Dan and I met nearly 20 years ago while playing on a recreational ice hockey team in our hometown of Ottawa, Ontario. When we weren’t talking about how bad our team was, we discussed our shared love of motorcycles. Our first motorcycle trip together was a long weekend exploring New Hampshire’s White Mountains.
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For our next trip, we spent a week riding in the Appalachians of western North Carolina. We enjoyed it so much that we returned the following year. Dan and I became regular riding partners, and we’ve done tours throughout the U.S. and Canada. Recently, we returned to the Appalachians to celebrate the 15th anniversary of our first ride there.
After a long day and a half riding south on Interstate 81 from Ottawa, we kicked off our backroads bonanza near Wytheville, Virginia, which is in the heart of a half-dozen excellent loop rides known collectively as Claw of the Dragon. We exited I-81 at Marion and rode north on State Route 16, a road known as Back of the Dragon that winds its way through the mountains to Tazewell, a nice Appalachian town that’s a perfect place to rest and recharge. It has a variety of restaurants, shops, and motorcycle-friendly lodging options, including The Traveler on Main, which offers vacation suites with full kitchens. The Back of the Dragon welcome center is a hub for riders, offering artisan pizza, self-pouring beer taps, local insights, and souvenirs.
SR-16 runs north-south over three mountains – Big Walker, Brushy, and Clinch – which gives the road its rolling humpbacked character, and its 32 miles have more than 400 curves. It weaves through lush, green forest and includes open valleys and scenic views. Changes in elevation are accompanied by changes in temperature that enhance the experience. It was easy to get into the rhythm of the ride and become one with our motorcycles, savoring each curve before moving to the next one.
We enjoyed Back of the Dragon so much that after visiting Tazewell, we turned around and rode it in reverse, doubling our fun. Just north of Marion is Hungry Mother State Park, which surrounds a lake of the same name. At the park’s Royal Oak Campground, we pitched our tents on a wooden platform extended over the side of a hill like a backyard deck, allowing us to relax while nestled among bucolic trees.
The next day we followed backroads south to Damascus and crossed into Johnson County, Tennessee, on State Route 133. We stopped at the Shady Valley Country Store, located at the crossroads of SR-133, SR-91, and U.S. Route 421. It’s a popular waypoint for motorcyclists, and we recreated a photo we’d taken 15 years ago: Dan riding a coin-operated horse made for kids.
After having a few laughs, we rode west on U.S. 421, another famous backroad known as The Snake, which slithers its way for 33 miles through Cherokee National Forest, goes over three mountains, and includes nearly 500 curves. Since Shady Valley is near the middle of The Snake, we rode to the western end in Holsten Valley and then turned around and rode to the eastern end in Mountain City.
As we continued heading south on backroads in western North Carolina, we experienced an unforgettable moment. I was leading as we rode on a straight stretch of road with a river just below us. Through our helmet communicators, Dan told me to look to my right. Flying over the river alongside us, at eye level and the same speed, was a bald eagle scanning the water below. It seemed like we were flying together. The vivid display of nature’s beauty ended all too quickly as the road and river veered in different directions.
After crossing state lines several times, we ended our day in Tennessee, ascending the winding State Route 143 to Roan Mountain State Park. We enjoyed a hearty dinner of sausage and potatoes cooked over the campfire and a quiet night under the stars.
The next morning, we continued our southern trajectory on SR-143 back into North Carolina, and then we rode State Route 261 to Bakersville. We took a convoluted, curvy route to Hot Springs, where we turned south on State Route 209, another serpentine backroad known as The Rattler that claims 290 curves in 24 miles.
After riding through the Pigeon River Gorge on Interstate 40, we crossed into Tennessee again and took another winding backroad (State Route 32) along the northern edge of Great Smoky Mountains National Park and then U.S. Route 321. We passed through Gatlinburg, where a boy named Sue once stopped at an old saloon to have himself a brew and met his long-lost father. We didn’t find an old saloon on the heavily trafficked, tourist-friendly streets, so we made our way to Elkmont Campground in the park and settled in for another quiet night.
Prior to meeting Dan, most of my motorcycle rides were of the solo variety. I was a “dawn to dusk” rider, all business, putting in the miles, with riding great roads my solitary goal. Riding with Dan has taught me to slow down and smell the roses. He enjoys talking to strangers, meeting people, and experiencing things other than riding. We’ve helped each other expand our horizons. I’ve shared the joys of riding long miles, and Dan encourages me to enjoy the parts of a trip that are off the bike.
See all of Rider‘s U.S. South motorcycle rides here.
