Friday, June 28, 2013- Day 15- Tullahoma, TN
Today started out great.
When I left the hotel, the temperature was a cool 86 degrees and during
the day, as I ascended the Smoky Mountains, it never got any higher. Compared to the last two days of 100+, this
was downright chilly … wish I had brought a sweater with me! A cloudy or partially cloudy sky followed me
throughout the day but the last hour of the ride was spent enduring a
thunderstorm that soaked me. I got my
bag covered, but by the time that was done, I was already soaked so I just
hopped on the bike and rode it out. No
sense putting a rain suit over wet clothes.
Tennessee is a beautiful state, especially as you enter the
Smokies. Of course, these mountains
can’t compete with the grandeur of the Rocky Mountains but they are
nevertheless beautiful. Heavy forest
with farmland interspersed covers these modest peaks and it makes for a very
pleasant and scenic ride, especially along the winding backroads.
On the way here, I swung 45 minutes out of my way and hit
Mississippi just so I could add it to the list of states I’ve ridden my
motorcycle through. Since I’ve visited
this state previously, there really wasn’t anything I needed to see. I also decided to divert into Memphis, the
idea being that I would have lunch on Beale Street. Well, things have changed since I was last
here about 30 years ago. Like most
famous places, Beale Street is now just another tourist trap. The street is blocked off to traffic and the
only place to park is well away from the shops and restaurants. Considering my bag is on my motorcycle and
it’s packed with cameras and a computer, there was no way that I’d park it in a
ramp garage. Result? I cruised around the city a bit and then
headed out for my final destination. To
bad … I had a taste for some ribs.
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| The Mud Island Monorail with The Pyramid Arena in the background - Memphis, TN |
Tomorrow, I head for “The Tail Of The Dragon” a very scenic
highway that has a lot of the fun parts that motorcyclists love (318 curves in
11 miles). I should have a lot of
pictures from that BUT … the weather forecast is calling for
thunderstorms. I’m going to ride the
damn thing even if I have to do it in a flood!
Once I finish my run, I’ll head to my hotel in Cherokee,
NC. Since there is a very large casino
next to the hotel, I intend to sacrifice some of my rest time and force myself
to gamble. I’m not a pro like certain
readers of this blog, but considering how well this trip has gone, I feel compelled
to respect that as a good omen. If the
gambling goes half as well as the trip has, I’ll hit it big!
The trip to Cherokee marks the beginning of the final leg of
my journey. Depending on weather, I’ll be getting home on Monday or Tuesday
latest.
A little anecdote for today.
You have probably seen “My Cousin Vinny” and one of several memorable
story lines involves Joe Pesci being unable to sleep because some thing always
happens to wake him up. The train
rumbling past the hotel is particularly funny.
So, I’m checked in at the Holiday Inn Express in Tullahoma and directly
outside of my window is a road. Directly
on the other side of that road is a train track. Not just any train track, mind you, but a
high speed train track. Guess what has
rumbled by twice in the last three hours?
I’ll leave you with that thought.