We Rode The Tail of The Dragon, Cherohala Skyway & More!

Day 3 was the day we’d been waiting for! After spending the last two days riding from Illinois to Tennessee, we were finally going to ride some of the roads we’d been planning this whole trip around.

Of course, we couldn’t even get out of Athens without something going wrong. Our GPS sent us in the wrong direction, and we ended up wasting a bunch of time before we finally got headed the right way. Not exactly how we wanted to start the day, but we got it figured out.

Our first big ride was the Cherohala Skyway, and it definitely didn’t disappoint. The road was beautiful, with long sweeping curves, mountains, and plenty of places to pull over and enjoy the views. It also got pretty cold as we climbed higher into the mountains. Quite a change from the temperatures we’d been riding in the last couple of days!

After the Skyway, we made our way to the historic Tapoco Lodge. We’d seen pictures of it before, but it was pretty neat to finally stop there ourselves. We walked around, checked out the river, and grabbed something to drink before heading toward Deals Gap.

Next up was the famous Tail of the Dragon. We stopped at Deals Gap to see the dragon statue, check out the Tree of Shame, and pick up a few souvenirs. Some of that stuff was a little pricey, but we figured we’d come all this way, so we might as well get a couple of things to remember it by.

Then it was finally time to ride the Dragon!

We weren’t there to set any speed records. We just wanted to ride it, have fun, and hopefully not end up with any motorcycle parts hanging from the Tree of Shame. With 318 curves in just 11 miles, it definitely kept us busy! There were some sport bikes and cars running through pretty fast, but we took our time and enjoyed the ride, pulling over to let the faster vehicles go by. We were surprised a couple people pulled over to let us by. We were also glad we’d come during the week instead of dealing with the weekend crowds.

After finishing the Dragon, we headed for the Foothills Parkway. By then, the weather had warmed up quite a bit, and we were starting to feel all the miles we’d ridden over the last few days. Still, the views were worth it. We stopped at several overlooks, took pictures, and just enjoyed being somewhere completely different from home.

We eventually made our way through Great Smoky Mountains National Park toward Cherokee, North Carolina. The mountains were beautiful, but we also learned something about our camera equipment. The protective covers on our 360 camera had fogged up on the inside, probably ruining a bunch of footage. Apparently, those covers and the Smoky Mountains don’t get along very well!

We’d planned on staying at the casino in Cherokee that night. That plan lasted right up until we found out they wanted around $400 for a room. NOPE! We’d have slept under a bridge before paying that much.

Instead, we kept riding and found a much more reasonably priced Ramada in Maggie Valley, North Carolina. We grabbed some Mexican food nearby and finally got to relax after another long day on the bikes.

We ended up riding around 240 miles, and just about every road we took was worth the trip. The Cherohala Skyway had those long, smooth curves, the Tail of the Dragon was one turn after another, and the Foothills Parkway and Smoky Mountains had some incredible views.

We were definitely getting tired, though. Three days of riding, sore hands, sore backs, and plenty of miles were starting to catch up with us. But we’d finally ridden the roads we’d been talking about for months, and we were already looking forward to doing some of them again the next day.

Not a bad way to spend a Tuesday. Or Wednesday. We weren’t entirely sure what day it was anymore!