My Tail of The Dragon trip

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Bloodbeard

Bloodbeard

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 9, 2011
Messages
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Location
Falling Waters, WV
Went down over Columbus day. Thanks to all that helped walk me through the water pump change I had gotten the bike buttoned up the day before we left. Short test ride then off. Bike was mostly problem free just the high speed miss that I had before.

It gave me a bit of a scare when we first arrived as coolant was leaking on the ground. A quick inspection found some had sploshed out of the reservoir while on the trailer.

Only downside to the whole trip was the entrance fee the NC trooper charged my buddy to get in.

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Nice....... Deals Gap is about 90 miles from my house . but I have never rode it , I have heard some BAD stories about Sports Cars and Sport Bikes tryin' to turn the corners at like 90 mph......... and just slappin' somebody with in the Face. I try to avoid that kinda stuff if I can. :heat: beautiful Bike :salute:
 
I rode up Skyline Drive, which I think is north of that section you rode. I was VERY disappointed with Skyline Drive. Posted speed limit is something ridiculously slow, like 35 mph, and you have to pay to ride it. There's this short section of mountain twisty back in So Cal that I ride whenever I'm back there, called Decker Canyon. Right where it starts to go up off Westlake Blvd, there's something like 19 curves in less than a mile. Quick blast up and down is a good way to scrub in some new tires, it's free, and you can go faster than 35 mph. But that Deals Gap has some nice scenery, that's for sure!
 
We've found that with gas stops and leg stretching it takes us about 12-13 hours on a bike and about 11 in the car. More range etc so it's more so we aren't wore out the next morning and can explore more while down there.

ESP when it's a 3 day weekend cramming to much in takes the fun out of it.
 
We did the Deal in '06 with the Corvette Registry....plenty-o-fun, but some of the wemin had issues with holdin their lunch down...don't know why. Several members were also seen with large bruises on their right arms afterward.... :Doh2:

There used to be a MAJOR problem with truck traffic thru there, too, but I think the law has changed to where the large trucks are not permitted anymore.

Great pics!! :clapping:
 
I saw a TV show not long ago , about the Dragon , how many wrecks , how many killed , and how many Cops are now watching it everyday . I love riding the Blue Ridge Parkway , and the Dragon would be good , but , a man on a Motor Cycle , Head-On with a car wouoldn't be good. :smilie_happy: thats why I ain't done it , I'm not afraid to die , but I don't want some speed demon takin' me out , so he can set some personal record . :smilie_happy:
 
With the speed limit at 30 and the cops watching the way they do now I feel safer on that road than before. Also they always tell how many wrecks... How about how many bike cross that road a day though. it's non stop bike bike bike. Part of the reasons the number of wrecks are high is that the pure numbers.

So with that in mind using the 400 average vehicle per day number from 2002 x365 days = 2 deaths in 146,000

The regular motorcycle fatality rate for 2002 is 64 in 100,000 registered vehicles.


AVERAGE DAILY TRAFFIC (ADT):
400 vehicles in 2002.

HIGHEST ELEVATION:
Deals Gap - 1962 feet

LOWEST ELEVATION:
Tabcat Bridge - 877 feet

ELEVATION CHANGE:
Tabcat Bridge to Deals Gap - plus 1085 feet
Tabcat Bridge to Fugitive Bridge - plus 321 feet


CLICK HERE FOR ENLARGED ELEVATION MAP

SPEED LIMITS:
Prior to 1992 the speed limit in both Tennessee and North Carolina was 55 mph. In 1993 the speed limit on the Tennessee side was lowered to 40 mph. In 2002 the speed limit was lowered to 30 mph, which is still in effect today. The North Carolina portion of the Dragon was lowered to 30 mph in early 2005..

