9/29/10 – Taming the Dragon

This morning I was more excited than a terrorist getting ready to blow-up his first public marketplace. The Dragon’s Tail is to Biker’s, what Mecca is to Islamic Pilgrims, but without hundreds of people getting trampled. I had the best shower of my trip with a free-flowing shower that blasted like a fire hydrant. Sure, the hot was cold and cold was hot, but the pressure was phenomenal. I checked-out of the motel and got directions to the Dragon from the front desk clerk. He told me to be real careful, ‘cause there’s a lot of cops out there. I was careful and oncoming bikers used hand gestures to warn when speed traps were approaching. Today was crystal clear and temps were in the mid-70’s in the flatlands to high 50’s at the high passes of the Smokey Mountains, above 5,500 feet.

At the start of the Dragon’ Tail I stopped at a little souvenir shop and I met Matthew from Florida who was here to ride the Dragon on his fake-Harley, Yamaha, that’s much better than a real Harley. I led the way through the Dragon and it was a fantastic ride. There were hundreds of bikes, even though it’s the last Wednesday in September. I can’t imagine how many bikers are here in the peak summer season. We enjoyed a nice lunch in North Carolina at Deal’s Gap, which is the end of the Dragon. Matthew said there was a 120 mile loop we could ride that was supposed to be fantastic and it was. After lunch and buying more souvenirs we headed-out to tackle the Cherohala Skyway through the Smokey Mountains. Shortly into our ride, we saw the Cheoah Dam that Harrison Ford jumped from in the Fugitive Movie. The mountain roads rise from sea level to over 5,500 feet and it got cold at the top so I loaned my leather jacket to Matthew. Overall the ride was superlative and the road conditions were also excellent.

We finished our ride through the Smokies around 6:00 and Matthew headed to meet family and friends in Atlanta, while I headed west towards Nashville. I caught a fabulous sunset before finally landing at a nice Econolodge 20 miles outside Nashville. I was thrilled to learn that somewhere today I gained an hour and it was only 7:45 and not 8:45 as I thought.

What a fabulous day!