DAY 11
9/15/2015 – Maggie Valley, NC to Marion, VA
~ 270 miles

Been staying up late each night to work on the ride report, so I decided to stay in bed just a bit longer this morning to catch up on some sleep. Finally got up and moving – another beautiful day outside, very cool in the mornings now in the low 50’s but going to the 70’s each day in the mountains.

After packing up the bike and checking the tire pressure (plug still holding fine), decided to stroll around Maggie Creekside Lodge a bit. Looks like a great place to host riding groups. The room was large, comfortable, and affordable. The hotel is set back a bit from the road, next to a babbling creek on a semi-wooded lot. They have a big firepit next to the creek and groups of chairs and side tables lined up for guests to spread out and have mini-gatherings and shoot the breeze after a day of riding.

A few other riders were up and about in the parking lot. This guy was towing a pop-up camper MC trailer, pretty cool. I didn’t realize but the plate appears to be from MA – anybody from NER?

Looked up breakfast placed on Yelp and decided on a couple possibilities depending on how busy they looked. Stopped at Pop’s Grits and Eggs less than a mile up the road and had the best breakfast of the entire trip. Simple eggs, cooked exactly right, tasty bacon (not as good as Polly’s), an amazing homemade biscuit made fresh, and delicious yellow grits. It’s a small affordable diner-style place right on the main drag, with friendly staff and a comfortable feel. I’d definitely recommend it if you’re in the area.

Finally got headed out of Maggie Valley around 9am.

Just a few short miles down the road, I turned onto NC Rte 209 (“the Rattler”), which runs mostly through Pigsah National Forest. Wow, wow, wow, what an amazing riding road this was, especially in the morning sunlight. Every kind of curve, sweep, and twist was here along with beautiful rural and mountain scenery along the way and nice smooth pavement. I had a big smile riding this one, probably my favorite road up to this point.

At the end of the Rattler, pulled into Hot Springs, NC, a mountain town I’d heard about years ago from my sister who’d hiked the Appalachian Trail. It was cool to finally see some of the areas she had walked through over two decades before and remember some of her stories about the trail towns like this. Stopped for a stretch and a snack at the general store next to the river:

Left Hot Springs eastward on US 25, another nice piece of pavement, this one full of 50-55mph sweepers and downhill grades. Arrived in Marshall NC, another picturesque little town in the middle of nowhere and headed onward through Mars Hill, a small college town. Both towns offered Pirate grand tour bonus photos:

Hopped on the slab for a short stint to the northwest, where I picked up Rte 19W, another wonderful winding road running along the Cane River and then skirting the Pigsah Forest once again. The road then crossed the forest to TN, and when I got within about five miles of the state border, I began noticing sand and gravel in the roadway and slowed down, especially on curves, and passed a couple one-lane construction areas with pilot cars.

(several residences along this river road had these precarious suspension footbridges running out to their mailbox)

I crossed the TN line in the middle of the woods and it all got nice and smooth once more. I came out onto TN 352 and then zig-zagged up to Johnson City via secondary routes. Got a bonus photo of another Whispering Giant (tough place to get the shot with my bike on a busy four lane boulevard but nothing stops a road weary motorcyclist from getting their Giant), and then had a nice club sandwich with avocado, bacon, and a side of tomato-feta salad at a local cafe called Cranberries, found using my trusty Yelp app :

Headed north out of Johnson City, and then….the aliens came and got me again:

This is actually a Roadside America in Blountville TN. Interesting yard ornaments but it beats having pink flamingos I guess.

I then picked up US 421 east of Bristol and began the run of the portion called “The Snake”. It starts with a picturesque lake crossing over a long bridge/causeway and then dives into the Cherokee National Forest, twisting and turning mercilessly for miles. This was FUN! Holy cow, how many roads like this can possibly exist down here? This road has some particularly crazy loopbacks and hairpins that just make you want to turn back and try again and again because you can’t believe the road just did that (no time for me, alas).

After the Snake, headed north on Rte 91 from Mountain City and crossed into Virginia, remaining within Cherokee Nat Forest the whole way. Swung a right turn onto VA 58 (apparently called “the Python”). At this point, I had tired of taking so many pictures and just decided to enjoy the ride for a while so no pics, but yet another great curvy road through the forest and hills. Stopped for a Pirate bonus photo in Sugar Grove and ended my day in Marion, VA at the America’s Best Value Inn. The hotel (and the town) gave me the impression of having seen better days, but the room was clean and the area was pretty quiet for being on a main thoroughfare. Dinner provided by Pizza Hut – they’re just not as good as they used to be years ago.