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Deals Gap... any tips?


curby

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me and 4 other guys are going down there april 1st - 4th

it will be my third trip there.

like earache said go threw once and spot it out for cops, then youll be good to go.

you might check out http://ironhorsenc.com for lodging as well.. i have stayed there the last to 2 times and love it.

youl not get to see everything down there, so plan on going back several times lol.

and earaches info on routes there is great.

check out the parkways there, and all the surrounding road of the gap, less traffic and jsut as much fun

make sure yo check the dams out as well.

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Looks like you guys will be down there when i am... May 14th - 16th. look a brotha up. i got eric number.

I'm planning on this being the first trip of many so i'm not to pressed about seeing everything. but i will check out the parkways.

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I've been down a few times, not as many as Earache, but the locals always say visitors waste too much time with the Dragons Tail. There are so many other roads that are just as exciting and less travled. But here are some helmet cam videos I have of the area. :) As for weather, there is a reason they call them the Smoky Mountains. Take rain gear.

Dragons Tail

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27XtkD5OgUY

Back roads heading back to Ohio

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQEqoMUfa1s

Blue ridge Parkway Near Pisqua, NC

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjotrKvHzso

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... Take rain gear...

Yup, those hill sare really green for a reason.

Ever ride any dirt trails down there? I think we're doing an on/off road trip later this year as well. Holla if ya wanna go along.

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  • 3 weeks later...
i plan on staying there at the resort and soaking all of 129 in.

unless thats a bad idea... let me know.

I just read some of the post so I dont know if this has been said. But for god sakes dont stay at the deals gap resort I stayed there once and it reminded me of being in jail. You get a bed and a mat and thats about the extent of it. If you get a room for 2 you get bunk beds for your cell mate:takeit: I would defenatly recomend staying just outside of deals gap. Thats my 2 cents

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I just read some of the post so I dont know if this has been said. But for god sakes dont stay at the deals gap resort I stayed there once and it reminded me of being in jail. You get a bed and a mat and thats about the extent of it. If you get a room for 2 you get bunk beds for your cell mate:takeit: I would defenatly recomend staying just outside of deals gap. Thats my 2 cents

Kinda late now as the Dragon is closed until September. :)

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Rock slide info and blurb from down that'a way:

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- It will cost Tennessee about $2 million to remove a rock slide from U.S. 129 and stabilize the mountainside.

The Tennessee Department of Transportation2_bing.gif let an emergency contract for $1.99 million to Pacific Blasting Demolition Ltd. on Monday, but the contract has incentives for completing the work earlier than the July 31 deadline.

The highway -- known to motorcyclists as the Dragon -- is closed from near Chilowee Lake in the Tennessee Smoky Mountains foothills to the North Carolina state line.

TDOT said Tuesday it is still working to reopen portions of the road.

Travel between Tennessee and North Carolina has become complicated with slides also closing Interstate 40 near the state line and U.S. 64 in the Ocoee River Gorge.

Travel is also hampered by a smaller rock slide on Monday on U.S. 441 in the Smokies.

Newfound Gap Road reopened Tuesday morning, with a detour through a parking area adjacent to the slide. The speed limit there is 15 miles per hour.

The detour will remain in place as park officials monitor the slope's activity to determine its stability.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Been there twice, lots of traffic, bike kind. Weekends are real busy, try a mid week day

I did US 555 last week right here in our back yard, I won't bother with the trip back the 129.........

and 555 is better than 50 miles:eek: now some of the corners are spaced a bit father apart then the dragon, but you are home at night too.......

The Dragon is something you should do, but don't make it the whole trip, the Skyway and almost any other road around there is real good. And check out "Wheels thru time" in Maggie Valley and real bike Musem, and they all run. The owner walks thru, you point at a 1919 somthing or other, he kicks it to life and rides up and down the isles. So Cool.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I went down to the Dragon last May. Stayed in Dillard GA for 2 nights. The area really has a lot of phenomenal twisties besides 129. My 2 cents: Go on weekdays. There is a lot less police interference then. Pay attention to riders going the other way. If they're patting the top of their helmet slow down. This saved my bacon twice. Return the favor if you spot a cop. Don't think that you will be going the speed limit on 129 (it's 30mph for godsakes). I thought that I would try a pass of 129 at the speed limit & this lasted only the first 2 curves. One big difference I noticed between the twisties down there vs. southern Ohio twisties was the absence of gravel there. There you can actuall ride outside-inside-outside on the curves as is proper, not hold your line to 1 of 2 cage tire tracks through the gravel as you have to do much of the time in Ohio. Have fun & ride safe.

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  • 1 month later...

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