Tail of the Dragon

[TwiztedRabbit]

been there many times great trip.. never had any real issues.. cept once my kickstand killswitch went out at the dam.. and wouldnt let me start the bike till i chopped the wires and made it a loop circuit that was on my old cbr600rr.. other than that never really seen to many cops.. only had one close call with a semi.. good trips

[Tbone9191]

Are you taking the Shadow?

its all I have for right now.

[MidgetTodd]

No he's taking the Honda

[LoneRanger]

I did it last year on my 06 Shadow Spirit. It was a good trip. I'm really looking forward to taking the ST1300 this year.

[MadMadame]

Hit the Cherohala Skyway while you're there.

[Tbone9191]

Hit the Cherohala Skyway while you're there.

will do. where is that?

[Zach]

Ride dragon. don't turn when you get to the deal's gap gas station. turn right at the big shiny new gas station. go ~10 miles. enjoy cherohala.

[Tonik]

will do. where is that?

As you continue down 129 (the dragon) past Deal's Gap (the little motorcycle 'resort') at the end of The Dragon towards Robbinsville, NC it is a right turn just before town. The suggestion that you take it is a good one for a couple of reasons. One it is an awesome road, big sweepers with a stunning view and two it will take you back over to 75 more or less if you want to get back on the freeway for your Florida run.

Word of advice, if you are on your Spirit fill up with gas either at Deals Gap or in Robbinsville before you hit the skyway. It is a ways across it to Telico befoer you see gas again. I recall when I did that on my old Spirit that I was ok but I was a bit nervous near the end. However I had not gotten gas since the hotel in Alcoa.

[MadMadame]

Yeah, what they said. lol!

[Tbone9191]

Great idea. Thanks for the info.

[JBWalker]

from charleston WV, i dig taking I-77 to fancy gap. next, BRP to cherokee and onto tail of the dragon. finally, by way of maryville, knoxville, I-75 back to ohio. about 1150mi. loop.

[Funjunkie]

Papa.. 23 is pretty cool once you get south of Ashland KY. I will actually take 104 to 35 @ Chilicothe, then hop over onto 93 at Jackson OH.. its Wayne National Forrest all the way to Ironton. That really shaves off about an hour. its faster to go around Portsmouth and the stretch of 23 in KY along the river. After Ashland KY its 99% four lane highway, with a few small tows along the way. Good for gas and food stops. Then just before Asheville i think it turns into 23/26 or 23/70..I think.. Ill have to look at the map for the exact numbers, but if you follow the 23 signs you end up going right past Dowtown Asheville.

[Tonik]

from charleston WV, i dig taking I-77 to fancy gap. next, BRP to cherokee and onto tail of the dragon. finally, by way of maryville, knoxville, I-75 back to ohio. about 1150mi. loop.

I have done it that way also, more or less. You need to work HWY 421 aka 'The Snake' into that loop. It is just south east of Bristol TN. Maybe come across 81 to Bristol then back SE to BRP near Boone. The Snake is very similar to The Dragon. There are two sections to it, each about 10 miles long with a cool valley and store in the middle. All the roads around there are awesome.

Here is a link to the store. http://www.shadyvalleycountrystore.com/

The Snake is not as extreme or as technical as the Dragon but it is darn close.

[Funjunkie]

Thanks for the invite T Bone..But I dont think its do-able for me though. Ride safe!!

[Tbone9191]

Well as the dragon is closed I won't be stoppin there anymore. Leave Saturday morning, anyone welcome to ride along as long as u would like.

[Zach]

from dealsgap.com

Monday April 5

Ok Gang it is official, TN will sign off on Graham county letter of EMS support. Thanks to all the letters, emails, phone calls and faxes you sent in.

But lets also thank the State of TN for letting NC help. Also, Thank you THP I know that you will have a hard patrol schedule and are going the extra mile to get the road reopened.

This week I will change the save the gap banner to a site listing all the critical political and private players that helped us along the way. Please feel free to thank those folks as much as we asked for there help. All too often we are quick to judge and complain but we never take the time to say thanks...present company included. So I will make sure I take this opportunity to express my thanks for all of there work as a team.

OK now for the WARNING.....this is not a closed course folks, traffic will be going both ways and not all just motorcycles. TVA and Alchoa will be bussing there folks between the dams. Please do not cross the double line thinking it is safe to do so. Crossing will put you at risk of serious injury or a fatality. Also, please do not complain if THP gives you a ticket for crossing they only want everyone to be safe. They would prefer not to write a single ticket and see everyone go home safe and happy.

Thanks again Gang

[garysol1]

Great News!!!

[Tbone9191]

So when is it open?

[Zach]

So when is it open?

Today or tomorrow, sounds like. Keep an eye on dealsgap.com

You won't be able to access it from the north though.

[curby]

i love this update...

"Now for the rumors, hope I can get them all right lol.No the road is not being removed and turned into part of the cades cove loop. No the tree of shame has not been cut down. No TDOT did not cause the rock slide on purpose. No THP is not tazzing folks for approaching the barricades. That is the ones from this week lol."

[psyco1]

How about saying screw The Dragon and ride The Snake.

http://www.shadyvalleycountrystore.com/

[Zach]

News Date: 04/09/2010

Outlet: WBIR-TV

Article: WBIR.com Anthony Welsch Updated: 4/8/2010 10:43:58 PM Posted: 4/8/2010 2:55:57 PM

TDOT officials plan to reopen most of the section of US 129 know as "The Dragon" during daylight hours beginning Monday, despite the challenges emergency crews will face responding to wrecks on the curvy stretch of road.

According to a news release, the stretch of U.S. 129 from the Tabcat Bridge to the North Carolina state line will be open to traffic each day between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. for all but commercial and large RV traffic. The road will remain closed to all traffic overnight.

For businesses in Swain and Graham Counties in North Carolina, the news couldn't have come at a better time. The counties are approaching 20% unemployment.

"We've laid off 24 people. Our sales are down almost 98%. But we're right there, for us, it's really bad. For the rest of the county, MicroTel todl me they're bleeding about 60% a month," Brad Talbott, the owner of Deals Gap Motorcyle Resort said. "This is all they've got. They don't have industry. They don't have huge tourism. They have motorcycling and they have sports cars."

Talbott estimates the partial opening will allow them to do about half the business they'd normally do.

"The glass is half full. We can say 'well, just pour the water on the ground and we'll all wither up up and die', or we can make do with what we can get," Talbott said.

The section of U.S. 129 from just past the Foothills Parkway to the Tabcat Bridge will remain closed as crews work to remove a rockslide that closed the roadway in March.

TDOT said Tennessee Highway Patrol officers will monitor the road while emergency responders from Graham County, North Carolina will be called if there are accidents with injuries.

In previous years, Graham County had refused to respond to emergencies on The Dragon because of the cost.

"When your community is facing complete economic destruction, you forget about a lot of feuds," Talbott said.

The rockslide is expected to be cleared by July 31. However, TDOT will provide an incentive to the contractor that is clearing the road and securing the rock if the work is completed early.