Day 39 – To Atlanta

I may have survived the Dragon without leaving my mark on the Tree of Shame, but the day after did take its toll. Very much a roller coaster of stimuli and responses.

Tree of Shame – no contribution from Mendy!

Sleeping in a tent under the Dragon’s Tail was the most cost effective way of spending the night. But it did leave vulnerable to the upset Dragon raging all night and pissing all over the place. Yup, another night of thundershowers. Bit of a rough night again.

The morning was clear and bright, and the bikes were roaring about by 7am. It was nice to see and hear so much activity. Deals Gap is a great place to people watch. Something I got to do plenty of while packing up a wet tent and working on Mendy’s chain. The store actually has a decent selection.

The people were a healthy mix, but sportbikers seemed to be under represented, or maybe less friendly compared to the cruisers. There’s a women riders convention in the area soon. Plenty of groups coming through on the way there.

One of the better stories was a lady who never used to ride. Well, she was into horses and her husband rode the motorcycle. He passed away 3 years ago and she has taken over his bike in memory. Riding places and taking him back to places they shared together.

Great bunch of folks. But the rain and time with Mendy has made me realize the damage is no longer restricted to easily replaced accessories that would likely have been upgraded anyway. The scratches in the side case are deep and into the painted panel. Right past the paint. The mounting point has also suffered some damage and the right pannier has some play now. Worst of all, the plastics on the body itself are scratched… Body armor for Mendy will come too late to save her from the battle scars.

Putting the mistakes in the past and focusing on they task at hand, I set off on the 28 to cruise around the mountains before heading for Atlanta. And wow, what a pick me up. Cool, gorgeous weather. Sun coming through the trees and on the water. Carving through the mountains. Very much what a major portion of what this trip is about.

All smiles on 28

Very cool mist over the river. Pictures on the fly, no good place to stop. Reminds me of the similar thing happening in the Cascades.

Cherohala Skyway Viewpoint

But what goes up, must come down. Looping around Robbinsville and over the Cherohala Sky way, the grey skies were gathering. Climbing to the peak was an eerie flowing fog.

By the time I reached the Telico Plains, I could clearly smell the rain. Ducking into a gas station to decide whether or not the rain was a real issue or just crossing my path, I grabbed a coffee.

Shortly after, the skies opened up.
Unbelievable amount of water poured from the skies. You could see riders scurrying for cover as they came down off the skyway. I finished my coffee and went back out to suit up. Didn’t take too long, and got to chat with a couple from west Tennessee who were also hiding under cover.

Properly equipped, riding in the rain – even in virtual washout conditions isn’t bad. Mendy is more than capable. Worst is really other traffic and trying to read road signs. The rain came and went, the roads remained pleasantly twisty. Satisfied with my situation and gear, I continued south into Georgia.

The 60 wasn’t as nice as the roads closer to Deals Gap. More tar snakes and rubbish on the roads themselves. The rain was gone, but the roads were dirtier. The dark clouds were still overhead, so the rain gear stayed on. This meant a lot of slow sweaty miles. Forced me to face how sick and tired I was of the heat and humidity.

Shedding the rain as I neared Atlanta didn’t help much either. I had exchanged sweaty rain gear with big city highway traffic. 6 lanes of stop and go merging into the city. Fortunately, Atlanta itself is quite beautiful once you’re off the knot off traffic that is their interstate.

I was told making the trip to Holeman Finch was worth the trip. I wasn’t hungry yet, so I decided to make the trip on foot. Got a chance to see a bunch of random things along Peachtree.

A castle for rent