Today is a biking day, we’re going through the Smoky Mountain National Park from east to west, down through Deal’s Gap, and back to Cashiers. \u00a0 I had a suggestion of an interesting route north on NC-107, east on NC-281, left on Canada Road, north on NC-215 to Waynesville. \u00a0 It was a good suggestion, Dan, thanks. \u00a0 281 was nice, but Canada road was really nice. \u00a0 Almost no cage traffic, nice curves, and perfect weather combined for a really nice ride. \u00a0 We had a snack in Waynesville, which looks like a nice town.<\/p>\n
We headed west on NC-19 towards Cherokee and 19 was a nice road too. \u00a0 In Cherokee we took US-441 north into the park and stopped at the visitor center. \u00a0 It was starting to look like rain when we headed out, and it was raining when we got to the turnoff to Clingman’s Dome, the highest point in the park and also in Tennessee. \u00a0 We decided to continue and in retrospect should have taken the side trip. \u00a0 Oh, well. \u00a0 Another reason to return on the bike isn’t a bad thing. \u00a0 We stopped at several turn-outs, photo opportunities were abundant.<\/p>\n
I wish the park exit didn’t dump you into Gatlinburg. \u00a0 What a circus and a mess. \u00a0 It was almost embarrassing to have that scenery so close to the scenery in the park. \u00a0 Over the top isn’t always necessary. \u00a0 When we finally left the last of the circus rings behind us, we ran into Pigeon Forge, which wasn’t really any better. \u00a0 I’m sure the locals know a better way top get to US-321, but we didn’t and sadly it left a bad impression.<\/p>\n
US-321 was a pleasant change from the previous few miles, and we enjoyed the trip down to Chilhowee. \u00a0 It was past lunchtime and we were both hungry. \u00a0 Knowing that there wasn’t any place to eat until we were south of Deal’s Gap, we turned north on 129 and went to Tallassee where we had a big burger and fries for lunch. \u00a0 Now we were ready for the Gap. \u00a0 It was fun, and Killboy did take some photos of us, but when it’s all said and done, we liked NC-28 from US-129 to Stecoah better.<\/p>\n
We stayed on NC-28 to Franklin and then took NC-64 back to Cashiers. \u00a0 A nice day, some phenomenal scenery, twisties, my new bride riding pillion – pretty tough to beat. \u00a0 And this is only Wednesday…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Today is a biking day, we’re going through the Smoky Mountain National Park from east to west, down through Deal’s Gap, and back to Cashiers. \u00a0 I had a suggestion of an interesting route north on NC-107, east on NC-281, left on Canada Road, north on NC-215 to Waynesville. \u00a0 It was a good suggestion, … <\/p>\n