too bad my camera doesn't capture how beautiful it is up on the skyway...maybe if it wasnt a 20 year old digital...?
anyway...here's more
Deals Gap at the Tail of the Dragon (US 129 at the NC/Tenn border) an 11 mile stretch of road with a claimed 318 curves (I'd estimate its more like 200-250)
the Tree of Shame (tradition dictates that if you get "bitten" by the Dragon, you leave a piece of your bike/car/whatever on the tree) there's probably 200+ mirrors hanging off that sumbitch. I, however, did not get bit, so I had nothing to leave on the tree
here's an old (early 70s?) BMW 900r in fantastic shape
a couple of the 4 T-Rex cycle-car things we saw
and finally, Mike, the owner of this ST 1100, took an unscheduled swim in one of the local rivers...the bike was in 6 feet of water for nearly 2 hours....
after getting it back to the campground, Mike spent 8 hours getting the water out and the electrics sorted...then another 6 or so the next morning getting it running...then rode it home to Connecticut!
despite considerable cosmetic body damage, including no right side mirror, no windshield, a speedometer held on by zipties, and the need to reattach the hard saddlebags with bungies, he didnt get stopped by a single LEO (law enforcement officer)!
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All in all, it was an absolutely fantastic trip. The weather cooperated perfectly (only caught the tail end of the deluge that swamped West Tennessee and Kentucky on sunday evening...after dark and the bikes were already under cover). Everyone we met was super friendly and we had an absolute blast! I can NOT wait to go back.
If you ride a motorcycle and are looking for a nice place to take a trip...you can't do much better than SE Tennessee and/or NW North Carolina...the roads are great and the scenery is georgeous. It may truly be the Mecca of Motorcycling in America.
Ride On...