university of tennessee

U Tenn, more great riding, the cleansing power of riding in turns, Davy Crockett and earthquakes.

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Rocinante slept in the hotel’s garage, lucky her. Breakfast was one of the best ones of the trip at Pete’s! University of Tennessee seems like a great place and I had a great chat with Prof. Nuria Cruz-Cámara. It looks like the especialist in Siglo de Oro is retiring soon, so I must keep an eye on that situation.

From there it was back on the road. I took a detour to explore the mythical Smoky Mountains for some awesome riding. When you are riding in the turns it requires 100% of your concentration. You need to see where the turn is going, your speed and banking have to be in synch with the turn. Too slow and it’s boring, too fast and you hurt yourself. So there is a sweet spot. While you are there you can’t be thinking about the layers of narration in Don Quixote.

There I am, on the zone, linking the turns, enjoying the riding, climbing into the Smoky Mountains, when right there is the biggest baked bean factory, I’ve ever seen. Bush baked beans, amazing! I stopped to check out the museum and gift shop. After a deer mom and her baby decided to cross the road right in front of me I returned to the highway, for the rest of the day. Lunch was at Davy Crockett’s birthplace! Delicious pulled pork sandwich. They had a TV going with Fox news going nuts over an earthquake somewhere in Virginia. I love the alarmism. A few miles down the road I actually had to stop for a siesta. Riding through Virginia was impressive, hills and mountains all around for hours and hours, it actually is a bit of a strange feeling, somewhat disquieting.

With no humidity, it cooled down in the evening. I put on my jacket and even my baclava. The last hour approaching Charlottesville was freezing, I had to alternate hugging the engine with my hands for warmth.

I finally made it to University of Virginia. It is beautiful, Jefferson designed the campus which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site! I’m excited about my meeting tomorrow, but sad it is my last visit.

The best ride of my life. Day 17, Leg 11 Vanderbilt, Nashville to Knoxville.

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Chatting with Liliana, the wonderful coordinator of the Spanish Dept. I fell in love with the Vanderbilt PhD program. Then I met a couple of professors and I love the vibe. Lisie  Michel, Walnut Hill ’09 being the wonderful, sweet, great girl that she is treated me to a coffee and a tour of the campus, which is beautiful. It was great catching up with her.

After 36 long, boring hours in Nashville I was happy to get out of town.

Now, the ideal time to go on a road trip, as we learn in the classic, highly informative, almost documentary movie Animal House is when one’s situation is desperate, but one is not ready to give up (“Did we give up when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?” Asks John Belushi). A more politically correct way would be in Van Morrison’s words, during a “period of transition”. So there I am, and I am leaving Nashville, after over two weeks on the road, it hits me, what the Greeks call a catharsis, and I am terribly sad about all the changes in my life. An hour out of town I stop at a truck rest area and call my brother Theo in London, and he expertly and on his easy way calms me down. Some chocolate and water, a full tank of gas and I’m recovered for what is the best ride of my life.

About an hour out of Nashville I go off the highway and into the back roads. These are the ancient, rolling hills of Tennessee. Farms, and forests and crops and ponds and valleys and hills. Sometimes I thought I was in Switzerland, others it was very evident I was in rural Tennessee. There was a disproportionate number of bikers on the road, proving that I was on the right road, I did not want it to end. But then I arrived in Knoxville and I fell on love with it! I can’t wait to visit the school tomorrow!