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Headed for the Dragon in September and could use some advice

Enforcement presence is much higher on the Dragon and nearby in TN then elsewhere due to large number of serious and stupid events. 2/day requiring hospital runs is the norm which is a pretty sad commentary on both the skills and judgement of the folks playing there- expensive for local govts and wouldn't be tolerated at all except its the only industry in the area.
The Cherohala has a well known decreasing radius corner about 10 mile in that has bitten more than a few but is basically faster and safer than the Dragon which is a much older road.
As has been noted by many of you (and the locals agree) the Dragon is overhyped but a good show if you like squid watching. The cardinal offense sure to get you a performance award is crosing the centeline- if you're unlucky it can also get you killed as most of the curves are blind. Re speed, the TN cops on duty are normally pretty reasonable if you're under 50 and riding sanely though the posted limit is a lot lower. As you will see if you've not been there, maintaining high speed on it is both difficult and dangerous due to restricted sight lines.

It is easily possible to ground those Harley footboards on the Dragon where the odd road cambers make it vey likely in some spots if you crank up the speed - this is the known cause of a couple of the historical fatalities. BMWs ridden normally will have no clearance issues.
 
The Cherohala Skyway (cherO hAla) crosses the Cherokee and Nantahala forests,hence the name. What a beautiful ride. :wave
 
Early spring, I did a long day from central Georgia, across the Cherohala, up and back on the Dragon, then back across the Cherohala. The skyway was the high point of the trip, not the Dragon.
 
The Dragon

I agree that if you think that 45 mph on the BRP you won't like the Dragon.
You don't want to be there on a holiday weekend unless you like crowds at the base of the Dragon and insanity running the dragon.
I love NW North Carolina!
 
Look at the roads to the west of 81, they're your best bet.

But to be honest, if you're in Scranton, you're going to be disappointed with the Dragon. You've got a dozen better roads within 50 miles of you, and they all have less traffic and fewer cops.

The Cherahola Skyway is nice if you can catch it early when there's no traffic. It's spectacular at about 2-1/2 times the posted limit.

Just to be helpful I'll say that there,hands down, are some VERY GOOD! roads to ride that are EAST! of I-81.
 
Look at the roads to the west of 81, they're your best bet.

But to be honest, if you're in Scranton, you're going to be disappointed with the Dragon. You've got a dozen better roads within 50 miles of you, and they all have less traffic and fewer cops.

The Cherahola Skyway is nice if you can catch it early when there's no traffic. It's spectacular at about 2-1/2 times the posted limit.


Have to agree EAST of 81 is where it is at.


As far as PA roads, yes there are a lot of good roads in N central PA, but as good as the GAP and Smoky's, not by a long shot.

Because of it's proximity, I have ridden thousands of miles in N central PA, and know back roads, that local rides don't, but I still travel to NC yearly, but rarely ride the GAP, as I know better places there too.
 
The dragon is great , but only if you can get there on monday or tuesday. Blow Rock, NC is one of my favorite areas. Boxwood lodge on main st. Not fancy, not over priced, but always clean and friendly. The BRP south from there is great and 221 south to linville, nc. Also love hwy 184 from Banner Elk up and over Beech Mtn. good rides, good food, and always some kind of event happening in the area.
 
Living in NC most of my life, (native), and having ridden a lot of NC mountain roads, I can honestly say that the "Dragon" is somewhat of a dissapointment if you've never been. 11 miles of 318 curves sort of makes one sea sick just thinking about it. LOTS of dumb asses in this part of the state. Yes it's an attraction and specticle but there are A LOT of roads in NC much better with far fewer LEO's around to hassle you. Get yourself a NC Delorme Atlas and Gazatteer. Look for roads like 16, 18, 228, 226, 208, 88, 80, 196, 215, 205, 276, 64, etc in the western part of the state. They will not dissapoint.

As for riding from Scranton Pa to the dragon in 2 days... that's some tough nut riding for a 15 to 20 minute jaunt on the dragon. If you haven't already, take a look at www.tailofthedragon.com for more info and maps.

BTW, most of the dragon is in Tennessee and the Hwy Patrol there can be bothersome... 6 or 7 over the limit will get you a pink copy.
 
Look at THIS

And see if you're still pumped to ride The Dragon. Over 1000 Pages of crashes and critiques on the dumb stuff happening at The Dragon. EDIT: The worst is when innocent riders who are paying attention get taken out by the knuckleheads. Believe me, it happens. I wouldn't ride there on a sunny Saturday for all the money you could muster. I DID ride it on a cold rainy Tuesday on the way home from Barber one October day... and enjoyed it, tho there were darn few people there at the time. In my humble estimation, it might be worth doing once in a lifetime, just to tick it off The List.

http://advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=454662

If you just can't stand it, do it on a Tuesday or something, preferably in the rain. That way there'll be FAR fewer idjits to deal with. I agree there are many fine roads in that part of the world that don't see the number of bikes as Deal's Gap.

+1 on BRP/Skyline Drive. It's beautiful, and one of our national treasures. If you hit it right (weekday) you might not have too much traffic. I rode a big part of it in November and had it to myself. I saw hawks, bear, and deer.

If you can't stand 45 mph, maybe you just want to jump on I-81 and bypass the slow roads.
Then again, you could take a few days and head west/southwest out of Scranton (Hiway 6?), riding thru the Laurel Highlands and PA's highest mountains (near Mt Davis) into WVA. You could noodle down thru the Mountain State enjoying minimal traffic, hugging the west side of the Blue Ridge Mountains, then roll into TN/NC/VA to ride the AREA around the Dragon, do the Cherahola Skyway, THEN get on the BRP at its Southern entry point and ride it all the way up to its Northern end. Then map the most mountainous route back to Scranton from Front Royal, beginning with US 522N off the Skyline Drive, which quickly routes you thru VA, WVA, & ND into PA.


