Cool, glad you're enjoying the ride pics. Got a couple more days to the report.

We are using the Gerbing jacket liners. We also have the Gerbing gloves.

In two years I've only plugged my gloves in twice...they are quite good at keeping my hands warm without even being plugged in.

We have two dual controllers...only time we use the second one is for the gloves.

I have two ports running from the battery to the passenger grab rail, one for each controller, they just sit there unless we need them. Plug the controller in and clip it to the back of my backrest and then Mary can control the heat in each jacket individually.

They work great. Mary used to be hesitant to ride in any weather below 60*, now riding down into the 30's does not faze her. I used to layer up and I thought I was warm...lol...really I just was not as cold as I could have been. Now it's a shirt the jacket liner and a jacket. Wish I would have done this decades ago.

Pic of the gloves we have-




Pic of the jacket...the wires are full coverage in the jacket, including in the collar...when it is in the 30-40's it's nice to feel the heat from the collar drifting up into our helmets-




Dual Controller with case that has a clip-




I was concerned about the controllers in the rain....we ridden in heavy sustained rain, snow and freezing rain. Zero issues.

 

Today we are headed to Gatlinberg/Pigeon Forge. But before we get there, we have a nice route planned out-




Leaving out of Waynesville, the roads are good, scenery is good, and we have a great day planned...





...then a hard plastic cover to a cooler comes flying out of the bed of a pick-up truck. I was a good 100 yards behind him, so had plenty of time to see it.

I could not changes lanes (vehicle in other lane right behind me), I could not slow down dramatically, vehicle behind me. Besides it was flying, bouncing, changing directions...so I attempted to steer directly into it so it would not hit our legs...



....It made a pretty loud thump when it hit, and then this is at about 50 mph, you can see the passing lamp hanging down, with the chrome retaining ring still on there....




...as we came to a stop the ring fell off. Fortunately it had not fallen off prior and got run over, otherwise it would have been duct tape time.


Broke out the tool bag, put it back together. Light still works fine, and I could not find any dents or scratches anywhere. Time will tell when I get all the road grime and bugs washed off.




Back on the road toward Cherohala Skyway, we're getting close to one of our favorite roads.




On the Skyway...we've never been here this time of year and it's very nice...



...colors are just starting to change and not much traffic at all!



We hit a bit of fog here and there....




...but it was not bad at all. Here is a pic of the river at 45 mph thru some trees.



Lot's more to the day in the next post.

 

After leaving Cherohala Skyway we head toward the Dragon.

Instead of taking the 411 we took the 360 instead, it is a very nice ride thru some beautiful countryside.

As we were riding beside the lake toward the northwest end of the Dragon, I see some lights in the rear view. We have traveled this road before and the speed limit was 50 mph. I thought I was only a bit over, but, over is over.

Got stopped and found out I was going 63 mph, and they had changed the speed limit to 40 mph. He took my license, registration and insurance and proceeded to write up what I thought was a ticket.

This would have been my first ticket on a bike since I was 17...I figured it was going to break my 39 year streak of riding fast & various other shenanigans with no tickets.



Most fortunately for me he just wrote up a warning. I thanked him profusely, and then he asked me how I liked the wethead Twin Cam. We talked bikes for about 10 minutes and then we were on our way again.

Oh, he did warn me to watch my speed on the Dragon, that there was a heavy LE presence there today.


I had planned on riding the Dragon very fast...faster than I did yesterday when I averaged 47 mph...



...but after being stopped at 23 mph over the speed limit, and not getting a ticket...



...I decided on a new personal challenge. See if I could maintian 30-35 mph through-out the entire 11 miles, including all the 318 curves and twistys...



...I came close, but there were just some tight turns that I did end up slowing down to about 25 mph...


...still had a great ride through it, Mary was able to take more pics, and I pulled over several times to let bikes I had caught up with get ahead of me some more before continuing on.



While there are MANY great twisty roads around the country, the Dragon is probably so popular because there are no side streets, beautiful scenery, good surface, and great cambers in most of the turns. It's just a lot of fun to ride!



The road was wet today, and I did get some nice, completely controlled & predictable drifting through some of the turns. No lifting of either rear wheel, I am more impressed than ever with how well the 14 TG's handle.

