Day 16 - Sun
.

Up early today, quick coffee out front and then on the road. We hit the Hwy for ½ hour only today. The first road we hit after that was through the Chattahoochee National Forest. This was not just a great road but scenery was beautiful. Large lake with a huge river running up & along the roadside. Lots of sweepers, twists & turns. Saw many people white water rafting and having fun.



Once through the CNF we headed over to 68 and north. This was another great road.
Worked our way up to the Cherihola Pkwy. Made a stop at the Harley Shop and
bought a long sleeve shirt for myself and one that my bud had asked me for if we
were to head down that way on this trip. We had to make another stop for fuel and
it had a place with warm food. They had just cooked up some deep fried chicken and
fries, so we bought a few pieces and some wedges and ate outside in the sun shine. We
needed to get something in us as we hadn’t eaten yet today. (seems we forget to do that)
It was very cool this morning when we left but it was now very warm and getting hotter.
Heading across the Cherihola, we made sure to make lots of stops for Pics and had the
video camera going again. (this is one of my favorite roads to ride – easy cruising with
nice turning radius) (Cherihola and next few roads I did in June – this is D’s first time )



Now when you look over the cliff where we were standing you can just see this place as
a small spec with your eye. We pulled it in as big as his camera would allow. Turned out fairly good . The roads around the area looked like a lot of fun. Now this is living in the mountains.



Things are looking up




We now are heading north on the 129 towards the Dragon. When we get on site, no one is waiting to have pics done in front of the signs or the tree of shame. We got that done right away and then inside to see what else we could buy. D needed to get some shirts – few patches – lic plate bracket & I grabbed a couple of T-shirts for the kids.








So now it is time to head up the Dragon. D is leading and I am following with video
going . We get up to the turn around spot and D climbs off bike and gets a few pics
from the cliff. Then it is back down the Dragon for another run. As we ended the run, I can see D’s face and it says it all . Eyes wide and a grin from ear to ear. I didn’t have to ask how he liked that road. It was written all over his face.
Now we are heading down 28 towards Fontana, which is another nice road to ride, working our way down to the Smokey Mountain Hwy and then heading north on the
19 – 74 so that we can either stay in Cherokee or move on. We get into Cherokee at
6:45 pm and fuel up. The sun is still shining but setting fast. We are debating on weather to make a mad dash to Ashville or stay put.




WELL




You know what comes next ?????









So off we go. I am hopeful that we can hit the highest point in the sun so that he can get his pictures done . We are now rushing a bit to get up the mountain. (I have done the Smokey to Ashville run already, but not the rest of it.) Well we are approx 100 to 200 feet from the top and it was like someone hit us with a black wall and fog. We had no idea that it was coming in from the opposite direction. So we get to the top and can’t believe it. We were lucky to get the one shot he needed to get. (the all important one)



With the dark clouds and fog rolling in on us we have to put on something warmer and get the heck out of there. As we start riding over the fog gets heavier & is a bit harder to see. This slows us down some but still moving. The dark was not our worst enemy at the time. Further along we start heading down and it clears up a bit and we can see ahead of us as far as our lights will go. We finally make Ashville and the hotel. We get unloaded and ask if any good places to eat. A young lad says the East Village Deli & Grill is good
food with good prices. So off we go to this place. Seems nice enough. D orders 1 ½ rack of Ribs with a Salad & Spicy Apples (which were very good) & shot of Scotch . I ended up getting the Rib Eye Steak Sandwich (this thing was a foot long) with a Salad & a shot of Rye. The meals were both fabulous. We couldn’t have asked for anything more. This was a great way to end the day. (great meal + great roads all day) Can’t ask for anything better then that.
Now as to the East Village Deli & Grill. We both give it a 2 thumbs up for food, prices
& service. (Excellent) No problem with recommending this place to others.



