RETURN TO TAIL OF THE DRAGON

Greetings from Gatlinburg, Tennessee, where I am sharing a six bedroom home with fourteen people for the next few days. We all met up near Lodi, Ohio at 6am Thursday morning for our 500 plus mile ride down here. It has been a few years since I ran over 500 miles in a day and I was a little concerned that I might fade long before our arrival at our destination. A chilly mid-fifty temperature woke us all up before the meet up, but the day promised no rain and warming temperatures ahead. And so... the adventure began!

We started out with 14 motorcycles and headed down the interstate, stopping every hundred miles or so for gas as we had one rider with a smaller tank. Gave the group a chance to grab snacks, make a potty stop and stretch a bit also.

Getting through heavy traffic areas was definitely a challenge for our road captain as well as the rest of us, trying to stay at least within view of each other as we got split up from time to time. Unfortunately our ride was not without a bad incident. After we got across state of Tennessee line, we lost three riders and our back up truck. One of the group had veered into another vehicle on the interstate. Amazingly, he kept his motorcycle upright, but ended up with a trip to the hospital and he and his lady are heading home today once they figure out how to get his bike home. Good news is that he will be fine.

Kentucky hot brown

We stopped for lunch at the Kentucky Grill and Hosreshoe saloon where a majority of our group tried a regional dish called Kentucky Hot Brown. I did not venture into that realm however I did get a photo of the epicurean delight to share with everybody! This was a layer of turkey and some type of sauce, topped with a heavy layer of cheese. I was offered a bite but passed! 

We were now within just a couple of hours from our destination if the traffic had been avoidable. But, alas, no easy was to get to our final destination. We ended up riding through Pigeon Forge, which is the tackiest, gaudiest touristy place I have seen since my ride through Branson, Missouri. This place put Branson to shame!

At Our Final Destination for the Day

It was amazing how crowded this city was for how tacky it is! This is apparently home to Dollywood, or at least it is close as there will billboards all over for that place as well as all the other roadside attractions for family fun. Inching through traffic, with the temperature now over 80 degrees, was miserable for those of us on air cooled motorcycles. We finally made it through that nightmare, only to run into a similar traffic nightmare as we rolled into Gatlinburg! 

The accomodations our road captain Jim Martin arranged for us are awesome. We enjoyed pizza, meatballs and hot peppers for dinner with a fair serving of adult beverages our first night. 

Most of the group enjoyed the pool table while others sat our on the patio bullshitting. I was the first to roll to bed and the sleeping arrangements are quite nice, with each bedroom having a private bath. The house is plenty large enough for us to spread out and a diningroom table large enough for all of us to eat at! Today we venture to Tail of the Dragon as soon as the rest of group gets their butts out of bed. 

More adventures to follow! Peace All.

Bobbi

Bear warning on the door jamb!