300 miles, 10 hours.

Today was a big day for me. After relaxing yesterday, I headed out first thing in the morning to run The Dragon. I was about 45 minutes away. Once I got there, I ran four passes of it- twice in each direction. The first passes were the best- almost zero traffic. There were at least three or four photographers on the route, so they should have some (overpriced) photos of me. (one has at least 20-30 pics- but they want $6 each for them- ouch!)

The Dragon is certainly hyped, and most people say it is overhyped. After running it, I think it deserves all of the attention. There are no driveways or intersections along it, the corners are perfectly engineered and nicely banked, and it is really a fantastic road with hardly any straights along its 11 miles.

I managed to put a fresh bevel on the edge of my Happy-Trail cases, which is always enjoyable. The DL has so much clearance that it is somewhat difficult to drag the cases- for me, it takes the perfect situation.

After The Dragon and the requisite souvenir stop, I ran west along the Cherohala Skyway, then did a transit north and east to Knoxville. I scouted out the BMW dealer where I'll get my replacement front tire, went to a FlyingJ for some wifi access, then went to a local campground for the night.

The campground turned out to be horribly overpriced- $20 plus tax, so almost $23 for the night. They have wifi in the RV park, but the tent camping is tucked back in a hollow, so there was zero access. Combined with the lack of any access to water, and the loud interstate noise, and it really seemed expensive. On the bright side, being in a little hollow meant there was nobody in sight- I had the tent camping area to myself. When the sun went down, the crickets and insects turned the noise up to a loud roar. I don't know why they are so much louder in the Midwest and East than in the West, but I've noticed it everywhere so far.