The road is beautiful, running through impressive sections of the Pisgah and Cherokee National Forests and near the border of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. However, it is still greatly congested due to the fact that only one lane is open each way in places. Semis and other heavy traffic need that road to get over the border without having to make long detours.
On the other hand, US 25/70 was much clearer than it was when I went through a couple weeks ago. It's now resumed its normal role as a scenic highway by the beautiful French Broad River. If you're planning a ride, or are in a passenger car, you might want to take the scenic route and leave the interstate to the big rigs. You'll probably get there faster anyway.
One of my fellows on yesterday's ride had a battery cell failure, which first caused him to need to seek a jump box from fellow travelers at the rest stop, and then caused the bike to fail entirely outside of Newport, Tennessee. I gave him a lift into town. Fortunately there was an auto parts store close to the interstate that sold the right kind of battery for his bike. Of course he dropped one of the bolts into the middle drive, so we had to fish for it with a magnet for a long time in the very hot July sun. Eventually, however, we got back underway.
It's a whole lot hotter down in the valley. Here on the mountain today it is 82, which is about as hot as it gets up here. I've seen it as high as 84. If you ride up onto the Blue Ridge Parkway, which is as much as 2,500 feet higher than I am here, it's pleasant camping weather. If any of you are considering that, the Grandfather Mountain Scottish Highland Games is next weekend. It is one of my old favorites, part of our honeymoon trip 26 years ago and an event we have returned to many times. Pack rain gear, though: it's pleasant, but this time of year you can bet on a good hard rain for at least a half-hour of every afternoon.
