Day #73 October 22, 2007

Day #73
Monday October 22, 2007
Ashville, NC to Ashville, NC
273 miles today
13,835 miles total
35 states total (+Wash. DC and Canada)

I got up about 4:30 and left camp about 5:45 AM. I rode in the dark with the trucks on I-40 West. As I climbed the mountains out of Asheville, the temp really began to drop. I had debated about putting on long underwear under my jeans this AM, but decided not to. Was questioning that now. As I rounded one of the tight 50mph curves at about 60mph, there was WET PAVEMENT! Yikes. I really throttled back and about that time the rain started coming down a little harder. My exit off I-40 was about a mile away, so I was at least off the freeway, even if I was in the rain. I had to pull off within another mile and suit up, in the dark.

The trip to Gatlinburg from Asheville was nearly 75 miles. By the time I arrived the sky was beginning to lighten. However, all that was really lit up were the huge, dark storm clouds overhead. I gassed up and drove on in, riding from one end of town to the other. Of course, Gatlinburg has changed in 31 years, and I didn’t find anything familiar. I saw 2 things I remembered. One was the big round concrete hotel sitting high up on a hill. The other was the tram going up the hill on the other side of the street to a German (Bavarian?) restaurant.
All the downtown area has been completed torn down and rebuilt into the little shopping courtyards so prevalent at all the tourist places across the country. There was NO parking at the last 3 restaurants I passed. I turned around at the end of town, and headed back to a place I saw when I first entered the downtown.

As I was getting my helmet/jacket off, a couple walked by and he was checking out the bike. I followed them in, and they later invited me to join them. Dave and Kathy were there in Gatlinburg to get married! She had been to Oregon 5-6 times in years past and even had a job interview there once. She had some relatives here for the wedding who are from McKenzie Bridge, only about 40 miles from Eugene. Dave is a fellow biker, and has a passion for the older BMW’s. He’s looking forward to retiring soon so he can “go to work” restoring/riding old bikes. Kathy would like to move to Oregon. We talked over breakfast, then they were on their way to go get their marriage license.

I headed out to Pigeon Forge, just to see how it had changed, and to take me toward the “Tail of the Dragon” route. Wow! What a change! Tourist row for sure! The traffic was pretty light I thought. Dave and Kathy shared how her relatives last week drove 2 hours to travel the 7 miles from Pigeon Forge to Gatlinburg. I head out of Pigeon Forge on US 321 toward Wear Valley and Townsend on the Foothills Parkway. In Wear Valley I came out of my rain gear, shed some layers, got gas and coffee and moved on.

Before turning off on US 129, I fell in behind a group of 6-7 Harleys. I brought up the rear and just rode with them all the way to Deals Gap. The ride along the “Tail of the Dragon” was fun, and not as difficult or demanding as I had anticipated. I think we have roads as equally as challenging and scenic in Oregon. The old McKenzie Pass and the road to Hells Canyon Dam on the Snake River come to mind. But, it was fun for sure, and I'm glad I took the day to come over. As far as adrenilin rush and thrill related to risk (i.e. HIGH on the dumb stuff to do list), the ride up I-40 this AM, in the dark, in the rain, riding along side the trucks on the tight turns and narrow lanes, was actually more exciting than the "Tail of the Dragon." I stopped in Deals Gap and bought the obligatory t-shirts, magnets and decal to attach to my trailer. I had lunch in Robbinsville while the rain fell quite hard. I rode through Cherokee and back to Asheville on US 19. Tomorrow I’ll come through here again “one way” on my way through the park instead of around it.

I got back to Asheville and camp about 5PM. It been a long 11+ hour day, and most of it was spent in the saddle. I made dinner, checked mail, packed some stuff up, got ready to break camp and hit the road tomorrow.