When I got up this morning the sky was dark and gloomy. The weather report called for rain most of the day. Resisting the urge to go back to bed, I went down to breakfast to see what the others were thinking about doing, considering the weather.

The consensus was that we might as well bite the bullet and get moving. Maybe we'd get lucky and miss some of the heavier rain. But before that Katie Taylor got a ride in Jonathan's side car. She gave me a thumbs up on leaving and it was obvious when she came back that a biker was born. Dana and Jennie are going to kill me.

So everyone prepped for rain and off we went, expecting the worst. And then the old LRLR magic kicked in. The sky started to clear and the threat of rain went away. We stayed dry all day. I was thrilled. Have I mentioned I hate riding in the rain. Yes? Several times? OK.

The run down I-75 to Knoxville was uneventful except that Moe made a wrong turn (imagine our surprise) and we ended up on a city street for a bit heading back to the highway. No blood, no foul and we were off and running. The good thing about the little detour was that it showed once again how adept we've become at, a) riding together and b) following Moe like motorized lemmings. As Moe said later today..."I think you guys would follow me down a boat ramp". He's probably right.

Anyway, a pit stop/snack break was at a McDonalds in Maryville. This stop was significant for a couple of reasons. It's the first time we've been in a Mickey D's the entire trip and we met a very nice lady named Anna Chambers. She got to talking with Greg and then told us an off-color joke that was hysterical, made more so by the fact that, coming from this nice lady, it was completely unexpected. The joke was about two poets standing before the heavenly gates arguing about who was a better poet. I can't remember the entire thing but Greg has promised to write it up for me. We also did our usual kazoo thing with all the kids there. Another happy batch of kids and some ticked off parents. Our job being done, we moved on.

Next stop on the trip was Cades Cove. This is an 11 mile single lane scenic loop on top of the mountain just inside the Smokey Mountain National Park. What can I say about Cades Cove. Not much. It was not the highlight of the trip. It's supposedly the most visited National Park in the country but I have no idea why. The traffic was downright unbearable. I've had better luck getting through the Lincoln Tunnel at 5pm than I did on this road. The only reason there are so many pictures is because we were stopped so many times for so long that I had plenty of time to use the camera. Not going back there. Not no way, not no how.

Lunch was in Gatlinburg. This town is one of the biggest tourist type places I've seen in a long time. It practically defines description. I can't find the words to describe the place. You're just gonna have to go there. Or not.

Then it was up and over the mountain to a place called Mingus Mill. It's an old mill that has been restored, sort of. Pretty interesting stuff if you are into how water was used as a power source back in the day.

It was here that we said goodbye to Frances Thompson and the Taylor clan. It was great to see them and have them join the ride for a while.  This kind of support really makes a difference with the group and we appreciate their willingness to spend some time with us.

After the Mill we had a 10 mile run into Bryson City. Jonathan's bike...the one with the side car...hasn't been running right, so the guys gathered round to try and fix the problem. With a certain amount of luck they actually did fix it. It was simply a fouled spark plug. A little sanding and it's good to go.

Which brings me to the hard part of this narrative. I'll be leaving the group in the am and heading back to Philly. Loren and Kate and the Edelstein's are also leaving after breakfast as they have rental vehicles to get back by a certain time. Not really wanting to ride the Dragon's Tail I decided to take advantage of the company, at least to Richmond, and go with them.

I'll get the word from the rest of the group how their day went riding the Dragon's Tail and pass it on to you tomorrow night. And I'll do a final piece on the ride over the weekend.

But for now, it's time to get some sleep.

I hope you are all well and I thank you for your continued support of the LRLR.

Take care
Bill Sapsis

Other Links:
Dennis Booth's Facebook Photo Album
Star Markham's Vespa Journey's Blog