Tales of the Dragon

[CBpilot_imp]

Awesome trip! I grew up in Maryville and lived off 129. Miss riding there every day!

TOD Continued:

OK, So Here's The Deal

Woke up to another day with rain forecast. Had the typical Comfort Inn "continental breakfast" and started out on our newly created route to take the long way to Robbinsville and postpone Tail of the Dragon until late afternoon or the following day. Again, Laura and Cheryl insisted that rain would not interfere with our day. Turns out that they were correct again. (well, almost).

We started south out of Clinton along our new route with Glen in the lead. It was dry, but the rain overnight flooded out an underpass which caused a delay and a scanning of maps. Eventually, we got back on the road.




I did manage to catch a somewhat interesting group shot while we were figuring out how to get where we needed to be (I may be the only one who loves the stock mirrors on my bike)..


The washed out viaduct and the related delay turned out to be a major blessing. Somehow, we wound up on US129 and could see the sky above the mountains clearing. It was decided that we would just follow 129 into Deal's Gap and hope that the rain was, in fact, gone. Glen lead and I took the "sweep" position for the last leg, but we agreed that I would lead us through The Dragon itself. Riding Sweep reduced my view of the road ahead, but watching my wife ride provided some visual interest.



US129 south of Maryville is a beautiful stretch of road. Someone in our group may have taken a picture, but I'll have to post it later if one turns up. The road is curvy and there are some elevation changes, but you are riding along a river basin. Eventually, Chilhowee Lake appears ahead of you and then you turn left and follow the water before turning left again and up hill an into the woods you go. Up and around we went, experiencing a few, mostly easy, turns and stopping at the Calderwood Dam Overlook (at least that's what I think it's called) to catch our breath, switch leaders and take a few photos.



Prettiest Gals on US129


And then the fun really began...


Cheryl tossed her CTX around pretty damn good. I love riding with her. :-)


We arrived safely, but breathless, in Deal's Gap and stopped, as most seem to do, at Deal's Gap Resort.

Proof that we made it


There was no shame for me at the Tree of Shame (unless you count being over 30 and taking a selfie). The grin didn't leave my face until half-way through lunch.



Deal's Gap Resort has a decent snack shop and T-shirt selection along with other souvenirs, but Killboy is just a walk across the road and has a more interesting selection of stickers and patches, in my opinion. US129 stops trying to be an asphalt pretzel from Deal's Gap Resort down to Robbinsville, but it still offered some of the best riding of our trip. Fast and beautiful and paralleling a stream. We arrived at Two Wheel Inn without another drop of water falling on us that day. We are starting to believe that Laura and Cheryl have magical powers...(to be continued)