Day 18

The day of the Dragon......

Sounds interesting huh?....like a movie maybe? Well I was anxious to get the day going but I somehow managed to get out the door around 10;30am. I loaded the camera and video cam onto the back of the luggage rack in some bungees. I decided that the top frame would be useful to mount the video cam backwards while running the Dragon. So off thru Knoxville and down highway 129 to Deals Gap aka the Dragon. The ride into the Gap was nice, the road runs along a lake that is nestled in the mountains. What a sight! The temperature and skies were absolutely perfect. There was a little cloud cover but it was till mostly sunny. I pulled over near the entrance to the Gap at the bottom near the Lake Santeetlah. I used the stop to install the video cam facing forwards on the bike. I ran the Dragon 5 times that day. I had the cam facing forward going over and back. Then I installed it so that it faced backwards and rode the Dragon over and back one more time. On the last run I took the camera in my hand and rode the Dragon slowly and shot pics from my perspective. In the course of the last run I got a lot of cool pictures, most of them are cool corner shots and twisty roads. Some also included other riders that passed me coming and goin. Remember I was going slow with one hand on the bar thru the Dragon. The road was in AWESOME shape and there was hardly anyone there. If I had to guess there was maybe 50 bikes on the entire length of the road, and a lot of them were sitting at the gas station, or the overlook to the dam. There was only 1 po-po and he left during my first run. Other than him, there were only a handful of cars. I had a new C6 Vette pull in behind me once as I had to slow for a long line of Harley riders. I even got him to come close to be in the rearward facing video. I got fed up and passed the Harley leaving the Vette. There was a gorgeous red Viper EATING up the Dragon, he was always going the opposite way, but man was he working that car. It sounded fantastic. On one stop at the gas station I started talking to a fellow Triumph owner riding a 955i Sprint. As we were talking a Buel rider from Michigan joined the conversation after hearing that I was just visiting a pal outside the Detroit area. He remarked that he had friend that couldn't make the trip because the pal just bought a second Triumph. I was like wow, my pal in Detroit just bought a second Triumph and said he couldn't make the Dragon trip. Weird coincidence huh?" What is his name" the dude asked?..I replied "Jim". It was the same guy we both knew. What a small world, he offered me Jim's hotel room if I needed it, but I declined as I wanted to ride the Cherohala Skyway back to Lisa/Todd's place. So after I had enough for the day and the light was dwindling, I set out on the Cherohala Skyway. WOW another nice road, in fact all the surrounding Deals Gap roads were awesome, the best of the trip bar none for twisties. I ran the Skyway and almost ran out of gas because there is nothing for miles once you get on top of the highway. I pulled into Tellico Plains and gassed up and had a quick bite to eat at Hardee's. I also called my pals to let them know that I would be in a little later. From there it was well after dark so I hurried to interstate 75 north then cut west onto interstate 40. What a memorable day, the Dragon is a must do for anyone that is a motorcycle enthusiast. That whole area of the Gap is outstanding in scenery and twisties. Don't miss out on this road if you are given the chance to ride it. I rode about a total of 350 miles for the day. 55 of these were all on the Dragon.

Here is a video clip of the Dragon with the camera facing backwards.


Ok so here are some of the Dragon pics.

This is at the start of the Dragon, near the lake.

See what I see in this picture?

How about now?

Some random shots along the ride







Ok, so I thought I was over packed. This made me feel better about my luggage


Hey Jim, do you recognize this guy?


The Dreaded Tree of Shame, please don't feed the tree.





And a few pics as I headed onto the Skyway

Day 17

I woke up early so I could be out of the house with Mr & Mrs MIS3 as they went to work. We chatted for a few minutes in the driveway and he took a few pics as I was about to leave. Thanks again you two for the great time and company.

