The view from the window is wonderful as I wake. I can see the Great Smokey Mountains in all their glory, shrouded in sunlight with barely no clouds to speak of. Shame last night wasn’t so great. Sevierville is not what I expected. After riding into the main part of town, we realized it’s basically a huge strip mall, punctuated by theme parks. Hoping to find a small, authentically local diner, we ended up at Applewood or Applebarn or something. The food was OK, but it was mass catering fast. And the place was dry, so no beer for me.

So this morning, we were quite happy to be leaving town. We left via the backroads and here Tennessee proved itself great again. They’re wonderfully twisty and well maintained, but you can’t ride them without the feeling that a deer or something else will bound out soon.

After missing the turn for the Foothills parkway – I was told it was well signed but it’s really not – we were finally treated to some elevation and wonderful views. Tennessee on the left and North Carolina to the right. A brief stop for water let us take in the view.

A few minutes later after passing some *very* slow Harley riders, we saw the sign, 129 pointing left. It got better. “Sharp Curves ahead”, “Not suitable for trucks” all passed by with widening smiles. The first part, headed south was mostly sweeps with wonderful scenery of lakes and dense forests. After that, I can’t tell you what the scenery was until we hit Deal’s Gap. 318 curves in 11 miles sure does fly by but it’s a wonderful experience. There’s nothing frighteningly technical about it, just lots of hairpins, often in rapid succession but I’d ridden harder roads in Italy. If you take that to mean it was easy, that’s not what I am trying to say. Instead, look at it this way – It is a road that can be ridden by most riders of most abilities and it’s got something for everyone. If you ride a motorcycle in North America, you owe it to yourself to try and get there and ride it, even just once.

And then there is the Deal’s Gap motel: You can’t possibly ride the Dragon and not visit the motel. Honestly, it’s like the sublime to the ridiculous but wonderful for it. The motel is basic at best. Outside is parking for at least a few hundred motorcycles. At the weekend, it must be packed, but even on Tuesday there were at least a hundred. There’s folks walking up and down, chatting accessories and all the while, people take off up the 129, usually with a wide-open throttle and often a wheel pointed skywards. The gift shop is at least somewhat restrained and I purchased only a t-shirt for my son and I. Oh, and a kickstand plate. And a map. And a sticker or two. I could go on, but won’t. The only other thing I would say is there were far less sport bikes there than I expected. One guy I spoke too said if he hadn’t come down in the truck, he wouldn’t have made it and his arms hurt from one lap as it was. He was suitably impressed when I said we’d come from Toronto, until he introduced me to his new friend, who’d come from Port Elgin, further up the road than I was. Damn.

After leaving Deals Gap it was south on the 28, another wonderful road. Yet more of the same twisties but with less traffic. What more can I say? I get the impression there are at least ten other roads around here, all equal if not better than the 129. I will be going back that way tomorrow so hopefully I will find a few more, but for now, *YOU* need to stop making excuses and just go.

We stopped for lunch in Stecoah at an authentic roadside diner. The food was down-home good though. Catfish sandwich for me, BBQ pork for Marina and it was good and let us back on the road quickly.

Unfortunately, after Stecoah the road became a little more pedestrian. North Carolina leveled out and melted into Georgia and hills gave way to fields. A brief stopover at Tallulah gorge for apple cider as a nice diversion before we powered on through the increasing heat to the Georgia guidestones. I’d never heard of them until recently, but they are known as America’s stonehenge and the photo below should show you why. It doesn’t show the inscriptions on the slabs themselves, but they are a kind of new humanist ten commandments, though some believe it’s the doctrine of a new world order. At 19’, I thought they were just interesting and awe inspiring. There’s not a lot else to see they, but they are pretty cool for an hour’s contemplation. At least, that’s what we did, drinking the last of the water.

To end the day, we shot back up the 77 and 29 into Greenville, SC. I can honestly say avoid the La Quinta and I’ve only been here fifteen minutes. About the only thing in it’s favor is cheap and free wifi. It’s right by the highway and a strip mall, so at least it’s also good for an early start. I’m now off downtown to investigate as it’s supposed to be beautiful.

Days Total: 509km

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