Tail of the Dragon

[tbones86]

I just checked out the Tail of the Dragon(US129 from Chilhowee, TN to Robbinsville, NC; the best of the twisties from Chilhowee to Deals Gap) in person last week, while on my honeymoon. Its as good or better than all the hype, I ran thru it w/ the car not the bike but you can't have everything. I had to stop in the middle because the wife was ready to toss her cookies from the roller coaster effect(got a chance to take a few pic's).
I highly recommend this desitination to anyone looking for some excitement. A full day of riding can be had by starting on the Foothills Parkway, the Dragon to Robbinsville, NC then the Cherohala Skyway. The Cades Cove Loop from Gatlinburg, TN offers some excitement as well. I am actually pretty sure that just about any mountain road through the Smokies will give you more of a thrill than most of us in the vast flat lands of ther US get on a regular basis. I will definetly go back w/ the bike hopefully next fall, I would highly recommend this as a desitination for any biker.

[Legs]

I love the Dragon, but in Alabama, from Leeds to Vandiver is The Copperhead (Hwy 25).

It's a little longer than the Dragon and a lot saner. Barber Museum is near the Leeds end and 29 Dreams is at the middle. Just a couple of hours from Atlanta, Chattanooga, and right by Birmingham, AL.

If you love the Dragon, you'll really love "The Copperhead"!

[kens97sto171]

Just wanted to put my .02 in here.. I have driven SR-22 in KY. It is pretty nice also. It runs thru Falmouth KY. It is split by US-27 which runs right thru Flamouth. You do need to watch out for cops on 22... but it is a 55MPH zone.. so it is still fun at that speed...

But The Dragon.. is still the King... it is almost TOO twistie.. I have also almost tossed my cookies as a passenger... My friend and I drive our Miata's there.. very fun. His is Turbo'd.. so it is somewhat faster than mine... He is putting over 200HP to the wheels.

Have fun, and be safe.

Ken

[kens97sto171]

Well.. right after I posted.. I remembered that my friend with the Turbo'd Miatra had made a video while at the Dragon..It is posted on Google Video... A little slow at first then speeds up.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...+Douglas&hl=en

This video is SR-22 in KY.. He had to drive this 8 TIMES to get all the camera shots in the right sequence.. since he only has one Vid Cam.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...+Douglas&hl=en

This one is not car/bike related.. but is funny too.. Good satire of the US news media.. and terrorists... Made this with a co-worker.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...+Douglas&hl=en

Enjoy...

Ken

[cajunpackrat]

I've been to the Dragon twice on our '03 'wing, the last trip prompted the purchase of my VFR. Two weeks ago, my wife won a nights stay at the resort and all we'll be back there as soon as my vacation builds back up. The Dragon and surrounding roads are great, but I found a few out in western Colorado and northern Wyoming (Beartooth Pass area) that will give it some strong competition. Not many roads here in La. to brag about. I guess that's why we look forward to our road trips so much...

Dennis

[KC-10 FE]

I've been there twice & I'm going there again in 3 days.

KC-10 FE out...

[WhiteKnight]

Got back Sunday from the Dragon. I am looking to see if Killboy or another person got pics of me on it. Haven't seen any yet. But I must say when you ride it, use caution. I rode with a full gear bag strapped on so I didn't go fast but it is definately a skill tester. I was able to take a couple of pics at the overlook on the TN side so I will get them posted soon.

[Miketegra]

Don't know if this is a re-post, but here is a vid of some guys "tearing it up" at Deal's Gap....heh....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whNI88AuJD0

Mike

[freewheelburner]

That link was awsome those guys are nuts!

[kajinvfr]

where you from packrat,i live in ne oklahoma now but am from new iberia,lots of good twisties and hill up here if any of yall ever get this way ,i have lived here 19 years and i know them all

[Paul04vfr]

miketegra
that was pretty cool. the guy in the blue took that last turn a little wide huh.

[cajunpackrat]

kajunvfr,

I'm in Lake Charles, but do travel to OKC occasionally for various equipment schools. I will definitely have my bike with me next time I head that direction. Weekend rides in some decent twisties are the best way to unwind from 5 days of tech manuals. I'll try to hook up when I'm up there again.
We just passed through your area about 2 weeks ago heading home from Colorado, ne Ok and western Ar. had some good roads, especially after snoring across Kansas...

Dennis

[geezerider]

Originally Posted by freewheelburner

That link was awsome those guys are nuts!

I especially liked the part where one slid over the yellow and almost collected a bike coming from the opposite direction....

[KC-10 FE]

Just got back today from the Dragon. As always, you will find whatever moto god you worship if you ride this area. I live in the CPRofNJ so there are NO, THAT'S RIGHT, NO good roads in the entire state. Even if there was, it would be packed with NJ assholes so it would still suck. I got 6 runs in this time around. Kill Boy was out that day so I should be able to get some great photo's.

We would have made a few more runs but the wife decided to go down going North on turn #310 out of #318. She rides with her feet pointing out to the sides for some reason & has never drug any part of her or the bike on pavement before. Her toe started to drag on a 180d turn so she looked down to see what was going on. What do they tell you in MSF classes? You go exactly where you're looking. She looked down at her boot in a turn and proceeded to go right off the road into the ditch. I watched her look at her foot & knew she was going to crash. I was already at a full stop when she finally went down. Luckily, she was only going about 7mph when she went down & walked away with no worse for wear. In fact, she has only a small bruise (size of a quarter) & a broken finger nail. Thank you Joe Rocket & Tourmaster. The 89 Honda Hawk GT has a broken rear turn signal, bent rear brake pedal, scratched front fender, broken Givi windshield, scratched bar end & f'd up muffler. She was able to get the sticken Hawk back to Deal's Gap & then ride it 60 miles to Cherokee, NC at the end of the day. Not counting paint, it should take less than $300 to get it road worthy and less than $1000 to get it back to pre crash status. No matter how good you think you are, better rider's have crashed in spectacular fashion on this road so keep that in mind if you attempt to set a new world record.

On 27 Sep, I put in a 300 mile day that went thru the GSMNP into Gatlinburg & Pidgeon Forge. I did a full run of the Cherohala & made my way thru the JKNF to the resort. I made a round trip up the Dragon & wrapped up the day with the return to Cherokee via Rt28 & Rt19. I wish I had roads like that in NJ. As if I needed any further reason to love my bike, I returned almost 47mpg. VFR's are awesome.

KC-10 FE out...

[Dean_Fuller]

Just for those that do not know...KILL BOY is a group of guys that sets up in one of the NICER curves and take professional grade photos of the riders that day. They then post them on KILLBOY.COM and you can order if you wish...I am lucky enought to live just minutes up the road from THe DRAGON a 11 mile 318 curves...yes!!!! 318 curves....SWEET!