Over the years, we’ve become great friends. Dan is like a brother to me. Our families have gotten close, and we know we can count on each other for the important things in life. Our friendship seems to be a rarity in today’s highly polarized world. We have different political views, but I don’t hold it against him that he’s usually wrong in every political discussion, nor does he hold it against me. We agree to disagree, yet we still respect each other.
Sunrise brought us another beautiful day, and we headed south into the heart of Great Smoky Mountains National Park on Newfound Gap Road (U.S. Route 441). The park gets upwards of 13 million visitors per year, so it’s hard to find a time when U.S. 441 doesn’t have a lot of traffic, but it’s still a beautiful ride. Our favorite part is The Loop, where the road curves around 360 degrees and crosses over itself.
At the Newfound Gap overlook on the Tennessee-North Carolina state line, we admired the views of the road, the lush forest, and the blue-tinged ridges of the Smokies. Rather than continue south to Cherokee, we turned around and headed north to Pigeon Forge, where we picked up U.S. 321 again and then Foothills Parkway, a relaxing ride with spectacular views that got us in the right frame of mind for what would come next.
At Chilhowee Lake, we turned east on U.S. Route 129, which runs along the edge of the lake for a few miles before climbing up to the Calderwood Dam overlook. This is the northern tip of Tail of the Dragon, the most famous backroad on our Appalachian greatest-hits tour. With 318 curves in 11 miles, it’s one of the tightest, twistiest sections of road in a region full of tight, twisty roads.
Dan was especially excited, exclaiming “I think I touched a peg!” in our helmet communicators. He rides a tall Yamaha Super Ténéré adventure bike, and it was a first for him. The beauty of Tail of the Dragon is the endless supply of curves, many of them nicely banked, and the lack of cross traffic. The downside is that motorcycle and car traffic can be heavy, especially on the weekends.
After crossing back into North Carolina near Deals Gap, we headed east on State Route 28, aka Moonshiner 28, and stopped to visit the impressive Fontana Dam. We followed SR-28 for its entire 81-mile length, which includes the Waterfall Byway (Bridal Veil Falls is a must-stop spot) and Indian Lake Scenic Byway, to the Georgia state line, where SR-28 continues south. Northern Georgia roads are fantastic, with wide curves, perfect pavement, and little traffic, which made it easy to get into a good flow.
We made our way west to Two Wheels of Suches, a motorcycle-only lodge and campground located on the Georgia Triangle, an excellent loop that connects U.S. Route 19, State Route 60, and Wolf Pen Gap Road (State Route 180). At the campground, we met a young man on a ’70s-era Harley hardtail chopper that he built himself. Hearing about his cross-country trips on that bike with its 2-gallon gas tank and leather-covered steel seat made Dan and I embarrassed for complaining that our heated grips don’t get quite hot enough.
Having hit our southernmost point, it was time to start heading north. We followed backroads through Georgia and South Carolina before returning to North Carolina, eventually picking up the Blue Ridge Parkway for a relaxing cruise to Maggie Valley, where a hotel room and a barbecue meal awaited us.
The next day, we visited Wheels Through Time. Unlike most museums that are static and filled with signs that read “Do Not Touch,” WTT lets you get close to over 300 motorcycles on display. Staff members circulate and tell stories about various bikes, and they often start bikes to let visitors hear how they run.
During our visit, Matt Walksler, who now runs the museum after his father, Dale Walksler, passed away in 2021, invited a small group of us to join him for a behind-the-scenes tour of the shop where bikes are restored. Seeing the vintage engines, gas tanks, wheels, and parts along with several motorcycles in various states of restoration was incredible.
The next day, we left Maggie Valley and headed for Rider’s Roost, a motorcycle resort and campground in Ferguson, North Carolina. When we arrived, we discovered a lively scene and a band playing on the Friday of Memorial Day weekend. We set up our tents and went to join the party. It was different from the quiet campgrounds we were used to, but the “everybody is a friend” atmosphere made for a great evening of country rock music, darts, and beers.
It was a long, two-day interstate slog back to Ottawa, which gave us plenty of time to reflect on our fantastic week exploring the best backroads in the Appalachians. The memories will last forever, another chapter in the book of experiences that Dan and I have written together. Hockey brought us together, but long motorcycle journeys have been the secret to our long-lasting friendship.
See all of Rider‘s touring stories here.
Appalachians Motorcycle Ride Resources
Trevor Denis has been addicted to motorcycling since he learned to ride and twisted the forks on a Honda XL80 with an accidental jump when he was 11. His thoughts and garage are mostly full of motorcycles. He lives in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, with his understanding wife, two great kids, a cat, and a lazy dog.
