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The Dragon/Who has been?

6K views 52 replies 31 participants last post by  Jordan1070 
#1 · (Edited)
This past July a group of us took a week and conquered the dragon @ Deals Gap. We stayed a a small motel right on US129 and had a blast. It has now become a yearly July tradition. Who here has also "tamed the dragon"?











 
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#4 ·
I've been there twice, once with a group and once solo, and I think I've ridden the dragon 11 times each way so far. I thoroughly enjoyed it both times, camping at Fontana Dam and touring the nearby area.

I've always wanted to ride the Cherohala Skyway while I was there, but I never got around to it. It's been a while...I should go again.

On one trip, a rig and overturned on the Dragon, closing the road until well into the night. It stranded our group...the closure was between us and our campground...and the road wasn't cleared until well into the night.

So, I have the distinction of being one of the few people who rode the Dragon in the dark (and the fog).

I wish they had a patch for that.
 
#8 · (Edited)
I was busy earlier and now, I AIN~T GONNA watch Hollywood awards nite on TV!!!
Not wanting to leave you with such a short answer/comment;)

July 2013 was our trip to the area...
Four fellas headed north from sw GA, We rode 4 days through many of those attractions...
But don`tchyaknow there are many roads in the GA, SC, NC & TN mountains I enjoy :D

During our 4 days, the Dragon & Cherohola Parkway was included, along with Devils Triangle, Blue Ridge Parkway, Moonshiner 28, War woman(?)
& ALMOST the "Diamondback"...
Going up, we got on Moonshiner 28 and rode all of it from the state line to Deals Gap, with the last 10 Miles on rain cleaned road;)

The guys I was with are beer drinkers, I opted to ride, whilst they "recouped" from the long hard ride...
I rode the Dragon 9 times each way on our overnight stay at Deals Gap...

I picked up a slow leak in the front tire, and had to monitor it throughout the trip from the first day...

Then we took off for Devils Triangle in the rain and afterward, made it to Tellico Plains to hook up with Bulldog, a member here...
We started with Cherohola Parkway for our second day of riding in the area...
We made it to the Blue ridge Parkway and rode it from Cherokee to Black Mountain, Where the BRP was closed for repair of a rockslide...
We were headed to the "Diamondback" but the beer drinking was more important so we stayed at Black Mountain...
Rain kept the roads clean for us, and we did get caught in it occasionally...
The rest of the story is in another thread on our trip to Deals Gap...

Yes, I`ll be back, (to the mountains)
D
 
#13 ·
It's not really as bad as the early days, no tractor trailers on it now, speed limit is 35 throughout the 11 miles. Unless something's changed since 2007 when I rode it with the brother. There are tools on any road you travel. We choose to be there during the week, thus less traffic.
 
#15 ·
Everyone on the Dragon was very respectful of my space. No worries there at all. If you're confident in your own skills and are responsible, anyone would do fine on the Dragon. The guy who slammed into that corvette was doing what every biker should know not to. He stared at what we was trying to avoid...You go where you're looking...And so he did lol
 
#16 ·
Couple of times, once in the rain. OK ride, but nothing special IMHO. Nice area, though, and the Cherohala Skyway offers much better scenery.

You want an extreme road, try the Bristlecone Pine Grove access road near Big Pine, CA. Nothing but curves and steep grades all the way up to about 10,000' with a gigantic drop-off into the valley below if you run wide. Pretty much everyone who rides it comes down saying, "Now that's a motorcycling road."

Come to think of it the nearby Whitney Portal road out of Lone Pine also makes the Dragon look like an interstate highway. I guess mountains lend themselves to great motorcycling routes.

While I'm thinking about it -- and dedicated off-road riders are going to throw up in their Shoeis if they read this -- I kind of wish somebody would either pave or improve some of the great ATV and 4WD routes in CO, like the Engineer and Imogene Pass roads near Ouray. Great scenery, but YIKES! hard-core riding on real dirt bikes only.

OK, I admit I deserve flaming for that.:lol:
 
#19 · (Edited)
One rock slide had a lane closed with a traffic light installed was the only obstacle/hazzard we we encountered...
BUT >
Yeah, the roads were clean from the rain, when we arrived...
Nice riding through them curves, no Yayhoos giving us any problems what so ever...

Enjoyed it,
D
 
#21 · (Edited)
I've been twice and loved it both times. Others I went will did not enjoy it as much but there threshold for making it fun was a lot lower. A couple of us rode it with added speed which for sure made it as fun as it could be on a cruiser. Sparks flew when we rode the Dragon. It is a good road to test ones abilities in the twisties. I had a buddy use my GoPro to get me in the action. If you got time go through the whole thing put it in HD. You can see the speed difference between us and the people we catch up to as well. I'll be back at the Dragon at some point as we love riding the area.



