5 Oct – Blue Ridge Parkway

A real late start this morning mostly bought about by trying to find a WIFI connection. Eventually I hooked into the Appalachian State University system by sitting in the car park outside the administration building – thankfully it is Sunday here. That's only half the reason I have made no progress today. I came across a sign saying Blue Ridge Music Centre and another saying 'live music' – well that finished the afternoon off. There was a master class for blue grass guitar players in the hall while outside there was a jam session initially by some very talented experienced players and then by a bunch of kids who were also attending classes. The idea with the kids is to keep traditional mountain music alive. I am reminded of the line from O Brother – 'them's a mighty fine pickin and a singing'. Any of you guitar players recognise the guy in the beard?
I experienced more of the Appalachians this evening when I went into town for dinner (they call it supper here). The homes and the businesses are hard to describe so I will return down the road tomorrow morning and take some pictures. On the way to supper I called into a roadside fruit and vege stall and bought my first bunch of fruit since being here. After supper the stall was closed but the oddest thing was that the produce was still laid out for all to see - and steal. The last time I saw this was with Gavin Q when we were up in Wyoming when farm supplies (wire, posts, netting etc) were left unsecured in the yard of the supply store. I guess they don't lock their homes either.
The autumn colours are back, the weather has been warm and delightful and every picnic spot, and there are lots of them, are full with picnickers. Today has been a great day.

4 Oct – Blue Ridge Parkway

Delayed start from Kickstand Lodge due to the fog and long farewells plus an attempt in Cherokee (where you pick up the Parkway) to find a wifi connection. Found one but could not see the screen in the sun light – seems I am destined to be out of touch on a regular basis. I did about 180 miles on the Parkway today but some of it was due to backtracking when I met a road closed sign and a long detour around it. I hit another closure just before dusk so am currently holed up in Boone, North Carolina. The sign says this is where Daniel Boone came from and it is also the home of the Appalachian State University and due to something called the 'home coming game' the traffic in town is the worst rush hour traffic I have ever seen.
The parkway at the Cherokee end is in autumn colours and is beautiful but as I moved north the show came to an end. I am hoping it returns before the parkway ends. I have about 250 miles to go and tomorrow will cross into Kentucky. Petrol is in short supply – most gas stations have the 89 and 93 octane buttons covered over. Tried 87 in the bike but it protested out loud so had to nurse the bike most of the way here.

3 Oct - Deals Gap

It was very cold last night – almost to a frost – and foggy this morning. Seems this is what I am to expect for the next few days. By 11 am the fog had lifted and the road had dried. The Tail of the Dragon starts at Deals Gap on US 129 and is an 11 mile stretch of road with 318 curves and is a motorcycle mecca. Even by NZ standards this is a pretty good road and similar to the Rimatuka hill road or the Pahiatua track. Sports bike riders love it, though on the Friday I rode it cruisers were the most prevalent bike style. Watch out Saturday apparently. Casualties, yes, a Harley all bent up sitting on a trailer and a GSX 750 having its fairing pieced back together at a near by bike shop, the result of an unintentional stoppie. The guy was lucky because he needed to ride it back to Ontario, Canada. Funny incident: the route has strategically placed photographers taking pictures of the riders as they pass – the idea is that you buy the picture as a memento. I see this guy taking a photo so pull up my camera and take a picture of the picture taker – no big deal I thought until I got to the end when the guy following me bailed me up. Seems he was having a hard time keeping up with me (on my Nomad??) and lost all confidence in himself when he sees me going round the corner one handed taking a photo. Seems I surprised the photographer as well. Anyway. tomorrow I move on.

2 Oct – Kickstand Lodge

Today I had my first taste of what is to come by crossing from Tennessee to North Carolina via the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. It was quite cold going over the top but well worth the discomfort. What surprised me the most was the amount of traffic on the road – it was really bussy probably from sight seers looking for the fall colours. At the lower levels I passed the town of Cherokee (a mostly Cherokee Indian town complete with braves in full dress regalia) that I will revisit in a couple of days because Cherokee is where the Blue Ridge Parkway begins its northward journey. In the meantime I am settled in to the Kickstand Lodge – a biker dedicated facility – for the next two nights. I need to change the oil in the bike (it's been 4,000 miles since leaving San Diego), attend to some laundry duties and ride the famous Dragons Tail.