If I had the time, that's how I would play it.
 
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............... if you've never been. 11 miles of 318 curves sort of makes one sea sick just thinking about it. ..................


It is only 318 if you count every weave Bubba the DOT line painter made as he sipped his Busch beer, while painting the continuous double yellow center line. 220 is generous IMHO.

It is a great road, sans the circus clowns, but as you state, lots of other nice stuff in the area.
 
I will be going to The Dragon the 2nd week in September. I have never headed there before and would like ideas for a route from Scranton, Pa. to Deals Gap. I like to avoid Interstates but am unwilling to spend hours on the Blue Ridge Parkway at 45mph. I would like to ride some 2 lane blacktop where I can still find a hotel and an eatery (as well as a bar). I plan to take 2 days to ride down, spend a day at the Dragon and take 2 days back. Any suggestions as to a good route as well as lodging and food would be most welcome.

Regards,

Will

Will,
Re-reading your post, I see you plan a 5 day time frame for this. Having done a quick Goggle Map search for "Scranton, PA > Deal's Gap Motorcycle Resort", using the options of avoiding highways and tolls, it basically routes you down US Route 11 for a total of 752 miles & 16 hours, 35 minutes.

We planned a trip last summer to Nova Scotia from Harrisburg PA, using Goggle maps as our source for routing the trip. We also avoided highways and, wherever possible, tolls. I can tell you that whatever GM says for time allotments, you definitely need to add ? hours per day. Not sure where they get their numbers from but we found that what they said was going to be 8-9 hours easily became 12, with stops for gas, lunch, and the occasional photo op. Using this model, 16.5 hours easily becomes at least 20. And that's largely on US 11, not so sweet a road. If you don't know it, it basically parallels I-81.

Not to continue to bust your bubble, but 5 days for this trip might be a WEE bit ambitious. Just some thoughts.

Cheers.
 
Will,
Re-reading your post, I see you plan a 5 day time frame for this. Having done a quick Goggle Map search for "Scranton, PA > Deal's Gap Motorcycle Resort", using the options of avoiding highways and tolls, it basically routes you down US Route 11 for a total of 752 miles & 16 hours, 35 minutes.
.................
Not to continue to bust your bubble, but 5 days for this trip might be a WEE bit ambitious. Just some thoughts.

Cheers.

Call me a trailer queen, but I would much rather throw the bike on the trailer, slab it down, and spend 4 days riding the great roads of the Smokey's. PA and VA have some great roads, but after riding in NC, they pale by comparison, and what once seemed twisty, now seems straight and boring.

BTW, 11 sucks, small towns every few miles, even if you only rode 45 on the BRP, you can still make better time. If you push the speed up a little when appropriate on the BRP, it is a little less monotonous.
 
BTW, 11 sucks, small towns every few miles, even if you only rode 45 on the BRP, you can still make better time. If you push the speed up a little when appropriate on the BRP, it is a little less monotonous.

Agreed. I set the CC at about 4 MPH above posted speed limits on the BRP/Skyline Drive. It was awesome.
 
Agreed. I set the CC at about 4 MPH above posted speed limits on the BRP/Skyline Drive. It was awesome.

If you pay attention you can scoot along at 55+ in many areas. Passing is the real issue, but you just need to be patient. My understanding is that there are only a handful of Rangers, to patrol the entire parkway, and with the sequestration starting tomorrow, there may be less. I ride parts of it every spring, and I can't remember the last time I saw a Ranger.
 
Faced with this same conundrum last year (limited time and wanting to max time in the area) we chose to make the run from Annapolis/WashingtonDC area to just shy of Knoxville on the interstate. We got started at about 5am to try to miss the DC traffic and that put us down on 129 at Deal's Gap by mid-afternoon. We spent the next day on an all day ride around North Georgia, Eastern Tenn., Western NC and ended the day just north of Asheville. The 3rd day was spend coming home. So you can do this with as little as 3 days but you have to make the trip down and back by sucking it up and riding the slab. With 5 days, no problem with lots o time in the area.

On the other hand, there are some roads between you and there that I could spend the rest of my days riding and never get bored. You just have to decide where you want to spend your ride.
 
Near the dragon

Wayah Road. From where US129 (through Robbinsville, south of Deal's Gap) intersects US74, go east about three miles but after two started looking for the little green street sign saying Wayah Road. It goes over a mountain range and comes out on US64 a few miles west of Franklin, NC. It is VERY technical, in my opinion topographically more dangerous than the dragon, but has virtually no traffic. Beware 2 bridges near the north end that have turns into them like driveway intersections.

Deal's Gap: Whatever you do, don't order the sausage paddys for breakfast.

By far the most puckering road I've ever ridden is US421 southeast from Bristol, TN, which is on I-81 at the VA/TN line. Comes out at a dot on the map called Sugar Mill, NC, five or so miles west of Boone.
 
Just my two pennies...skip the Dragon,it's over-hyped, heavily patrolled, lots'o goofballs & RVs. :dance Go instead to the BRP and enjoy. It seems you are in Pennsylvania? On your way come through Ohio to the Zanesville area. Find SR 555 . It runs N/S from Marietta to just south of Lancaster...much more fun {IMO} than the Dragon. Ride the road, N & S , spend the night in Marietta pretty town on the river,..then head out.:thumb
 
Yeah that thread on ADV is great. So many fails you can't imagine! But that said the Dragon is fun, I've now run it twice. I ran both times fairly early in the am so no traffic for me.
IMG_0621-XL.jpg
 
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