Re-winding winding roads

1600 miles of Lotus-ness

The night before the trip, I was reasonably worried. It would be her first road trip and a daunting task. The Lotus would travel over 1100 miles in a straight line to drive a few hundred miles on curvy mountainous roads. The winding roads were eagerly anticipated but getting there in a Lotus seemed slightly terrifying. A hard suspension, a meaningless air conditioner, lack of cruise control, paltry insulation from noise sources and paper thin seats all added up to make her a extreme non-grand-tourer.

So I equipped myself with a set of industrial grade earplugs and a generous dab of hope.

Surprisingly, that was sufficient. Ten hours later we reached Asheville, NC. She was ticking over just fine and I had managed to preserve my back and my ear drums. And we both were in eager anticipation of what lay ahead for the next two days. The plan was to travel westward on the famous Blue Ridge Parkway making sufficient detours over isolated mountain roads. The last destination was traversing the “Dragon’s tail” or US129; A road that touts itself for having 318 curves over 11 miles. This fact hasn’t been verified but no one seems to care.

If you are in the eastern parts of the U.S. and haven’t yet been to the Smoky Mountains, then I can assure you that you are missing out. This ancient mountain range is littered with incessant forestation that is layered over endless rows of rolling hills. The mountains appear decidedly blue and smoky over the distance. It is an appealing sight and if I were an artist, I would have planted my easel and brushed away strokes of green, blue and smoky white. But instead, my tool was a Lotus and I chose to carve these mountains until the sun went down.

Driving in the mountains is always appealing. But doing so in a Lotus was breath-taking. She lapped up the bends without slowing down. The steering went clockwise and much as it went anti-clockwise in joy and glee. Climbing the twisties in lower gears provided a heart beating engine note and endorphin inducing tire squeals. The lack of stability aids meant that only my driving abilities stood between the lotus and a tree on the side of the road. But not once, did she seem uncomfortable. If anything, I am afraid I did not fully satisfy her ability to rotate.

And we did this for over 500 miles in two days. Climbing up to the ridge and barreling downwards on the other side. Annoying the slower moving traffic and ticking off a few cruiser bikers! We stopped to rest, her brake pads and my mind, over fascinating overlooks. On both days, my forearms were slightly sore but my spirits were soaring. The car was in her true elements and I did not want to stop or ever go back to my dear but superbly flat Michigan.

As road-trips go, this went right to the top of the list. But I have yet to have a terrible road trip. On a trip that covers large distances, not only do you get bombarded with different views, sounds and smells but you also accumulate not so obvious memories of you and your car. She too is stocking up her memory bank with every mile of asphalt captured. You take pictures with her in the back ground, because at that instant, it is the only view that you are after. But she has already becomes a part of your mind’s landscape (Dream for an insomniac), unknowingly but willingly.

I am afraid if I ever recite my road trips to my grand children, it would hardly be about the destination. It would all about the journey and the four wheels I traveled with.

If you ever do make the trip down there and your objective is to push the adhesion thresholds of your tire and smell hot brakes, then these are some of the routes I suggest. Each route offers a different characteristic, but all of them come with superb views and high quotient of involved driving. I have them arranged in the order of my liking.

1. Rt. 129, the infamous “dragon’s tail”, offers an incessant array of left and right turns in just 11 miles. The constant barrage of tight turns is almost narcotic and addictive. The camber in the roads allows easy turn ins, especially when it goes it both ways quickly. Avoid going there after 10 am as the traffic builds up and the road turns into more of a cruise through the park. Watch for cops.

2. Rt. 151, off the Blue Ridge parkway, towards the town of Maryville, this amazing road allows a great hill climb stretch. It is extremely tight and could be a handful for bigger heavier cars. Watch for occasional hikers and also the trees that line the drop-offs! Make sure you go up and down 151.

3. Rt. 143, the Cherohola Skyway, is a much faster flowing kind of winding road that allows higher speeds through the turns. The views are fantastic and the road stretches unhindered for over 30 miles. Watch for occasional bikers who might not give way but generally a great long stretch of twisty asphalt.

4. Rt. 28, the approach road to the dragon’s tail from Bryson city, again is a fast flowing winding road that carves through amazing forestation and the Fontana River. If you go early, you could have the entire stretch to run high revs and enjoy the view.

5. Rt. 226A, Starting from Little Switzerland, this nice little loop is a tightly winding piece of road and offers quick left-right transitions and a good warm up session for the rest of the Smokies. Avoid going late to miss the bikers.

6. Rt. 215, much less tight than the other roads, approaches the Blue Ridge from the northern edge of the Smokies. Again, the road is devoid of cops and suits bigger cars much better. No cops seen here 😉