I learned to handle that cruiser on the Dragon.” 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. “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.
Dragon tail full#
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. It gets pretty busy in summer and fall but those times are when weather conditions are ideal for cruising down this epic road.Ron and Nancy Johnson.
Also, try to avoid it during the rainy spring season. Don’t try to attempt the Dragon in winter, as these 318 turns can be quite treacherous in snowy and icy winter weather conditions. Need an excuse to drive the Tail of the Dragon? First of all, it’s surrounded by other slightly-less-curvy, but still exciting and scenic roads, and the Dragon can easily be worked into a scenic route toward Asheville, one of the most beautiful towns in the Carolinas. The Cherokee fought more than one battle in the area, it’s reported there’s at least one Civil War soldier buried near the road, and rumors of an angry land owner hanging motorists who wouldn’t pay his toll also figure into the lore of the Dragon being haunted.
With the stretch having claimed the lives of many over the years (on average, the 11-mile Tail of the Dragon takes at least one life a year), it’s natural to assume the road just has to be haunted.ĭeath and bloodshed, however, also came to the area long before the paved road cut through Deal’s Gap. For instance, travelers of the Dragon claim they’ve heard more than one ghost while on the road at night. Of course, a stretch of road this famous has a legend or two surrounding it.
Also, it’s a fantastic view of the Smoky Mountains and Tennessee countryside, particularly in the fall, when the leaves change color, or in the summer when everything is lush and green. This beautiful scenic overlook just off the Tail of the Dragon offers a gorgeous view of the Cheoah Dam. Next, pull over at the Calderwood Overlook. Whether you’re starting or completing the Tail of the Dragon at the intersection of US 129 & NC 28, Deals Gap Motorcycle Resort in Robbinsville, NC is the perfect place to snap pictures, grab souvenirs, eat lunch, have a cold beer, or even spend the night.Īlso check out the Tail of the Dragon Store across the street for more great souvenirs, and your obligatory photo with the giant eponymous Dragon sculpture. The road and nearby Cheoah Dam were featured in “The Fugitive,” and parts of the gearhead classic “Two-Lane Blacktop” actually feature much of the road at the very end of the movie.
Dragon tail movie#
The legend of the Tail of the Dragon has spread far beyond North Carolina and Tennessee, and has even caught the eye of movie producers, celebrities, and documentary crews.
0 kommentar(er)