Leaving the Dragon we headed over to Cherokee to pick up the 441 to cut thru the Great Smoky Mountains National Park that dumps into Gatlinburg.

There's a stream that runs thru Cherokee, and since we've only been there when it was warm, we are used to seeing a lot of people down by, or in, the stream.

Today, being in the low 50's there was no one there. We parked on the side of the road....



....and walked down to it. Looked around, took some pics, then I sat down and took care of a little bit of business on the phone.




Leaving out of Cherokee I had it timed that we would be in Pigeon Forge right before dark. But almost as soon as we got into National Park, there were quite a few Elk near the road, and some of them were butting antlers.

It was quite a sight to watch And hear, and we ended up sitting there for a good 45 minutes...



....as had many other folks. The traffic was heavy and it was getting dark, AND foggy in spots....



By the time we got to Gatlinburg it was completely dark, so we took the bypass and went straight to Pigeon Forge.

Tomorrow is some sight seeing, and then the next day is a straight shot home.

More to come!

 

Thanks Kevin some great info and pics. Thanks for taking the time to reply. Stay safe out there!

 

Thanks Kevin & Mary, the pics are brilliant,

They brought back some great memories for me, you'll have to check whether you had your pic taken on the Dragon, I had a couple of nice ones taken,

 

23 over and no summons! Good day to buy lottery tickets!

I got stopped for 125 in a 25 back in 1969. No ticket... The cop said "They'll throw you into long term storage!" But the cop DID follow me home and said "If I see that motorcycle move before sunrise, I'll haul you to jail!"

I left the ole BSA Thunderbolt chained up in the yard and walked back to town for some drinks!

 

That was lucky...or not?

Similar thing happened to me in my 48 ****** jeep when I was 16. Got caught doing donuts in some road construction. Cop did not give ticket, instead followed me home on a Saturday morning & talked to my dad. Many of the neighbors were out mowing their lawn. My dad was Not happy.

 

Here's a vid of our first pass on the Dragon-

 

Mary really enjoys Gatlinburg.

It is a short ride from Pigeon Forge into Gatlinburg...




...and a scenic one too.


I guess they sell clothes and such in there.




A stream runs right thru town...this was a pic we took right near the Aquarium, where we spent several hours. Amazing place!




Some of you may have read our Alaska Ride Report from last summer. That trip started in Pigeon Forge...



...some friends of ours got married that weekend in Pigeon Forge, after the wedding, it was some sightseeing in downtown Gatlinburg.



Ended up at The Ole Smoky Moonshine Holler....



...sampling all 12 flavors.



Well we ended up there again today...but at the end of the trip instead of the beginning.




After a full day in Gatlinburg, and a nice dinner in Pigeon Forge at J. T. Hannah's, the next morning it was time to head out for home!



Loading up for the last time on this trip.

More in next post.

 

Today we will be back home in Mississippi, about 40 miles outside of Memphis, TN.

It's been a great trip seeing parts of this great Country that we had never seen before.


Before even getting out of town, we spent about 40 minutes traveling 8 miles in traffic due to construction. I turned on the stereo for the first time in over 2 weeks!

Another couple on a TG stuck in the same traffic.




Once we were on I-40 we were in some fast moving traffic...



...I found that if I stayed at 90 mph, I wasn't constantly getting passed and tail-gated, and I was able to keep a good distance between myself and the traffic bunched up ahead of me.


Spotted a Trike headed the opposite direction.




There are some nice sections of I-40 in TN....




...including some long curves and some hills...




...and some lakes.




...but for the most part, interstate travel cannot keep the interest like the thousands of miles of country roads we've covered this trip.

But cruise control, a flat smooth road, and the TG can travel for a bit with no steering input...




...every now and then there is something interesting traveling down the road. This guy was traveling 85 mph down the hills and only slowing to 75 mph up the hills.




Shadow pic-




It's been a fantastic trip...we're only 160 miles or so from home!




We got stuck in another traffic jam due to construction on I-40 right outside of Memphis...ate up about an hour.

So the sun is setting while we still have about an hour to ride...



...a pretty spectacular view we had.





We traveled about 450 miles today, about 4800 miles on the entire trip.

Thanks for riding with us!

We'll be posting one more video compilation in this thread in the next week or so.

RIDE FREE!