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Tail of the Dragon

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172Driver said:
Funny, I was down there last weekend and I didn't enjoy the Tail of the Dragon at all.
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And you answered your own problem. Weekend. Simply put, if you want to stay away from putt-putt Harley trains which absolutely feel entitled to ignore the pullover lanes, don't go on a weekend. If you have to go on a weekend, make it after 5pm at earliest. It usually clears out pretty good by then.

Smergy had it right. Notorious P.I.G. has the best BBQ anywhere within 100 miles. Believe us, we've checked out pretty much every place out there in the past 10 years.

As for Wayah Road, was sketchy at best when we were there.

Before the Moonshiner (specifically 28 south) was repaved, I didn't like it much. Now, it's great. And the 28N, well, simply awesome.

My favourite roads in Descending order would be:
Cherohala Skyway
Moonshiner 28N
Tail of the Dragon
Moonshiner 28S
Canada Road
Whatever else.
 
I find the Skyline quite enough tho at some point this year I might complete the rest of the BRP as I was short circuited by a blown stator part was down in 2016. If it's the weekend tho both can be painful with traffic
 
172Driver said:
Funny, I was down there last weekend and I didn't enjoy the Tail of the Dragon at all.

I did it because it was the touristy thing to do! I've never been in 1st gear for so long as I was on the Dragon, just an endless freight train of Harleys, literally clutch in revving mid corner as they rolled through. The rental three wheel car things are pretty horrible to be around too. On the dragon I witnessed some of the most frightening examples of riding I've ever seen!

That said, as soon as I was away from the popular tourist roads I was in heaven. Cherohala was pretty empty by the evening when I was headed west back to Chattanooga and I had a great time there, and 28 south of 74 down as far as Cowee I think was among my favorite roads.
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Yeah you hit TOTD at the wrong time. It can be awful if caught in a Harley train. It can be dangerous if the idiots are roaming around - whether cars or bikes. Summer weekends during the daytime are asking for tourist traffic.

I've already been there for a week in April (before tourist season).

Someone mentioned Wayah Road. It was repaved last year and is new pavement almost all the way from top to bottom. You still have to watch for occasional gravel spots caused by cars dropping a wheel off the pavement, but they're easy to predict and see. I love this road. Don't even have to ride fast. (I did it on my cbr125) The scenery is beautiful.

28 is good all the way into South Carolina aside from that short divided-highway section, which is tolerable in view of what surrounds it. The section from US 74 into Franklin is fresh pavement ... and freshly lowered speed limits (some of it 25 mph). That's sad. It used to be 55 mph ... good luck with that. Riders that we saw didn't seem to be paying much attention to it.

From Franklin to Highlands, 28 is combined with US 64, which has a lot of traffic. It's scenic and twisty but busy. It's worth doing for the piece south of Highlands (where 28 splits from 64). It crosses into Georgia for a short piece then enters South Carolina, and is great almost all the way into Walhalla. Decent plate to eat: Google Maps

We usually stop going south on 28 at the junction of 107 then head back up north on 107 until it reaches a connector-road to SC 130 just south of the state line, go across that to SC 130 which becomes NC 281. That joins US 64 for a bit (traffic ... construction ...) but 281 north (which eventually rejoins 107) is great, or 215 is great up to and beyond the Blue Ridge.

For those who have a dual-purpose bike, these mountains probably have 5 times more gravel roads than paved roads ...
 
172Driver said:
Funny, I was down there last weekend and I didn't enjoy the Tail of the Dragon at all.

I did it because it was the touristy thing to do! I've never been in 1st gear for so long as I was on the Dragon, just an endless freight train of Harleys, literally clutch in revving mid corner as they rolled through. The rental three wheel car things are pretty horrible to be around too. On the dragon I witnessed some of the most frightening examples of riding I've ever seen!

That said, as soon as I was away from the popular tourist roads I was in heaven. Cherohala was pretty empty by the evening when I was headed west back to Chattanooga and I had a great time there, and 28 south of 74 down as far as Cowee I think was among my favorite roads.
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When I did it a few years back I did it on a Monday morning. Was not that busy but still did not find it that enjoyable.

Think you really need to enjoy technical riding to like it. I like twists and curves but I like scenery as well, this had all my attention on each and every curve. I did it because I was there so might as well, I preferred the riding around that area way more then the Dragon itself. Was thinking of heading down that way in July and would just explore everywhere else in the area and skip the Dragon for a second go around.
 
