Anybody ridden 'The Tail of The Dragon'?

[Von Vester]

Has anybody here ridden 'The Tail of the Dragon'?  A section of US129 in Tennessee, it has 300+ curves in 11 miles.

I just found out about it from my riding buddy (has a Harley Ultra-Classic) that ended up on the road by accident in a conversion van. He said he was getting queasy on the road and he was the driver. His boys in the back had to yuk-up.

I looked the section of road up on the internet and found this site:
http://www.tailofthedragon.com/

I'm hoping to go ride it this summer. I can hardly wait. Does anybody know when the best time to ride is (least crowd, good weather). I'll have to dedicate a weekend to get there. If anybody wants to make a date and do a GS invasion of the road I'm game for that too. It looks like a hell of a good time.

[john]

Quite a few members here have ridden Deals Gap  

[JohNLA]

Hey Von, check out the Meet and Greet. I believe a ride is being planned.

[dgyver]

Yep, 3 times. Go during the week if possible. Not uncommon for several hundred bikes to be there on the weekend. Haven't ridden Cherhola Skyway yet but I hear it is a great ride as well. There are better roads that are less crowded than Deals, just not as well known.

Me the last time there at the Overlook:

[JamesG]

The very tip of the Dragon is in Suches GA and I've been there a few times.

TWO is a great place and its where they have the True Gritts Rally.

[gsJack]

gsJack in action at the gap.   :lol:  :lol:  

[Adam R]

Here's a good question - has anyone ridden the roads around the Dragon in southern VA, eastern TN and the Smokies in NC  ...  AND ...  ridden the staple roads in California such as Palomar, Angles Crest Highway and their northern CA equivalents ? I've never seen a good comparison between the two.  

I've ridden Maryland, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and New York country roads and find the biggest difference is that on the East Coast the roads rise and fall a lot more than they do in the CA mountains.  Sure, there are substantial elevation changes in the CA canyons, but they're more gradual and you don't have sudden dips and ridges in the pavement that will send both wheels into the air if you're not careful.  

Also CA canyons tend to have dryer roads which makes for safer riding in my opinion, less unexpected mud and dampness in the corners to watch out for.

Still, there is a sweet smell in the air on a nice spring day in the East that just doesn't make it out here to Southern California, regardless of how deep into the mountains you might venture.

[BanannaMan]

I go to the Dragon every year!    

Lots of good roads in the area other than the big 3
(the dragon/chereola skyway/foothills parkway).




Oh and....be careful if you go.....
Crashing bikes are part of the scenery.  

[ashman]

Did some backpacking around there on the AT a few years ago and rode part of it. It sure is one twisty son of a Buddha Loves You! We were riding in a van and one of the guys ended up getting sick. I'd try it again but on two wheels or maybe 4 sporty ones.

-ash