Ready For the Dragon

[skibum69]

Gas was $1.94 a litre at home last week then dropped to $1.84 for regular. High test was applicably more. $40 to fill up a bike was painful!

[truckerdave]

Sounds funny now but i remember going up through there almost fifty years ago on HW 129 before there was such a thing as "Tail of the Dragon" and all the marketing, you know when it was just a "wicked twisted road" to quote Reckless Kelly.

[HSVPhil]

Two sides to every coin, Jim.
Since you’re no longer a tourist; it doesn’t matter about any campgrounds or where do the Tellico visitors settle for the night. So many options; they’re all very good. Personally, we have kinfolk in the Whittier, NC neighborhood. There are also backroad trails that parallel the Dragon that are worth exploring if U happen to ride a dual-sport variety! Guess the Cherohala Skyway is off-limits for the time being. >> https://www.wate.com/news/monroe-cou...rohala-skyway/ << If you’re a new NC resident, Jim, just go explore the backroads while U can before the winter winds start to blow and the roads become icy…
Be sure to investigate the Foothills Parkway neighborhood: [ N35° 43.103' W83° 49.343’ ].

Happy Trails whenever U can - Ciao!
HSV-Phil & HSV-Karen
USAF-Ret'd — & — USN-Ret’d
'75 R90S ————— '82 R100CS
’09 KLX250S ——— ’08 CRF230L
'14 K16GT ———— '16 R1200RS
’05 Vespa 200L

[bkkjack]

I've been going to Deal's Gap just about every year for a week of riding with some friends since 2010. The cops usually sit at the ends of a couple of the straighter sections to catch the riders going for "lap records." As long as you sort of coast on the straights and aren't a club level racer or above, you can have all the fun you want, without worrying about the law.

We go the first full week in June. The weather then is typically more humid in the mornings, making the road a little sketchy for genuine hijinks. I have found that early evenings, after all the chrome cattle have gone to the trough, is the better time to ride it.

The last few years have gotten so bad that we will be there for a week and only ride it once or twice, and spend the rest of the time on the lessor known roads. You do owe it to yourself to toddle up to the Deal's Gap Motorcycle Resort on a Saturday morning to just sit and watch the circus, though.

[PGlaves]

You do owe it to yourself to toddle up to the Deal's Gap Motorcycle Resort on a Saturday morning to just sit and watch the circus, though.

Voni and I were there on Saturday in June a few years ago. We camped at the corner and rode north and then back south at first light with next to no traffic. Then we spent the morning watching folks arrive and depart, or unload their number plated race bikes and head north. A couple had to get trailers to come get them out of the ditch and back to the corner. A few extra pieces were added to the tree of shame.

My favorite however was when we rode it north to south to take a photo of the "tree of shame" at the corner as a bonus in the 2003, 11-day Iron Butt Rally. We paused at the north end for about ten minutes until first light, and then rode a silver ribbon of pavement among the dark trees. Magical

[sharpestjim]

Many thanks to everyone who has weighed in. I apologize for ignoring my own thread for so long. I just got home last evening. The trip could not have been more fun. The weather was almost perfect and no tickets. I started the trip with just over 800 miles on the RS (since early-June). I increased the odometer count by more than 50 percent.

I did not get to the Dragon, but I did manage to take in the TN68/Cherohala Skyway loop. I did that one last Monday afternoon. Luckily, I wore my leather jacket even though it was 72 degrees when I left the house. It was 50 up at the top. Tuesday, I went riding with a buddy who grew up in Dahlonega (he's 70). He turned me on to a few back roads that I had never been on in the Young Harris & Murphy areas. Hanging Dog Road outside of Murphy was a pleasant surprise. I rode some familiar roads on my own including Neals Gap, the Richard Russell, GA17/75 over Unicoi Gap, and GA180 back to US129 south of Blairsville.

Without going back through all of the replies to see who said what...I need to check out the back (north) side of NC215 between the BRP and Waynesville. I've never been on it at all. I am definitely familiar with NC/GA/SC 28. I have a story about that road in the area of Satolah GA (south of Highlands NC). I definitely want to check out the Foothills Parkway.

So many roads - so little time. But...the RS is every bit as awesome as I had anticipated it being. Oh, and BTW: Canyon Dancer is the bomb.

[Visian]

So many roads - so little time. But...the RS is every bit as awesome as I had anticipated it being. Oh, and BTW: Canyon Dancer is the bomb.

See if you can find NC 1001 between (near) Ellijay and Sylva... also Cullowhee Mountain Road (NC 1157)

[sharpestjim]

See if you can find NC 1001 between (near) Ellijay and Sylva... also Cullowhee Mountain Road (NC 1157)

Thank you, Visian. I've got them scoped out. Whereas most of my late-80s/early-90s mountain 2-wheeling adventures took place in Georgia, I spent a good deal of time tearing around that part of NC in Toyota MR-2's. Cashiers is a bit of a haul from my cabin. But it will make for a killer daytrip. That area is on my hit list.

[GlobalRider]

..."Tail of the Dragon" and all the marketing...

I did not buy the 318 curves in 11 miles and contacted the owner of the Tail of the Dragon web site and asked.

As he put it: It is not 318 full curves because each time the radius changes within a curve, they will count it as 2 or more curves within the curve. But what the hell, if you are not pulling your suspenders out with both thumbs, any curvy road is fun.

I had a rear tire that was bald on the sides from riding in the Alps, but the center was still good so maybe I should have brought it back home to finish off the center.

[GlobalRider]

Talking about curves and I mean real curves. Not my video but I road I have driven more than any other there. My previous girlfriend lived on the other side of the valley. Also made the odd mistake on it after a long drive down from my last hotel.

SS46 Rovereto - Zocchio 11km

[Visian]

SS46 Rovereto - Zocchio 11km

I’ve ridden that! Also from Rovereto is SS3 & SS8…

[GlobalRider]

I’ve ridden that! Also from Rovereto is SS3 & SS8…

From where to where? You might mean SP and not SS. One is a Provincial and the other is a State road.

I take it you mean the SP3 from Mori (just west of Rovereto) to San Valentino which then turns into the SP8, but the further south you go you end up in the flatlands (Caprino Veronese)...and that is boring.

There is a lookout on the SP3 with a view of Lago di Garda...
P6210172-XL.jpg

[GlobalRider]

But getting back to the Tail of the Dragon, I came across an article calling the 129 from Thessalon to Chapleau Canada's Tail of the Dragon.

So I had a look of a motorcycle tour of it on YouTube. Really, some of these riders really should find out what a twisty road is about. That 129 is straight in my books with the shallowest of curves.

[PoorUB]

We rode the Dragon a few years aback in the middle of July. We went early on a Wednesday and saw one other motorcycle other than the guy I was with. Fun road, but IMO over sold. It doesn't deserve the publicity it gets. We ride out west every year and Beartooth Pass and Chief Joseph high are by far much better. Many times better scenery, and a better mix of strait road and turns.

I knew a couple local squids that heard so much about the Dragon they trailered their sport bikes out to ride the dragon. When they got back the say it was a great road, but wasn't worth the 2,500 mile round trip!

If you are in the area is is worth riding, but I wouldn't build a trip around just that ride. Don't forget about all the other good rides in the area.

[skibum69]

I rode from Newfoundland to take a spin on the dragon on my own bike.