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| Duane's Commentary: Part 2 |
Duane's comments continue ..... It's amazing you've wanted to read this much! Don't even ask about the boot toe picture; personally I think
it comes from inhaling too much Suzuki Bandit exhaust.
Ever have one of those mornings where you wake up BEFORE your alarm goes off? I had 5 in a row on this trip. Appalachian air, a CRISP morning, and a
day of riding is waiting on us. Alright Platt, you promised curves on this trip, lessee whatcha got. The roads are dry, the Tail of the Dragon is 20 miles up the
road, let’s hit it!
But first, on with the gear…aw man…it’s still WET. Not damp, mind you, but wet. In fact, I thought I saw the cuff of my pants drip some water on the floor over there where they’re hanging.
Ah well, slide ‘em on anyway…the wind today will dry them out quick enough. Jacket…yeesh, it’s cold and wet too. Gloves? Shyeah. Saturated still. Doesn't’t matter…two wheels,
curves, the mountains, I’m ready.
20 miles up the same road we took the day before and we’re sitting at Deal’s Gap. Platt offers me a set of dry gloves (I think he saw me shivering in his rear view mirrors) (Platt: Yeah,
suffer ZRX dude!) and I gladly take them. As I’m slipping them on I notice a group of cruiser riders firing up their steeds in what appears to be preparation to make a Dragon run. A nod
to Platt and we pull away before them to find that the Dragon has been waiting on US all morning. Let’s count the curves, seemed like a good idea at the time. 1…2,3…4…5, oh crap,
lean further. OK, let’s just pay attention to the road and enjoy it instead. 11 miles, 318 curves, I’ll take someone else’s word for it, right now I’m feeling my ZRX claw its way around a 180*+
curve as I roll on the throttle in 2nd gear. THIS is what makes a ZRX (Platt: or virtually any liter+ in-line 4) a wonderful motorcycle, low end torque. After riding the Dragon I realize that
on the whole trip through was unhindered by other traffic. We saw TWO cars going the other way and that was it. (Platt: We were into Deal's Gap before 8AM; there's something to
be said for having the road to yourself)
After a quick stop to discuss our travel plans to Gatlinburg we hit it again. An hour or so later and we’re lost because I’m trying to get us into Gatlinburg WITHOUT reading the road
signs…Anyway…once through that we’re cruising through town and into a parking lot. A good walk down (and I do mean DOWN, Gatlinburg is on a hill) main street sits the Pancake
Pantry. And coffee. And Silver Dollar Pancakes. (Platt: PANCAKES .... mmmmmm .... and coffee, ahhhhhh) And a respite from the still-damp gear I had on. My sis Amanda came up
to meet us, take some pictures of us, and make sure we were OK.
Breakfast done, we head back to the bikes. Amanda walks us back to the bikes, convinces Platt to try a honeysuckle (Platt: It's a weird southern thing, but good) or 3, and snaps a
few more shots of us getting ready to leave and then leaving. The weather’s warming up, the sky is almost cloudless…it’s a great day for a ride.
Over to Cherokee, NC, we went and stopped long enough for an out of towner (Platt: out of town ... like EUROPE) to ask US for directions. Once Platt got him pointed right, we headed
out again. (Platt: Thank you GARMIN) I gotta say, these roads are something else. Nice, curvy, wait…what’s this? GRAVEL in the middle of the road? GRAVEL washed down from
driveways? Blind curves with GRAVEL in them? And loose dirt? Uh, yeah. When all was said and done, my bike handled it all with more poise than I did. Only a couple of times did it
step out just a little as a rock would shift when I rode over it. (Platt: The pucker marks are STILL in my Corbin seat!) Otherwise most of the challenge was in my head, not between the
tires and the road. Still, the scenery is great, the air is fresh, and we’re on 2 wheels. It’s a great day.
Quite a few more stops, photo ops, and a meal later and we’re rolling into Waynesville. Where’s that hotel? Oh, there it is. The one with the 2 hairpin curve driveway. Some of the other
guests who happen to ride cruisers of the American variety were commenting on how treacherous those curves were. One mentioned that he almost dumped his bike in the middle of
one. Now, I don’t ride a 900 lb cruiser so I can’t comment on that, but I will say there are benefits to riding something more maneuverable.
it comes from inhaling too much Suzuki Bandit exhaust.
