This trip on the motorcycle was probably the most exciting but scary ride I’ve taken. Riding the tail of the dragon with my church family of riders was amazing to say the least. So before I go any farther, let me give you a little history about this popular road to the motorcyclist and sport car divers. With that said, to anyone that has ridden or driven this road without leaving parts behind from your ride or yes body, consider yourself blessed. I have twice.
Some History Of Riding The Tail Of The Dragon
When I first started riding I had always heard of a place called Deals Gap. So for this blog piece I did some research and this is what I found. Technically the Dragon is located in southeastern Tennessee and starts at the Tennessee, North Carolina border on US 129. But we came in on the Tennessee side from Maryville, Tennessee, so we started in Tennessee and ended up at the Tennessee, North Carolina border. But my last ride was with a former boy friend and I have to say that coming from the North Carolina side was sure beautiful. It is a very short road of just 11 miles. But what people don’t get is that the 318 curves.
Lets Get Started
This road is in the middle of the Great Smokey Mountains and the Cherokee National Forest and with the most beautiful scenery along the Tail of The Dragon. But I promise you that none of this will matter because you will keep your eyes on the road if you are driving, between the curves and the traffic you will not see anything. Well we left Kentucky and got to I24 just into Tennessee and we had to stop at the Information center due to a huge storm. We were there for over two hours. So when we got back on the road it rained off and on for hours. We ate supper at a Cracker Barrel still a ways from Knoxville. The traffic on I40 was light and the rain had stopped so we rode onto a motel just outside of Knoxville around 10:00 PM.
Our First Ride On The Dragon
We got to Maryville, Tennessee that afternoon. We got our rooms for the night early in the day. Riding in a storm and then late at night was very stressful. The motel we stayed at was at the beginning of US 129. So we left early the next morning and started the Ride. Of course we were not those that scraped our floorboards on the road. After all this was our first time. We took the curves with caution. We stayed on the right side of the lane to make room for the sport bikes that was in a hurry. Our first ride was awesome.
After Riding The Tail Of The Dragon
So what do you do after making it through the most dangerous road to travel on a motorcycle. You hit the grill for a burger, fries and diet coke. Thank the good Lord for a safe ride. Then hit the General Store to get your decal of a Dragon to put on your side cover to display as a proud rider of the Dragon. After all the Dragon Slays many riders every year. Running off the side of the road is at least a 30 ft. fall. Even with safety signs and adding berms to keep the bikes from falling that far is very dangerous. Tennessee has tried to ban the larger vehicles that can’t make the curves on there side of the road. After all there are multiple deaths each year on the Dragon. But for those that have minor accidents can donate the parts to the “Tree Of Shame”. We went on to the Dam and other cool rides.
To See More On The Dragon Click On This Link.
I hope you enjoyed my ride.
Response Magic