Last Thursday 5 of us left Northern Kentucky for Townsend, Tennessee. We rode the Dragon, Devils Backbone, Cherohala Skyway and the Smoky Mountain over to Cherokee, North Carolina. We had a little rain and a little cool weather but overall a great ride. We put a total of 978 miles round trip in four days. Here is a picture from Killboy.com as I rounded one of the switchbacks on the Tail of the Dragon. At 65 I am glad I'm rocking on a Harley instead of a chair. I built my 2013 Limited out of a salvaged unit with only 823 miles on it. I had to round up bags, king pack, rails and seat. We were able to save the tank by pulling the dent out. My total in the bike as seen in the photograph is $15,200. My hog ran flawlessly and as you can imagine I had a great time.

 

Sounds like you had a good time.

 

Nice riding in the area, but the traffic is tough in Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg. Nice ride, looking good.

 

I was there last weekend also, I love cherohola skyway.

 

Skyway by far is my favorite. Dragon is over rated. I could make that run from New Orleans to Smokies and not feel like i missed something if I didnt ride the smokies.

 

The veteran's parkway parallels them main road through Pigeon Forge and Sevierville and is a good way to avoid the traffic congestion. There is also a bypass for Gatlinburg that is a nice ride that gets one around Gatlinburg and right into the Smokey park.

 

We used the bypass and avoided the traffic. By that point of our ride that day the thought of fighting the type of traffic Gatlinburg generates on October weekends was less inviting. We took the bypass and went to Townsend where we were staying.
Bill

 

Good to know. Every time I've been in Pigeon Forge the traffic was insane.

 

I am making my way to Flat Rock NC via 129 and fontana dam... not sure after that, but I don't mind not knowing until its time. Anyone else riding the dragon friday morning?

 

Next time you're down there and want to do something different, take Mooshiner 28 all the way to Walhalla, South Carolina. Great ride including water falls.