Coming out of Milwaukee and headed toward Maryville Tennessee I knew it was going to be challenging going through Chicago and Gary before linking up with Interstate 65 South to get to Lafayette Indiana for the night. I’ve driven through that area multiple times and knew the congestion, debris, and constant construction. All things I wasn’t looking forward to on a motorcycle. I’m a fairly defensive rider and try to approach every situation with the mindset that nobody sees me but nothing could have prepared me for this ride. In the span of 49 miles between mid Chicago and Gary, a cinder block fell off a truck in front of me, a truck tire blew out in front of me, and I hit enough large buckles in the road to toss me out of my saddle and the rear tire into the air more times than was comfortable. Thankfully it was my mindset on defensively positioning myself and the bike in traffic throughout each situation that allowed me to stay safe. Keeping a following distance that was longer than necessary while still keeping my eyes on my rear view allowed me to swerve the cinder block and the blown truck tire. After we hit Interstate 65 and got out of the mess, I counted my blessings and throttled south.
Coming into Lafayette there is a great road, IN-43 also known as N. River Road, that exits north of Lafayette and follows the Wabash River down into town. You can follow it past Lafayette but after the morning stress through Chicago and battling the wind across the fields in Indiana, I was ready to park the bike and get some rest before hitting the road again.
The next morning rose early, hopped on the bike and headed south to make a stop at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Pulling into the speedway was pretty unique. There is a museum in the infield of the speedway and to access it you turn in and go through a tunnel underneath the track before coming up into the center of the speedway. What a view coming back into the light, being on the inside of the track and looking at the two mile monstrosity that is Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It was the perfect way to break up the day’s ride and stretch my legs.
It was a pretty easy ride from the speedway down to Winchester Kentucky super slabbing it the whole way. I love staying in small towns and seeing the less commercialized side of the country that you don’t get when you stay in large cities. After getting into Winchester, I was looking over the maps and I knew there were a ton of route choices off the super slab heading from Winchester to Maryville. I was looking for a route that wouldn’t be too tiring or take too long since the day after I was riding the Tail of the Dragon and through the Blue Ridge Mountains which isn’t the place to be tired from the day before. When looking at the map I noticed a great two lane, KY-25, that was further back off the super slab and it provided some nice views and countryside. After crossing into Tennessee I found a similar road, TN-9, that would take me off the interstate into the Tennessee hills. A welcomed break from jamming the interstates over the past few days.
The last little jaunt off the freeway came by way of TN-441 by Norris Dam State Park which kicked me out right by the Museum of Appalachia. The Museum of Appalachia is an expansive field where curators have found remarkable historical buildings such as Mark Twain’s family cabin and Daniel Boone’s log cabin amongst many others, disassembled them and reassembled them on the property to celebrate the history of the area.
After spending the better part of the afternoon at the Museum of Appalachia, it was the super slab to Maryville. I chose to stay in Maryville that night due to its location in relation to the Dragon. It’s the last town before you get into TN-129/Tail of the Dragon and I wanted to be as close as possible to hit the Tail in the morning before riding over to Maggie Valley to see the infamous Dale’s Wheels Through Time motorcycle museum.
One of the best parts of riding a motorcycle is experiencing the topographical changes when going long distance and these few days of riding highlighted just that. I started in the flat farmland region and each ride got a little more hilly with the vegetation going from grass to thick dense Appalachian forest and I couldn’t wait for the next day riding the Tail of the Dragon.
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