Many people confuse deaths from as far away as 100 miles as being "on the Dragon". The Tail of the Dragon is only 11 miles long and the following facts pertain only to those 11 miles. There are more motorcycle deaths on other roads in Blount County Tennessee than there are on the Dragon each year.
2010 - One death as of September 1: August 28 south bound sportbike rider off road and hit tree. Another death at Wheelie Hell in August technically not on Dragon.
2009 - Five deaths: HD rider from Miami went off road, reason unknown (possible heart attack). Friends and LEOs searched several hour before finding body. A female HD rider died at mm 5.0 when she went off the road. Another female died a month later in the same area. A 66 year old Goldwing rider died near mm 8. A 49 year old died two months after crashing at the Hump.
2008 - Four deaths: One sportbike went off road and hit tree near Thunder Road Bend. One cruiser went off road in Ron's Run with rider suffering heart attack. One trike went off road and struck tree. One sportbike death in head-on near Parsons Branch.
2007 - Three deaths: One low side at Guadrail Cliff. Trike versus a vehicle near the Wall claimed the lives of an older rider and his passenger. Both accidents in July.
2006 - Two deaths: One rider went off road and hit tree another low sided into an oncoming vehicle.
2005 - Three deaths: All three deaths involved failing to negociate corners - two went off the mountain and one slid into an oncoming vehicle.
2004 - Two deaths: Both deaths apparently caused by speed and then overbraking.
2003 - No deaths: There were several deaths in the surrounding area of the Dragon, but none that we know of on the 11 miles of the Dragon itself.
2002 - Two deaths: On June 16 a 29 year-old Dale Bently a Valkyrie rider from Michigan died on the Dragon. The rider was passing a car near the Horns of the Dragon when he wrecked and suffered fatal head injuries. The second death occurred on Sunday August 4 when Lendry R. Obanna Jr., 24, of Jacksonville, Florida, lost control of his 2000 Yamaha R6.
2001 - Two deaths: The entire Blount County (home of the Dragon) saw a total of four motorycle fatalities in 2001. The total includes the deaths of a 27-year-old Knoxville man who died March 10 in a collision on Old Knoxville Highway in Rockford, the May 5th death on the Dragon, the July 5th death of a 43-year-old Maryville man in an accident on Happy Valley Road, and the October 27th death on the Dragon.
2000 - One death: Blount County had four motorcycle deaths in 2000 including one fatality on the Dragon.
 
Not worried about the fatalities. I died on the table in the hospital almost twenty years ago. If I'm gonna go, I'ld prefer to go doing something I love. The Dragon's been on my bucket list since I first heard of it five years ago. Just don't have the vacation time to get there and back and enjoy it too. Someday! :eek:k:
 
I've been to the Dragon the last two years. The best time to go is during the week, alot less traffic. Two things will get you a ticket on the Dragon, crossing the center line and speeding. Whenever you go down, you have to take in some of the other rides down there. This year I added the Devil's Triangle to my trip. It's a 44 mile loop with some curves that makes the Dragon seem like a kiddie ride and virtually no traffic. Plus you have to stop at Al's Place on the Triangle. It's an experience you won't want to miss. It's a ride all motorcyclists need to take: Dragon, Moonshiner 28, Devil's Triangle, Diamondback and the Skyway. Like is good.
 
the dragon is many things to many people. like anyother road in america, each rider has to ride his or her own ride. know the limits of your bike, and of yourself. the best time is in the fall during the week. a lot of the information out there about it is misleading. the fact is it is just one great twisty road, actually made safer by the lack of side roads, or driveways entering it. i have been over the dragon in both direction well over 500 times. i have not crashed....or died. it is an experience in motorcycling that is not for everyone. but a lot of people do it every year, and come away with nothing but smiles. the experience has been down graded in the last few years due mostly to young, inexperienced riders who get caught up in the hipe. and ride over there head. back in the day, before it was a "distination", it was a breathtaking joy for man and machine to blend with nature, and face their demons. i have given many interviews about it, and i always hope what is taken away from them is exactly that
 
yes it is a great ride .been over it about four oe five times . but always in a cage. never had a trustwerthy ride hope this will be the one. i useally make the trip comeing out of maryville going to the cosino. then around thru maggie vallyl.back to 40 west. back to 75 n. and home. deffinaly bring a camera.
 

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