Cost of a trip to tail of the dragon?

[CruisnGrrl]

good info here, thanks. being a n00b (i've almost got 2 years of riding under my belt) I probably won't be going alone.

[V-Tom]

good info here, thanks. being a n00b (i've almost got 2 years of riding under my belt) I probably won't be going alone.

The nice thing from where you are (trenton) is that it's easy to head down via I81 (heading over the border east of you.) Many nice roads parrallel I81 so you can plan on taking them but if you find you are short of time it's pretty easy to hop back on I81 to make time. I81 itself is a much nicer and more scenic highway than 401.

..Tom

[mototrek]

I'm riding all the way down... Lots and lots of blue ridge parkway...

I have been on the Parkway a number of times.. yawn. By all means, experience it, but you will probably not spend "lots and lots" of time on it. It's just boring as hell after about 30 or 40 minutes. The fun roads are the noe that run up and down (east and west) from the Blue Ridge. You'll see some remarkable "tell-tale" signs on the roads in the switchbacks - made by trucks and camper trailers who ignored the signs!! A riot! Deep scratches in the road surface and the walls of cliffs. Back up to the ridge and down the other side. But the ridge itself, after a few pictures and lovely vistas... boring.

IMHO

[Rotten_Ronnie]

I have been on the Parkway a number of times.. yawn. By all means, experience it, but you will probably not spend "lots and lots" of time on it. It's just boring as hell after about 30 or 40 minutes. The fun roads are the noe that run up and down (east and west) from the Blue Ridge. You'll see some remarkable "tell-tale" signs on the roads in the switchbacks - made by trucks and camper trailers who ignored the signs!! A riot! Deep scratches in the road surface and the walls of cliffs. Back up to the ridge and down the other side. But the ridge itself, after a few pictures and lovely vistas... boring.

IMHO

You weren't riding with my group then. I think we were in the fast group.

[Shaman]

Told you I'm happy to take you the first week of May when I go down. Should be no more than $500 complete. I've got away with $350 before, but it all depends on the year and on how many people are chipping in on fuel.

A few pics from our group:















Look like fun yet?

[CruisnGrrl]

Told you I'm happy to take you the first week of May when I go down. Should be no more than $500 complete. I've got away with $350 before, but it all depends on the year and on how many people are chipping in on fuel.

<snip>
Look like fun yet?

Definitely, working on $500 (if i sell that arcade machine that's the trip and some nice stuff for the bike or a couple track days).

[milty]

Definitely, working on $500 (if i sell that arcade machine that's the trip and some nice stuff for the bike or a couple track days).

A bunch of us from OSR head down ever year (MAY 24 LONG WEEKEND), Last year I spent about 400. And that was gas, hotel, eating out, breaky and lunch. Of course shirts and stickers. Was a great trip and would be going again but having surgery in arp[ril.

[mototrek]

You weren't riding with my group then. I think we were in the fast group.

yeh.. at 45 mph 'n policed, How far did you ride before you got stopped??

[V-Tom]

Told you I'm happy to take you the first week of May when I go down. Should be no more than $500 complete. I've got away with $350 before, but it all depends on the year and on how many people are chipping in on fuel.
...

Doesn't everyone pay their own fuel when they ride down?

..Tom

[Shaman]

I don't ride down. Don't like to be exhausted when I ride, and from bitter experience, I know it's best to have a way home in case something bad happens to your bike. The Gap and surrounding roads are not forgiving if you do something wrong or get caught in inclement weather.

[V-Tom]

I don't ride down. Don't like to be exhausted when I ride, and from bitter experience, I know it's best to have a way home in case something bad happens to your bike. The Gap and surrounding roads are not forgiving if you do something wrong or get caught in inclement weather.
...

I've only been down there a couple of times so far but rode down with friends each time. I've found that the ride down is pretty much as much fun as the Gap is and if you spend three days getting there it dramatically adds to the adventure. We don’t ride so much that exhausted is an issue.. pretty much limit ourselves to about 1,000 km if doing mainly interstates and quite a bit less when going on secondary highways and roads. (I think I posted a link previously to a proposed route we were taking this year but have cut some of the stuff near the Finger Lakes.) We start in Kingston and head down close to the Monongahela then work our way the next two days down secondary roads with lots of twisties so we arrive on the third evening. The nice thing is if we were short on time we can hop on I81 and make a lot of time up quickly.

I don't find weather to be an issue.. it's rained both times I headed there and we were dressed appropriately. We didn’t get wet. Crashes can happen, but we try and ride in a way that limits the likelihood of a crash and would hate to miss the fun of riding down and back.

Anyway, different strokes so it's all good...


..Tom

[johnnyrt]

For me a big part of the fun is planning a route down and back. The friends I ride with love long days riding and try and include some extras each year.

