Our anniversary and we were going to ride the Dragon.  We'd made our reservations, laid our plans, researched online & said a few prayers.  The day before was dismal, cold & pouring rain.  It did not look promising, so I oiled our leathers, wrapped everything in plastic, & braced myself for a wet ride.  The morning of the 24th was grey, heavy couds hung low.  By 11am we were loaded & rollin.  We headed up hwy70, thru Cookeville, Crossville, & Rockwood.  A few times there were patches of blue thru the clouds.  Best of all, no rain!  We arrived in Lenoir City around 3pm eastern time, just in time for check in at our bed & breakfast.  We were staying at Berry Sweet Farms, in the strawberry suite, with a jacuzzi tub for two & a king sized four poster bed.  We dropped our pack & headed back across the dam for dinner at the marina.  A place called Calhouns, advertising the best ribs in america, which I took as a challenge.  They were pretty good, but not the best.  By the time we got back to the b&b, the ol' man had had it.  He'd driven his big truck straight thru from Missouri to get home for this & after the cold 100 mile ride, he was ready to sink into that incrediably comfortable bed & snooze.  http://www.berrysweetbandb.com/index.htm

Thursday morning was fairly clear, large white clouds floating in a blue sky.  We had a wonderful two course breakfast, berries & yogurt, followed by scambled eggs with sausage and hash browns.  Then we were on our way.  We traveled east a bit on 321 to 411.  From there it was south to hwy360, and farther south to the Cherohala Skyway.  This stretch of highway winds its way from the north river in Tennessee to the spectacular mile high mountains of North Carolina, finally dropping back down to Robbinsville.  It was over 5000ft at its highest, and freezing cold.  At some points you could reach out and touch the clouds.  It offered many stopping points with incredible views.  After passing the Unicoi Crest at 4594ft, it got so cold, we didn't stop again til we were on our way down & we felt a definite rise in the temp.  We reached Robbinsville at lunch time and stopped for a sandwich on the courthouse square at Lynns.  It took us a couple hours to ride the 35 miles of the skyway, with several stops to take pics & just admire the views.  For more info on Cherohala-  Cherohala.com

After warming up with lunch, we continued out of town on hwy143 til we reached hwy28, the Hellbender.  We headed east and found this road a great ride, lots of sweeping curves and some tight ones.  Just a beautiful ride with rivers, mountains, and lots of trees.  Watch for Rainbow Falls, an incredible waterfall located right on the side of the road.  www.hellbender28.com

Finally we came to the Dragon at Deals Gap, the reason for our ride, we saved it for last.  We made a stop for t-shirts and souveniers, then started on the last leg.  We'd heard the horror stories of law enforcement and crotch rockets, but saw little hot roding and no law. They say the Dragon is not for unexperienced riders, I agree.  The curves are hard and fast and there's lots of 'em.  318 in 11 miles.  What a ride!  I admit, I'm now bitten and look forward to the next ride.  I believe this has something to do with being born in the year of the dragon.  I'm hoping we go back in the spring and ride it again and again.  Of course, there are several other roads in the area that look interesting, so we'll have to go back...  http://tailofthedragon.com/

We continued on hwy129 to Maryville, with a stop at Smoky Mountain Harley Davidson.  One of the better dealerships I've been in.  We spent some time droolin over the pretty bikes, then had pizza before heading back to the b&b.  We took a stroll to stretch our legs and meet the horses, shot a few games of pool, and filled the jacuzzi for a soak.  Our hostess served a warm, wonderful dessert with apples and cinnamon.  We watched a little satalite tv from the comfort of our king sized bed and drifted off to a blissful, satisfied slumber.

The next morning was clearer and sunnier then the day before, so we decided to take the long way home.  After another two course breakfast of blueberry and cream crepes, and ham and egg and cheese bake, we packed up and hit the road.  At Lenoir City, we headed south on hwy11 all the way to Athens, where we caught hwy30 west.  That's when the dark clouds moved in and it looked like we might get wet after all.  We took 30, which is a great road, all the way to McMinnville and hwy56 north.  That took us all the way home, and we were glad to get there.  Altogether we put in 500 miles in 3 days, and we didn't get rained on once!  

I included links to the websites I used to plan our adventure.  We arrived home around 1pm central time and Savage immediately left for Atlanta with a load to be delivered that evening.  I got a hot shower and hot cup of tea before having to pick up my son after the football game, he plays in the marching band.  It was right back to reality, but I still have that relaxed feeling, I only wish we could have brought the bed home!  