Every road out there has its own characteristics, some are long winding curves, some are more intense but smooth curves. On the Dragon, I stopped several times to gain a gap with riders in front of me to really test my limits. I didn't mind the traffic at all. It was a part of the challenge to tame the Dragon, to avoid them as well as have a wonderful run. I did it on Monday evening also and there was hardly any traffic, I was fast but that thrill was missing which you get when there is traffic, as you are always alert and prepared for any eventuality. To me a place is more lively and interesting if you have people around.

Moreover, there are always better riders there, who will keep you humble and inspire you to push more and then there are safe riders, who will keep you from going overboard. Overall, that area is a Biker's Heaven, every road there has its own rewards.

Our group enjoyed I79 and 19 as much as the Dragon or any other road. We were out there to have fun riding, and that is exactly what we did, enjoyed every KM of it.

We enjoyed our stay at Two Wheels Inn, highly recommended. Check them on Facebook.
 
Gary said:
If you're riding the Blue Ridge parkway in the 35mph zone, and you're doing 105mph, the fine is $775.
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Did anyone else laugh reading this? lol I love the bluntness and exact numbers.
 
tiborgh said:
The entire BRP + Skyline Dr (800km) requires about two full days of riding. It does get boring after a while, because of the same scenery over and over again, but wouldn't suggest skipping it altogether. Depending how much time you have, you can decide to skip certain sections and take other roads (including I81) that are paralellish with BRP.
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Any recommendations on where to stop overnight along the BRP? No camping, and would prefer something better than a roach motel, but could deal with it if I had to.
 
There’s a “Ride with Norman Reedus” episode on the Blue Ridge parkway, North Carolina that’s a pretty good watch. Actually, the whole series is a pretty good watch. He’s the actor that plays Darrell from the walking dead.
 
Cool. Knew about it, but didn't know they had an episode on that route.

As much of a Walking Dead fan as I am, to me, he'll always be Murphy MacManus.
 
Relax said:
Any recommendations on where to stop overnight along the BRP? No camping, and would prefer something better than a roach motel, but could deal with it if I had to.
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I stayed in a place called Boone a few years ago. Was just off the BRP, nice town, plenty of options for restaurants, shopping, whatever.
 
With all the places and names, and especially "a place called Boone", where we stumbled upon the closed down meth lab - I'm sharing the video again.
 
^^ that video was awesome! Nice stuff:)

+1 on Boone, NC. I think we just stayed at a Super 8 motel - free wifi and breakfast. Boone is also right at the start of the Linville Falls Hwy, aka US221 which has immaculate pavement and tons of waterfalls in the stretch between Boone and Linville. It also runs parallel to the BRP at points and gets equally high in elevation that you can see the BRP right beside you if you want to hop on or off it.

A good moto place to stay with a few cabins and a bunkhouse is Willville Motorcycle Campground located around halfway between Roanoke and Boone, right off the BRP. I stayed there back in 2010 and would highly recommend it.
This is my first year with summer vacation in 16 years, so I'm going down!

Here's a super high end video of many of the best roads out there including the dragon, the snake, the back of the dragon, US221 and more.
 
How'd you like 219 on the way down, Emefef?
 
PrivatePilot said:
How'd you like 219 on the way down, Emefef?
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I've gone that way twice - and the guys I went with have gone two or three times a year for several years - that's the riding route. For a short trip and trailers, they stick to the interstate, much as we do when we're bookin' it home.
219 is fun for the variety - you can move along at a decent pace and still enjoy scenery and small towns, little traffic.
 
Emefef said:
With all the places and names, and especially "a place called Boone", where we stumbled upon the closed down meth lab - I'm sharing the video again.
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Great video to tell a great story. Thanks for the work put in to share it with us.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Relax said:
Any recommendations on where to stop overnight along the BRP? No camping, and would prefer something better than a roach motel, but could deal with it if I had to.
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On the Parkway itself there are a few visitor centers which offer decent lodging, but those tend to be expensive, check the BRP website. Another option is to get off the Parkway and find a hotel/motel nearby, plenty of options. Last time we've been on the Parkway we slept in Roanoke, which is a big city on the Parkway. Plenty of hotels and restaurants for every budget.
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