Day 3

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful...that's the best word I can think of to describe the landscape I saw today. Driving along the interstate usually isn't very interesting but the lush green trees and grass along the highway between Chattanooga, TN and Knoxville and then on to Lexington, KY and east towards Huntington, WV made the trip most enjoyable. Of course, there were the obligatory rest and fuel stops.

I figured we were on the road a total of about 10 hours today and traveled about 400 miles, including side trips...that's an average of about 40 miles/hour. Of course, much of the 10 hours were used to sit around and talk while hydrating...most important.

To start the day, we decided that we should take in Lookout Mountain, just south of Chattanooga. The ride up the mountain, around the curvy road and through some beautiful neighborhoods was great. You wouldn't believe the view that some of these people have from their back porch...words don't even come close to describing it. Unfortunately, the sun was still too low in the sky to allow a very good picture from Lookout Mountain...however, the 30 minute side trip was well worth it in my opinion.

Another side trip worth the time was over to Corbin, KY to see the original home of KFC...very interesting...and of course we had to eat some chicken.

Once again, the day brought no mechanical or weather problems...although it did sprinkle on us once but just barely enough to get the windshield wet. Tomorrow may be another story as we're looking at a 30% chance. We'll be optimistic and say that there's a 70% chance of no rain. :)

So far the only problem anyone has had is a little sunburn...despite using sunscreen...sore rear ends and minor problems with accessories...nothing to stop the trip. We are hopeful that it stays that way.

Tomorrow we're off to Rainelle, VA...about 190 miles from Huntington, WV...where the entire city takes the day off to wave at all the bikers driving through around noon. It is supposed to be a real treat so we're not going to miss it. One of the guys heard that there was a group leaving the Chattanooga area this morning that had about 5,000 riders...yes, you heard me correctly. These guys started in California and have picked up riders all along the way. We thought we might catch up with them, but no such luck. Even with that many riders, they are still moving faster than us.

The closer we get to DC, the more riders we're apt to see. Our small group of 7 may multiply some, at least on the highway. Well, it's getting late and I need to get up early again tomorrow.