Another clear morning, but a bit hazy as we prepared to leave Asheville and continue along the BRP. Rick and I have covered 80 miles so far and we will pick up where we exited yesterday to continue to our mid point, which is Laurel Springs, NC, as we need to exit off again to get the “Back of the Dragon” ride in, which is #20 on our list. We plan on staying at Laurel Springs for a couple of nights – stay and relax when we arrive, next morning ride the Back of the Dragon, and come back to stay in Laurel Springs again, then continue on the BRP the following morning.

The BRP continues to snake along the Appalachians as we leave Asheville and continue on. A bit more traffic as we are closer to population, but still very enjoyable. Along the way I search for coffee and stop at a spot that was an estate donated by the Moses family. A old beautiful mansion along this road. No success on coffee but never the less, a great place to take a break and think about how it must have been to live here in the day.

We continued on through the morning and by early afternoon we were at Freeborne’s Eatery and Lodge to check in and have lunch while we wait for our rooms to finish being cleaned. Next day the Back of the Dragon……

pH2-Day 09 Video

Today was a short day – only 80 or so mile to Asheville, but it was the start of our trip on the Blue Ridge Parkway (BRP). The reason for only 80 miles at this point was Rick was having Sheryl fly out for riding along the BRP and her flight was into Asheville for late Wednesday night.

It was a beautiful morning in Cherokee as we said good bye to the Casino and left with money in our pockets (from not gambling!). We gassed up, received our gas receipts in Cherokee as this was the start of the BRP from the southern end. Just a mile or so from town was the start and it is immediately obvious on the beauty of the road. Smooth payment, lush greenery on either side, grand vista, and not much traffic, if any, on this southern end. Knowing we had a snall day, we enjoyed every inch of this road today as we arrived in Asheville around 1pm to check into our hotel at by the airport.

Gave us an opportunity to wash the bikes at a car wash and relax and have lunch. I reached out to my cousin Pete from my mom’s side who lives out here and hooked up for about 4 hours to catch up over dinner.

Day08 Video

We left Pulaski early about 6:30 am. Our goal was to get to Cherokee NC, which is a small town at the south end of the Blue Ridge Parkway. The ride was fairly quick with easy divided highway roads getting hillier as the day progressed. We wanted to skirt the town of Chattanooga, but we ended up right in the middle of town, but for me it was time for a coffee break and Rick spotted a perfect stop.

We left Chattanooga and continued the remaining three hours to get to Cherokee NC where we decided to check into the Harrah’s Resort casino for the evening and to relax a bit

Ph2-Day07 Video