Another great day. We had 12 more members show up and register today that were not pre-registered. After taking care of some rally administrative business I decided to ride through Maggie Valley, the Cherokee reservation, through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Gatlinburg, Dollywood, then loop back to Asheville.
The area is spectacular riding and Maggie Valley is gorgeous. I'd like to be able to come back and ride with the Palmetto Voyagers in Maggie Valley in October, I'll bet the fall colors will be beautiful! A lot of traffic going through the National Park, though a great ride on a nice curvy road up and over the mountains. The Great Smoky Mountains are aptly named, as they were "smoky" today:
Well, it was Gatlinburg in mid-July
And I just hit town and my throat was dry,
I thought I'd stop and have myself a brew.
--Johnny Cash, "A Boy Named Sue"
It's mid July and I hit Gatlinburg, Tennessee today but my name ain't Sue and I didn't have a brew, though that would have been nice. It was nice and cool riding through the Smokeys but coming out of the mountains into Gatlinburg was like hitting a wall of heat. It was instant, no transition. There was a "bypass" around Gatlinburg and now I know why! The "highway" through town is long, very long, and choked with traffic, tourists, pedestrians, and tourist trap after tourist trap. A mite different than in the days of Johnny Cash's song! I wanted to take a photo but parking was off the main street and you had to pay for it, and it was so crowded I just wanted to get out of there. So I did, but it took awhile.
Don Medina lead a ride through the "Tail of the Dragon," an 11 mile stretch of road with 318 curves. I rode it last year so decided on the Great Smokys. Riders come from all over the country, even from all over the world to ride this road. Not all make it as shown by the "Tree of Shame." If you crash, pick up your pieces or you could end up here (Thanks to Joel Colletti for the Dragon photos):
Here's Joel with the "Dragon" at Deal's Gap, either the beginning or the end of the road, depending on which way you are going:
. . . and the group at a break in the ride:
At days end it was time for the traditional "Welcome Dinner" and we "ate good"!:
Before dinner I lounged briefly at the pool. See those nice white clouds and blue sky in the background? Less than two hours later, near the end of dinner, they announced a storm was coming in and that it was already here. It was pouring down rain and everyone rushed out to cover their bikes, me included. It was akin to shutting the barn door after the horses escape. Everything was already soaked and in another hour the rain had more or less subsided. But it's not over yet. The forecast for the next two day is wet. We'll see. . . . The bike show and light show scheduled for tonight is going to be tomorrow night instead!