 
#23 ·
It's a fun ride --- if you go during the week. The weekends can get dangerous with some riding beyond their personal limits. If they want to donate parts of their bike to the Tree of Shame, that's their business. I just do not want to be taken out when they crash.

There are a lot of great roads with far less traffic in that part of the NC/TN mountains.

Watched one of the "Ride Like a Pro" videos recently which was filmed on The Dragon. It contained some good advice for anyone who wants to ride it.

But the part that really impressed me was the interview with the guy whom you can hire to video-record your ride. He knows every switchback and seam in the road. He once road it back-and-forth for 24 hours and racked up over 1000 miles that day. Just imagine. This guy did an Iron Butt --- ON THE DRAGON!
 
#24 ·
I was down there in 2012 and rode it on an '03 1800R. Got there at night in the rain, pitched a tent, and rode it in the morning after a hot breakfast at the Deal's Gap lodge. Lot of great people to meet and conversations to be had, the road is a blast too as long as you ride within your limitations.
 
#26 ·
I got in behind a couple of "road burners" that knew the road, I followed as close as I felt comfortable, and when they/we came up on a slower traveler, we respected their comfort zone, and only passed when they moved over to allow it...

We watch out for one another as we`re all in this thing together...
Yes, there are YayHoos but most of us respect each other...
Wave/don`t wave,
D
 
#27 ·
I've ridden it once, both directions and it was worth doing but I've ridden switchbacks up mountains that I've enjoyed more. Really quiet the day I was there though I've heard stories about peak weekends when the loonies come out.
 
#28 ·
I had a strong desire to go there but as time moved on I now feel little interest in it. I enjoy rides the most when I can see no one right in front of me and no one right behind me, not in traffic, even if that traffic is all like-minded folks. One or two friends is good. Alone is better. There are a lot of roads in Pennsylvania, western MD, Virginia and West Virginia...more that I can ever ride, that fit that bill.

I bet it would be great if I could have it mostly to myself. ;)
 
#30 ·
I had a strong desire to go there but as time moved on I now feel little interest in it. I enjoy rides the most when I can see no one right in front of me and no one right behind me, not in traffic, even if that traffic is all like-minded folks. One or two friends is good. Alone is better. There are a lot of roads in Pennsylvania, western MD, Virginia and West Virginia...more that I can ever ride, that fit that bill.

I bet it would be great if I could have it mostly to myself. ;)

I rode the dragon by myself MOST of the 11 times on our visit...

Most bikers won`t be outta bed before 10 am, I had the road to myself!!!

Rallies are the same, most least traffic is early morning...
In reference to the following post >
Same with the Sturgis routes, Them "pigtails are a trip!!!
And Back to back Switchbacks X 3 on the Devils Triangle was A-OK!!!
 
#29 · (Edited)
I've never ridden it and have never been anywhere east of Utah really. I don't see what the hype is all about from the videos, it looks like a less steep version of any mountainous road in the rockies or sierras (and here comes the barrage of people throwing out the stats of number of turns in so many miles...because apparently the Midwest has few roads with curves in them)...I'll keep my solitary mountains! Though given the opportunity I would love to ride the dragon. I just don't have a strong urge to make a trip out there specifically for that.

Anybody ever ride the short, over-rated, infamous Lombardi street? I've always been curious about that lol.
 
#32 ·
Everyone who rides should venture out for The Dragon.
Its a wonderful experience with fellow riders there to meet and hang out with.
I made some new friends on my last trip.
And all of the roads and highways around there are awesome to ride.
Its not just The Dragon.

Plus, the photographers are always set up on the side of the road.
You get an opportunity to get some great shots of yourself on your bike.
I try to lean it over especially far to show the underside of my bike in the photo! :)

I'm glad I live as close as I do to Deal's Gap.



 
#33 ·
Thought I'd tag on a more recent report. My brother and I did the dragon last week during the week on a sportster and heritage softtail (big and little harleys that we rented since we live so far away). They both were fun and no problem on the dragon. It was plenty crowded on a weekday; can't imagine what it would be like on a weekend. No racers. Nice and easy and a lot of fun. I felt like I was in some kind of biker woodstock at the start in Deals Gap. Great experience. Also did Foothills Pkwy, Hellbender (rt 28) and 441 through the Smokies. Beautiful roads.
 
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