The Snake is the nickname of US 421 as it crosses the Tennessee mountains between Shady Valley and Mountain City, and the name is earned. In about thirty-three miles the road throws up some four hundred and eighty-nine curves, according to the number everyone quotes, and it is the sort of statistic that is hard to believe until you are in the middle of it. The road climbs out of Shady Valley, a high basin once famous for its cranberry bogs, over the shoulder of Iron Mountain through hardwood forest, and then drops toward Mountain City, switching back on itself like a snake in a hurry.
The setting is the Cherokee National Forest, a green, rumpled landscape of oak, hickory, tulip poplar and rhododendron, where the air smells of wet leaves and the creeks run cold and clear. Behind the highway is the old route of the Virginia Creeper, a former railway line turned walking and cycling trail that runs from Damascus, Virginia, a little to the north, and in the forest you may spot deer, wild turkey and the occasional black bear. The name Mountain City sounds grander than the town, a quiet place of a few thousand people, which has fuel stations, a couple of diners and a mountain-town sense of unhurried courtesy.
The riding is the main event. The corners come in rapid sequence, many of them tight, blind and cambered, with little shoulder and long drops on the outside, and the speed limit is low and enforced. The surface is good for the most part, but gravel and leaves on the apexes, damp patches in the shade and the occasional animal can catch you out. Weekends bring crowds of riders, and a fair number of crashes happen when someone goes too fast or crosses the centre line, so ride your own pace and keep to your side. Weekday mornings are calmer, and late spring and early autumn have the best light and the least traffic. Rain makes the pavement greasy, so many riders avoid the Snake in wet weather, and fog is not unusual.
Mountain City, eight and a half kilometres from here, is the nearest town, and Abingdon, in Virginia, about twenty-two kilometres away, is the nearest larger town with the full range of services. Bring snacks and water, since stops are few and far between. Many riders turn around at the end and ride it again in the opposite direction, which is a good plan, because the second pass always seems better than the first.