Tail of the Dragon

DAY 6, Friday, June 7, 2013

My alarm sounded at 6:30 AM.  As I turned it off, Bruce woke up.  We got up and got dressed.  We packed our bags.  I was done before Bruce so I told Bruce that I was going to my Motor to pack a couple of bags and that I would meet him at breakfast.  As I got to the lobby for breakfast, I was the only one there.  Soon, others arrived and had breakfast.  We did our normal thing…you know, eat AND talk about people!  We had a good time.  We finished breakfast and we all went back and loaded our Motors.  Jan, J.B. and I made a quick trip up the hill and went to Wal-Mart for a couple of items.  When we returned, everyone was ready.  J.B. and I needed to check out of the hotel.  When we did, we decided to go to a Honda Shop to try and get my Motor fixed.  I got an address for Southern Honda Powersports, which was about 8 miles away, in the direction that we wanted to go.  J.B. put the address on his Navigation System and away we went.  We rode for 10 miles and arrived at 9:20 AM.  Southern Honda Powersports, I was told, is the largest Honda Dealer in the World!  There was no doubt in my mind that the statement is true!  This place was HUGE!  I went to the Service Department and explained the problem.  They took the Motor right away, without waiting!  What service!  We all walked throughout the store and looked at the pretty new toys.  There were clothes and all kinds of CHROME!!!  I love chrome.  I want chrome.  I need chrome.  Squirrel!!  Again, I need to focus on what happened.  One of the guys asked me to check and see how long they would be working on my Motor so that, maybe, they could go to the laundry mat and do a load of clothes.  I was told that it would take about an hour or hour and a half.  All of the guys except J.B. and Greg left for the laundry mat.  We stayed and drank coffee, looked at the toys, drank coffee, went to the bathroom, drank coffee.  You know the drill!  The person working on my Motor finally came out and gave me the news about my Motor.  It needs about 8 hours of work, they have the parts and I could wait for it.  I asked if it would be safe to ride and hold off with the repairs until I returned home.  The mechanic told me that it would be safe to ride; however, it would be uncomfortable to ride at slow speeds.  I told him that that would be OK because, I wouldn’t ride slowly!  Ha!  Steve Davis, are you reading?  I’m going to see you when I get home.  J.B., Greg and I left at 10:56 AM to meet up with the others at the laundry mat.

We rode for only 2 miles and arrived at 10:58 AM.  The guys were standing outside waiting for us.  I told them what was going on with the Motor and everyone went back inside to finish their laundry.  We left at 11:29 AM with Chuck still in the lead.

Chuck took us north on I-75 and exited at US 64 East.  We entered the Cherokee National Forrest and followed the Ocoee Lake/River.  We rode for 59 miles and we stopped at the Ocoee River Dam #2 at 12:34 PM.  We parked and walked over to the dam.  It was a beautiful sight.  There were two guys with kayaks that walked down the ramp, got in, adjusted themselves and started floating down the river.  They almost looked as cool as we do when we ride our Motors into the sunset!  I felt the water and it was cold.  I wouldn’t get in that water until it warmed up!  OK, we had enough of looking at the scenery so we all went to the public restrooms and took care of business before we left.  We left, contented (moo!), at 12:56 PM.

It was after lunch so Chuck led us back onto US 64 East to see is we could find a place to have lunch.  US 64 East, on the map, is a “dotted” road, which means that it is a scenic drive.  Chuck stopped at 1:14 PM after riding 17 miles at Herb’s Pit BBQ in Murphy, North Carolina.  That was a good stop!  The food was very good and very inexpensive.  We left at 2:12 PM.

We continued on US 64 East, then US 74 East and then to US 129 where we stopped in Andrews, North Carolina.  It started to sprinkle so we stopped at a car wash at 2:43 PM after riding 31 miles.  As I was listening to the Weather Channel, Hurricane Andrea was northbound hugging the coast and giving us the rain.  It seems that we are going to be tagging along with Hurricane Andrea for awhile.  We all put on our rain gear.  Wouldn’t you know it?  Just after I put my rain gear on, I needed to go to the bathroom!  So, I went next door at the mini-mart.  I guess I had the “power of suggestion” and Greg followed suit!  OK, we were finished and ready to go.  We were all facing the back of the car wash.  Chuck pulled out and made a 360 degree circle and pulled out of the car wash.  I followed and others went a different way.  As I was making my turn, Ken made his turn and, unfortunately, ended up dropping his Motor.  I stopped my Motor and went to help him pick it up.  There was no damage, nor was there any injury.  It was just an, “AW SHIT!” move.  We left at 2:59 PM. 

