Thunder Roads Magazine of Oklahoma/Arkansas October 2017_web | Page 26

FEATURES
FINDING PANACEA
BY CHRIS GIBBANY
Our trip to the Smoke Out in Rockingham,
North Carolina didn’t go exactly as planned, but we
still made it. Since my husband Gabe and I were
riding two old bikes, me on my 1956 Panhead and
him on his 1946 UL Flathead, we decided to bring
a chase rig. We also decided to leave a day early
and arrive a day later than “The Long Road” was
scheduled to run. Even though “The Long Road”
claimed to have no particular “rules”, we were no
longer qualified to participate in it.
Once the pressure of “following rules” was
over, we decided to make this into the most
enjoyable vacation we could. Since neither one of
us had ever had a vacation, we figured this might
be a once in a lifetime opportunity. After doing
some research on the area, we decided to spend
most of our time on the interstate so that we could
spend more time riding in the Smokey Mountains.
Once we got to North Carolina, we stayed
on the Cherokee Reservation. Cherokee is the
starting or exiting point of The Blue Ridge Parkway.
It consists of 469 miles that follows closely the
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Thunder Roads Magazine of OK/AR
highest ridges between the Shenandoah and the
Great Smokey Mountains National Parks. The
speed is limited to 45 mph where the road is
intended for people who want to take a leisurely
ride or drive. I am not easily impressed, but riding
on The Parkway has got to be one of the greatest
pleasures I have ever experienced. I would like to
go back and ride the entire Blue Ridge Parkway on
my 1939 Knucklehead.
Once we got back to the motel at Cherokee,
Gabe realized that the rear axle bearings were going
out on my Panhead. Part of our itinerary included
going to “Wheels Through Time Museum”. As
they were closing I decided to buy a Knucklehead
sticker and patch for my jacket. While I was inside
buying tickets to win the 1948 Panhead that they
are giving away this fall, Gabe was outside talking
to Dale Walksler, the museum’s curator. He told
Dale that we were on our way to Rockingham and
that my bearings were bad. Dale proceeded to
have Gabe follow him back into the museum, took
him over to the exhibit “Chopper Graveyard” and