Day 17 - Mon


Today’s Forecast



90% of our Ride Today




Today is a late start – 10:45 am - Must have been to much drinking last night. LOL
So we head out for the Blue Ridge which is about a mile down the road from our hotel.
We get on and go about 2 miles and we head into heavy fog right away. We also have a slight mist coming at us but not enough to get us soaked. About 10 minutes down the road we hit what I call complete fog. You could see maybe 10 to 20 in front of you if you were lucky enough. The worst part was it started to rain out . Our rain suits came out and some warmer clothes as well. We rode for what seemed like forever but not as long as we should have and headed off the Blue Ridge to get fuel. Well we were in some little place in the middle of nowhere taking a break after the fuel and having a drink. A bunch of people that came in for fuel as well – just looked at the 2 of us and had to say – nice day for a ride . (then start laughing) (it was still raining pretty good ) BTW my boots were soaked by now and I am sure D’s were as well. I had to try something out and see if it works any good. I went in the store and asked the lady for some plastic bags and got out a dry pair of socks and put them on with the plastic bags. It seemed to help for a few hours but it seemed the moisture was getting in later in the day. So it worked for awhile. Wasn’t helping that it was still raining on us. So we are back on the Blue Ridge again for awhile, when we hit a Road Closed Sign. We now have to take a 28 mile detour. So off we go on this wild goose chase. We ended up going through a small town called Sparta. Something looks and sounds familiar. D pulls into a Burger King and seems it is time to have something to eat as we hadn’t eaten today. As we are getting off the bikes, I say to him that I have been here before. ( It just happens that on the way to the Dragon in June our group had stopped in the same BK for lunch as well) Small world.
D goes in to the BK and I stay outside for a smoke. I needed one by this time.
In pulls this old guy on a Harley. Old worn leather coat – jeans – gloves – boots- no rain suit. You can see he is really soaked . We get to chatting and he had left the same place as us and was heading home to Roanoke. He is retired and grew up in the Tenn – Carolina area. He knows all the back roads from when he started riding as a kid. No highways for him. He was telling me he goes over to the old neighborhood for days at a time to ride.
He just stays with old friends when visiting. Now just imagine this – your first ride of the day is Roanoke along the Blue Ridge to Tenn – Carolina area. He does this all the time.
(Most people only wish for roads like that to ride) (me included)
So in we go and get something to eat . After lunch we head out and find 6 more riders
in the parking lot that were coming from the other direction. They have bad new for us.
It is still foggy and raining where we are heading. We get past this detour & back on the Blue Ridge and hit the odd clearing where we can see 500 to 1000 feet in front of us. It is all we can do but throttle up as much as possible and get as far as we can before we run into the fog and rain again. Trust me we don’t get far. Back in the fog and rain. We just keep going for awhile and then pull over after an hour or so . Time for a quick break and smoke . We light up for a few mins and the old timer comes along . He stops to see if we are OK and then chats with us for a bit . A few mins later he leaves . We catch up with him a few mins later and decided to let him lead for awhile. We are watching this guy and he is really starting to make me and D laugh .
(Don’t get me wrong – I have to explain this.)

He wears glasses and he has a large wind screen on his bike. Well he can’t see through the wind screen as it is all fogged up. So as he is riding along with his head bobbing from side to side every few seconds. (well you all know what a bobble head doll is ??? )
You get the idea now as to why we were laughing at him. Don’t get me wrong, you just had to be there to see it. I just wish I had, had my video camera going. We rode with him for awhile longer and then had to step it up a bit . We were pushing the limits today for most of the day and not making much head way. Some of those clearings we hit, we would see approx 100 bambis running around . Some we would see on the side of the road. If you just rode by they would just stare at you as you passed them. If you tried to slow for a picture they would bolt. So we finally got smart . When we would see them, we would hit the kill switch and roll in quietly. It worked a couple of times and got a few good shots. Our ride from Ashville to Roanoke was physically and mentally draining.
It is only 283 miles. This has to be one of the hardest day rides we have ever done. It seemed to take forever to get into Roanoke. For awhile I didn’t think we would make it that far. Once at the hotel we dumped our bags and headed out to a Thai Restaurant again. We have now eaten in one on 4 different nights. (we must like it) LOL
When we get back – not more then 2 minutes later we hear loud thunder and it rains like crazy out. It only rained for 3 or 4 minutes but it made small rivers everywhere. We didn’t even have time to cover the bikes up. I tried but was a waste of time. Was soaked before I could even get the side bag open. It was now time for a hot shower and hit the sack for the night .