Tail of the Dragon - March 2013

[buzzbomb]

So I'm perusing the posts and I saw that AnthonyF6R (who no longer has one, but that's beside the point) just might be running the Dragon in March.

I've wanted to run the Dragon ever since I learned of it, a few years ago. When I run my twisties, I think to myself that I'm training for that truly epic piece of pavement.

When I read that Anthony was possibly going to run the Dragon, I asked him to PM me with specific dates. I also mentioned that I always ride solo, but I thought it might be cool to run the Dragon with a brother.

I'm going to extend that offer. The above referenced post just happened, so there is no PM yet.

Anyway, the thought occurred: What the hell? Let's get it together and do it. The original post was Anthony's. He sets the date. Anyone who can make it, does so. Ride what you've got, all skill levels welcome.

Let's get together, drink some beer (the night before) and ride. Ride the dickens out of that road. Ride that road until it's boring. Let's get together and make some memories.

 

[Anthony]

You are aware that I am talking about the "Tail of the dragon" in Tennessee right?


If so, i'm working out the details as far as the actual dates but expect it to be in March but possibly not until April.(it is sort of fluid at the moment) I'm going with between 30-50 riders. We will rent several cabins in Gatlinburg and all stay together. Wives, Girlfriends & possibly a mistress or two will be coming along also. Some ride, some stay and cook, hang out, or whatever it is chicks do together.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkZ-AC-aoSw]Gatlinburg Cabin Rentals - Above It All, Gatlinburg, TN - YouTube[/ame]


The group I would be going with are mainly from Indiana. I am attending as a guest as it's mainly a club putting most of it together that I ride with often but am not a member of. Many "guests" go on this trip. Mainly all sport bikes. I believe other guests are welcome also on this trip. I missed last years chance but this year i'm going. As soon as I know the details I'm locking myself in. From Indiana, Most are riding their bikes while some will use a trailor. The non-riding chicks will drive in cars hauling our bags, luggage, ect. We will be there a couple/few days. It should be good times..

I am probably going to know the basic schedule within a couple of days. I just reached out tonight to find out exactly when it is.

Now, if you, someone, wants to go it can probably be worked out just let me narrow down some dates/costs ect. I would assume the more the merrier.

I will probably break off from the group because I want to try to run the dragon several times. Some with the group & a run or two by myself. It's 11 miles and 318 turns!



I will be sure to charge my GoPro

 

[EsrTek]

Dragon is awesome, been there least twice a yr since I started riding 2yrs ago.
Anytime you go w a big group, so I seen, the groups will run the dragon then hang out at the end at the store. Giving others who want to run the dragon another time the chance.

When no cops and not a lot of traffic you can do the 11miles in >15mins, in heavy traffic it can take 30+ at posted speeds.
If you want to really enjoy the dragon, you have to hit it on a weekday, weekends are packed.

This yr will stink a bit because of the landslides and roads being closed, so the dragon will get even more steady traffic on it this yr.
Rt 28 from the dragon to Franklin, NC is just as technical but a lot less crowded..make sure you get that road in your trip!!

 

[MistahT]

I've always wanted to, but I have no desire to ride highway all the way to Tennessee from the DC area. If anyone is gonna pass through MD with a truck and trailer or something, let me know.

 

[EsrTek]

I've always wanted to, but I have no desire to ride highway all the way to Tennessee from the DC area. If anyone is gonna pass through MD with a truck and trailer or something, let me know.

You should come to our rally, mostly guys riding ninja 250's, but this yr a few of us upgraded
Anyway about 3-5 guys ride down from DC every yr.. this yr we are going to Marion, WV for 4 day rally in Beginning of August

 

[dart1963]

You should come to our rally, mostly guys riding ninja 250's, but this yr a few of us upgraded
Anyway about 3-5 guys ride down from DC every yr.. this yr we are going to Marion, WV for 4 day rally in Beginning of August

all the fun roads are further south!

although 50 and 250 are some amazing roads... just watch out for truckers who like to come over into your lane...

I've not heard of the TN dragon, sounds interesting....


and yes T, when we went to INDY, a few guys trucked it there and hauled out gear, the rest of us road there.... let's just say, it's a lot of highway miles and it's not "fun", but it's fast and fuel efficient...

