Day 5: TN421 – Grabbing the Snake by the Tail
Some great motorcycle roads take on a life of their own in the collective consciousness of the motorcycle world. When you talk about The Dragon, The Crest, or Stelvio, curve lovers nod their head with a sort of reverence.
Or maybe something more like, “damn I wish I was there right now…”
Chances are, if a road has a reptilian nickname – it’s gotta be good. Enter TN 421, known all throughout the east coast as The Snake.
The signs all say 3 Mountains, 489 Curves, One Valley. That kind of makes you want to ride it, doesn’t it? Yea, me too 🙂
We came into Shady Valley on the heels of a nasty looking storm. We’d been watching the dark clouds hanging between the mountains ahead but luckily managed to stay just behind it.
Though we never got wet, when we began our climb on The Snake, the road was still a bit wet on the eastern end. I was beginning to sense a trend after Georgia. Perhaps it was the universe helping to keep our good sense in check.
The road itself was as good as I’d imagined. A nice mix of tight, switchback and loose turns. It had a little something for everyone – a crowd pleaser, if you will.
We pulled into the Shady Valley Country Store so that I could by a sticker and have a look around. Having seen so many photos on the web of the parking lot jammed full of motorcycles, I was surprised to see no more than a dozen bikes there. I guess that was one of the upsides of riding around on a Wednesday afternoon. There were no cars on the road either. Score!
I perused the store’s stickers and picked one out for myself and Kenny picked out another. Then the nice lady behind the counter said we could have one of the snake decals for free. I of course opted for a pink one. Yay!
I can only imagine that the show that goes on in the parking lot of the Shady Valley store on a sunny weekend must be nearly as good as the riding itself. It was definitely worth the trip.
Fuzzy looks like you had a good trip. I think this is the only snake I would like, I tend to shy away from the real reptiles. Love the pink snake sticker, feminine yet bad-ass
Smart move going on a Wednesday.
From what I have seen I am not so sure I’d go on a weekend due to the mass amounts of traffic on the road.
So, was it as awesome as rumored?
It was – lotsa fun. Part of me thinks it went by in a blink though. Maybe I shoulda gone back through once more 🙂
Hmmmm, should I put the Snake on my bucket list?
If you happened to be on the East Coast of the US stringing together a route through Tennessee that included 421 would make you a happy boy 🙂
I have never heard of The Snake! How can that be? It looks awesome. And I dig the pink snake sticker.
I wanna go to The Snake! I wanna go to The Snake!
You find the coolest places. And you’re bloggin’ like a crazy person right now. I’m lovin’ it.
Awesome! Thanks for sharing!
I guess I have to add this one to my list, looks amazing. Thanks for the link.