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/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl General Category >> Rubber Side Down! >> Tail of the Dragon, 9/24 /cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?num=1127022214 Message started by Karen627 on 09/17/05 at 22:43:34 |
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Title: Tail of the Dragon, 9/24 Post by Karen627 on 09/17/05 at 22:43:34 (I hope it's okay that I started a new thread for this.) Who's still up for the Dragon ride on Saturday? I thought we could use this thread to hash out the timing and itinerary. Here's my idea (and it's just an idea): I'd love to do the Dragon/Cherohala loop, which is about 120 miles total. Now, the loop would only have us going over the Dragon once, in only one direction. I'd like to ride the Dragon at least once in both directions (because I'm freakin' anal like that ::) :D ). Since the Dragon is also the most difficult part of the ride, I was thinking we could ride it once in each direction first, when we're feeling the least amount of fatigue, then do the loop. So it would go like this: We meet on one side (let's say the NC side for the sake of this post). We ride from the NC end to the TN end, and then back. Then we start the loop -- we ride over the Dragon into TN again, and continue on to the Cherohala, and ride the Cherohala back into NC. It'll be a good few hours, and a total of about 150 miles, give or take. But then afterwards there'll still be plenty of time left for anyone who wants to go back to the Dragon for a few more runs. So that was my idea -- and it's just an idea. If everyone likes it, we can do it. If everyone hates it, then we won't do it. Either way's cool with me. 8) |
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Title: Re: Tail of the Dragon, 9/24 Post by Greg_650 on 09/17/05 at 22:51:24 You go for it. I can't wait to hear. Y'all ride safe. Here we were near the Fontana dam....with a friend on a 1200 Bandit. http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b277/gmdinusa/Fontana3.jpg http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b277/gmdinusa/Fontana2.jpg And here is the Tennessee end of the Tail....:) http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b277/gmdinusa/DealGap1.jpg |
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Title: Re: Tail of the Dragon, 9/24 Post by lancer on 09/18/05 at 16:27:08 Since I have been playing nurse for my wife after her accident and surgury my time has been limited, but I may be able to get a day out for a ride. Last week I was able to do the March of Dimes Ride which made for a really good day.. I will check to see if my daughter can come over and stay with Beverly while I go for a ride...hopefully... |
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Title: Re: Tail of the Dragon, 9/24 Post by Paula71 on 09/18/05 at 18:07:08 Hey Karen, I am still making the ride down. I will get there Friday late afternoon or early eve. It will be about a 6 hour ride so I plan on taking the whole day. No rush just enjoying the ride. I have no plans other than riding, your route sounds good to me. An early start and the dragon first will hopefully put us there before to many sport bikes show up. 8) Lancer hope you can join us. :) |
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Title: Re: Tail of the Dragon, 9/24 Post by lancer on 09/18/05 at 18:27:08 Can you give me a specific location where you will be starting the run? Is there a landmark or hotel or "big rock in the turn of the road"? |
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Title: Re: Tail of the Dragon, 9/24 Post by Karen627 on 09/18/05 at 21:15:28 Greg, those are some great pics. (I can't wait until we're back and posting shots of our own. ;D ) Paula, I'm fine with starting early. You're right -- let's try to avoid the sportbikes/squids. :P I've read that it starts getting busy around 11 -- I suppose we should pick a time before 11, then? Lancer! Welcome back (tentatively, anyway, I'm guessing)!! And a big thank you to your wonderful wife and daughter if they give you a day or two to ride. (Or even if they don't -- I'm sure they're wonderful anyway. :) ) So... where to meet Saturday morning. How about Tapoco Lodge, on 129? This would take us over the Fugitive Bridge. Sounds nice. |
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Title: Re: Tail of the Dragon, 9/24 Post by Paula71 on 09/19/05 at 17:49:18 The lodge sounds good to me for a meeting place, now what time? Will there be concerns with fog? May have to wait a bit later than earlier? Have you gathered any info on the weather conditions for that area this time of year? I'll look into it a bit more. |
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Title: Re: Tail of the Dragon, 9/24 Post by Karen627 on 09/19/05 at 18:18:16 Paula71 wrote:
The current weather.com forecast for Robbinsville says mid-80's and sunny all weekend. ;D The Cherohala, because parts of it are a mile high, is said to get about 10-15 degrees cooler at higher elevations, so I'm leaving my mesh jacket home and taking my textile jacket. Regarding fog, that's a really good question. I have no idea -- I live in the foothills of the mountains we'll be visiting, and we often get some fog in the morning; it usually burns off once the sun's been up for a while -- figure around 8 am or so. Is 9 am too early to meet? That'll give us time for a run back and forth on the Dragon, and then we can start the loop and leave the Dragon to the squids. (Of course, I can also see people thinking 9 am on a Saturday is stupidly early, so I'm fine with starting later.) In the meantime, I'll e-mail the couple that runs the Tail of the Dragon website and ask them if they get a lot of fog in the morning, and what time it usually burns off. |
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Title: Re: Tail of the Dragon, 9/24 Post by sluggo on 09/19/05 at 18:25:15 now of course while those fine folks do the ride, the rest of us need to find a suitable place to ride the same day, so we all get to ride together. ;D |
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Title: Re: Tail of the Dragon, 9/24 Post by Paula71 on 09/20/05 at 03:52:46 9 A M works here. Great news on the nice weather for the weekend. We may have some showers to deal with on the way down though :'( |
