September 13, 2025

Shaking off the Rust

The weekend of 9/12/2025 – 9/14/2025 I rode a fantastic weekend trip up in the North Carolina / Tennessee mountains and rode the Tail of the Dragon (and several other roads).

It was a bit sketchy and rusty in the mountains as this was my first real ride of any kind in two years!  Since the conclusion of my USA Midwest 2023 trip on September 16, 2023, I had only ridden about 200 miles, 200 miles in two years!

  Shortly after the USA Midwest 2023 trip I had began working two jobs and simply had no time for, well pretty much anything.  I quit my second job in late June 2025.

So, naturally after only riding for about 200 miles in two years, I logically concluded the first road trip would be Tail of the Dragon, a highly technical road in the North Carolia / Tennessee mountains.  I must admit that indeed, I felt rusty and took the pace even slower than I normally ride.  However, it was still fun, and the scenery was amazing (though admittedly I really was not paying attention to the scenery while riding).

As the day progressed I rode several other mountain roads, and became more comfortable in the saddle.