So after the postponement and eventual cancellation of Carlisle, and Ron and Maddie bowing out of the Tour de NoGA this year, Stan, Danny, and I were all bemoaning the lack of a gathering this year. We decided that we would meet in Maggie Valley anyway. What could it hurt, right? We settled on the first weekend in October, arriving on Thursday the 1st and leaving on Monday the 5th.
Of course Carlos G. was going to join us since he's nearby. Ditto Pieter van Rossum. Then there was a bit of "Why don't we see if <fill in the blank> wants to come. Before we knew it we had a Tour de Smo' as big as any in the past, so it seemed logical to go public and say "Y'all come!" We are staying at the same place we did the last couple of times - the Maggie Valley Creekside Lodge, 2716 Soco Rd. Maggie Valley NC 28751. Phone 800 621 1260. I'm booked for four nights at $483 total.
We plan to do the Rattler again, as well as the incredible unnamed route that Carlos came up with last time. All of us so far do not plan to do the Tail of the Dragon because "Been there. Done that" multiple times. All who want to are free to go there if they wish as we can leave one day free for self exploration. there are plenty of other things to do and see.
If you're interested I would get on it ASAP, as rooms in the mountains tend to disappear quickly this time of year.