[St] Happiness is a well-maintained road (A ride report?)

["David Jonas" <kahonas@xxxxxxxxx>]

I have found one of the greatest stretches of super-slab.  It was a
beautiful combination of great weather, great scenery, and a relatively new
resurfacing.  Where is it, you ask?

Believe it or not, it's Interstate 40 (east bound) between Tennessee and
North Carolina.  The road is smooth, has some fantastic turns, and the view
is awesome.  I've travelled it many a time in my Miata, but never on my ST.
Riding the Triumph through there gave me a whole new appreciation for what a
great ride should be.  From about 10 miles west of the state border to about
25 miles east, it swoops and curves and banks, rising up and down.  For the
sheer joy of a good, even speed ride, I can find no equal.  No need to get
into the brakes unless you're really pushing it; lift-throttle decels will
work just fine.  Camber is great and the surface has minimal imperfections
(a couple, mostly on the bridges and through the tunnels, of which there are
2.  My bike handle each turn famously; all that was needed was sliding my
posterior with each new twist.  I now am in love with my motorcycle.  There
can be no greater.

The fantastic ride was only marred by my witnessing of an 18-wheeler laden
with AA Energizer batteries overturning a 1/4 mile in front of me.  I am
fine, the driver is fine, but the truck was not so lucky.  Quoth the driver
to his dispatcher, "Yeah, about that delivery.  Don't expect it anytime
soon."  He was in good spirits for someone who just dumped half a trailer
full of bunny batteries and about 100 gallons of diesel across 2 lanes of
mountain road.

Unfortunately, the trip back west bound along the same road was not as
stellar.  The road had yet to be resurfaced completely; only the right-hand
lane was completed, leaving me to stay completely on the rougher lane, or
constantly swap as I approach the ever-present tractor-trailer in the right
lane.

Deals Gap is great for the ultimate in twist and turn, but for a great tour,
I-40 east has my heart.

David
'99 ST in black, the blackest color.
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