Let me begin by saying I’m sorry. For those of you who were victims of hurricane Katrina, I’m sorry. For those of you who stayed home to help the victims of hurricane Katrina, I’m sorry. For those of you who stayed home because fuel was not available or too expensive, I’m sorry. Because, you know what, you missed an awesome rally. The devastation that hurricane Katrina left behind in New Orleans and the coast of Mississippi , tragic that it was, turned out to be a blessing for East Tennessee . After Katrina blew through we were left with high pressure, clear blue skies and sunshine all day long for the entire week of the rally and for several weeks after that.

We started the rally week with some pre-rally riding tours of our beautiful East Tennessee areas. I was asked to guide the Smoky Mountain tour after Floyd Ratliff bowed out due to the recent death of his lovely wife, Denise. I’m sorry, Floyd.

I was a little disappointed in the turn out for this event. There were only four people brave enough to show up for this ride. But, the weather was great and a small group would be easier to manage. So, at 9:15 on Tuesday morning, John, Larry, Rodney, Joyce and I left the Double Tree in Oak Ridge . John was riding the only vintage motorcycle in the group, a 1975 Honda GL1000 that was recently restored by our very own Pete Boody . I was riding my 1999 Suzuki 800 Intruder. There were two other Yamaha cruisers from the 1990’s and a car to haul the luggage and whatever souvenirs we picked up along the way. Traffic was light and gas was plentiful all along our Route.

From Oak Ridge we headed southwest to Lenoir City where we road across the Fort Loudon Dam built by TVA on the Tennessee River in the 1940’s. We stayed on secondary two lane roads for most of the ride. Traffic was not a problem at any time and the scenery was awesome the whole way. After crossing the Fort Loudon dam, we took a few different back roads to Vonore. We were riding close to the Little Tennessee River , which became Tellico Lake after the Tellico dam was built in the early 1980’s. The views of the lake were very pretty and peaceful.

From Vonore, we took highway 360 to Tellico Plains. This is a nice two lane road with rolling hills, lots of curves and wonderful views of Tellico Lake and the East Tennessee countryside. Our first stop was in Tellico Plains, where we topped off our gas tanks, because the next 50 miles would be nothing but wilderness and awesome views of the Cherokee National Forest . Before leaving Tellico Plains, we stopped at the Beach Drive-In for hamburgers, fries and soft drinks.

After a tasty lunch at the Beach Drive-In, we continued on Route 165, otherwise known as the Cherohala Skyway, a scenic two lane road through the Cherokee and Nantahala National Forests . It has lots of hills and sweeping 35 mph curves which make it a really fun road to ride. During the week there is hardly any traffic at all. At the first fork in the road, we went to the right and on to Bald River Falls . We stopped there for a photo opportunity and then headed down the road to look for a public restroom. We rode though a neat little community called Green Cove, which is basically a campground, but it looks like most of the residents leave their campers there year round and just come up on the weekends. After finding a public restroom, we turned around and headed back to the Cherohala Skyway. There are several scenic overlooks along the way and we stopped at a couple of them. The views were really awesome. Nothing but wilderness as far as the eye can see. We climbed from 930 feet above sea level up to 5400 feet and then back down.

We crossed in to North Carolina while on the Skyway. Near the end of the Skyway we turned left on Route 1127 and rode through the Joyce Kilmer National Forest . We rode up to an overlook near the Joyce Kilmer memorial for some more awesome views.

The road through Joyce Kilmer National forest comes out on highway 129, otherwise know as the Dragon. We took Route 129 over to the tail of the Dragon at Deals Gap. We stopped at the store at Deals Gap for gas and souvenirs of the Dragon, but we didn’t ride the Dragon. After a short rest at Deals Gap we took Route 28 over to Fontana dam. This is another two lane road with lots of curves. It’s similar to the Dragon, but not as challenging because the curves are farther apart and not quite as sharp.

After a few miles we came to the entrance to Fontana Dam. This is another dam built by TVA in the 1940’s to control flooding. We stopped at the visitor center and then rode our bikes across the dam. It was a beautiful view of Fontana Lake from atop the dam. We rode on to Cherokee from there and found rooms at the Ramada Inn Express. It was conveniently located across the street from Harrah’s Casino. After getting settled into our rooms, we went over to Harrah’s Casino and had a wonderful dinner in their restaurant. After dinner we dropped a few dollars into the slot machines and then headed back to the Ramada Inn for a goods nights sleep. We were all tired by then, so we didn’t have any trouble sleeping.

On Wednesday morning we had the complimentary breakfast at the Ramada Inn and then headed out to the parking lot to load our gear and get ready for another great ride. The sun was shining but the temperature was in the low 50’s. We were in the mountains, you know. Rodney, Joyce and John wanted to go back to Bryson City for some sightseeing, so Larry and I headed on down the road toward Maggie Valley . But we didn’t get there because we came to an entrance of the Blue Ridge Parkway . This is a beautiful scenic two lane byway with limited access that is 469 miles long and all of it is designated as a National Park. There are numerous scenic overlooks along the way with gorgeous views of the North Carolina mountains and the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia .

We rode the Blue Ridge Parkway over to the entrance of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park . We took Route 441 up the mountain to Newfound Gap, where we crossed back into Tennessee . Boy it sure was cold up there. Newfound Gap is 5048 feet above sea level. After passing over Newfound Gap we stayed on Route 441 towards Gatlinburg. But before we got to Gatlinburg, we turned left at the Sugarlands visitor center and took the Little River road over to Townsend. As we got farther from the mountains the temperature started rising. We rode through Townsend on Route 321 and stopped for lunch at Taco Bell in Maryville .

By the time we finished lunch, the temperature was back into the mid 70’s. From there we rode on Route 321 to Lenoir City and then back to Oak Ridge on Route 95.

We arrived back at the Double Tree around 2:30 p.m. Total. Distance was approximately 365 miles and most of it was on scenic two lane roads. The weather was perfect, the scenery was gorgeous, gas was plentiful, traffic was light and the company was great. This was one of the best rides I have ever been on. The next time you are in East Tennessee , you have got to take this ride. Look me up, I may want to join you.

Ken Gray