May 6, 2023
Day 9 of the Tail of the Dragon Tour.

Today was an amazing day of riding and the Back of the Dragon far exceeded my wildest expectations!

Welcome to day 9 of our Tail of the Dragon Tour.

The temperature got down near freezing overnight so it was chilly when we rolled out of our tents this morning. Fortunately, our fantastic and unique campground had a lovely bakery and coffee shop onsite and we indulged ourselves until the sun warmed the day. I highly recommend the Creeper Trail Campground as a place to stay or a base camp to explore the local mountains.

Our reward for having fresh coffee and baked goods was sunshine and by the time we left the campsite at 10:30 the temperature was already 15°.

The beauty of staying here last night was that we knew that we would get to ride the amazing Jeb Stuart Hwy back to Damascus.

We left Damascus and headed towards Lindell to pick up VA- Route 80. Unfortunately, this route doesn't have a nickname so Spike and I have named it the Leg of the Muzzy. It was incredible! One of the best on an already epic trip.

Our next stop was to be Tazeville, where we would join the world famous Back of the Dragon route. But, first we had to say goodbye to Muzzy as today was the day he had to head home.

Spike and I continued on to the Back of the Dragon Brewery for lunch. Of course, we didn't have a beer because we never drink when we are riding! But, we did have the tourist lunch that included overpriced food, with poor service and disappointing grub. Oh well, riders come here for the ride and not the cuisine.

Once the obligatory photos were taken we were on the road again.

The Back of the Dragon, VA- Route 16, itself was shockingly good. I am not sure if I love it as much as the Rattler from yesterday. They are both great! This is like deciding between Mars Bar and a Crispy Crunch. They are both fantastic.

Wait, this is just in from the decision desk it is now settled, they are tied for number one and the Tail is a close runner up for best road on this trip!

We continued past Marion, VA on amazing roads and then south to pick up the Blue Ridge Parkway for an hour.

Our route to the Parkway took us through the beautiful and sleepy town of Galax. We followed a classic car down mainstreet and would believe that you were on a movie set from the 1950s. I thought that it was beautiful! We didn’t stop because it was getting late and we had miles to cover but it left me wanting more and I will go back there for sure. I dream that they will have a beautiful ice cream shop to get a chocolate sundae or a classic diner where Potsy and Ralph are getting a burger.

Our destination this evening was the Meadows of Dan and the Willville Motorcycle Campground. This is a motorcycle only campground and is an unbelievably cool place!

After setting up camp we went up the road and grabbed dinner at Jane's Country Diner and had a fine dinner at reasonable prices. It seemed just right!

The evening concluded with a big campfire going and all of the campers are sitting around swapping lies about life and about riding.

Undoubtedly, today was the greatest day of riding in my life. Well since yesterday anyway!

I love you all and I already miss Muzzy.

Good night from the Meadows of Dan.

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