GOE XX, Day One: Tunneling to Tennessee
Saturday, June 18th, 2016
Day One of the trip to Gathering of Eagles, Cruiser Club, USA's annual gathering, is often a blue collar day, or a turn and burn day. The point is to get some miles behind me, and have fewer on the day or days that follow. Also on this trip, I had Kasey, not in the seat behind me, but in her car with her daughter. If you do the math, you will see I couldn't get three people on one bike, let alone all the luggage.
We left Locust, North Carolina on Highway 24/27 heading west. The sun was rising behind us, and the June air was already warm. It was a Saturday, so traffic was not too heavy, except for everyone heading to Lake Norman. We would follow that flow of traffic on to the Outer Loop of 485. Going counter clock-wise, we would go from the three o'clock position to nine, and take the ramp for Interstate 85. One of the few times you will hear me riding on a interstate. As I said, blue collar miles.
Near King's Mountain, we split off the Interstate for US Highway, numbered 74. Still a highway, but not as thick with other vehicles moving as fast. The city of Shelby, North Carolina gives us a break with a few traffic stops. It was actually good to hit a red light so I could get my but off the saddle.
US 74 joins up with Interstate 26, and then US 25 and we make our way into Asheville. Traffic slows us down well outside of town, I begin to feel like this is going to be a long day that could have been better spent on back roads. The mass of rolling steel began to move and kept a pretty good pace through town. We exited on Interstate 40 which is still sharing asphalt with US74.
Interstate 40 is probably one of the most fun super slabs I can think of. It winds up and down, and through the mountains. After coming down on the other side, we take a break for lunch, peeling off at Wilton Springs, following Wilton Springs Road to a Mom and Pop Eatery. Lunch was very good, and we filled the fuel tanks before we headed back out via State Road 32 and 321. We wouldn't return to I 40 and head into Knoxville, but rather take a back way around.
We ended up on the Dixie Highway, or 25E. This is an wonderful road that rolls through the foothills with awesome views, and passes through interesting small town. This road would be the rest of our trip, as we passed through Tazewell. At Middlesboro we finally meet the tunnel that we had seen several signs warning us. You also enter from Tennessee, and exit in Kentucky.
A few more charming Kentucky towns, and our last leg would take us through London. On the far edge, we joined Highway 80 for a short stretch to the hotel. It was up on a hill, with a great view of part of the city. 345 miles of the trip was down, it was time to get some dinner, and get a good night's sleep. Tomorrow would be fewer miles turning and burning, and more at relaxed, scenery observing pace.
Day One of the trip to Gathering of Eagles, Cruiser Club, USA's annual gathering, is often a blue collar day, or a turn and burn day. The point is to get some miles behind me, and have fewer on the day or days that follow. Also on this trip, I had Kasey, not in the seat behind me, but in her car with her daughter. If you do the math, you will see I couldn't get three people on one bike, let alone all the luggage.
We left Locust, North Carolina on Highway 24/27 heading west. The sun was rising behind us, and the June air was already warm. It was a Saturday, so traffic was not too heavy, except for everyone heading to Lake Norman. We would follow that flow of traffic on to the Outer Loop of 485. Going counter clock-wise, we would go from the three o'clock position to nine, and take the ramp for Interstate 85. One of the few times you will hear me riding on a interstate. As I said, blue collar miles.
Near King's Mountain, we split off the Interstate for US Highway, numbered 74. Still a highway, but not as thick with other vehicles moving as fast. The city of Shelby, North Carolina gives us a break with a few traffic stops. It was actually good to hit a red light so I could get my but off the saddle.
US 74 joins up with Interstate 26, and then US 25 and we make our way into Asheville. Traffic slows us down well outside of town, I begin to feel like this is going to be a long day that could have been better spent on back roads. The mass of rolling steel began to move and kept a pretty good pace through town. We exited on Interstate 40 which is still sharing asphalt with US74.
Interstate 40 is probably one of the most fun super slabs I can think of. It winds up and down, and through the mountains. After coming down on the other side, we take a break for lunch, peeling off at Wilton Springs, following Wilton Springs Road to a Mom and Pop Eatery. Lunch was very good, and we filled the fuel tanks before we headed back out via State Road 32 and 321. We wouldn't return to I 40 and head into Knoxville, but rather take a back way around.
We ended up on the Dixie Highway, or 25E. This is an wonderful road that rolls through the foothills with awesome views, and passes through interesting small town. This road would be the rest of our trip, as we passed through Tazewell. At Middlesboro we finally meet the tunnel that we had seen several signs warning us. You also enter from Tennessee, and exit in Kentucky.
A few more charming Kentucky towns, and our last leg would take us through London. On the far edge, we joined Highway 80 for a short stretch to the hotel. It was up on a hill, with a great view of part of the city. 345 miles of the trip was down, it was time to get some dinner, and get a good night's sleep. Tomorrow would be fewer miles turning and burning, and more at relaxed, scenery observing pace.
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