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The great smokey mountains have long been known for their scenic beauty and great highways and byways. Combine that with any two-wheeled machine and you’ve got some of the best riding anywhere in the world. I know that many of you may have ridden the Blue Ridge Parkway, which stretches from Northern Virginia to Cherokee, NC. And most of you may have heard of the famous Tail of the Dragon at Deals Gap, boasting 318 curves in 11 miles. But there’s a lesser known ride through the twist and turns of the Smokies that you’ve got to try – U.S. Highway 209 through Hot Springs.  A few weeks back, my son Matt and I jumped on a couple of old bikes for a 3 or 4 hour afternoon ride. Matt hopped on his old Harley forty-five, a bike that I built for him when he was just a kid. Its quite a hot rod and will run with the bigger bikes without a hiccup. I decided to go with a bit bigger of a machine – a 1937 Harley-Davidson 80-inch flathead that I built about ten years ago. Plenty of power and torque for the "hills" around here and a lot of fun in the twists and turns.
With no destination in mind, we scooted down the road a bit and found a nice two-lane road called Highway 209. Almost immediately, we were in unfamiliar territory, following the steep inclines and big sweeping curves to destinations unknown. Enjoying every twist of the throttle, we carried on for what seemed like hours before we saw our first car. Many of the roads in this area are cluttered with traffic, stop signs, and 20 mile an hour speed limits, but not this one. Great views, great riding – I made a mental note to recommend this one as a must do for any of our visitors riding the mountains. Riding through what seemed like unmolested mountain forest, we made the loop through Hot Springs and onto 70/25 without a stop. Heading back towards Asheville, we kept our pace without a stall. View after view, we saw ourselves in some of the best riding either of us had done in years. We even saw a black bear perched on the side of the road, seemingly observing traffic and having a mid-afternoon snack on twigs and leaves. We almost stopped for a picture but changed our minds, hating the possibility of a nice friendly black bear getting attached to a couple of old Harleys. As we hit the halfway point, we hopped on the Blue Ridge Parkway just south of Asheville for a nice 60 mile cruise back into Maggie Valley. Asheville to Cherokee is my favorite part of the Parkway – high elevations, long-range views – a great way to round out the day. It gets a little chilly up there at that time of day, so if you plan to hit the Parkway after 3:30 or 4:00, be sure to bring a jacket. Exiting the parkway, we started down the hill back into Maggie, turning off the motors and finding neutral for a nice 5 mile coast right into the museum parking lot. "We’re gonna do that one again," I thought, already making time in my head for the next ride. So if you’re visiting the mountains of WNC, make sure to look at Hwy 209 through Hot Springs….it might be your best ride yet.
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