I am posting this on June 11 as I did not have internet yesterday. Read on and you'll see why.

June 10 – 10 days on the road.

My GPS reads just over 4,000 miles total mileage. Today’s mileage is over 400. I rode from East Memphis to near the NC state line and am in the middle of nowhere as I sit typing this. But let me digress.

As I left Memphis this morning, after the tremendous thunder and lightning storm of last night, I was thinking that this is one of the best mornings weather wise that I have had in many days. It was about 72 degrees as I rolled out of the parking lot at about 8:20AM. Later of course, it became hot and humid.

I had spent some time this morning plotting a route along the Tennessee / Alabama border so that I could avoid interstate 40. The route would take me through Chattanooga then turn north to a small town by the name of Tallassee.

Ok, I admit it, I am a hypocrite! On the spur of the moment I decided that seeing Nashville was more important than staying off the interstate. I hopped on 40 and headed due east for 200 miles. A mere 3 ½ hours later, I was in the heart of Nashville’s downtown tourist section. I secured the bike and found a place to eat so I had lunch before going on a short walk around town. It was really fun to be there and see BB King’s Blues Club, the Charlie Daniels museum and the general downtown area of Nashville. I popped into a couple of the shops but nothing struck my fancy. After a total of about 1 1/4 hours in Nashville, I loaded up and took off.
I had decided that I wanted to get as close to the Smoky Mountains as possible and stage up for a run on Deal’s Gap, otherwise known as “The Tail of the Dragon”. If you are a motorcycle rider you probably have heard of this. What makes this road so special is that in 11 miles, there are 311 curves, twists and turns. It is a popular destination for motorcyclists from all over the world. This is one road that I did not want to miss. I rode and rode and rode and almost without realizing it I landed at the north end of entrance to The Dragon. However, I also found myself in the middle of nowhere, almost literally. I stopped at the Punkin Motorcycle Center which is a store that carries all sorts of MC related clothing, and accessories all relating to The Dragon. I hope that I can get my T-shirt tomorrow before hitting The Tail.

When I pulled up to the Punkin Store, I asked a lady, standing in the parking lot talking with another worman, if there was any lodging in the area. She happened to be the owner of the Punkin Motorcycle Campground and Resort located a mile back up the road I had just come down. The word resort is a bit of a stretch of imagination and I am now situated in a very rustic, very small cabin that consists of a bed, a tiny kitchenette area, a tiny bathroom and a loft with a ladder that I refuse to climb up even though the air conditioner is located up there. It is hot and humid. There are snakes in the trees and I listened in on a conversation between 2 locals, about the recent motorcycle rally held here, the likes of which almost had me blushing. This is one of the most unique situations I have found myself in, in a long time. I hope that I can get some sleep tonight. I will need to explain more about this area at a later date.

I crossed the Tennessee and Cumberland rivers today. I stopped briefly at Tellico Lake.
Tomorrow, I plan on riding around this area and possibly through the Great Smoky Mountain National park.

Take care,
Dave