Total KM = 387

Finally woke to beautiful sunny clear-sky day. Left Williamsburg after a little Mother's day sleep-in starting our ride along the Cumberland river. A little foggy at the river banks but the sun was nice and warm so the steam was coming off the house roofs.

At the start of the ride had to dodge lots of squirrels, little birds and even a turkey flying/running or whatever it is they do. We just missed him too! We weren't sure why so many squirrels were on the road but wondered if they were drinking warm water from the pavement cracks.

Stopped at the visitors center at the Cumberland Gap. Rode up to the "Pinnacle" lookout, a long winding road, but worth it for the view. The footpath to the lookout crossed from Kentucky into Virginia so we can say we visited that state too! After descending back to the main highway we road through the gap and into Tennessee.

We had to change our riding plans for the rest of the ride into the Smoky Mountains as the traffic was horrendous on the road to Gatlinburg. We think it must have been a combination of a nice sunny Sunday and being Mother's day so everyone was out for a drive. We changed course and rode through the northern Smoky Mountains, still a nice ride but not our original plan. Eventually we made it to the Blue Ridge Parkway and rode part of this world famous motorcycle road to the visitor center at the first summit on the parkway (~6400 ft) one motorcycle accident per day on the Parkway. I could see how "sportbike excess" could be tempting on this road.

Have stopped here in Maggie Valley, North Carolina for the night.