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we rode the harley down into the field & pulled up to the hippie security camp.  my ol' man's been part of the security team for several years, ever since the party got big enuff to need it.  we unpacked our gear & started workin on our buzz.  tryin to get drunk enuff not to care about sleepin on the ground.  i started off with randy hyder's famous bloody mary, made with tomatoes he grew himself & juice he canned, then he mixed the drink for me personally, from scratch.  that's what i love about randy, with all he's got goin to throw this shindig, not to mention he plays gutair all nite, he still takes time to take care of his people.  he's a damn good man & we love him.

randy sure knows how to throw a party.  been doin it 17 years, for free, with just a little help from his friends.  always got someone cookin, usually donated meat.  pork, goat, venison, one year they deep fryed chickens.  always got a big pot of beans & another of potatoes.  everything's mixed with plenty of hot peppers, so it goes well with alcohol.  it usually rains, at least part of the time, one time it rained so hard that whole campsites were washed away & the field turned to mud & folks had to be pulled out with a tractor & chains.  but not this year, this year the weather was perfect.  hot & sunny days, cool enuff at nite for the bonfire. 

& the music!  the most important part of hyderwood, all those fine musicians, playin all weekend for free!  the pavilion is set up with 3 drum kits, gutiars & equipment everywhere. they had 3 drummers, 2 harmonica players, several folks on bass & gutairs, all playin at the same time, switchin around, jammin to everything & anything they know, & a few they didn't, but gave it a damn good try.  those guys played for 10 hours saturday, not finishin til 2am. 

we finally found our tent about 2:30, didn't pass out right away, cuz for me, it ain't hyderwood without gettin a little wood of my own.  if you've ever tried to have sex in a puptent & be quiet about it, you know it just ain't possible.   it don't matter though, the people that come to this party are all about the love.  sun rose around 6:30 & so did we.  fired up the bike & made sure most everyone else did too.  marsha, our favorite hippie chick, & adam cooked breakfast.  bacon, fried tators, eggs, pancakes, beans, & venison steak.  yum!

aahhhhhhhh hyderwood... a gathering for some damn goofy folks, people i proudly call my friends.  bikers, hippies, hillbillys, musicians, & just plain good folks.  so hand me the moonshine & roll another fattie, it don't get no better than this...  wait -they're playin my song, time to kick off my shoes & dance barefoot in the moonlite.  now that's just heaven here on hyder mountain.  if i have to explain, you wouldn't understand.

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early friday & the sky was dark with heavy clouds.  it rained during the night & looked like more to come.  we were determined, had our destination in mind, so we packed the bike & hit the road by 9am.  took the backroads up & out of jackson county to hwy 52 in red boiling springs.  kept one eye on the sky, the other on the road.  by the time we hit the kentucky line, the sun was struggling to break thru.  at the halfway point, it was blue sky all the way to sturgis! 

stopped for lunch in hopkinsville, arrived at the rally around 1pm.  we cruised thru the gate, no waiting, & even with a map, could not find our way around the massive grounds.  the party was in full swing, tons of bikes everywhere, folks offering beads for boobs, but that would have to wait, we were still loaded down & looking for a shady spot to drop our stuff.  finally after a couple of rounds thru the grounds, we got off the beaten path & found a quiet spot in the red section.  we unpacked the bike, not much, bed roll & change of clothes, then headed out to find my ol' man some beer.  now we were ready to relax & enjoy.  spent time looking at the vendors.  spent more time cruisin' around collecting beads.  checked out some of the music at the bandstand in the campground.  finally ended up in the arena to see kentucky headhunters.  we were pretty wore out after that, & i was really sunburned, so it was time to lay down.  although we didn't sleep right away, all the excitement had us pretty worked up & we knew just what to do to relieve the tension. 

saturday morning was beautiful, we were up early, sleeping on the ground will do that.  we went into sturgis for breakfast, then were back in time for the poker run.  i finished with a pair of 7's, the ol' man had 2 pair, not enuff to win anything, but we had a nice ride around the countryside.  after another beer run, we spent our afternoon cruisin for beads or parked in the shade, watchin all the bikes & meetin' interesting people.  spent a little more time & money at the vendors.  had to buy the tee shirt.  then it was time for confederate railroad in the arena. 

one more nite on the ground, then we packed up & rode out.  stopped for breakfast at a cafe down the road.  then we were headed for home.  it was just over 200 miles, an easy days ride, with a hot shower & a soft bed at the end.  we spent our afternoon snoozin' & talkin' about our adventure.  little sturgis was a great rally, this was our first time there, & we would definitly go again.  we had a fantastic time, no hassles, & i came home with about 20lbs of beads. 

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damn, what a great party!  started thurs, but we didn't make it til friday.  weather was hot, hot, hot.  if it weren't for the occasional spray down from the water truck, i might have melted.  spent the day socializing with old friends & making new ones.  also collected my share of beads.  had a great time showing off my breast cancer scar, everyone was amazed at how well i was doing after only a few months.  friday nite the band was jasmine cain, they rocked!  & saturday nite, dean hall took the stage & blew us away.  mix good music, good people, & throw in some nudity, & you've got one helluva good time.  one sad note:  saturday afternoon we had a storm roll in & a gentleman was struck by lightning & killed.  but what a way to go!

for the most part, this was a hassle free party where everyone could relax, enjoy, & just be themselves.  i recomend it, as long as you're not easily offended by nude bikers (men & women) walking around, wet t-shirt & hot chaps contests, alcohol & drug consumption, or loud pipes.  this is an adult party on private property.  we had a blast! 

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