Today was one of those eventful days, which will require 2 different blog entries. This one will detail the general events, whereas the other one will be for the more motorcycle-oriented readers. Leaving Murphy at shortly after 7 AM, we ventured towards America's #1 Motorcycle road - The Tale of the Dragon. For the uninitiated, this is a length of highway that actually crosses the North Carolina/Tennessee border. In the distance of some 13 miles it has 318 corners, most of them to be taken at between 20 and 35 mph (at the most). This country, and especially this piece of highway, is Mecca for Motorcyclists. En route to the Dragon (also called Deal's Gap), we passed motels with as many as 50 motorcycles parked in front ready to take the challenge. You will have to read the other blog entry to get the full story, but suffice it to say that we survived despite the fact that it was raining most of the time. Talking about road kill (when have I not written about this topic?), I must now admit that a small turtle, struggling to make it across the highway on the blind side of the corner, became my first road kill casualty (and hopefully the last, apart from the normal deceased insect population silently splattered in their technicolor majesty on my windshield). George had the same fateful encounter with one of his slow-moving brethren a little further up the road. After completing the Dragon-slaying task of Route 129, we felt compelled to go through Townsend, for the sake of George's wife, Sheri (nee Townsend). This led us to what was perhaps the highlight of the day, and even perhaps the trip (at least in terms of motorcycle roads), the Blue Ridge Parkway. As opposed to the Dragon, short and comprised of numerous very tight corners, the Blue Ridge is probably the best motorcycle road I have ever been on. It is a beautiful drive along the ridges of the Appalachian Mountains, away from the freeways and major arteries, generally free from most traffic who are anxious to get somewhere faster than this road allows. It is made up of innumerable perfectly engineered sweeping curves mastered most easily at speeds of around 45 miles an hour (the speed limit). The views were stunning, with trees forming a continuous arbor for miles and miles. Plenty of "pull outs" and "over looks", so that there was always the opportunity to stop and rest from the rigor of the ride. However, things began to look somewhat more troubling as we approached Asheville, North Carolina. We had not intended to stay here, but I had an accident. No, not on my motorcycle, but by chewing a Tootsie Pop. This has become a habit that I picked up along the trip, and now go through 2 or 3 a day. As connoisseurs of such delights will know, the center "surprise" of a Tootsie Pop is comprised of chewy chocolate (actually a small round Tootsie Roll), which in this case took a particular liking to my gold crown that had been resident on my molar. We sought out the nearest assistance we could think of and drove into Asheville Visitors Information. The elderly volunteer checked the phonebook and gave us an address and directions. It was 4 p.m., and I am imagining pain and the nuisance of having to have this dental malfunction taken care of tomorrow while we should be riding. On returning to the bikes, a bolt on the face shield on my helmet had worked loose and fallen out, making the face shield inoperable (more about that later). Things were getting worse. Remarkably, the receptionist at the dentist's office, who has the same birthday as I do, upon hearing my story, managed to get me in to see the dentist before he left at 5 PM. It turned out that the dentist was also a biker and was happy to do what he could to enable our trip to continue. In less than 45 minutes I was in and out, with the gold crown replaced in its appropriate location. Miraculous. What an exciting day! Only 436 km (271 miles) but on great roads (had we taken the shortest route between Murphy and Asheville it would have been 109 miles and taken less than 2 hours instead of 9 hours).