Tennessee doesn't welcome bikers.

In August of 2006, I took a trip to the North Carolina, Tennessee area to a section of US 129 known as the Tail of the Dragon. A gem of a road, that starts in Tennessee and finishes in North Carolina, at least the Tail of the Dragon part. 318 glorious turns in 11 miles. But apparently folks were having too much fun, so Governor Philip Bredeson of the great state of Tennessee decided that it was time to saturate the dragon with law enforcement. But not just any enforcement, but tactics that can be described as at best, heavy handed, and at worst outright harassment with the intent of scaring away, if I may coin a phrase, moto-tourists. Check out the Tail of the Dragon website for the gory details of people being threatened with arrest for such heinous crimes as exceeding the speed limit by 5 miles an hour and not having proof of shatterproof sunglasses. When I first read of these ridiculous efforts to scare my fellow motor enthusiasts away from this beautiful area, my first thought was, heck I'm not going down there only to get a big fat ticket, there are plenty of nice roads in own my backyard. My second thought was: I'm not letting some thuggish and sloppy law enforcement chase me away from an area I fell in love with on my first visit. I say sloppy because rather than have regular enforcement as formally requested many times by the fine proprietors of the Tail of the Dragon, the powers that be decided, the bludgeon approach was best. Scare them all away, not thinking of the local economy built by the moto-tourists that come to drive that legendary road.

<---When I return this year, this is what will be waiting for me. But rest assured, I will go and I will spend money in NORTH CAROLINA and as little as possible in Tennessee. The photo to your left is courtesy of the Tail of the Dragon website. Please visit this site if you think I'm exaggerating the abuse of power by the Tennessee Highway Patrol. In fact just visit the site anyway to get a flavor of this spectacular part of the country.

But better yet, make your own trip and visit Fontana Dam, drive the Cherohala Skyway or just enjoy the peacefulness of a remote mountain region with spectacular scenery and an atmosphere beyond compare. And if you see a green Kawasaki sportbike and a guy with a salt and pepper buzz cut, that will be me, stop and say hi.