A Gaslight Murder Motorcycle Adventure
The Road Back, but first, to Tennessee.
It was early afternoon by the time we left Kona, and we hadn’t eaten lunch yet. And, we were in the middle of nowhere, near god’s elbow. But we had been given a food tip by one of our club members to a place in the town of Loafer’s Glory, NC. Yes, Loafer’s Glory. The eatery is called Bonnie & Clyde’s Drive in. Hunger gnawing away at our stomach’s, we jumped on the beaST, brought the V4 to life, and powered up NC 80, bidding Kona and her gruesome past goodbye.
A while later, we rolled into Loafer’s Glory. We almost flew right by it. There was Bonnie & Clyde’s, the only game in town, and almost the only building in town.
This is it. All of it. Loafer’s Glory, NC. Yee ha!
Bonnie & Clyde’s. Great food, but nothing to do with the infamous gangster couple.
We walked into a tiny closet of a dining area and immediately noticed that we did not blend. But who cares! We were hungry, and let me say, the food was absolutely fantatstic! The next time you find yourself in Loafer’s Glory, NC, check out Bonnie & Clydes Drive In!
After filling our stomachs, and listening in on authentic Appalachia conversation (foreign language study required), we geared up and continued our trek north. Our next destination is the town of Roan Mountain, TN and Roan Mountain State Park. Roo and I were here years ago while participating in the Honda Hoot Rally, so thought it would be cool to revisit since we’re so close. The summit of Roan Mountain has a working 19th century farm with stunning mountain scenery all around. Makes you wish you could live here, until you realize how remote it still is in the 21st century.
Click on image below to enlarge, view caption and scroll:
Time to start heading back to Little Switzerland, so off we go down the other side of Roan Mountain and back into North Carolina. The roads heading south are now wide open, two lane secondary highways with gentle, sweeping curves. By this time, I am bone tired and grateful that the tight twisties are behind us. Negotiating 2nd and 3rd gear curves on a 640 lb. motorbike riding two up is work! The beaST is a very forgiving bike, and holds her line exceptionally well wherever you point her, but it still tires one out after a long day!
Finally, back at the Big Lynn Lodge, we shut down the ST for the final time this day, showered, then headed for the dining hall for dinner with friends and fellow members. We were all treated to a fantastic showing of the award winning movie, “Why We Ride“, a documentary on the motorcycling lifestyle. It was awesome and inspiring! If you are a non-rider, this doc will have you heading down to your local moto dealer! If you ride, watch this with your riding gear on. You will definitely want to jump on your moto after watching this! Definitely worth a purchase.
Sunday morning
A hellacious storm blew through last night, but we slept like the dead, so, who knew? But apparently, there was debris strewn about everywhere and reports of trees down on some nearby roads. But right now, standing on our balcony, we were treated to a beautiful morning vista:
Storm clouds clearing and making way for Old Sol.
We headed for the dining hall and that first cup of java. Rider’s were already packing up their bikes for the journey home, some having quite a distance to travel. Not us. We have but a mere 130 miles to our driveway, barely a warmup.
Breakfast with our friends was a delight. We took our time, said goodbyes until the next club event, then started our own packing and loading of the bike.
Friends at breakfast. L-R: Barbara, Tree, Rick, Roo.
We were really looking forward to some motorbike play time, heading down the uber curvacious Diamondback, NC226A. But the storm last night really had debris laying all over the road, and it was still wet in shaded areas. A sedate descent was the order of the day. Lucky us, we can come up here and ride this road anytime as a day trip.
Another great weekend moto event by our club, the Motorcycle Sport Touring Association was in the books. Two and a half hours later we rolled into our driveway and bedded down the ST. It would be a quiet evening for us tonight, to rehash the weekend’s events, as the beagles are still in the kennel. But tomorrow, the beagle’s return…………
Motoring Adventures 
We love the Big Lynn Lodge! Great hospitality and great views from the restaurant. We stayed over for 2 nights when we took our “end to end” Blue Ridge Parkway trip in September of 2011. On our 2nd day we had worked our way up to a window table. You know what I mean!