9th June - Asheville, North Carolina

Not sure why but I had expected Tennessee to be rural and agricultural - more akin to Kansas than Arkansas. In fact, it is very green and outwardly prosperous. Yes, the Forrest Gump drawl is there (although that's coming up from the deep south I think - Georgia and Alabama) and they have an aisle in Walmart dedicated to guns but this is a very attractive state to travel through.

Today's dam is Watts Bar. Moving on from dams I headed for the border (to N. Carolina) and to the Smoky Mountains. "Been up the tail of the Dragon yet ?" said the man who took this photo. "Err, don't think I have."..."There ain't nowhere in the world so twisty".

   
And the Dragon's tail did have lots of switchbacks keeping me busy for half an hour or so. This place is worshipped by bikers across the States. Its their biking mecca - but frankly no more demanding than a good route through the Peak District. Given that 90% of US roads are straight, its no surprise the Dragon catches people out.

On the "Tree of Shame" are bits of bike picked up from accidents. Its getting full. After all the noise and male fartery around the Dragon, it was good to just ride roads of the Smoky Mountain National Park. I had turned the satnav off so I could go with whatever roads took my fancy. It worked - sort of. I was inadvertently following a guy on a Harley with his young son down back roads when he tuned off. Thinking I was going in (roughly) the right direction, I ended up on a dirt road in the middle of nowhere. I turned back. Another time, studying my map in the tank bag, I looked up to find I had left the road and was heading down a bank. I took a long arc, rejoining the road just before a switchback.

The Smoky Mountain National Park is at the start of the Appalachian Mountains. Hopefully, the scenery will continue to be this good.