Had a delightful burger and salad at Tapoco Tavern on the river and am heading back to the motel. ![]() I will probably get another fun ride in tomorrow but then head west to find clear skies. But it is forecasted to thunder and lightening for 10 straight days. Note the sign in the back that says “motorcycles: high crash area next 11 miles.” This part of the country is so beautiful. The picture of me standing in front of my bike on the road is after I did the ride one time (I did it twice). But never in my wildest dreams did I think five years later I would not only know how to ride a bike but also have my own and successfully do Dragon’s Tail with it. I was here five years ago on the back of a bike and loved it. The Dragon (also known as The Tail of the Dragon) begins in North Carolina at the intersection of NC 28 and US 129 and ends at the Tabcat Creek Bridge in. The thing that was so cool is that it not only curved left and right but also up and down and sideways. It was forecasted to rain with thunder and lightening but there was a break in the weather so I went for it - with soggy gloves and socks. ![]() □ Today I was fortunate enough to ride Dragon’s Tail - over 300 curves in 11 miles. It wasn’t very well known, but we have screen shots of the road from the movie.Woohoo! I slayed the dragon. “It’s the story of two guys in a 1955 Chevy who drive across the country and challenge locals to drag races. “A lot of people don’t know this, but in 1971, James Taylor and Dennis Wilson filmed ‘Two-Lane Blacktop’ up here,” Ron says. And its not just the name that attracts drivers from. The wall includes photos from “Deliverance,” the dam that Harrison Ford jumped off of in “The Fugitive,” Jodie Foster’s “Nell,” and Robert Redford’s “A Walk in the Woods.” One such stretch of US 129, the Tail of the Dragon, runs for 11 miles from North Carolina to Tennessee. Another wall features stills from movies and photos of actors who have experienced the Dragon. A large map of the Cherohala Skyway, another legendary drive, adorns one wall. The store sells T-shirts, helmets, beverages and snacks. When he closed his office we bought three acres and built our store in 2008.”Īn iconic metal dragon - about 12 feet tall and 22 feet long - stands out front. “We did that for about three years, then a developer built an office at the start of the road at Deal’s Gap to sell lots, so we put up a tin shack there. They also started selling Tail of the Dragon T-shirts under a tent at the Dragon’s scenic overlook. Find souvenirs to mark your experience at the Tail of the Dragon, Cherohala Skyway, Foothills Parkway, Devils Triangle. The couple got hooked on biking, riding the Dragon and other winding mountain roads in the area. I learned to handle that cruiser on the Dragon.” Featuring 318 curves, this winding mountain road is unlike anywhere else in the world. ![]() Route 129 has become a hugely popular destination for motorcyclists and sports car drivers. I didn’t know anything about motorcycles, so mine sat in our basement for three weeks before I finally took it out on the road. If you’re looking for an adrenaline-fueled adventure in the Smoky Mountains, it’s hard to beat the Tail of the Dragon This 11-mile section of U.S. “Within two weeks, Nancy was online and found us bikes. “Then a biker friend told us about this amazing stretch of road near our house, and he came up to ride it,” he says. As a retired fireman, he was ready for a change of pace and a slower lifestyle. The posted speed limit is 30 miles per hour, but when the sports car clubs and bike rallies take the road, it’s anybody’s guess.įlorida native Ron and his wife, Nancy, weren’t bikers when they decided to move to his family’s Robbinsville vacation home full time in the early 1990s. ![]() With descriptive names like Copperhead Corner, Leo’s Lair, Little Whip, Radar Corner, The Hump aka Gravity Cavity and Guard Rail Cliff, the road defies common sense for adventurers who chase speed and thrills. “We’ve seen people come here from around the world - Australia, Asia, all over Europe - who have this ride on their bucket lists. “It’s one of the greatest motorcycle roads in the United States,” says Ron Johnson, who more than 20 years ago trademarked the name “Tail of the Dragon,” mapped and named all 318 curves, and now runs the Tail of the Dragon T-Shirt Shack store at the south end of the highway.
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