As we rode north on US 129, wouldn’t you know it, it stopped raining soon after we started!  We rode on US 129, which is a beautiful ride with plenty of twisties.  We passed through Robbinsville, NC and around Lake Santeetlah.  What beautiful green landscape!  We continued for 42 miles and at 3:56 PM, we arrived at Deal’s Gap.  Deal’s Gap is the start or end of Tail of the Dragon.  The first thing that we did was to take off our rain gear!  There is a store, restaurant, hotel and “The Tree of Shame!”  The Tree of Shame is a tree in the middle of the courtyard of the hotel with a lot of Motorcycle parts nailed, taped or tied to it.  Anyone what has crashed riding Tail of the Dragon can put a piece of their Motor on the tree.  A lot of the Motorcycle riders stop there and have their pictures taken in front of one of the two signs posted on the grounds.  We all went to the store and most of us bought some t-shirts, hats or Motor accessories.  Chuck told all of us that he intended to ride Tail of the Dragon at a comfortable speed.  Those who wanted to go faster could go and we would all meet at the end at the Harley Davidson store.  Ken was the only one who took him on the offer.  I knew that Ken would do it because Ken is a… “WILD MAN!”  For those who don’t know what Tail of the Dragon is, it is a stretch of road, 11 miles long with 318 curves.  It also has stretches of uphill and downhill.  There are three companies that set up at four various locations with cameras.  All they do is sit there and take photographs of all of the riders that pass them.  They later post the pictures on their web site to be purchased by the riders.  They take anywhere from 1 to 6 pictures, or sometimes more, of an individual rider.  We left at 4:47 PM as a group of 7.  Chuck was in the lead, I was next, then Jan, J.B., Bruce, Greg and C.E.  It didn’t take long for Chuck, Jan, J.B. and Me to pull away from the other three.  We headed north on US 129 and “scraping pads” (leaning the Motor very hard) at the curves.  We were having a good time.  As we rode, I had my camera on my left hand taking videos of the ride.  I was riding one-handed, controlling the throttle and brake with my right hand.  As we passed one of the photographers, he was taking pictures of me as I was taking a video of him.  I made 3 long videos as we rode the 11 miles.  We rode the Tail and rode for 19 miles and stopped at the Harley Davidson store in Tallassee, TN at 5:37 PM.  Ken was already there waiting for us.  Soon after the four of us arrived, Bruce, Greg and C.E. rolled up.

We were in the store for a while; you know how Harley guys are!  I walked up to the clerk and asked him, “Where is the Gold Wing section?”  He looked at me and said, “Gold Wing?”  I laughed, as did he.  We were getting ready to leave and Chuck saw the news report inside the store saying that there was a heavy rain cloud between us and Maryville, where we hoped to find a hotel to stay the night.  Some of us put on rain gear while some didn’t.  We left at 5:37 PM.

As we continued on US 129, it rained a little, but not badly.  We arrived in Maryville, TN at 5:52 PM after riding 15 miles.  We stopped at a gas station for gas.  While we were there after gassing up, everyone put on their rain gear.  We left at 6:06 PM.  We were told that just north, a few miles, were several hotels near the airport in Alcoa, TN.        

Greg led us to Alcoa, TN where we stopped at a Fairfield Inn at 6:21 PM after riding for 10 miles in the rain.  I went inside to “make the deal” with the clerk, who just happened to be the Manager.  She gave we a very good rate, however, she only had 3 rooms.  She called several hotels in the immediate area, but none of them had rooms available.  Chuck checked for a Best Western and found one 33 miles away in Sevierville, TN.  That Best Western had plenty of rooms with a great rate.  That’s where we were going to go.  Greg set the address on his Navigations system and led us.  We rode the entire way in the rain.  After riding 33 miles we arrived at the Best Western Greenbrier at 7:26 PM.  We went in and the clerk gave us a better rate than was quoted to Chuck over the phone.  We took the rooms and unloaded our Motors.  The clerk gave us a recommendation for dinner.  It was called the Apple Barn, which was about 2 ½ miles south.  We went to dinner there and it was good, Southern, comfort food.

We finished eating and returned to the hotel, where we “tucked” our Motors in for the night.

To recap today’s events, we went to the Honda store and they told me what is wrong with my Motor and what it would take to fix it.  Some did laundry.  Rode in the rain.  Ken dropped his Motor.  Rode in the rain.  Rode Tail of the Dragon. Rode in the rain.  Found a hotel.  Rode in the rain and the dark.  For those who have been following my blog since Ride #1, Chuck told us, and I passed it on to you in the blog, that we would NEVER ride in the rain or the dark.  Houston (Phoenix), we have a problem!  Actually, it really isn’t that bad.  We are getting things done and having a good time doing it!  It’s all part of the adventure.

OK, today we rode for 238 miles.  We did have a late start.  I believe that tomorrow, we will continue riding in the Blue Ridge Mountains…I think.  I don’t know.  I can’t read Chucks mind.  That’s too scary!  I guess, we shall see…