French Broad River, Sevier County, TN to Tsali Campground, Graham County, NC I got up this morning well before sunrise but since I only have a crappy light I decided to stay put till first light. I didn't get any water at the campground because they were in the middle of cleaning the bathrooms, odd. So I figured I'd get some in Sevierville. Joined up with my route after a few foggy miles. I rode by the courthouse and Dolly Parton's statue, and rode the Greenway by the river. I had intended to cut through a neighborhood but the path connection was private so I backtracked to get back to where I needed to be. I thought I was being smart by routing myself off the highway onto some quiet looking back roads out of town but they turned out to be full of traffic. Nothing like climbing a 12% hill with cars behind and no where to pull off. It turned out that all the houses I'd been passing that I thought were locals', were pretty much all vacation rentals and everyone was leaving at once. I diverted a bit to the highway to get a Dollar General for a morning snack because it would be the last store for awhile. It was busy but mainly in the other direction. I turned off soon and took another back road which had some traffic but it died off quickly the further I got from town. There was a little climb up out of the valley, and the other side very gradually descended to Townsend. I had a blast here, just a really fun little descent and the scenery was great. In Townsend I checked out an old swinging bridge but otherwise didn't waste any time and began climbing up Old Cades Cove road. I had done this one a few years ago so I knew what to expect. The first half is paved and two way traffic. I didn't see many cars passing me so I figured I wouldn't have to worry much on the one way part. It's supposed to be a one way road from Cades Cove to Townsend. But on a bike it's easy to go against the flow and there wasn't that many cars to worry about, even though I saw more today than last time I climbed it. The only other way into Cades Cove is to go miles up 441 and then a long, long winding narrow paved road with a lot of traffic. I found the loop through the cove to be pretty nearly a parking lot as it was clogged with cars. I was thankful for the visitors center bathrooms, and filled a couple bottles. I turned off the loop to find Parson's Branch road and it was closed and gated. Don't have to worry about cars! It was in need of some traffic to pack it down but was perfectly rideable. Just really steep. It was absolutely beautiful. Even better than Rich Mountain road, the one I came in on. Huge trees everywhere, and the changing leaves were mesmerizing. I had my camera on the ready in case I saw a bear but only saw a huge wild boar. And he bolted as soon as he saw me. The descent was slow as it was steep and kinda loose, and with so many leaves on the road, I couldn't see the big rocks so I took it easy. I must have forded the creek 10 times on the way down. Other than a bit of washout and a downed tree, the road was fine. Don't know why they closed it. Maybe it's only open during busy season. It's also only one way, heading away from the Cove. I was happy to be done with the descent but very nervous about the next section. I got dumped to US HWY 129, also known as the Tail of the Dragon by vehicular enthusiasts. People who can't be bothered to go to a race track come to test their machines and nerve and generally make the place a crappy place to be for normal non sociopath types. As I was readying myself for a few harrowing miles, a couple of motorcycles rode by through the hairpin turn and then did wheelies at 50mph. Great. I turned onto the highway and instantly faced a long climb but thankfully it was gradual. I decided to just get this over with as quick as possible so I rode very hard here. I wish my heart rate monitor hadn't died because my heart rate had to be super high the whole time. From the effort of climbing and trying to dodge motorcycles and getting off the road for the cars. The sound of all the vehicles was ridiculous, but the raw gas smell everywhere bothered me more. Still, as bad as it was, it was nowhere near as scary as riding the Pacific coast. Soon I enjoyed a fun descent and got to feel like I had a motor too. I railed all the corners as best I could with a loaded gravel bike and nobody caught up to me. I turned off at the Tapoco Lodge onto a deserted side road. This was the start of a neverending series of stupid steep hills with no break at all. Steep up, steep down, repeat. After my big effort on the Dragon I was spent so these miles went very slow. I pushed on. Eventually I had to ride HWY 28, which wasn't nearly as busy as the dragon. Still not a great road for riding but it was fine. It was surreal to pass by Tuskeegee and the road next to the abandoned hotel where I turned off to head west four and a half months ago. I was delighted to find the Wolf Creek general store open. I grabbed several snacks and pushed the remaining few miles to Tsali as the sun went behind the horizon. I found and registered a campsite in the twilight. Been here many times to ride the great trails here but never had the opportunity to actually camp here. It's very quiet, nowhere near the highway, and hardly anyone here so it was easy to find a site away from people.