Thunder Roads Magazine of Oklahoma/Arkansas October 2017_web | Page 17

FEATURES
our daily breakfast location,
Little Black Bear Café, as it’s
owned by a friendly man named
Lenny who rides a sweet BMW
motorcycle. We continued the
day by roaming around in the
nearby town of Gatlinburg,
TN. It’s a cool small town built
around the original old mountain
of which it originated. Pigeon
Forge is more like Branson as it’s
filled with music shows and glitzy
attractions. However, we found a
few fun places to sit and people
watch while grabbing a snack
and beverages. Some of the
crew partook in some moonshine
tasting at the local distillery of
which they were well pleased!
In our first day of riding,
we accessed The Dragon,
Hwy 129, by traveling along
the Foothills Parkway. This
parkway is approximately 16
miles containing plenty of long
sweeping turns which rise and
drop slightly as it snakes its way up
the side of the Smoky Mountains
towards North Carolina. As the
smooth, wide highway rises over
the mountains gliding along the
mountain ridge, the eye catching
views include mountain peaks,
rivers, streams, lakes and lush
forests, as far as the eye can see.
That is, as much as one dares to
look away from the road without
going off the mountain! Once the
road connects with The Dragon,
everything changes! The edge
of the road moves directly to the
white line with no flat ground
beneath it in most places. It’s a
direct drop off down to the abyss
on the West side of the road and
a cliff to the East side. The 30
mph speed limit is a challenge for
anyone who rides it. While most
couldn’t imagine reaching 30
on the narrow, steep, snake-like
roadway, others push the speed
limit. These are the daredevil
riders who challenge themselves
by making quick, precise moves
that, if miscalculated, can be
deadly mistakes. Personally, I’m
in the group who stretches the
limits. I was able to successfully
maneuver through at a quick
pace while enjoying the twists,
turns and excitement of the
famous Dragon of the Smoky
Mountains. Despite the seriously
tight turns and lack of shoulder,
it’s very common to be waved
on by slower riders and you’re
expected to pass by either
sharing their lane or zipping
out and back in before the next
oncoming traffic or hairpin turn.
It’s not for the faint of heart or the
inexperienced riders. However,
it does make for a good “I’ve
ridden that” story. We wrapped
up our day by traveling back
towards our home base along
the Cherohala Skyway. Now
those who read my travel writings
know that, occasionally, mapping
is not something I agree to while
riding. Therefore, we often end
up on different roads than were
planned…like this day. We were
supposed to be on the Northeast
end of the mountain, but instead
we were ending our day on the
Southwest side. Lucky for us, I’m
never lost, I’m always right here.
Today’s “here” landed us at an
old, small town tavern that served
up some great burgers, hot fries,
cold drinks and local gossip.
Bellies full and many laughs
later, we loaded up only to travel
a mile before pulling it over and
rain suiting up! Just in time as the
rain came down so furiously, we
had to pull over at a tiny one stall
auto repair shop in a one horse
town. The proprietor inside was
happy to accommodate us while
the rain quit. Off we went on our
80 mile ride back to the comforts
of our warm, dry condo.
The following day, we bundled
up a bit as we headed out to the
nearby Smoky Mountain National
Park where we knew we’d be
escalating to the Smokies highest
elevation of over 6,500 feet at
Clingman’s Dome. Not only were
the temperatures cooler up there,
but the smokiness amongst the
mountains became clouds which
we rode through in the morning
ride to the peaks. The riding in the
Smokies provides hundreds of
miles of uninhibited forest areas
giving us the ability to see nature
in its most natural state. The final
part of the ride we chose, took
us VERY slowly through an area
called Cade’s Cove which is
scattered with historic buildings
and an abundance of wildlife.
With many miles in front of us the
following day, we retired early to
pack and get ready for our long
ride home. All in all, we traveled
about 2,500 miles without a
hitch. The key to a fantastic, long
road trip, is making sure your
equipment is ready to go, your
journey includes interesting sites
and your travel partners are there
for the same reason you are…
Live to Ride. Ride to Live!
Thunder Roads Magazine of OK/AR
17