Lunch Ride 3/23

Before I left the scenic vista that you can see from Canyon's a man commented on how great a motorcycle is for the mountain roads. "Yup, except for the eight miles south of here." I had come in through the 8 miles of heavy construction and decade long work zones and dreaded going back through it on the way back to work.

My work day is shifting around a little bit from now until the end of the semester. Now my day is split into two halves, with a large hole in the middle. From 11:00 until 4:00 I have a large do-nothing time to kill.

So today, after making sure my paperwork was in order, I decided to kill a little time and head to lunch.

I left Dallas, NC and hopped on Hwy 321, which is largely a divided highway ala junior interstate. It was 65 degrees and sunny. So I opened the throttle up and let the bike run. I haven't taken many oppurtunities to ride 85 mph up the highway during the winter, so I enjoyed letting the bike unwind. When traffic would let me I passed.

I went 50 miles north up the highway, through Hickory's congestion fairly quickly, and up up and on away.

The road was smooth sailing until I hit the work zone. The work zone on Hwy 321 has been an on going project for over a decade. Seemingly as long as I can remember some crew or the other has been working on this stretch of road. When I was a wee child riding up to Tweetsie Railroad this section was a scenic two lane road. Then the widening and four laning began, and has never quit. The curves are sharp, but probably managable. The asphalt however, has been moved, leveled, releveled, and angled so many times that the ruts, pot holes, and grade changes make it exceptionally challenging. I find the work zone to be distracting with lanes of gravel and sudden equipment crossings. I suppose after working on this stretch of road for a decade they have become very relaxed about signal men or looking before they cross the road.

Just above this grueling un-fun portion of the road in Blowing Rock is Canyons. Canyons is currently a fairly nice sit down resturant with one of the best views of the NC mountians. The building seems to shake in the wind. I keep meaning to take a level with me in my coat pocket, because the tables seem to be slipping down hill the entire time that you're eating. Canyons is the new name on an old establishment.

I like it when menus give you local history.

The building that is now Canyons opened originally in the 1930s as a grocery store with Saturday night dances. Nestled in a historically dry county this building was the place that became the local speakeasy. Mtn Shine. Wilkesboro bootleg carried around the mountains fast by daring drivers, that would later help lay the trails for Nascar. The building has secret rooms and oddly shaped closets to accomodate the speakeasy heritage. The building has went on to be grocery store, diner, etc. over the years. Now it is a nice place to eat lunch, with a nice view, just North of some bad road.

If you're coming into Boone from Hwy 421 (the Snake) and have about a half hour before you get hungry, turn South on 321 and head for about 20 minutes. Canyons is past Tweetsie Railroad, and the Blowing Rock outlet mall on the right before you reach the historic Blowing Rock itself. Highly recommend it.

If you're coming up hwy 321 North through the road construction (or back down again) I don't recommend the wine list, because that stretch of road is bad enough sober.

After Canyon's for lunch, and after getting a compliment on my Valk from another customer, I headed back to work. South through the eight miles of road shift and heavy construction went easier than the way up. I took the Hwy 321 bypass for much of the way back to wind around some small dying mill towns. Scenic. Light traffic.

I was able to ride about 130 miles from one campus to the other, fight a work zone, and eat a nice lunch in my break today. I can't wait to see where I get to each lunch next time!