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Taming the Dragon
Just wondering if anyone can tell me what to expect when driving 318 curves in 11 miles. A local group of about 15 Zs are going to homecoming and there has been some talk of stopping staying in a lodge and driving this route. Have found plenty of info and pictures but wanted to hear from somebody who has driven it.Any input would be great.
| | Reply » Taming the Dragon |
I suspect my opin will be in the tiny minority, but
imo, it maybe The most overrated "run" in the
eastern US. (Or, I'm jes'jaded as it's less than
an hour from me, and I've run it a dozen times.)
With that said, it is still worth "doing it" to say
you've done it.
Couple ideas: good weather weekends bring out
the masses, which is fun for car and especially, M'cycle
watching at the "starting joint", Tail of Dragon Lodge
and resturant, etc. Parking lot will be jammed full
of m'cycles and cars.
If you can run it on a weekday, the actual drive
is much less crowded. On a weekend, you will be
passed by the more aggressive M'cycle crowd
and may find yourself in a conga line of cars & bikes
doing that 11 mile stretch.
There are however, lots of outstanding 2 lane blacktops
leading into the Dragon area:
-rt 28 from Almond, NC to the Dragon
-rt 129 from Topton,NC through Robbinsville, NC
to the dragon
-a sidebar route of the Cherohala Skyway off of
rt 129, (better than the BRPkway in some respects).
Etc.
NEway, that's my 2Cts. Good run, good destination and
some of The finest 2 lane blacktops in the eastern US,imo.
Want more info: PM or email me. GL,md
| | Reply » Taming the Dragon |
Just go!!!!
Expect fun. 
Nothing fancy - no tours - just a map to get there; you; your car; and the open road.
Enjoy
Bonus:  You'll probably have as much fun getting there as you will have after you get there.
| | Reply » Taming the Dragon |
Fast motorcycles run it in 8-9 minutes.
Good M cars, Vetts, etc, will run in 11-14 minutes.
Fast drivers will do it in 15-18.
Normal drivers in 19-22
Slow drivers in 25+.
Think of it as the longest roller coaster ride you've every been on. It's not just 311 turns, it's 311 3-dimentional turns (i.e. turning from lower left to upper right). If you're with a group, go last and follow everyone else the first time down. It's really not that bad after you've been thru it once. A lot of hype though.
There's only a couple spots where you'll get above 45mph, and most of the time you'll be <35mph.
But whatever you do, when you get to the bottom, don't wait for everyone else to go back up and do it again. Some HC convoys don't hang around to let you run more than 1-2 times.
Enjoy!
| | Reply » Taming the Dragon |
http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...ht=tail+dragon
http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...ht=tail+dragon
Search is a wonderful thing!
| | Reply » Taming the Dragon |
www.tailofthedragon.com
Watch out for overly aggressive law enforcement on, at least, the Tennessee side. I am an attorney and a former law enforcement officer and found at least one of the Blount County deputies to be a raging hemorhoid(sp?) and almost ended up going to jail because I wasn't going to take it lying down. Yet another example of how one person can make an entire group look bad.
That said, try and get out early or wait until way late to run the Gap. Great piece of asphalt but way too busy with 'touring' types. Makes the turns excruciatingly painful. I find that the slow back and forth is much more apt to cause motion sickness than the more violent turns of an agressive run down the road.
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