Race Riots and Gas Shortages

One problem about going to the Appalachians is that it takes forever to get anywhere. The nice thing is we don't care, the journey really is the purpose of the trip. A distance on the map that would take an hour to cover on the Interstate can take 3 or 4 on the roads that we came here for. It's not unusual to go for miles shifting between 1st and 2nd gear as we twist and turn up and down the switchbacks climbing and descending one mountain range after another. Over and over again I would try to drop down a gear while negotiating yet another 180 degree turn going uphill at a steep angle only to realize that I was already in 1st gear, there was no lower gear to shift to. There is no such thing as a straight line here. We even had a couple of 360 degree turns on the Smokey Mountain Parkway, the road circling around to cross back under itself.

We have been through parts of New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, North and South Carolina, Tennessee, West Virginia, and we even made it as far south as Georgia. On the way down and again on the way back we have been in and out of Virginia more times than Virginia's date was in and out of her on prom night. It has all been very confusing, the way some of these states seem to overlap and curl around each each other. They could take some lessons from Saskatchewan and square things up a bit. We've ridden the Tail Of The Dragon, The Back Of The Dragon, The Claw Of The Dragon, The Snake, The Diamondback,  and discovered The Rattler completely by accident. Those are only the roads that for some reason have become famous enough to have earned a name. Some of our favorites have been the ones we took simply because they took us in a direction we chose to go. Highway 28 heading south from Bryson City just outside Smoky Mountains National Park swoops and dives up and over more hills and mountains than we could count, alternating between tight twisting switchbacks and long sweeping turns across gorgeous valleys, every minute bringing a completely different landscape. On the way down we jumped on and off the Blue Ridge Parkway anytime it suited us, now that we're on our way home we spent all day yesterday tearing back along it, riding the spine of the Appalachians. The trees would suddenly part on one side revealing mile after mile of sweeping vista, then close in again only to part on the other side, on rare occasions dropping away on both sides leaving us belting along literally above the clouds with the world spread out around us. On Skyline Drive we climbed up through the rain to find ourselves sandwiched between two layers of cloud, the visibility alternating between tens of miles and ten yards. We've passed stands of bamboo, valleys taken over by Kudzu, taken pictures of banana trees, eaten fantastic meals in roadside dives, and once gotten so lost we wound up running on fumes only to emerge from some cart path finding ourselves at the gas station we'd filled up at hours earlier. The same guys were sitting on a bench out front, they made the same small talk as we shared another cup of coffee with them before gassing up. Again.

I have traveled extensively throughout North America, and have often been asked for travel advice. My advice sucks. I don't know anything about all the things normal people would be interested in, but I have spent weeks at a time researching, marking, then exploring every fun piece of pavement I could find. Don't ask me about cool things to see, but if you want to know a fun way to get there, I'm your guy.

Gas Station On The Snake, US 421

Country Store on US 421

Coffee Shop Somewhere In the Middle Of Nowhere, East of .....?

It's All About Marketing, When The Mill Closes and The Factory Shuts Down, Do What you Can With Whatever You've Got. Name It, and They Will Come.

Blue Ridge Parkway

Highway 28 Entering Georgia, 4 States in 45 Minutes

Departing South Carolina and Entering North Carolina 20 Minutes later

Level With The Clouds, Somewhere On The Blue Ridge

If I was to make a guess on who might win the upcoming US election based on who has the most lawn signs Trump would be the hands down favorite. We've been passing through some of the most impoverished areas of the US, neighborhoods that would seem to have little in common with a billionaire, but his signs can regularly be spotted at the side of the road. As for Hillary, the only sign I have noticed read "Clinton For Prison". I wish her luck.

We had been tearing around Appalachia for several days before we paid any attention to what was going on in the real world. What brought it to our attention was having to go to several gas stations one morning to find one that had fuel, it seemed that somewhere out there a pipeline had burst resulting in fuel shortages throughout the southeast. That night when we were watching the news the lead story was the National Guard being called out in Charlotte North Carolina. It wasn't until we were planning our route for the next day that we realized we were only an hour away from where people were marching in the streets. We decided to go the other way the next morning.

As usual our bikes attract attention everywhere we go. "Where y'all headed?" "Where y'all frum?" "Is that bike as fast as it looks?" Not sure - Canada - and a resounding YES!