WHAT IS THE DRAGON?

[dminor]

My older brother came to my place in new Mexico last Friday, with his bike. He kept talking about the DRAGON, a ride he wanted to do with his son on the return trip to the east coast.
  The first day we did the "Wild Hogs" run to Madrid, his 600 Honda did well at the high altitude and he loved the ride.
  Sunday I choose "Sandia", a road, 14 miles long, about 4000 feet elevation change,and a dead end. The ride to the peak was great, for the return trip he decided to turn on his video camera. He did not make the entire trip to the bottom on his bike (crashed at 8000 feet about 5 miles from the end).
   In short, GREAT RIDE!. His bike came home on a trailer and he has 4 cracked ribs.
   Today he GOOGLE EARTHED Sandia and the Dragon.
   He said the DRAGON wears pink underwear.
   Ride safe.
Don ;)

[funkamongus]

http://www.gingerich.net/motorcycles/images/dragon%20map.jpg

[Lucky]

www.tailofthedragon.com  www.dealsgap.com
this (both are same place) are where Dave & I go at least once a year, they are about 30 -40 min form my house

[inanecathode]

Largely a waste of time unless you want a cop littered twisty road parade.

[kiawrench]

inane, i respect your opinion, but maybe , you shouldn't be so harsh on a ride you have only read negative press about.

[inanecathode]

inane, i respect your opinion, but maybe , you shouldn't be so harsh on a ride you have only read negative press about.

I just don't know if the countries most popular piece of twisty road can be all that great, considering its the countries most popular. Same people who like to ride with a bunch of other people probably like riding on it too. I'm more of a find a road that doesnt have a name and has noone on it sort of rider.

[kiawrench]

ok,, i see where you are coming from ,, now makes sense to me , sorry .
the dragon is popular, and there are a good many cops out, but not all the time. they seem to be seasonal ,sort of like the leaves .

i kind of get into the history of the road it's self.
for hundreds of years it was a foot path, used by local idndians as a trade route, then settlers used it to cross deeper into the mountains, moonshiners used it for years as a distiller's row, and as a transfer road ,, took a really good driver to catch a runner on that road . then truckers used it as a short cut from knoxville to raliegh, many a truck has been pulled out of the turns with two or more wreckers. and now we have small sports cars and motorcycles on it . and a lot of accidents, hence, a lot of cops .
if you ever get a chance, give it a try ,early spring, or late fall are best, colors in trees are bright, road gets a lot easier to ride due to lower number of bikes and cars .  one thing is for sure, now matter how many times one rides the dragon, it is never the same - you see different things, each and everytime you ride there , i guess is a matter of what we notice as we ride and repetition tends to blurr some things and not others .
  even when crowded,and covered in cops, it is still a ride that calls you back to make the run again.

[YellowJacket!]

Largely a waste of time unless you want a cop littered twisty road parade.

The joke last year was 318 cops in 11 miles.  Some guy even brought up a donut trailer concession stand to feed the local LEO's.

All joking aside, the Dragon is a great ride.  The "tail of the Dragon" is 11 miles and is a relatively narrow two-lane road with 318 curves.  Theres probably more but the major curves total 318 and are quite challenging.  Our local newspapers run at least one story a week about someone who eas either killed or injured on the dragon.  It gets very crowded and its not just bikes either.  Lots of car clubs, bicycle riders, skateboarders and anyone with a need for an adrenaline rush and the likelyhood of bodilly injury will be there.  Its even more crowded on holidays and whenever bike rallies are in town.
But, its a beautiful and highly technical ride and in combination with a ride on the Cherohala Skyway makes for a fantastic day of riding.  Yes, the cops are present and as of a few years ago, there are two permanently stationed ambulances as well as a helipad (all of which get used frequently).  The problem is that it is an official state highway and its primary purpose is for transportation from point a to point b (and not back and forth between the two several times a day) so the cops tend to frown on the recreational use of it.  Its also used by 18 wheelers to shave a few hours off their travel time to Robbinsville.  The only problem with that is that they tend to completely straddle the road which can lead to sudden decapitation or a bad case of road rash...or a sudden impact with something else solid.
Lastly and disappointlingly, there was a rock slide earlier in the year and the TN and NC DOT are not making any real efforts to get the road open any time soon.
If you ever want to come visit and ride the Dragon, I'll be glad to meet up with you (and I'm sure Lucky will too).  I have a new grill I wnat to try out so I will provide the burgers and hot dogs. (and I'll do my best not to burn them again)  8)

David

[Coil Coyle]

I'll never look at a twistie road the same, now that I've had to look at Ron_McCoy's front tire.

$0.02
;)
Coil

[Re-Vision]

This year I drove both the roads of Sandia in New Mexico and Deal's Gap in North Carolina and enjoyed them both in a four wheeled vehicle. Had to deal with teenagers on skate boards coming down from Sandia Peak, and wall to wall idiots at Deals Gap riding Harleys at a leisurely pace and sport bike riders screaming from one turn to the next. If I've ever seen a recipe for someone getting killed, these two places are highly qualified. Beautiful places to die though.    BDC

[johnclemens]

I rode the dragon a few years ago. Stayed in the motel at deals gap and rode the road at least 10 times in both directions.
Sure its a neat piece of asphalt. But I have never seen so many cops and traffic on such a short road in my life.
The ONLY place with more traffic was an LA freeway. Also in two days I saw no less than 6 crashed bikes with 2 transported to the local ER. We never did get a good run at the road with all the wankers/cops/cars
If I lived in that area I would avoid that place like the plague.
My 2 cents.

[Lucky]

There are pleaty of times you can ride the Dragon & not have to deal with lots of traffic & tons of cops.  mid week is best, but you have to figure weekends are going to be busy, the nicest days out etc, but if you go early morning, late afternoon, midweek, on hot or overcast days you will have a much better run.

as far as accidents there go, that is not the place to push your limits for the most part.  most of the accidents can be attributed to inexperienced guys on crotch rockets, crusier guys who only ride on the nice weekends, & those who are not 100% focused on what they are doing....

first 2 runs should always be slow, elvaluation runs.  how is the traffic? is there a club meet going on (bike or car)  how are the roads? sand patches? potholes? etc.  where are the distractions? cops, girls in bikinis, photographers, etc.

after that then you can have some fun. relax a little: roll with the road, lean over a bit more, but still stay well within your comfort zone.  respect the road & respect your abilities & most of all PAY Attention.

--Lucky