This morning, despite my lazy late start and a breakfast of fake eggs and oily hashbrowns at the Huddle House, I had the Dragon ALL to myself! The ride was so much fun, I didn’t want to spoil it by joining all the traffic I’d seen southbound, so I kept going through Tennesse, following the route on MadMaps. I got a speeding ticket (luckily at a time I wasnt going real fast) then listened to a cop for the last time in my life. He said “go left” when the MadMap said “go right” and sent me on the most unbearably hellish ride of my life. 40+miles of gorgeous twisties. 25,35 mph speed limits. But no, it gets worse.

8 million assholes in minivans who won’t exceed that!!!!! And nowhere to pass. I sure pissed off a lot of rednecks today! But now I’m confused. I’m trying to retrace the route on Google, and it doesn’t make sense. I remember turning left onto 441 when I knew I should have turned right, then being stuck behind all these families on their way to the adjacent river. The road followed the river. But the road that follows the river is 73. So how did the ranger station he told me to turn left at wind up after the river traffic from hell? Was I so overwrought I twisted it all up in my mind? Was it the Twilight Zone, and I got stuck on some infinite loop of slow traffic? Did I actually wind up on the Parkway Bypass and go out of my way as I’d thought? Or was it just that 73 was the road from hell and I never did turn left anywhere? I remember heading south on 441, but not through Gatlinburg. The whole time I was out there, it was pure country. I’m so confused. Anyway, I’m glad I didn’t kill myself, as unbearable as it was. And I sear, after that, I think I’ll only do track days from now on.

OK, so I finally figured out where I turned left. Took some real zooming to find it, what with all those damn trees. ;-P It’s the first(far left) yellow mark point.

Map here: route from police intervention to FINALLY reaching I-40