We made a pit stop at Tygart Lake on the way there... and road all the way back... we all needed a day to recover after that

 

[MistahT]

You've got me excited. What dates are we looking at??

 

[Fizzer6R]

sounds fun!!

run the dragon a couple times both ways, then head off to the surrounding areas, much better and lesser chance of someone else running into you

 

[Fenixgoon]

You've got me excited. What dates are we looking at??

agreed. i might be able to make it! (though i'm probably going to switch jobs, so i might not have vacation time, but we'll see)

 

[leem00]

You are aware that I am talking about the "Tail of the dragon" in Tennessee right?


If so, i'm working out the details as far as the actual dates but expect it to be in March but possibly not until April.(it is sort of fluid at the moment) I'm going with between 30-50 riders. We will rent several cabins in Gatlinburg and all stay together. Wives, Girlfriends & possibly a mistress or two will be coming along also. Some ride, some stay and cook, hang out, or whatever it is chicks do together.

Gatlinburg Cabin Rentals - Above It All, Gatlinburg, TN - YouTube


The group I would be going with are mainly from Indiana. I am attending as a guest as it's mainly a club putting most of it together that I ride with often but am not a member of. Many "guests" go on this trip. Mainly all sport bikes. I believe other guests are welcome also on this trip. I missed last years chance but this year i'm going. As soon as I know the details I'm locking myself in. From Indiana, Most are riding their bikes while some will use a trailor. The non-riding chicks will drive in cars hauling our bags, luggage, ect. We will be there a couple/few days. It should be good times..

I am probably going to know the basic schedule within a couple of days. I just reached out tonight to find out exactly when it is.

Now, if you, someone, wants to go it can probably be worked out just let me narrow down some dates/costs ect. I would assume the more the merrier.

I will probably break off from the group because I want to try to run the dragon several times. Some with the group & a run or two by myself. It's 11 miles and 318 turns!



I will be sure to charge my GoPro

Keep us in the loop. I may be up for it!

 

[buzzbomb]

You are aware that I am talking about the "Tail of the dragon" in Tennessee right?

Yep. I figure it's about a six hour ride from my location, not counting fuel and coffee stops. However... 30 to 50 bikes? Not my scene.

I want to RUN the road, not worry about keeping position behind the bike in front of me. A small group of riders, I can do. Lay out riding skills prior to the ride, fastest (or most competitive) in front, we all meet at the bottom. Do it again in the other direction. Repeat.

Too many riders and it's just a cluster f**k. There's a lot to be said for riding in that kind of group, but it's not what I'm looking for. I want to RUN it, as best as my skills, my bike and sense of self preservation will allow.

I would still appreciate knowing the dates your group is going, though. I've got it in my head now. I'm going to get a bike camera and run it. I would like to schedule my run on a different day than yours, though.

My offer still stands, if there's a couple riders who want to run the Dragon with me. It's still your fault, Anthony! You got me considering making the dream of running the Dragon into reality, and now that it's in my head, I've got to do it. All things considered? Sweeet!

 

[Anthony]

You are aware that I am talking about the "Tail of the dragon" in Tennessee right?

Yep. I figure it's about a six hour ride from my location, not counting fuel and coffee stops. However... 30 to 50 bikes? Not my scene.

I want to RUN the road, not worry about keeping position behind the bike in front of me. A small group of riders, I can do. Lay out riding skills prior to the ride, fastest (or most competitive) in front, we all meet at the bottom. Do it again in the other direction. Repeat.

Too many riders and it's just a cluster f**k. There's a lot to be said for riding in that kind of group, but it's not what I'm looking for. I want to RUN it, as best as my skills, my bike and sense of self preservation will allow.

I would still appreciate knowing the dates your group is going, though. I've got it in my head now. I'm going to get a bike camera and run it. I would like to schedule my run on a different day than yours, though.

My offer still stands, if there's a couple riders who want to run the Dragon with me. It's still your fault, Anthony! You got me considering making the dream of running the Dragon into reality, and now that it's in my head, I've got to do it. All things considered? Sweeet!

HOGWASH!

man, That piece of pavement is always cluttered, You're not going to be able to run the road hard the whole way because it is a heavily traveled road(cars, trucks, bikes). I plan on making several runs at it. with group, with a few, by myself.

