Tail of the Dragon Rookie

I'm heading down to the Tail of the Dragon for the first time this coming June, and I was wondering if anyone has any input as to some must see or do things while I'm down there.

 

watch out for cops, i would do a ride through it before cutting loose & hauling ass other than that watch out for all the cages and idiot harley rides

 

if you can make it during the first week in june (mon, 5/31- fri, 6/4/10), there will be a vfr get together at the kickstandlodge (i'll pm you). other than that, take matt's recommendations. if you get pulled over by the THP (TN HWY PATROL), YOU WILL get a ticket. the blount county guys are pretty cool about letting folks ride at reasonable speeds. i would suggest getting or looking at a MADMAP(MAD MAPS Scenic Road Trips) of the smoky mountains to find some places to stay, eat, ride loops, etc.
best thing to do is try to get yer Canadien keister :canada: down for our vfr get together and ride with us! :grouphug:

 

check out this for a dates to go.... There probly will be tour guides aviable..
vfr gathering 2010l

If thinking of going then maybe ride down with US Just a thought

 

While the tail of the dragon is awesome there are many other roads that are a lot of fun. Some roads are below:

1. Cherohala Skyway
2. Hwy 22 in Franklin, NC
3. Blood Mountain in Georgia (US 129/19)

A suggestion on to make the trip fun and memorable I would avoid the franchises for lunch/dinner such as McDonalds, Burger King, etc... You definitely gotta try to local mom and pop places there are lots of them around and if you take your time you will be rewarded with an excellent meal with the cost being just a little more than a Happy Meal.

For example, if you go to Helen, Georgia there are a lot of little cool restaurants.

And lastly, you gotta check out picture sites for the dragon so you can get a remembrance of the great times. killboy.com photos - The Original Photographer from US129 Tail of the Dragon at Deals Gap is one and another is us129photos.com

And when you're on the dragon yes, you gotta watch for cops. If you see a biker in the opposite direction tapping his helmet that means watch your speed there's a cop up ahead. If you wanna see what your bike can do first at least do a scout run to make sure there aren't any cops hiding.

Enjoy the trip!

 

Thanks for the information guys. Unfortunately I will not be able to make it down for the ride at the Kickstand lodge. I am actually leaving on Friday June 4th from Canada. I will hopefully be down that way Friday night though. This ride is going to be a quick one. leaving Southern Ontario Friday morning and back Monday night. By the sounds of it I will probably want to come back though.

 

I was just reading about the get together you are putting on down at the kickstandlodge. I wish I could come a couple days earlier to see all you guys, but sadly I can't get out of that much work. Hope you guys have a great time, and if it is to be an anual thing be sure to post for us Canucks to see.

 

I’LL BE There

 

I'll be there

FEW PIC'S OF HEAVEN View attachment 10668 View attachment 10669 View attachment 10670 I know hard not to cry but here more. View attachment 10668 View attachment 10669 View attachment 10670 View attachment 10671 View attachment 10672 View attachment 10673 I have been there---------------couple of hundred times and plan on going back couple hundred more.

 

May be you could catch a ride back with us for some company? Riding down or trailering? Will be crossing the border by the Peace Bridge? Maybe at some point we get together. Check out this thread.
richie

 

Absolutely

 

Richie,
I'll be riding down. I'm crossing at Sombra, Ont. / Marine City, Mich. Coming down I75, then heading back the long way. Not exactly sure on the route, but headed NNE from the dragon to take in some of the better roads.

 

Tips for riding the Dragon from killboy.com:

Tips on Riding Deal's Gap

Submitted by anonymous reader

Recent Additions are Yellow


Stay in your lane - There are so many benefits here I shouldn't even have to justify it. If everyone stays in their lane, we get 22 miles of great riding instead of 11 miles dodging oncoming traffic. Riders who cut lanes, particularly in one of the many spots they don't realize is dangerous, often end up going into a curve too fast or with a bad line...it all goes downhill from there. Flow with the road, it's a nice curvy road, why try to straighten it? If you find yourself repeatedly too close to the yellow and can't seem to stop it, try making a few passes riding as close to the white line as you can. This will make you more comfortable with being in the right half of your lane.

