Day 2: We Came, We Saw, We Slayed the Dragon

Just crossed the Tennessee State Line from Kentucky

Day 2...complete . We slayed the Dragon!

We woke up to another great morning under blue skies and warm weather. The day started off a little later then we wanted due to me sleeping in. It was 9:00 before I heard Matt say “Good Morning Sunshine” jokingly. I guess I took advantage of no kids to wake up to. I am sure the mileage from Day One had something to do with it as well. After some chain maintenance we were off like a dress at Prom.

Looking back at the trip so far, I would not have changed a thing. I get a lot criticism from the seasoned riders on taking so much slab. (slab = interstate riding). Highway 75 south of Lexington into Knoxville was amazing. The scenery was incredibly beautiful with large mountains covered in green think tree tops. It was fun to race up the highway overlooking the rivers below. We made some great time. The roads are so smooth and clean here. I give a big round of applause to the highway departments for Tennessee and Kentucky.

Hardly a Palace but good food.

We stopped for lunch in Knoxville at the Pizza Palace. Another restaurant featured on the food network. It was a drive inn but had some bar style seating at the front of the place. Matt and I split a pizza burger and a small pizza. I was not going to have a pizza but once the waitress knew we were from Chicago she insisted we try the pizza.

“We have been told that we could open shop in Chicago and do real well there” she said.

I am thinking slow down lady. You see my girth? I will be the judge of that.

Well, they are on to something. They ground up their own sausage. It was tasty but a bit salty. I even asked Matt if threw salt on the pizza when I was not looking and he denied. So my comment would be “cut back on the salt and you will go places”. One fork up.

Now for the meat and potatoes of this trip. The Tail of the Dragon, The Gap… the holy crap what did I get sign up for here? To refresh my friends and family, the Dragon is 318 curves in 11 miles. Mind you that this is a road through heavy think woods with drastic change in elevation.

It’s hard to find words to explain the experience. Imagine a roller coaster with blind turn after blind turn but you have to control the coaster. Numerous switchback curves, one after another. This is not your Sunday joy riding. It is very technical. I found myself in second gear most of the time either for engine braking or to use the power of my bike to get me through the corners. There were even a few spots where I was not dragging my foot pegs but my boots were scraping the roads. The corners are that tight with banked turns.

Since there are no real shoulders to pull off on to take pictures. I will post up a video later of the roads I traveled from another rider. Overall, I have to say that I loved it. I can see why riders are coming here in droves. It is very addicting. The experience was incredible. In fact, I called my wife at the end of the day to thank her for letting me buy a motorcycle. Then I told her thanks for letting me going on the trip. The only thing more beautiful than my current surroundings is my wife and little girl at home.

Stay tuned for Day 3.