Daddyjoe's KLR 650

 This trip started out Saturday morning. Marcia and I was planning on riding over to the “dragon”, a popular motorcycle infested road. A large motorcycle rally “wakin the dragon” was taking place a few miles from the famous 129, running from Knoxville Tn. Into North Carolina. Marcia and I were planning on watching some of the road racers flying through some of the 318 curves in the 11-mile stretch of road called the “Tale of the Dragon”.

 We loaded the KLRs up with our rain gear and a few diet cokes. Around 8 am we left home. We filled the KLRs up at the shell station and took off. Us being the flea marketers that we are, we had to make a stop at Green Acres Flea Market. After walking around and looking things over we were off again, Deals Gap a motorcycle motel/store/hamburger joint/hangout was our destination.

 120 miles from home we made it to Deals Gap North Carolina, where we looked at many motorcycles, after a quick stop at the overlook. I guess there was 200 bikes there, sport bikes, cruisers, trikes, hardleys, motards, and ever a few dual sport bikes. It was around 1 pm so we ate there. I had a burger,(worst burger I have ever ate) and Marcia had the BBQ.(pretty good bbq too).

 Down by the lake a few miles before the 318 curves in 11 miles the Police had set up a command station for the weekend. There were several ambulances, cop cars, tents, even a helicopter. We followed a group of hardleys up the dragon, and Marcia not an experienced rider, kept up with the pack. I think a lot of her keeping up had to do with the 4 radar cars set up in the 11 mile stretch, and the 4 police officers on motorcycles.

 After we road the dragon back down to the overlook, we decided to back track a few miles and find a nice curve to park in so we could watch the bikes trying to tame the dragon. We saw a few dragging their knees, and a lot that tried to straighten the roads out by using both lanes. It was a fun hour or so that we watched bike after bike weaving through the curves.

 The guys from www.killboy.com were set up taking pictures of the bikes in one of the curves. They take pictures of bikes on the dragon a lot and sell them on their web site; they have a neat web site and give a lot of local information about the area. They have a few pictures of Marcia and myself. If you go to www.killboy.com , click on “my pictures”, go to May 21^st, motards, page 6 and 7 I think is our pictures.

 After watching for an hour or so we took off to the foot hills parkway over to Townsend, then to Pigeon Forge, Jefferson City, Beans Station, to the top of Clinch mountain. It is really pretty up there looking out over Cherokee lake. There is also a nice memorial to veterans there at the lookout.

 We continued on through Tazewell,(where I had to switch to reserve) Harrogate, through the tunnel again, and back to the shell station. The trip odometer read 276, not bad for a days ride. I figured out our gas mileage, I got 57 miles per gallon, (best ever on my A18) and Marcia’s A12 got a whopping 68 miles per gallon. I had to check her tank to see if she had filled it up. I guess it depends a lot on how you roll the throttle.

 

 

 

  Today was a very nice day, Marcia was taking Jordyn to Dolly Wood, so I thought I would ride over to Deals Gap and see what was going on.
I woke up just as Marcia and Jordyn was leaving the house. The tempature was still in the 50's so I was in no big hurry to get started, so I watched some news and checked my cyber mail before going out to prep the KLR.
  In the garage I checked the KLR to see that it was up for the trip, Blackie the wee-Strom was asking to go but Big Red had already got the call for today. Everything checked out and I geared up and off we go, headed for Deals Gap, the Tail of the Dragon, U S 129.
 Well I made it to Tazewell when Burger King lured me in for a Corsandwich and coffee. It was still a little chilly so I forced the coffee down. ( I don't really like coffee) On the road again I come to Cedar Grove Campground, and had to take a picture to share with everyone.

From there it was on to the Dragon. I stopped for gas just before I got off Hwy 411. With a full tank I rode up U S 129 passing an 05 KLR on the way up, as he was going down. About half way up I see several bikes parked on the side of the road, a yellow ninga had low sided but the rider was OK so I rode on up to the store.

  At the store I see a guy on an green and silver  KLR from Athens TN. We talk for a long time about the KLRs and then I go across the stree to where Tail of the Dragon dot com is set up taking pictures and selling tee shirts. We chat for awhile and the guy on the 05 KLR pulls in to the store and then leaves. We watch him pull a nice wheelie as he leaves and he rides it a long way,then I have to head back down to find a curve so I can watch the bikes comming and going.
  Finding my curve I watch the bikes screaming around the curves getting their thrills for the day. Some were dragging knees and others were just enjoying the ride. I was enjoying the ride, something about getting older makes me want to savor the ride, like stopping to smell the roses, and not so fast that everything is a blurr.

On the way home I take some roads I have never been on. I got on I-75 out of Knoxville and ride up to Stinking Creek Road. Never having been on this road I was pleased to find it was full of sweeps, and led me over to U S 25 W between Jacksboro and Jellico. So I take 25 north to 90, from there I cross the mountains back into Middlesboro. The trees are just starting to change colors and it was a perfect day for a 285 mile ride.