Ever have one of those mornings where you wake up BEFORE your alarm goes off? I had 5 in a row on this trip. Appalachian air, a CRISP morning, and a
day of riding is waiting on us. Alright Platt, you promised curves on this trip, lessee whatcha got. The roads are dry, the Tail of the Dragon is 20 miles up the
road, let’s hit it!
But first, on with the gear…aw man…it’s still WET. Not damp, mind you, but wet. In fact, I thought I saw the cuff of my pants drip some water on the floor over there where they’re hanging.
Ah well, slide ‘em on anyway…the wind today will dry them out quick enough. Jacket…yeesh, it’s cold and wet too. Gloves? Shyeah. Saturated still. Doesn't’t matter…two wheels,
curves, the mountains, I’m ready.
20 miles up the same road we took the day before and we’re sitting at Deal’s Gap. Platt offers me a set of dry gloves (I think he saw me shivering in his rear view mirrors) (Platt: Yeah,
suffer ZRX dude!) and I gladly take them. As I’m slipping them on I notice a group of cruiser riders firing up their steeds in what appears to be preparation to make a Dragon run. A nod
to Platt and we pull away before them to find that the Dragon has been waiting on US all morning. Let’s count the curves, seemed like a good idea at the time. 1…2,3…4…5, oh crap,
lean further. OK, let’s just pay attention to the road and enjoy it instead. 11 miles, 318 curves, I’ll take someone else’s word for it, right now I’m feeling my ZRX claw its way around a 180*+
curve as I roll on the throttle in 2nd gear. THIS is what makes a ZRX (Platt: or virtually any liter+ in-line 4) a wonderful motorcycle, low end torque. After riding the Dragon I realize that
on the whole trip through was unhindered by other traffic. We saw TWO cars going the other way and that was it. (Platt: We were into Deal's Gap before 8AM; there's something to
be said for having the road to yourself)
After a quick stop to discuss our travel plans to Gatlinburg we hit it again. An hour or so later and we’re lost because I’m trying to get us into Gatlinburg WITHOUT reading the road
signs…Anyway…once through that we’re cruising through town and into a parking lot. A good walk down (and I do mean DOWN, Gatlinburg is on a hill) main street sits the Pancake
Pantry. And coffee. And Silver Dollar Pancakes. (Platt: PANCAKES .... mmmmmm .... and coffee, ahhhhhh) And a respite from the still-damp gear I had on. My sis Amanda came up
to meet us, take some pictures of us, and make sure we were OK.
Breakfast done, we head back to the bikes. Amanda walks us back to the bikes, convinces Platt to try a honeysuckle (Platt: It's a weird southern thing, but good) or 3, and snaps a
few more shots of us getting ready to leave and then leaving. The weather’s warming up, the sky is almost cloudless…it’s a great day for a ride.
Over to Cherokee, NC, we went and stopped long enough for an out of towner (Platt: out of town ... like EUROPE) to ask US for directions. Once Platt got him pointed right, we headed
out again. (Platt: Thank you GARMIN) I gotta say, these roads are something else. Nice, curvy, wait…what’s this? GRAVEL in the middle of the road? GRAVEL washed down from
driveways? Blind curves with GRAVEL in them? And loose dirt? Uh, yeah. When all was said and done, my bike handled it all with more poise than I did. Only a couple of times did it
step out just a little as a rock would shift when I rode over it. (Platt: The pucker marks are STILL in my Corbin seat!) Otherwise most of the challenge was in my head, not between the
tires and the road. Still, the scenery is great, the air is fresh, and we’re on 2 wheels. It’s a great day.
Quite a few more stops, photo ops, and a meal later and we’re rolling into Waynesville. Where’s that hotel? Oh, there it is. The one with the 2 hairpin curve driveway. Some of the other
guests who happen to ride cruisers of the American variety were commenting on how treacherous those curves were. One mentioned that he almost dumped his bike in the middle of
one. Now, I don’t ride a 900 lb cruiser so I can’t comment on that, but I will say there are benefits to riding something more maneuverable.
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