It was Saturday July 23, 2022. The Carolina Girl and I packed lightly for an overnight trip in the Western North Carolina mountains. The weather was beautiful and we were very much looking for a two wheeled ride by oursleves. We had three goals to accomplish.
1) Go to Wheels Through Time to get our annual raffle tickets.
2) Visit the "Road to Nowhere".
3) Have FUN
We started the morning off a couple of miles from home at our local Waffle House for breakfast. Amy took good care of us and wished us safe travels.
We rolled west bound on I-40 toward Asheville. Our next stop was at Harley Davidson of Asheville. They always have a great stock in the motor cloths department and had lot of bikes on the floor. Below are a few classics that were in excellent condition. A collector was selling these and they picked them up.
In no time we were in Maggie Valley and stopped for fuel.
We got a very special welcome at Wheels Through Time. After parking we were walking in with a couple from Oklahoma. About the time we got off the parking lot onto the brick pavers Matt came rolling out of the building like a bat out of hell. He was pointing behind him at the black mark he was laying on the pavers. He ran up to the street, turned around back over the bridge and rode back in with a huge smaile on his face.
The Carolina Girl got her tickets and we continued on.
Our next stop was the dead end at the "Road to Nowhere". we went through Bryson City and in short order ran out of road. There were a lot of folks there checking out the tunnel. Another example of our government failing to carry through on their promise.
Next stop Cherokee, NC. We have not stayed the night in Cherokee in 20 years. Seems we always head to Maggie Valley. Got in a traffic jam because of a wreck just a few miles out. Sat there with the engine off a long while. Finally turned around and took a different route. Made a stop at the Harley T-Shirt shop. Funny as a couple recognized our bike from the gas stop earlier. Come to find out they live in Concord, NC not too far from us.
We checked into our motel and walked across the street for dinner and then down to the park. A Cherokee Indian was giving a lecture on what being a Cherokee means. I found an Indian that makes really cool knives and icked up one I liked a lot. More on that knife later.
After a good nights reast we loaded up and rode to a local breakfast place that was highly recommended. We had about a 40 minute wait but were in no hurry. The food made it worth the wait.
Something interesting happened as we were leaving the motel that morning. We had a slight uphill out of the parking lot and the bike felt like she was in second gear. Wierd and I wrote it off as she was cold or I did something wrong.
We quickly hit the Blue Ridge Parkway and watched the elevation continue to ride up to 6000 + feet. The weather could not have been more beautiful.
I was watching the odometer as I was nearing the 45k mark and wanted to grap a picture. Well as luck would have it it clicked over to 45,000 miles exactly as we arrive at the highest road elevation on the BRP. Picture Time!
09-14-2022 | 08:44 AM
1000 Miles from Nowhere Ride
