River Deep Mountain High

Welcome to Music City. Home of country Music, state government and the Tennessee Titans, and the perfect place to start this musical tour.

Early Birds. There’s so much to explore in Nashville, arriving a day early will give to time to settle into the groove. The list of sights in Nashville is endless, and an entertainment pass is a great way to see many of them – but you might find yourself spending too much time in the music bars on Broadway!

Pick up your authorised Harley-Davidson rental motorcycle from Boswell’s Harley-Davidson and your journey has begun. First stop, the national Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky, just an hour’s ride away. Then it’s a lovely ride along backroads to your first night’s stop, Somerset, a tourist town on the lakeshore.

Heading south your first stop is the Cumberland Falls. Then your first riding challenge – the Devil’s Triangle. Take your time, enjoy the twisting roads and the views, and when it’s over, relax at the Museum of the Appalachias. After that, it’s a short ride to Gatlinburg, a Swiss styled town close to Dollywood. (We can add in a night here if you want to visit Dollywood and the Dixie Stampede.)

This morning head up into the Blue Ridge Mountains to pick up the Blue Ridge Parkway. It’s then a scenic, winding, almost traffic free ride to the hip town of Asheville, NC with its vibrant nightlife.

This morning’s ride takes you to the highest point on the BRP, at over 6,000 ft, before you drop down and make a brief detour to the ‘Wheels through Time’ Motorcycle Museum. Then it’s on to Cherokee, home of yes you’ve guessed it, the Cherokee tribes and then on to our fantastic accommodation near Deal’s Gap.

Today is one of those riding days you will never forget, the day you ride the Tail of the Dragon – 318 bends in 11 miles through dense woodland! And once you’ve done it, you can either turn around and go back, or you can continue on and return via the Cherohala Skyway – a more scenic and relaxing version of the Tail of the Dragon!

Take the Cherohala Skyway down off the Smokey Mountains, and lovely scenic ride brings you to Chattanooga. Take time to visit the Civil War Monument on the bluffs above the city, and of course go and see the Choo Choo!

A complete change of scenery now as you leave the mountains behind and head for the delta. First stop, Huntsville Alabama, home of the Space Museum, with a vast array of rockets on show. Then we follow the Tennessee River west to Muscle Shoals. Lunch and then a view of the two studios that made this small town famous is a must, before picking up the Natchez Trace Parkway for a scenic ride to Tupelo, early home of Elvis, made famous in song by John Lee Hooker, and with a neat motor museum. (Not a bad place to add an extra night!)

From now on, you need to let your Blues Trail Markers take over. Your route takes you near some but can’t cover many of them, so please do your homework. There’s over 170 markers now. Check out the website, download the app, and plan your day.

How about Leland, birthplace of Johnny Winter, Tutwiler (W.C. Handy) and on to John Lee Hooker’s marker before riding to Clarksdale. However, the options are almost endless, so please do your research before you set out. I don’t want you coming back saying you missed something!

Clarksdale of course is the site of the ‘Crossroads’, Ground Zero and many more blues sites. And we think you’ll like your accommodation tonight – a bit of a surprise! (And again, this is a great place to spend another night!)

It’s a short ride up highway 61 to Memphis, but we have a longer route in mind for you! You hotel is in downtown Memphis, within walking distance of Beale St.

Is one day enough – Gracelands, Stax, Sun Studios, Beale St, Civil Rights Museum, Mud Island, and so much more?

Plenty of music to come as you ride to Nutbush, Brownsville and then Jackson TN, home of the Rockabilly Hall of Fame. Then it’s on to Loretta Lynn’s Kitchen and into Kentucky again for your stop by the lake. A long day deserves a cool drink this evening – but bring your own, this county is dry!

You last day on the road, and a relaxing one. Explore the area before heading to Clarksville for lunch, in time for the last train! Then a short ride brings you back to Nashville to return your motorcycle to Boswell’s. There’s now time to celebrate the end of your amazing musical journey!

There’s time this morning to complete your sightseeing and buy those souvenirs before heading for the airport and your journey home.