1 Oct – Knoxville, TN

Well, sadly, the Natchez Trace Parkway is no more. I just loved it. It was like riding through a 400 mile long botanical garden with mowed lawns, Lewis Carrol picture perfect farms with meadows of newly rolled hay, the odd deer peering out from the trees and the ever present suicidal squirrels never quite sure which way to run to avoid death. They run one way, then the other and finally stop still, arch their back and I am sure they close their eyes and wait for the thump. Towards the end in Nashville the trees are spotting with colour and the roadway is scattered with leaves. In a week or so it will be unbelievably beautiful. Even the Americans, who for the most part seem to be decoupled from their environment, are aware of the beauty to come. Many expressed sympathy that I had not come a little later and last night on TV they showed the spots in the country where you might see the early signs of autumn.

I am pleased to be out of Mississippi. The lower half is flat and featureless and appeared to be depressingly poor. My views of the northern end are prejudiced by what I saw on the Trace. Mostly I am pleased to be back in an English speaking part of the country. Last night the girl at McDonald's asked me a bunch of the usual questions and I swear to God I had no idea what she said and I was no better informed when she repeated herself. I just nodded and took what was given. Tennessee is as pretty as a picture and as broad as their accent is it is pleasing to the ear – I suppose I mean it is refreshingly different from the California accent. It is also getting much cooler. I rode all day with my jacket zipped right up – the first time since arriving – and tomorrow it will be time for the jersey. Tonight I am in Knoxville, Tennessee with only a short run ahead of me tomorrow to the Kickstand Lodge at Stecoah, NC where I hope to get in front of a TV to watch the Palin/Bidden debate. It will be the most watched and talked about event of this campaign.

At the moment the country is all abuzz regarding the 'bailout' of Wall Street. As an economist and given the seriousness of the situation I consider the public debate so far to have been incredibly shallow and unhelpful. I wonder if they attack all problems with such intellectual sloppiness. Equally I have seen only one cautionary voice raised regarding Palin's fundamentalist Christian beliefs. I wager this question will not come up in Thursdays debate.

30 Sep

The Natchez Trace Parkway runs 400 miles from Natchez, Mississippi to Nashville, Tennessee and largely follows the original trace. The original trace was a series of Indian tracks that eventually became a route for postal services and then used by traders from the Ohio River Valley who transported goods down the Mississippi River to Natches or New Orleans, selling everything including their boats and walking back north. The original trace lost its significance by 1830 when the steamer took over. The parkway has a 50mph speed limit and commercial vehicles are precluded from using it. There are points of interest promoted by roadside signs and the whole thing is a visual delight and almost free of traffic. At present the trees (oak, elm, chestnut and pine) are on the verge of turning yellow and gold so I am just a little too early yet. There is some wildlife to be seen, mostly squirrels, elk and turkeys. My original aim was to make Nashville by the end of today. and would have had I not been bumped off the trace by a large detour, so stopped short and stayed at Hohenwald about 80 miles south of Nashville.

29 Sep

There is a fine house in Vicksburg that belonged to Emma Balfour who had her 1862 Christmas ball interrupted by the arrival of the Federal Fleet. So started a series of events that culminated with the siege of Vicksburg. For 47 days the town held out before Gen Pemberton surrendered the starving town to Gen Ulysses S. Grants Union forces. Vicksburg is thus something of a symbol of Southern resistance. The battle lines and the order of march are now preserved as a military park so vast and encompassing that I spent most of the day there. I was surprised how little distance separated the lines – so close that opposing forces called out to each other. Of particular interest was an excellent presentation of a Union iron-clad gunboat, the Cairo, which was sunk by a Confederate mine on 12 Dec 1862. It was raised from the river bottom in the 1960's. It's a huge vessel made from 12” timber covered with 2” of steel and crewed by 175 men.

By mid afternoon I took the quick I20 route to Jackson and hopped onto the Trace at around the 90 mile marker. I was tempted to visit Jackson for its highlights but that is going to have to wait for another day. Right now I am in Kosciusko (birth place of Oprah apparently) at mile marker 160 and about 4 days behind schedule.