New Dragon Rules

A handful of new laws are now in force on “The Dragon” — the winding 11.2-mile stretch of U.S. Highway 129 popular among motorists of various ilk — and Blount County Sheriff James Berrong has issued a reminder now that warmer weather is afoot.


The new laws fall into two categories — new speed limits along various stretches of the road, and new truck restrictions.


New speed limits — applying to some portions of U.S. Highway 129 outside of “The Dragon” — are as follows:


• From U.S. 411 South to Gillenwater Road, the speed limit is now 50 mph.


• From Gillenwater Road to the first boat ramp is now 40 mph.


• From the first boat ramp to Happy Valley Road is now 50 mph.


• From Happy Valley Road to Tab Cat Bridge is now 40 mph.


• From Tab Cat Bridge to the North Carolina State line is now 30 mph.


New truck restrictions on “The Dragon” are applicable from Tab Cat Bridge to the North Carolina state line. The restrictions are as follows:


• No trailers longer than 30 feet are allowed.


• No single-unit vehicles longer than 30 feet are allowed.


• Any vehicle hauling double trailers that total more than 30 feet must drop one trailer at Tab Cat Bridge before taking the other across, and then return for the second trailer.


The Tennessee Department of Transportation announced the truck restrictions Dec. 2. Trucks aren’t the chief cause of trouble on “The Dragon,” but when big-rig accidents do occur, they often create delays on the road for hours thereafter.


The speed limit changes are aimed at other vehicles, however, and motorcycles in particular. “The Dragon” is a popular destination ride for motorcyclists, due to its combination of lovely scenery and hairpin curves.


To illustrate the hazards of traffic on “The Dragon,” TDOT recently issued crash statistics for the area between 2010 and 2012. According to TDOT, there were 204 accidents on “The Dragon” over that span. Six of those crashes involved fatalities. Those numbers are considered particularly significant given the length of, and overall traffic flow on that stretch of road.


Berrong issued a statement saying that traffic on “The Dragon” seems to be on the upswing, and urging caution for motorists who drive it.


“Traffic crashes occur too frequently on this curvy stretch of roadway,” he said. “Have fun, but please use caution.”

Twenty or thirty years ago Deal's Gap was a fun place to ride. Then it got popular. There are too many other fun roads to ride in the North Carolina/Tennessee mountain without the hassle of The Dragon.

As Yogi Berra said, "Nobody goes there anymore, it's too crowded."

gfspencer said:

Twenty or thirty years ago Deal's Gap was a fun place to ride. Then it got popular. There are too many other fun roads to ride in the North Carolina/Tennessee mountain without the hassle of The Dragon.

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I agree with you. I'm going to be in that area early fall and have no real desire to ride it. I'll spend my time on the others.

Joe

You can always just stop at the "store" and watch all the idiots in the parking lot. However, sometimes the parking lot isn't too safe either with all the wobbling and tip overs .

FWIW, things may have changed as the original post is approaching 3 years old.
OM

There are periodic updates on Killboy Failure Dragon Fest on ADVrider, still one of the more entertaining threads around.

I rode it for the first time last fall on a borrowed KLR, it wasn't too busy and made for a fun ride. I gave Killboy a few $$ for the photo keepsake. And yes that ADV thread is good humour.

So Dragon Fail got punted down into JoMomma, but some of the regular Dragonistas have started another thread in a Regional forum, under new rules. I'll try putting in the link:

https://advrider.com/index.php?threads/hwy-129-hell-i-was-there.1324673/


Let the entertainment continue....

I rode the Dragon 14 years ago for the first time and again last Memorial Day weekend. It was very busy but not to the point of being totally ridiculous. It was cool to see it again, but I have ridden more interesting roads in the intervening time in the same area and elsewhere.
It’ll be another 14 years before going back though.
I did buy a few pics from Killboy.com though...

I still enjoy it almost annually.

I just avoid weekends and holidays.

A heart-pounding exercise in precision riding.

Btdt

Was great in '79...... on my SR500

I rode the Blue Ridge parkway in early spring 2017 just as it was reopening for the spring. Temp range from 30 to 40 over 6 day period. Rode the dragon out and back 3 times and saw 4 other bikes on the dragon the day I rode. Only one other bike on the parkway on my way down-469miles- a guy on a new KTM1290. I may have looked like the Michelin man but I had a ball!