Check your ego - I'd guess about 90% of the accidents are a result of trying to "keep up" or "stay in front" of other, faster riders. You do know you are not the fastest rider don't you? (no it's not me

Check things out on your first run - Road conditions are pretty consistent at the Gap, due to the lack of in-roads, but your first pass should be at a moderate pace to see how things look. If there is some debris in the road, feel free to pull over and clean it up. You will be a hero for life in someone's eyes, and you won't have to worry about tracking that bad spot.

Lay off the rear brakes - (on the road) Nearly every black skidmark you see is the result of rear brake slides. Sportbikes in particular can stop so well on the front brakes they will easily raise the rear tire off the road. When this happens, if you so much as touch the rear brake lever the rear tire stops spinning and you lose a majority of your rotational stability. It's a bad habit that is complicated by panic. Save the rear brakes for off-roading. (gravel pull offs, etc)

Lay off the front brakes - (off the road) So many riders have dumped their bike right in front of me while pulling off the road to talk, that I always point my camera at anyone who appears to be pulling off in case they grab a handful of front brake and dump it. Slow down as much as you can before pulling off, and switch to dirtbike mode when you hit the gravel.

Lay off the shifting - I run most of the Gap in 2 gears, shifting very rarely. Try sticking to one gear until you are very comfortable and just concentrate on being smooth.

Fast sections do not last - Many of the problem corners where everyone seems to pile up, are sharp turns at the end of a fast section. Until you have things memorized, and let's be realistic, that's a LOT of memorizing, take it easy on the fast stuff. One more reason to stick with one gear.

Group Cruising - Spread out. If you are cruising through and you know others will be coming up behind your group, make it easier on them to work their way through by giving them space between bikes. It's nearly impossible to pass a tight group of 4 or more bikes safely, but some riders will try to force a pass on that whole group and it causes accidents, which brings out the cops and ruins things for everyone. You are all going to the same place - there are no roads to turn off onto. You won't get lost if you back off a few feet, I promise.

Watch for signals - If you see someone motioning for you to slow down or pull over, do it immediately. Mack truck bumpers are not very forgiving to motorcycles or squishy humans. =)

Give signals - If you know there is a road hazard behind you, motion for other riders to slow down by pressing down with your open palm. If you want to warn others of a speed trap, pat the top of your helmet. If you see a semi heading into the Gap, try to get in front and warn people. I usually ride very close to the center line, even ON the center line, and motion for people to pull off the road by pointing at their shoulder of the road. Try to stay about 2 turns ahead of the rig...just far enough for a person to slow down, but not so long that they think you were crazy and take back off only to meet the truck around the next bend. Also watch your temperature. Try to use a higher gear and coast as much as you can to keep your bike cool.

Slow down as you near the ends - Speeding up to the crowd at the Overlook or the Store only impresses the types no one is trying to impress. These places are crowded, and dangerous by design. At the Overlook, the parking area on one side of the road is a blind pull out, at the Store you have Hwy 28 joining onto 129, and a parking lot full of bikes and people distracting everyone. Also, the cops like to hang out at the Overlook and clock people as they come speeding around the last bend. The road opens up and it's very inviting to speed. Familiarize yourself with the indicators before each end. Generally we ease off after crossing the state line into NC heading toward the Store, and the last sharp left heading toward the Overlook. There is a yellow/black Curvy Road sign just before the Overlook...the only one between the state line and the Overlook. One other benefit of taking it easy near the end is that it allows your brakes to cool a little. Hammering the brakes right up to the last 10 feet, then parking your bike can very well cause brake rotor warping. The callipers are super hot, and they sit on one spot of the rotor, keeping that spot very hot while the rest of the rotor cools. This difference in heat is what causes warping. Needless to say, stoppies for the crowd just before you park are hell on your rotors.

 

My hometown is about an hour outside the gap. Used to take my 599 up there all the time. Mind if a vfr n00b comes up for the gathering?

 

keep the rubber side down. Enjoy the mountains. Ride the Cherohala Skyway.visit Smokey Mtn. National park

 

I'm sure Joey means Hwy28 north of Franklin, NC not 22

 

Sure thing, go to the VFR gathering 2010 thread and sign up.

 

Take it easy on the Dragon! It's 50/50 fun vs. survival.

 

I too, with a larger group, will be visiting the Tail for the first time. We will be in the area around the 20th of June 2010.

 

What's this I heard that the Dragon has been closed till August???