April 14th, 2015.
Day 4.

I awoke at 5:40 a.m.
It was 61’F (16’C) and raining!
Today’s plan was to make it out to US 129, a.k.a. “The Tail Of The Dragon” - a notably popular motorcycling road - 314 curves in 11 miles (18 km).
Mixed with the rain was dense fog. Not very pleasing weather at all.
As time passed, the rain did not appear to relent.
2 hours had now gone by and I was becoming agitated.
To go or not to go?
Stay indoors for another day?
I did not have the luxury of time for that.
I had a rendezvous as well with the “Texans” riding up to meet me in Arkansas.
Hmmm. What to do?
I opted to brave the weather. I had to be back home in Cleveland to report for work at a specific time, so I had no choice but to stick with my plan.
I had planned the ride and now I had to ride the plan!
So I loaded up the bike in the rain and fired her up for the morning to begin warming up.
It was approaching 8:00 a.m.
My reflection in the large plate glass window of my motel room revealed that the low beam lamp on the left had burned out.
Shucks!
Hmm. I made a mental note of that to also be prepared for such a situation on future trips. One for the books!
So I checked out but not before noticing a large poster in the reception area advertising “The Back of The Dragon”.
Answering my question, the proprietor was surprised that I did not know of it.
Its starting point was half a mile along main street.
The Back of The Dragon touts more twists and curves than The Tail of The Dragon (US 129) over a distance of 32 miles.
Their advertising campaign draws many bikers to the area and is beginning to overshadow US 129.
The Back of The Dragon is VA 16.
It runs northwards from here through the mountains and finally into the valley town of Tazewell, VA.
I could not pass this up. Besides I felt I would have something to compare to the Tail of The Dragon.
Why not?
Let’s do it!
So after donning my rain gear I headed out, hanging a left turn onto main street and found the junction of VA 16.
Turning north I was promptly greeted by the sign announcing the start of this road of a biker’s delight.
It was a soggy morning.
The roads were wet.
The sky was dull and grey.
But I had on my trusty Firstgear Kilimanjaro riding jacket and waterproof riding pants.
I stayed dry. I was glad I chose the Kilimanjaro as my jacket of choice for this trip.
that was a “no-brainer”.
As a result of my trip planning research, I anticipated inclement weather in this area, so I embraced the conditions. I felt I was as prepared as I could be. Safety, as always would be paramount.
So I got on with the journey.
The road climbed and twisted its way into the mountains.
The bike and I followed.
The cloud of fog was extremely low and hung over the road.
It was thick. Like pea soup. Visibility was less than 30 yds. (27 meters).
I was now down to a crawl.
There were no guard rails, and almost no shoulders, making it very treacherous. One mistake would certainly spell disaster.
The road clung to the side of the mountain - so did I!
With no other traffic on the road besides myself it would not be a good day if I found myself in a situation where I might need help.
I considered turning around to head back from whence I came, but with the road as narrow as it was and no shoulder to increase the margin for error, that was not a chance worth taking.
I soldiered on.
A hairpin turn lay directly at the crest of the mountain.
As I approached it, the road seemed to disappear into the cloud.
My heart was now thumping so hard I could literally hear it, let alone feel it beating in my chest.
The long descent started after that and I gradually began to relax a bit.
We wound around several twists and turns and soon dropped out of the mountains into the valley below.
The road snaked its way through farmland all along whilst the rain kept falling.
Not long after I found myself in the town of Tazewell, VA.
I had safely made it over the mountain and down along The Back of The Dragon.
I pulled into a gas station across from the fire station and sought shelter under the roof of the pump island.
I used the opportunity to settle my nerves and get my bearings.
The rain continued to fall steadily. Did not give me the impression that it would be easing up anytime soon.
Getting back on the road, I found my way to Bluefield, VA and jumped back on to Interstate 77, direction Charlotte, NC.
I motored on and took a forced potty break at the first gas station I came to.
Good time to have breakfast. I used the opportunity.
I called ahead to my buddy Albert who lives in Charlotte to update him on my progress (or the lack thereof). I was on my way to visit and spend a day with him.
Off in the distance I could clearly make out the thick cloud of fog that still hung over and clung to the mountains I had come out through.
Schoolmates back in Africa, we had not seen each other since the summer of 2004. I was looking forward to seeing him again and catching up on our lifelong friendship.
Back on the highway, I blasted my way through the inclement weather.
The rain and fog had been relentless, especially when I got to the tri-state area.
I found myself in traffic conditions where I could not see 18-wheelers immediately in from of me but for the faint glow of their red taillights!
Stopping to pull over at the side of the road and try to ride out the storm was definitely not a good idea. Visibility was too poor. If I couldn’t see them, they sure as heck couldn’t see me. I had no choice but to stay in lane at speeds that were dictated for me by the flow of traffic. Not a good place to be!
Crossing through North Carolina into South Carolina for my obligatory state line photo op, the weather seemed to break a little. It was a welcome condition, especially because I had endured rain and fog since the early morning hours of this day.
Turning around somewhere within South Carolina I headed back into North Carolina, arriving at Albert’s place just before 7 in the evening.
He was out in his driveway in anticipation of my arrival.
It had been 250 wet miles for the day!
It was good to see him again!
We stayed up all night chatting old time stories in between getting my laundry done.