We "slayed" the Dragon...

 

This was our day.  Joan made sandwiches last night and put them in the freezer.  The plan: if Mother Nature did what was predicted, get on the road around 9:00 am.  The reality: it was a foggy start to the day, but predicted to be sunny.  I got the bikes out and we started getting them ready.  At 9:15, the sun was burning off the fog, and we rolled.

Joan had mapped us out a route, but it was similar to what we did in the car a couple weeks ago.  The temperature was a glorious 71º (and sunny) when we got on the road.  With close to 200 miles there and back, we figured it would be about 6 hours, with another stop at Deal's Gap to have a bite to eat and pick up more Tail of the Dragon stuff (a couple t-shirts and a road sign for the garage).

The ride there was delightfully unbusy (I looked it up - it's a word); some twisty roads, some highway, and more twisty roads.  It was a good warm-up for riding the Dragon.

 

 

It seems like this has been a long time coming.  Before we ever decided to go to North Carolina, Joan had said that riding The Tail of the Dragon was on her bucket list.  The way the weather has been, I was wondering if that was going to happen.  It happened.  For anyone not aware, Hurricane Debby is moving into Florida, north of Tampa, and it is very likely that here in North Carolina, we may start seeing some of the effects of that as early as tomorrow.  Today pretty much needed to be the day.

The synopsis: it was a great ride.  The weather was perfect.  I haven't checked to be certain, but I think I have some video.  On the return ride of the Dragon, we came across a Miata that had run off the road and crashed nose down into some trees... there was a guy in the road waving his arms, and two cars had stopped.  My first thought: at least two people there not involved in the crash, if we stop, it just adds more vehicles on the road (no place to get off the road).  Joan said, "We need to see if anyone needs help - you go check on the car, I'll call 911."  We stopped.  My helmet camera was running, so there may be footage of that.

When I get done with editing the video, I will post something here and probably edit this post.  But, the young guy in the Miata was OK and he had called to get a wrecker.  Nothing more we could do, so we got back on the bikes and got out of the way of oncoming traffic.

On Edit: there is a LOT of video, so that may be a few days before I get to it.  In the meantime, here are some stills of the ride: leaving Deal's Gap and onto the Dragon...

This sign, portend of things to come...

We turned around to run it back the other way - not just for the fun of it, but because that is how you get back (unless you go way around and through The Great Smoky Mountain National Park).

Then, coming around a curve, we came upon this...

That blue thing on the right side is a Miata that has crashed into the trees; if not for the trees, that car would have gone a long ways down into a ravine.  We pulled off the road, taking a moment to slow down on-coming traffic...

I went to the car to see if anyone was in it...

This guy was hollering, "I think they're trapped inside!"  I slithered alongside the car to get a look inside...

I assured the guy that there was no one inside and no way anyone could have been toss from the car (the windshield was intact, and the side windows are too small for anyone to go through that opening.  Shortly after that, the guy who had been in the car came back to the scene - he stepped away to get a phone signal to call a wrecker.  About that time, a truck with red flashing lights across the top stopped; I could see there was nothing more we could do, and decided it would be best to get us and the bikes out of the scene...

Rolling back towards Deal's Gap...

We stopped at the same shop again, picked up a "road sign" for the garage, and pointed the bikes towards "home" (well, home away from home).

The ride home seemed longer than the ride there.  But, to celebrate "slaying the Dragon," we stopped for ice cream in Maggie Valley.  It was a good day.  (Check back to see edited video here.)
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Some random thoughts about the Tail of the Dragon...The road had been resurfaced in May and June of this year, so the road surface was in perfect condition - a delight to ride!  There are lots of tight curves and a couple decreasing radius curves - it can be challenging to ride it fast, but it is not a difficult road... the speed limit is 30 mph, with slower speeds recommended in some of those 318 curves in 11 miles.  There are pull-outs where you can let faster traffic get by.  It has gained its reputation because of stupid people: there were a total of 165 crashes in 2020 and 2021, 123 of which involved motorcycles, including nine fatalities – all motorcyclists... people over-riding the road or over-estimating their skill.

Joan and I have nothing to prove.  We enjoy a challenging ride, but we don't take chances - we ride within our abilities and we keep a close watch on the road ahead to avoid traffic coming at us that may be over that center line (and that happens).  Our bikes and gear are in good shape.

We both give this road two thumbs up.  But, there are other good riding roads in this area.  So many, in fact, the we couldn't cover 'em all in a month, even if Mother Nature had been cooperative.  Western North Carolina vs the Black Hills?  I would pick the Black Hills... there are more twisty roads in NC, but they are almost all heavily forested - your view is mostly trees.  There are places where the vistas open up a bit, and you may see a lake or layers of hills and mountains in the distance.  The Black Hills is not as heavily forested, and the views open up to Mt Rushmore, Needles Highway, a variety of wildlife in Custer State Park, Crazy Horse carving, the view of Rapid City as you ride north on Hwy 16.  Both areas have touristy things to do besides riding; plenty of restaurant options.  The campground we are in here is more "rustic" than the well-manicured, double-wide paved pads of our membership resort, Hart Ranch.  Yes, there are other RV park options around here - this just happens to be what we picked based on proximity to Maggie Valley and recommendations (heck, there are other much better options right in Maggie Valley).  And, the weather... "Hey, Jim, didn't you get pounded more than once by hail in the Black Hills?"  Yes, we did.  We had large insurance claims twice.  That is not the norm.  I am told that the amount and frequency of the rain we've experienced here in the Maggie Valley area is not the norm, either.  You pay your money, you take your chances.

Am I disappointed in our time here in North Carolina and Tennessee?  Not at all.  It is a long way from Arizona (about twice as far as going to the Black Hills).  Glad we made the trip.