Well it was time to roll, and I headed out down the Interstate 75 to make time. The weather was nice, clear skies but it was COLD. It had to be around 45 or so. I was ok in my rain suit, but it was still a brisk morning ride till the sun came up and warmed things up. I rode for a few hours and stopped at the ever popular Waffle House and had breakfast. It also gave me the time to look over the route that I would take to Lisa/Todd's place. After the morning stop, I headed south and made good time on the open roads. While on the open road I was given my first look at the Victory Vision. It was a cool looking luxury tourer, thumbs up to them for taking the risk. I hope that it sells well against the Japanese touring bikes. It was a little different looking, but it sure isn't like anything else on the market. As I got further south the temperature got nicer too. A few hours of diving and I got really sleepy, so I took a nap on the lawn at a McDonald's in some town. Whats up with the staff there...cant they see all I wanted to do is take a nap, and not set up camp and live there? They pestered me every 20 minutes "Sir are you OK?" "YES, I just need a few minutes then I'll leave." Sheese people, did I look that scroungy? Ok so after the brief nap, I was off feeling much better. My next real stop was in Lexington, Kentucky, where I saw a sign for "Hooters" it was like my bike magically steered itself there. From there I called Lisa and told her where I was and she knew the exact restaurant that I was at, being that she was an ex-Hooters gal. She also informed me that a friend of ours Gary lived in Lexington and I didn't know that. If I would have known that I would have called him and asked to stay and visit. But I was on a schedule and wanted to hit the Dragon. Sorry that I didn't stop Gary, maybe next time. Lisa told me that Todd Drove the 127 from their place to Lexington, and it was marked as a scenic route on the map. So the 127 it was. A few miles out of town and the countryside is pretty, full of horse ranches and nice estates. There is plenty of terrain and curves, it was a great ride. A few miles down the road put me running along a river, and the road was great. I pulled over and mounted the video cam on the side of the bike to shoot some of the nice snakey roads. I probably added a hour to my trip going back and forth shooting videos. But hey, thats what this trip was all about, enjoying the ride and taking time to have fun. Further down the road I stopped, had dinner and called Lisa/Todd and told them where I was and how long I would be. I ran across a pretty lake in the hills that had a massive dam, so I had to pull over and take pics and vids. What a nice area, that part of Tennessee is tempting to live in. Well I arrived at their casa around 900pm if I remember right, and hey were sitting on the front porch sitting in their rocking chairs looking like Tennessee hillbillies that they are. It was good to see them again, what a pretty house and pretty area they live in. So, after a little talking we all headed off to sleep. The day netted me a total of around 500 miles with all the turning back to re-run the curvy roads. I definitely recommend he 127 from Lexington to Crossville. It was a nice drive with awesome scenery, very little traffic and nice road surface. It has its share of straights, but all in all...it was a enjoyable ride.

I only stopped for a few videos during the day. So there is no photos for the day. But I do have a pic of the Victory bike...

The Victory Vision

Day 16

I got out of bed and took my time getting ready as I didn't have anything planned except meeting MIS3 later in the day at his house just north of Toledo. I had breakfast at the Denny's next door after the bike was packed. It made up for the horrible salad the night before....yuck. I'm glad they can still make a good plate of pancakes and a side of bacon. So after that was wrapped up, I looked at the maps and decided where to go next. Well the Dragon it was, I didn't want to go this far in the trip and not tame the Dragon. So I called MIS3 and he said to meet him at his place after 100pm. So I headed that way after a late breakfast and had to stop to call because I got turned around in the Podunk town of his. Well after a few directions I was back on track and arrived at his place, Nice digs MIS3. From there we went and picked up some blinker bulbs for my bike and then had a early dinner at his local watering hole. They made a killer pizza and we enjoyed a few brews while we were there. Thanks MIS3 for the dinner, after that we rolled back to his place in Caddy style. Then we just looked at pics and videos after he did some lawn work. He also decided to go drink a little antifreeze as he readied the 675 for his upcoming track day. Later in the evening Mrs MIS3 came home and we all checked out more pics of the trip. Then it was bed time as I wanted to head out early to make it to Lisa/Todds place in Tennessee. Thanks for the dinner, beers and place to stay guys. It was a great seeing ya again. The day only saw me riding maybe 30 miles if that. There is also no pics for the day.

