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Iowa to Deal's Gap N. Carolina, Maryville, TN area.

I am hoping to trip out to the Deal's Gap area (Eastern Tennessee, Western North Carolina in the Smokeys) from my home in Eastern Iowa. The 5-7 day trip will probably begin in late May to Mid-June, 2009, and will stay on 2-lane roads, blacktop when possible. The pace will be leisurely. My turn-around point will be the area mentioned above, as I want to ride the Tail of the Dragon, and the Cherohala Skyway before heading home again.

Another member here, and myself, have talked about him joining me, and now I'm wondering if there might be other interest as well. I'm not necessarily asking anyone to ride the whole trip with me, but if anyone is interested in joining up for any part of the trip, or even just a stop for lunch, I'm interested in seeing if I can build an itinerary that includes meeting as many of you as possible.

Questions? Just ask. Comments, good or bad, from experienced long-trippers are always welcome, too. Thanks!!

P.S. Sometime early in 2009 my Dearly Beloved is having a hip replaced, so the timing of the trip will be partly dependent on when she is able to get around without help (no, she is not going with me on this one).

Tags: carolina, cherohala, deal's, gap, north, overnight, skyway, tennessee, trip

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Permalink Reply by Robin Willey on February 5, 2009 at 3:09pm: Larry, what's your route? you should be coming through central Illinois? Let me know, maybe we could have a lunch stop together. Would love to meet ya. Effingham might be a good resting stop along the way.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Larry Walther on February 5, 2009 at 5:30pm: I guess "it's my party and I can ride where I want to" (Trivia quiz: Who sang the original of that mangled quote?). So I might be talked into routing along I-74 to Champaign where I'd pick up I-57 to Effingham, and maybe you guys could ride with me to get a hamburger at Moonshine, IL (Pop 2) before I continue on to Deal's Gap. So what makes me think of a burger at Moonshine? The link to the "Moonshine Lunch Run" in April (see "Events", unless you were the one who put that one up in the first place). I may try to make that April event, too, and though that would be before I plan to go on to Deal's Gap, it would still put me within 40 miles of Effingham and give us a chance to visit a bit.

FWIW, if my son goes with me, we will probably trailer our bikes "straight through" to get to Maryville, TN in one day, so we can ride the next, then head back home so he can miss as little work as possible. A straight-through might make it possible for him to join me, but we would probably go directly over to Indianapolis on I-74, then South directly to #129 in Tennessee. If he can't go anyway, then my plan, uh, well, I don't really have a plan that involves a time schedule at this point. ;^) And since I enjoy meeting people, hitting Effingham for a visit sounds about right to me.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Dion Liphart on February 5, 2009 at 6:13pm: lesslie Gore; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Larry Walther on February 5, 2009 at 8:32pm: LOL! Except that it's spelled "Lesley", you are absolutely correctomundo! LOL!; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Dion Liphart on February 6, 2009 at 7:56am: giving away my age knowing stuff like that song was a big hit back in 1963; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Larry Walther on February 6, 2009 at 8:20am: I found her on Wikipedia. They included some stuff I didn't know, like the fact that her name was actually Lesley Sue Goldstein, and she was a part of what someone is now calling the "girl group era".

I didn't know we had a "girl group era", but I can see where they got it I guess, considering the popularity in that period of names like "The Sherrels", "Diana Ross and the Supremes", as well as female singles like "Lulu", Dionne Warwick, Joni Mitchell, Joan Baez, Nancy Sinatra - and others.
;^); ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Dion Liphart on February 6, 2009 at 9:34am: Marketing you would buy a record from Lesley Gore before you would from a Jewish girl named Lesley Goldstein; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Larry Walther on May 18, 2009 at 2:30pm: To cap off this thread, I did go to Robbinsville, NC and Deal's Gap, TN, and I did ride the "Tail of the Dragon" ~ and the "Cherohala Skyway". Chad and I trailered our bikes to our HQ, a wonderful motorcycle-friendly motel in Robbinsville, NC. We put the bikes on the trailer to save time or more specifically, to get the "To" and "From" taken care of quickly, so we had more time in a 4-day weekend to actually ride the roads mentioned above.

We left home (DeWitt, IA) very early on Saturday, April 25th, drove straight-through in 16 hours, arriving about 10:30PM that night. We awoke early and rode all day Sunday and Monday, then drove home non-stop on Tuesday, April 28, 2009. U.S. #129 (the Dragon) runs between Maryville, TN, and Robbinsville, NC, with the "Tail of The Dragon" being toward the south end of that stretch of highway at the edge of the Cherokee Nation.

Yes, there really are 318 turns in the eleven (11) mile "Tail", and yes, there really is not a "straightaway" in that entire eleven miles. You are either entering a turn, or you are coming out of one - it's a fact. You can find more in my blog - search "dragon" and I'm sure you'll find it.; ▶ Reply to This