Maggie Valley
September 17th
Today our hosted stop was Wheels Through Time Museum in Maggie Valley NC. We covered 135 miles, which by Cannonball standards was relatively short. I thought it was going to be an easy day. Boy, was I wrong. halfway through the day we started climbing. For the most part this went on for 70 miles. I spent a lot of time in 2nd gear going 30, glad that I was making forward progress. We ended up on the Blue Ridge Parkway for at least 40 miles. We reached an elevation of 6000+ feet which means I lost horsepower in my carbureted Harley. To top it off the parkway was shrouded in heavy fog and rain most of the day. It’s the Cannonball! Below is a photo at the highest point on the parkway. Doing an oil change on Lucille.
There were a few casualties. A couple were Indians. Rider #107, Kanjana Kankhuntod is riding a 1929 Indian Scout. Coming out of a very dark tunnel on the Blue Ridge Parkway she ended up in the guardrail. Luckily the bike took the brunt of the damage. If you are reading about the Cannonball on the internet there were several other wrecks in this tunnel.
The second Indian casualty was #97 Kevin Nasar on his reliable 1917 Indian Powerplus. He missed a tricky turn and ended up crashing his bike bending the forks up into the frame. He is OK but is no longer riding.
Below is the display at Wheels Through Time. Probably one of the biggest crowds so far.
Here we are in the hotel parking lot getting ready for tomorrow. Lucille is getting the once over to include readjusting the chains. After tomorrow we get a rest day which I am looking forward to. The fatigue is setting in.
