Saturday

This morning is looking fabulous. The sun is out, the temperature is just right. There's not a trace of yesterday's nasty weather.

Cherokee looks and feels quite different this morning. The good weather has brought out the regular tourist bustle and main street is now animated, what with cars looking for parking, people crossing main street back and forth in search of local shops.

This may be only a hunch, but I suspect many motorcyclists perceive Cherokee as a portal of sorts, a physical location through which you travel in order to get to the real object of your trip. That would be a shame.

Being an Indian reservation, Cherokee is home to the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. Of course there are many family-type tourist attractions available. While plentiful, these cater mainly to the needs of families vacationing with younger children.

But there is also much to discover in terms of heritage, culture, and history. And if you enjoy trout fishing, you probably won't be disappointed. Definitely worth a pause.

As I pass through Cherokee, I realize that I'm looking forward to riding 129 again. Though Deals Gap refers to a specific section of 129, the part leading up to it is a wonderful road in its own right. The coveted section of road that has riders converging from as far as Canada is also known by other names: The Tail of the Dragon, the Dragon, or just the Gap.

I finally arrive by about 2pm. There's a medium-sized gathering of motorcycles this afternoon and I chat with various riders. All categories of bikes are represented: sport, sport-touring, touring, cruisers. My CBR is loaded down with luggage and seems in stark contrast to the many assembled sportbikes that have shown up in fighting trim.

After a picture or two I'm off to experience the Dragon's tail. Result? It's a fun ride. With a claimed 318 mostly tight turns spanning only 11 miles, it will keep you on your toes, and will give you and your bike a good workout. But, as I suspected, there is also a darker, more sinister side that lurks while riding The Tail of the Dragon.

Leaving Deals Gap behind, I'm heading north in search of the Foothills Parkway. It's warm out and I could use a drink and a break after having run the Gap. Riding along a straight stretch of road, I pass a marina on my left and shortly after notice a couple of GS bikes stopped at a small clearing. The riders are obviously taking a refreshment break. As I ride on I decide that this is ideal for a rest stop and turn back.

This is a refreshing break and is timed just right. I'm thirstier than I had realized. The three riders are from Virginia. One couple riding on a GS Adventure and a lone rider on a GS1150. I enjoy our conversation as we talk about travel related topics. You know, bike luggage capacities, fuel range, favorite roads, trip destinations, etc. They seem very knowledgeable of the area and share some useful routing information with me.

As I will learn at a later date, the lone rider was Steve Anderson from Morton's BMW in Virginia. I've known about Steve from internet rider lists and have greatly enjoyed reading his annual trip reports. I clearly remember the part when (after his return from Labrador) he describes his bemusement as he patted his jacket sleeves when entering a motel and watched the clouds of dust roll off!

What a shame I didn't realize this as we spoke.

Bruno
Montreal, Canada