The route we take expands each year. Here is our rough route for the whole trip:

Day one: Kingston to Cumberland: http://tinyurl.com/yca3qm7

This is a bit of a marathon day and we might stop about two hours earlier depending on how smooth the day is.

Day two and three: Though Monogehela, The Snake down to the Ironhorse:

http://tinyurl.com/yae56yp

We'll be at the Ironhorse Thursday night. We’ll do a number of local rides Friday and Saturday and then Sunday we will head down towards Birmingham to the Motorcycle Museum. We will start heading through the Cherohola and then work our ways down. I imagine we’ll stop an hour or so short of Birmingham.:

http://tinyurl.com/yfaufz3

I haven't firmed up the route back, but I think our way back will take about three days. I like to avoid superslabbing and prefer to take US highways or secondary roads but need to balance that against the time. I want to take my friends though 555 in Ohio so that is why the jog there.

http://tinyurl.com/ycmvldu

The times given are pessimistic for just riding. I find Google Maps estimates about 10% longer than it normally takes me for riding time, but with stops it probably is accurate.

..Tom

ps: there is a program available that transfers Google Map routes to a GPS format. It works in Firefox but needs a fair amount of tweaking to make a useable route. The nice thing with planning in Google Maps is the ability to do a Street view for most roads to get an idea of they are as nice looking as the map and terrain view indicate.

Hi. New to this site but I'm planning a trip to the Dragon this summer and your post is the best info i've seen yet. Many thanks!

John

[topendz]

OK, thanks! I posted on the other site



Left the resort @ 7am stopped only for fuel, coffee and lunch and made it to Brampton by 9pm...... I kept a pretty good pace.

I think Sinner and I did it in around 13 - 14 hours too on Ducati's. First time I ever got nappy rash at 45 years of age though

[omnivore]

I can usually get by for a week at the Gap on $600 including putting a new set of tires on my bike while in the US.

[El Zilcho]

Last year, if you asked you could get decent motel rooms at around $60 a night (Comfort Inn, Holiday Inn Express, and a few others) and these generally include a fairly decent breakfast as well.

Motel 6 is generally dirt cheap in the States, at least compared to other motels. (I mean around $40-$50/night in a single room.) It usually doesn't have breakfast, but shower, bed and morning coffee was all I needed. The good thing is that you can get a book that has all their locations. It makes it somewhat easier to travel if you are not into hunting for motels at 10pm... The flip side is that if you shop around you can probably find even better deals, but it takes time.

[RichinOville]

The Dragon is closed due to a rock slide.http://www.wbir.com/news/local/story...5&provider=rss

[Rotten_Ronnie]

yeh.. at 45 mph 'n policed, How far did you ride before you got stopped??

We've done it four years running, and only one rider got bagged by the park police.


I still can't imagine why you'd say "boring". It staggers the imagination why a road with no frost heaves that twists and turns for over four hundred kilometres with breathtaking views couldn't capture your attention and admiration.

We'll just have to agree to disagree, and I encourage others to form their own opinions after riding Skyline drive and the Blue Ridge Parkway themselves.

[Pt_Frost]

But if you skip the Blue Ridge Parkway, then you miss the main event. The Gap is cambered, dirty, and well policed whereas the BRP is heaven sent with scenic overlooks. The Cherhola is the the best road if you're trying to drag your knee on the street. IMHO.

+1

I did the trip last year....and riding down and back home on the Blue Ridge Parkway and Skyline Drive was a lot more enjoyable than the gap itself. It was beautiful, it was FUN. The twisties on the way down were exceptional.
As far as the gap itself, sure it was fun in some ways. You can feel the excitement as the bikes rev up and you see them disappear into the wooded road. But riding it myself, I found myself having to slow down for cars, cruiser riders, etc. Granted I was there mid day, and I didn't stay over night. Maybe going there in the evening or early morning would prove to be less congested ride.

I definitely wouldn't recommend super-slabbing it all the way down to the gap and back. You'll miss a lot of amazing riding and great scenery. But then again, it all depends what floats your boat.

And I just realized this was way off topic.
There are a lot of nice campgrounds along the Blue Ridge Parkway, and when I go down, I camp. So accommodations are cheap that way, and I carry boxes of KD and Chilli with me which I eat at the campgrounds,heated on a little portable stove . I don't recall the exact cost, but I'd say under $400 was doable. (I did it in 8 relaxed days)

[theshnizzle]

I always travel super cheapy, sandwiches and milk/fruit bought at Walmart or Target. This year I am thinking of buying one of those hammock things to sleep in,super small pack and you don't even need 2 trees.

Having said that though, I HAVE slept under my bike a couple of times at rest stops and in the parking lot of a motel when I couldn't get a room

Good times!!.

[V-Tom]

...

Having said that though, I HAVE slept under my bike a couple of times at rest stops and in the parking lot of a motel when I couldn't get a room

Good times!!.

Wow, your bike must be pretty far off the ground!

..Tom