Can you run hard for a minute here and there? Sure.

Can the whole ride be "spirited"? Sure.

I too plan on riding it myself but will be there with a bigger crowd, mainly because we are kind of making a mini-vacation out of it. You know, shake some hands, make some friends, party, ride, ect...


I too am exactly 6 hours away per mapquest, which means ill make it there in 4 1/2 on the bike. I'll get the dates, and then talk smack to you all the way up until the trip! I will slowly break you down until you finally say "FU*K IT, I'M GOING" lol...


And if you only go 30 mph the whole dragon I will gopro you and put you on youtube calling you female names!

 

[Gixerhp]

March for the area can still be chilly, mid April is when the area starts to wake up.
I have been going to the Dragon, since 05, and i head there twice a year!
It is a very challenging road, and not for a novice rider.
Take your time and just enjoy it.
Also there are so many roads to ride, in the area, the riding enjoyment is endless!

 

[buzzbomb]

HOGWASH!

man, That piece of pavement is always cluttered, You're not going to be able to run the road hard the whole way because it is a heavily traveled road(cars, trucks, bikes). I plan on making several runs at it. with group, with a few, by myself.

Can you run hard for a minute here and there? Sure.

Can the whole ride be "spirited"? Sure.

I too plan on riding it myself but will be there with a bigger crowd, mainly because we are kind of making a mini-vacation out of it. You know, shake some hands, make some friends, party, ride, ect...


I too am exactly 6 hours away per mapquest, which means ill make it there in 4 1/2 on the bike. I'll get the dates, and then talk smack to you all the way up until the trip! I will slowly break you down until you finally say "FU*K IT, I'M GOING" lol...


And if you only go 30 mph the whole dragon I will gopro you and put you on youtube calling you female names!

My first run? Gonna be baby steps. Gotta learn the road. Second run? Same thing the other way. Nice and easy. Put the cam on me on the next run. You know what you'll see? Me getting f***ing stupid!

No, not really. Once again, not my scene. I'll be pushing it, as I see it. I'm not running to impress anybody. Nor am I going to go through everything that 3 days from work entails to just mosey around. I'm going to run that road. I'm not going up there to enjoy the scenery.

I'm going up there to run the most famous road on the East Coast and at the end of the day, do it to the best of my abilities.

 

[MistahT]

We got a date for this thing yet? Callendar is filling up and need to know well in advance to take off work. Just saying....

 

[buzzbomb]

We got a date for this thing yet? Callendar is filling up and need to know well in advance to take off work. Just saying....

Good point. Anybody who's been there got some pointers for a place to stay, so I can make reservations?

 

[buzzbomb]

I was wondering about temperatures and my gear, my Southern acclimatization and so on.

So I looked up DealsGap weather. It would suck to get up there and be too cold to ride at the best of my ability. I'm using this chart:

Tail of the Dragon at Deals Gap, motorcycle and sport car lane tourism serving Tail of the Dragon at Deals Gap, Cherohala Skyway, Moonshiner28, and Devils Triangle.

I'm now looking at mid April for the run. Weather-wise, it seems to make more sense. Average 68 for the high, for me, means just a layer or two under my perforated gear.

Also the tires will be warmer and stickier, and that's a bonus that cannot be ignored.

For me, I'm thinking head up there on the 17th. Run it (over and over and over) on the 18th and head home on the 19th. That avoids the weekend warriors.

That's two nights in whatever motel/hotel is decided upon. That also gives me personally time to run some twisties before then (I hope), and get some new tires.

The road will be a little busier in April than it would be in March, but I feel that's for obvious reasons.

So there's my tentative dates. Let's do this thing.

 

[blkbrd]

Good point. Anybody who's been there got some pointers for a place to stay, so I can make reservations?

When I went there I stayed at the Hampton Inn in Lenoir City. It's right beside a hospital, which came in handy when I crashed riding the Devil's Triangle. LOL!!

 

[buzzbomb]

When I went there I stayed at the Hampton Inn in Lenoir City. It's right beside a hospital, which came in handy when I crashed riding the Devil's Triangle. LOL!!

LOL, Thanks. I think...

 

[leem00]

Mid week I think I will pass especially that early in the season.