops to collect a total of three pins.
The ride would take me through a portion of the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. It was on this route that I collected my “first leaf of autumn” pictured at the beginning of this blog post.
This section of the park is well traveled by tourists and locals alike as it is the “short-cut” between the cities of Townsend and Gatlinburg. But the traffic was light and roadside photo ops were easy.
After “suffering” the slightly overcast sky, high humidity, and “enduring” the vast beauty of the area, I collected the complete puzzle pin set pictured here.
Oh, the things we do for trinkets. (And I kept the dragon at bay.)
To be continued…
Thanks for sharing the pics and comments.