Tennessee Street at the Cherokee County Museum and courthouse, Murphy, North Carolina.

New Year’s Day, 2026, started out as cold as an Alabama step-momma, but by 11:30 the sun had warmed things up enough to let Sweet Marie out of the stables and saddle her up for a ride.

I think the highest the thermometer climbed was 53, and a moderate breeze tempered even that. But they don’t allow sissies in this corner of the state, so there you go. Gotta do what you gotta do.

Downtown Murphy, North Carolina, was slightly less lively than a morgue, but pretty in a way under winter’s slanted sunlight. I saw only three other bikers on my ride.

Out on the highway, the State Patrol wasn’t being shy about pulling over misbehaving drivers. Myself, I was behaving.