Saturday, May 2, 2020
Day 6
It was my first night in a tent in a long time. I’ll admit it, I’ve gotten a little soft in my old age and I slept “good enough” to wake up feeling ready to ride. When I emerged from my tent and took a good look at Ribville I felt fantastic. Ribville has become a bit of a sanctuary for me and it was a huge treat to spend a quiet night there with Lee and a few of his close friends. I’m usually there in the fall and this spring morning was a wonderful contrast.
I was just over 1,000 miles from my house but here I had the feeling of being home. I’ve done quite a bit of riding in the Southeast and I can have a great ride from Tennessee to Connecticut without a map.
My plan for the day was to head north. I wanted to check out Deals Gap and ride as much twisty pavement as possible. My ride was coming to a close; I knew from the start that the last day would be most if not all interstate so this was a day to make count as I only had a few days left.
I put the Gap in the GPS, added a few waypoints to make it somewhat interesting and set off. I had a nice ride to the Gap. I was wondering if it would be open; at some point in the shut down the Tennessee DOT put a barrier across 129 at the western end and my plan was to ride it west to east and then head north. As I got closer I started to see motorcycles heading away from the Gap. I’d been losing an hour of clock time crossing time zones and I was arriving a little later than I had planned.
The Gap was open and it was a bit of a circus. I have always avoided the Gap on weekends and here I was in the Gap not only on Saturday afternoon, but the first Saturday afternoon the Gap had been open since early March. Traffic wasn’t terrible but I was stuck by the parties on the pull-outs. Each one was full with a truck, trailer, EZ up and a few chairs as the occupants zipped around on whatever came out of the trailer. There were people in small groups and it did seem that most folks were intimate enough that distancing was not a concern.
I had a nice ride though the Gap, did the proper posing for the photographers and made my way to the east end, where the Motorcycle Resort is. I stopped on the hill to take it all in. There were a fair number of bikes; much less than the same weekend last year but enough to give anyone with a new aversion to crowds pause. I didn’t see the riders or anyone in tight groups so I assumed they were inside. I decided that I didn’t want the stress of distancing in a confined space and I really wasn’t in the mood for chit chat with strangers.
Deals Gap Motorcycle Resort, Saturday May 2, 2020 
I left the Gap but not before the obligatory photo.
After the Gap and the decision not to visit the store I continued on my way, stopping at a deserted gas station up the road. I saw a couple also on BMW’s and we had a brief chat. They agreed the Gap was especially crazy and I was told “you should have been here last week.”
I wasn’t really sure of my route north. I was back in the east where roads had been closed and access to specific counties was by permit only with no transits allowed. I was not about to get into a conversation with a local cop about the constitution; I also knew that Graham County (home of the GAP) had some pretty heavy restrictions that were in the process of being relaxed. I had heard parts of the Blue Ridge Parkway were closed which was confirmed by Google Maps. All of the Cherokee Indian Reservation was closed as they have been hit very hard by the virus.
With these concerns tucked away I had a very nice ride. Toward the end of the day I still had a few hours of sunlight left and I wanted to add a “cherry on top” of a great day so I looked for some twisties on the GPS. A check of my phone indicated the Blue Ridge Parkway was open into Ashville so up I went.
There’s no cell service up on the BRP which I suppose is whey the road was not reported as closed. It was a very nice, very twisty ride up and down which made for a nice way to end the day.
True to form I had selected a Hampton Inn in Ashville for my destination. I was soon to learn that was a mistake.
I arrived at the Hampton and the first thing I noticed was a lot of signs on the door. Apparently leisure travel was illegal in North Carolina and before I could say a word the guy at the desk went into full panic and essentially told me to get out. I told him I was transiting the state on my way home and my profession is considered essential in my state of residence. He couldn’t care less and seemed delighted to inform me I was not going to be able to get a hotel room anywhere in South Carolina.
This was frustrating. Frustrating because it was another example of a fear based executive order with vague terms that are left up to the interpretation of a hotel desk clerk. In this case I’m on two wheels so by definition it must be leisure and I was not to be given the opportunity to suggest otherwise. It was also frustrating because it was right around sunset and if he was correct I was probably going to have to camp illegally. It’s also early enough in the season that it will be cold but I was ready for a night of cold camping.
I took a moment to collect myself and rode across the parking lot to the Fairfield Inn where they were happy to rent me a room. I was delighted to get a room while frustrated with the treatment next door. There is an old saying that living well is the best revenge. I ordered a wonderful steak dinner and thumbed my plastic fork in the general direction of the Hampton.
Centerville, Tennessee to Ashville, North Carolina. 465 miles in 12:46
Next: Back Road Discovery