Monday, October 3, 2022

North Carolina Riding the Tail of the Dragon and Many More Great Roads!

 Dear Family & Friends,

A very fun and relaxing day of riding.

First we went for a quick breakfast in our hotel. It was a Quality Inn and in small town. Nothing too scary about it but one of the guest there seemed to feel it necessary to come to breakfast with a semi automatic pistol strapped to his belt so everyone could see. What the hell is wrong with these people???? Are they really that scared or are they compensating for something?? Some kind of mental illness for sure.

Anyways we had breakfast and headed out for a day of riding the local scenic roads. We finally had great weather too. Our first loop is called The Tail of the Dragon. A famous motorcycle road. Twisty is an understatement. It is only 11 miles long but has 315 turns in it!! Great riding if not a bit exhausting. I took a video of our ride. Just go to this link and when you play it look at the lower right corner, there is an asterisk shaped Icon. Click on it and change the play back speed to 1.25. It will make it look like what we really did. For some reason my camera slows up the action. ;) 


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nV4fSMsw1Kc




Also a bit scary. Lots of motorcycle on the road and most are touring bikes just cruising along but now and then there were guys on sport bikes just going full tilt knee dragging! They were obviously very good riders but all it takes is a bike to hit some gravel or leaves and they are going down. Not problem for me  unless I am on the other side of the road.  

About half way into the ride we stopped at a motorcycle resort. Very cool place. Out from they had The Tree of Shame completely covered with broken motorcycle parts from riders that didn’t have a good day. I also had to get a souvenir T shirt and a few stickers. I probably should have not packed any shirts because I am sure I will get a few more at the Barber Festival and then where am I going to put them??

After the Tail of the Dragon we headed south over the mountains and dropped down into Tennessee. Then we start back north to North Carolina and we stopped at a quaint old town and had a good lunch right on the local river. 

From there it was back up into the mountains and back to our hotel.


This evening we went to a local cafe called Lynn’s Cafe. We tried some real local dishes that I am sure are very healthy like Fried Cheese Cake!


This area is FULL of motorcyclists from all over. Every town caters to motorcyclist and it is a great place to ride. I have met people from all over the country. One gentlemen I met the other night was about my age and has just trailered his Harley Davidson here from Florida! He got out just in time, he lost his house but saved his motorcycle. That is priority!


Tomorrow we ride to Nashville to visit my daughter Jessica. I am really looking forward to it!


Jason





Mr. Cool Rider mastering the Tail of the Dragon

Certainly no water shortage in this state. Every where there are creeks, streams, and lakes.

Brian exploring the wilds of North Carolina!


Dense forest everywhere. A very unusual formation. At the early1900s this entire area was privately owned and it was completely deforested for profit. Then the Federal government bought up all the land, make it a national park and replanted it. Who says government can't do anything right? At some of the time.

Where ever you stop there are motorcyclists!

A great place to stop, sight see, and get a few trinkets to take home.. Like more stickers and T shirts.



Once again my sticker collection is growing.!

And T shirts too...



You don't want your photo on this wall. Accidents on this road are almost a daily event. I certainly wouldn't ride here on a weekend when it is really busy.


This motorcycle motel even has a place to work on your motorcycle including oil drains.


The famous Tree of Shame. You do NOT want to have anything on it. Any thing there either cost a lot to put there or hurt a lot to put there.




Lots of scenic views!





Who says motorcyclist are romantics. Some guy painted on the pavement "Will you marry me?". Almost as good as writing it on a cake.


A great place for lunch.










The End.







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