Day 15

That morning I awoke to the family getting ready for work, so I got myself off the hide a bed sofa, and took a shower. I packed the bike and thanked Mary and her family for giving me a place to crash at, thanks again guys. And special thanks goes to Debbie for showing me the sights of the area, I would have never seen the places I did if it weren't for you. Thanks Debbie, you're awesome, I owe ya big time. After all the goodbye's were said, I headed in the direction of Detroit. One of the fellows that I met at the rally lives just south of Detroit. While on the road a while. I decided to pull over and tighten and lube the chain. It was pretty cool too so I jumped into my rain suit. Ahhhh much warmer. The sun was out and the roads clear, but it was none the less....cool at 65 miles a hour. As I approached the American border, I decided to stop for fuel and some lunch. I ate a soup/salad combo at Chilis. In the parking lot I was asked where I was from, I replied California. He looked at me if I was a Martian and then said "man your crazy, just look at your seat. I wouldn't even do that on my new ZX1400." I said "Well I'm having fun riding all these great roads". No comment from him, he loaded up and drove off looking like he had seen the stupidest person ever, well maybe he did. But I'm having a hell of a time. So back on track, I thumb the started button and roll out of town. Well guess what? My speed odometer stops working, nice. How will I be able to judge the distance I have traveled so I can estimate the amount of gas left. Oh well there is always the low level gas light. So I get to the customs border agent and I had to pull off my helmet. Get out the passport and documents and finally get the ok to pass. From there it was a nasty drive through some of Detroit...man what a dirty, run down place. I headed to the Toledo area where MIS3 lived and grabbed a hotel for the night. It was a early evening so I washed the bike in the hotel parking lot, and proceeded to have a crappy dinner at the Denny's next door...how can you mess up a salad with chicken on it? Well they did, so I asked for more soup. I called MIS3 and got directions to his place and what time to meet him the next day. The ride for the day was a total of 250 miles. I didn't stop for any photos for the day.

Day 14

After a well rested night of sleep, I awoke to....yes you guessed it, more rain. So we went to breakfast and tried to find Debbie a rain suit. We got directions to a Wal-Mart and made our way there as it was only drizzle at the time. We got lucky and she was all good to go for riding in the rain. While in the store, I met a dude from British Colombia that was riding a KLR across the country like I was. ROCK ON dude...thats hard core. So we decided to head back to Mary's place as we didn't know how bad the rain was going to be for the rest of the day. We stopped in Brantford and did a little sightseeing, and she gave me a tour of the blind/deaf school that she works at. Man was I impressed at the size and quality of the school. It rivaled any small collage campus. It was great meeting the people that worked there knowing the kids have top notch teachers and staff. Its a huge job, kudos to you gals/guys. After the tour we arrived back at Mary's and I made dinner for everyone. I made a Mexican dinner, fresh salsa and queso. We even opened a bottle of the wine that we bought on the wine tour. It was nice sharing a meal with friends, I didn't have that many on this trip. After dinner we looked at the pictures of the previous day and then hit the hay. I was able to wash clothes and pack a little that night. The day netted about 80 miles of riding. There wasn't photos for the day as it was rainy most of the day.

Day 13

After the brief sleep because we all sat around catching up, and looking at pics the previous night. We loaded the bike and set off to Niagara. The weather was great and down the road we went, 'till we hit a wreck on the interstate outside of town. So we took the detour, and still made great time on the side roads. Before the Falls we took a drive through the winery area outside the city. As we passed one, we decided to take a wine tour, it was a great day so why not? We paid our small fee and took the tour of the small winery, and enjoyed sampling three of their wines. Then we bought 2 bottles and went outside and shot a few pics of the orchards. It was a fun stop. From there we rode alongside the river to the town called Niagara by the River. What a spectacular area this is.....beautiful houses and yards. I was hungry and saw a fruit stand on the side of the road. So I pulled over and wanted to buy a fresh peach, but the dude was only selling them in small containers with maybe 5 peaches each. I didn't want to spoil my appetite for dinner, but dang, these peaches were TASTY and juicy.....yuuuuummy. OK I ate 3 of them, I couldn't stop. Well after that great treat, we headed off to the Falls and came across a Monument on the side of a hill. It was where a battle had once taken place. It is know as the Battle of Queenston Heights. We walked around enjoying the park and sights, where we happened to see a white squirrel. After the park it was a short ride along the river to the Canadian side of the Falls. We found parking and I let some non-English speaking, Middle-Eastern lady sit on my bike for a photo. She had a blast, like she was a rock-star. Then we took in the sights and sounds of Niagara Falls. They were great to see finally in person after all these years. We arrived a little bit before sunset so I was able to take pics in the daylight and at night. In the evening after the sun goes down they shine colored lights onto the Falls from the Canadian side. That was cool to see. After we took in enough of the sights, I located a hotel room near the Falls and unloaded the bike. After that was done, we enjoyed a dinner at another Ruby Tuesdays. My third time eating at one on this trip. From dinner it was time to crash out, I slept like a log, it might have been all the rain at night that soothed me as I slept...maybe? I was so pleased that we had a wonderful day, as I thought we were going to be rained on all day. We rode a total of about 100 miles for the day. OK so now time for a few pics...

The winery








This is the Queenston Heights park and surrounding views from it











And last but not least Niagara Falls




The Falls colored at night