The best motorcycle touring in North Carolina, Virginia, and Tennessee. 2 fantastic days!(TDT EP 11)

Welcome to day 14 and 15 of the Tail of the Dragon Tour. Last night, we had a peaceful evening at the Uwharrie National Forest, despite reading the warnings of Copperhead Snakes that inhabit the area. Today's journey began with a 5 kms ride along a twisty gravel road along the shore of Lake Badin before hitting the asphalt. From there, HWY 8 took us west until we stopped at Michelle Pfeiffer University. They were preparing for graduation ceremonies as we did a quick loop through the front entrance and stopped to admire the statue of Michelle. Just up the road from the University, we reached an endearing town called Rockwell and stopped for breakfast at the world's cutest restaurant, the Rockwell Cafe. This place looks like it could be from the set of Happy Days! I had the local delicacy, Livermush, grilled to a crisp, with scrambled eggs and hash brown. You have to go here on your way through North Carolina! And, if you tell the proprietors, Tara and Darryl, that Tiger Coward recommended you, you will get free ice in every soft drink that you order. After our fully satisfying meal we continued west. We hoped that our route would take us far enough north that we would not have to contend with congestion from Charlotte, but we were wrong. We spent an unpleasant hour, traveling through a dismal suburb on a road with poorly timed traffic lights that was flanked by charmless chain stores and restaurants. It is a lot like Newmarket, Ontario. We continued west through Four Forks. That was ironic because all I needed was a spoon. Then we rode through some absolutely brilliant All American Towns. Lincolnton was one of the prettiest but I later learned that it has one of the highest crime rates in the US. One's chance of becoming a victim of either violent or property crime here is one in 20! The town of Lawndale looked very peaceful but also suffers from a high crime rate. The chance that a person will become a victim of a violent crime in Lawndale; such as armed robbery, aggravated assault, rape or murder; is 1 in 209. I thought that Forest City was the prettiest town that we passed through and it was likely one of the most dangerous too. The chances of becoming a victim of violent crime here is 1 in 147! On the scale from 0 to 100, where 100 is the safest, Forest City score 1. The contrast between the beauty of these towns and their safety is as bewildering as it is sad. Turns out Copperheads weren't the scariest things in NC. (Neighborhood Scout) We reached the mountains in the early afternoon and we were rewarded with some more great riding. Route 74A dispatched us to picturesque Lake Lure, and Chimney Rock and before finally delivering us to Asheville. Lake Lure and Chimney rock are a mix of Muskoka and Geneva transplanted in North Carolina. Pretty, fancy and all around awesome. Chimney Rock is a 535-million-year-old monolith and is one of the most iconic sites in North Carolina. The Village of Chimney Rock is cartoonishly fantastic and describes itself "A quaint, quirky community full of friendly folks." When we reached our destination, Mama Gerties Hideaway campground, we were told that an unserviced tent site would be $50 and there was a minimum of two nights stay. So we left and found a nearby KOA that is nicely located between an interstate and a railway. Oh well, we will be in the outback tomorrow. We cooked a great pot of noodles and vegetable soup for dinner and chatted with other moto campers. Tomorrow we are heading into Tennessee to ride the mountain roads. Day 15 We had a beautiful ride along the French Broad River for half an hour before heading into the mountains. We revisited the picturesque Hot Springs, NC for breakfast and then magic began! Traveling north on Hwy 70 was a beautiful sweeping ride through the countryside. Temperatures in the valleys were touching 30° and there wasn't much relief at the top of the mountains. We didn't stop until we reached Pennington Gap, VA, where we got greedy and opted for more riding. At the McDonald's, where we had tea, a few locals told us that the Hwy 421 into Kentucky was a great experience all the way to Hyden. So we did it. What a ride! This is motorcycle heaven! This might have been the best road of the trip. Seriously. I mean it this time! When we reached Hyden, we were having so much fun that we decided to continue. With a pending thunderstorm, we hopped on Hwy 80 and headed to a motel in Prestonburg, KY. Unfortunately, we got deluged about 45 minutes before our arrival. While we didn't get relief from the rain, we did get relieved from looking for places to watch the Leafs games. They are done! At least until October. I think that next year is the year that they will finally win the cup! I love you all. Good night from a rainy Eastern KY Check out more from my channel:    / @tigercoward