I had to go to Atlanta for an annual convention this past weekend. I usually ride 500 miles down the interstate and come right back the same boring route. I have always wanted to take a few extra days and so some sightseeing in the eastern mountains. This year I did it. Thanks to some great advice I recieved on this forum it was a fantastic trip.

I left central Illinois with several goal destinations in mind and hoping to have a great time in between destinations. It worked out great.

After 7 boring hours on the interstate, I ended up in Corbin, Ky and headed east on 25W. That was where things started getting nice. I stayed in Banter Elk, NC the first night. Then it was a short ride up to grandfather mountain, then picked up the BRP. Thanks to some great advice from a forum member, I got off the BRP at NC 80 and took a great ride down to the bottom of the mountains and ended up at a very pretty lake.

Then it was back to the BRP and Mt. Mitchell. At the end of the BRP, I was very tired from all the hiking and sightseeing I had done that day and stayed at Sylva, NC. Nice little town. The next day I shot the moonshiner 28 up to Deals Gap, rode the dragon again, and then headed down 129 to Robbinsville and rode the Cherahola skyway again.

From there is was down to Atlanta for the convention. I took route 68 south out of Tellico Plains. I had never heard anyone mention that road, but it was very nice. It was great riding at 50 to 60 mph. Those of you who live in that area probably see that as just another road, but I really enjoyed it.

I finished my business early in Atlanta on Saturday and headed up to Lookout Mountain in Chatanooga. I had been there several times in the past, but never rode up there on my bike.

Then Sunday it was the boring interstate ride back home and back to work. All in all it was 1,760 miles in four days of riding with one day laid over in Atlanta. The weather was great for the most part. A little bit of mountain rain, but nothing terrible.

Thanks to all of you who helped me plan this trip. It was the best bike trip I have ever been on.


Dennis

 

Good Times.........................

Robin

 

Hey Rochkes, Glad you injoied our neck of the woods NC 80 is referred to locally as Buck Creek & is a blast to ride, the lake is Lake Thoma. I live in the town below the lake (Marion) and ride up there often. If you get back this way the ride on the other side of the Parkway is very nice as well, Towards Burnsville.
Mud Cut

 

I think I could spend the rest of the summer riding that area and still not see all I wanted to see. I really liked that house out on the lake.

Dennis

 

Glad you got to see some of the high country! I live near the base of Grandfather Mtn, been here all my 55 years, and been riding cycles since I was 13. I still manage to find a new road now and then, it's all good.
The House in the Lake is simply amazing. How did you think 80 compared to the Dragon?

 

We are blessed with some of the best riding in the US. Glad you enjoyed. Come back soon.

 

I enjoyed all the roads in that area equally. There was something about each part of the trail that I liked better than any other place I had been.

This was my second time on the dragon. The first was a cold day in March. I had to go to knoxville on business and hauled my bike down just to unload, run the dragon and go home. It was also my second time on the cherahola skyway, but the first time I was there the wind and rain were so heavy that there was almost no visibility. The ride was fine, but there was no scenery the first time.

NC 80 and the moonshiner 28 have curves that I think are tougher and the scenery is great. One thing I noticed though is that the curves on the dragon are all banked. The road itself is a great help. If the dragon was flat like alot of the other curves I was on, it would be much more challenging.

There were two state troopers patrolling the dragon constantly while I was there. That meant eveyone was riding much milder than last time I was there. There was an ambulance coming out the gate when I got there. One of the guys I was visiting with said that four sport bikes got tangled up and all went down. I saw no evidence of wrecked bikes or bikes without riders along the road. As I was leaving, the ambulance was going back in, supposedly to pick someone else up.

I wouldn't drive the 300 miles back down there just to run the dragon, but I will ride it every time I can when I am in the area. I will drive the 300 miles or so back down there as often as I can to see more of what I got a look at this time. I need a summer cabin down there........

Dennis

 

You were lucky on the weather this time! It's going to start getting warm this weekend, so maybe summer is finally here. We're doing the Tennessee Thunder ride Saturday, I really enjoy that one and look forward to it. It is put on by Snap On Tools in Elizabethton, Tn, benefits go to Relay for Life. Very worthwhile event, last year about 170 riders, beautiful scenery and fabulous prizes, if you like tools. As far as the different roads, they all have to curve to get around these old hills. Like you, I enjoy the banked curves and it seems that depends on when the road was constructed. Older roads seem to be flat tracks, the newer ones are banked.
The only bad thing about my area is the amount of development, you may have noticed it is just about "loved to death". That makes for congestion at times, and older cagers are very poor drivers, if you know what I mean.

 

Sounds like a great trip, Always makes it better when you can tie work in with riding. I'll be heading down that way in September and can't wait.