Depends on how you roll and what you know. 321 will take you up to Boone, the Parkway will take you to 226A, 80, 181 is in there too. I can PM you the route that I did this weekend, all curves from 80. You can roll out to Hot Springs (motorcycle town) at the end of the route, 62 from there to Leisester (spelling). To put it simply, you can never make it to Deals and still have a good time, if you are all about riding. Warning: some of these routes will wear you out, and are very very curve intensive. You don't see Deals Gaps store on these routes.
Sightseeing is a different story. More sightseeing, lets look at 74A, 9, I have a great route on this, works better for a heavier bike. BRP is just fantastic for me, and can work a loop for you. But 74a/9 is lowland, heat can be a factor.
That Sunday is Thunder Sunday at Mountain Groove Baptist between of Hickory and Morganton. I will have a cool route out from there for all riders. PM me for details. Hundreds of bikes show up, very interesting church service.