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Title: Re: Tail of the Dragon, 9/24 Post by Savage_Rob on 09/20/05 at 05:43:14 Karen627 wrote:
Sounds wonderful. It's supposed to be 100 F here again today. |
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Title: Re: Tail of the Dragon, 9/24 Post by Karen627 on 09/20/05 at 17:36:25 Okay, now the forecast is saying 88 degrees Friday and Saturday. Don't know about bringing the Meteor jacket -- 88 degrees is definitely mesh jacket weather. (And I bought the jacket last week specifically to get it in time for the trip. ::) :D ) Anyway. Figure sunny and hot. Cooler at the higher elevations of the Cherohala, but still reasonably warm there, I'd guess. Got a response back from Ron, one of the co-owners of tailofthedragon.com. He said there's been some fog in the mornings, but it burns off by 9:30. Would you like to meet at the Tapoco at 9:30 instead? Or would you rather get to the Tapoco at 9am so we can meet each other and say hi and all of that, and then start riding by 9:30? |
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Title: Re: Tail of the Dragon, 9/24 Post by Paula71 on 09/21/05 at 04:02:40 Between 9-9:30, if it is foggy it will slow my ride down to get there. So I will aim for 9 but could be a tad late. |
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Title: Re: Tail of the Dragon, 9/24 Post by Karen627 on 09/21/05 at 06:47:34 Paula71 wrote:
Perfect! ;D |
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Title: Re: Tail of the Dragon, 9/24 Post by Karen627 on 09/22/05 at 19:41:40 All right. It's 10:30, I'm packed, my bike is cleaned up, gonna check the tire pressure in the morning, and then I'll be on my way to NC around 9:30. I'll look in here once more before go tomorrow to see if anyone needs to change anything -- otherwise, see you Saturday! :) |
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Title: Re: Tail of the Dragon, 9/24 Post by Paula71 on 09/22/05 at 20:20:46 :D 11:20 PM Here. Mostly ready, just a few things to get together for the dogs. Rolling out at 8 AM. See ya Saturday. Will also check back right before I head out. Have a nice ride to NC!! ;D |
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Title: Re: Tail of the Dragon, 9/24 Post by Greg_650 on 09/24/05 at 08:04:26 What I want to know is....where the heck were all these Savages when we lived in NC? Geez :P Y'all have fun and Ride Safe. |
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Title: Re: Tail of the Dragon, 9/24 Post by Paula71 on 09/26/05 at 12:20:36 Wow!! absolutely wonderful trip. I covered 1040 miles exactly in 3 days! We headed out in the rain, lasted about 30 minutes, and had dry nice weather the rest of our time out. Decided to take Interstate straight down to TN considering the short amount of time we had for the trip. The S40 thumped right along at 70-75mph for 6 hours straight there and 6 hours straight back. I have the gel seat which eliminated any vibration there and a sheepskin kept the backside dry and comfy. The new National Cycle Extreme EX shield is excellent for highway rides (for me). Only problem I truly had was the vibration from the hand grips. just caused some tenderness and almost blistering, like digging in the garden all day with no gloves on. Maybe some gel hand grips or better gloves with some gel will stop that problem. Well now to the actual trip. My husband and I met up with Karen and her husband early Saturday morning and spent the day riding the 130 mile loop that includes the dragon and Cherahala. It was a wonderful day to be riding and I could not think of a better place to ride. Unfortunately I am not an owner of a digital camera, so when my pics are developed I will see about getting them digitilized. Now Karen has the gold, she and her camera may have some pics to show you all. It was beautiful, got to ride the Cherahala Skyway early in the morning between 7-9 AM, on our way to meet up with Karen. My hubby and I were the only ones on the entire Skyway , except maybe 5 cars. A bear ran across the road in front of us. Amazing. The scenery is awesome it is worth stopping at every pull off. Planning on going back again and again!! The dragon has been slayed!! woo hoo, now that is a ride. It is just like a roller coaster ride. this way that way up and down. It was fun to ride and certainly keeps you on your toes, should you choose to do some leaning vs handle bar steering. I did forget for a moment that S40s are not sportbikes, darn those pegs get in the way you know!!! LOL. I had a few other folks say don't get out of 1st or maybe 2nd gear, your shoulders and arms will ache. I guess maybe it is my technique over theirs, but I was in 3rd nearly the whole way and no achy arms. But then again I like dirtbikes and maybe push the edge occassionally. :P Regardless I rode within my ability which is key to safely riding the beast!! And had fun!! That is the nutshell version, there is truly a book to be written about this trip, so glad I was able to make. |
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Title: Re: Tail of the Dragon, 9/24 Post by PerrydaSavage on 09/26/05 at 14:11:09 :)Congrats on slaying the Dragon! I admire those who've been able to do that Run safely ... I've read a lot about Deal's Gap and the fact that is a "Motorcycle Mecca" for Riders from all over North America ... gotta admit, I'd be chicken to give it a go ... we have some seriously twisty roads here in Nfld., but 314 sharp turns in 11 miles would freak me out! :o |
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Title: Re: Tail of the Dragon, 9/24 Post by GaThumper on 09/26/05 at 15:56:53 Keep an eye on http://www.killboy.com and maybe some pictures of you will show up. |
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Title: Re: Tail of the Dragon, 9/24 Post by Karen627 on 09/26/05 at 16:14:53 Hi Paula! Glad you guys got home safely. ;D Our ride from NE Georgia to Fontana Village (where we stayed) was supposed to be about 150 miles. Every map I found said that US 23 in NE GA becomes NC 28 in North Carolina, so we just had to stay on that (Fontana’s on 28 ). Turns out that US 23 does not, in fact, become NC 28. :P We found this out about 50 miles after we were supposed to get off 23. So we had to double back, which turned our 150 mile ride turned into a 250 mile ride. Ah, whoops… ::) (And we thought that was a serious test of endurance -- until we found out how far Paula and her husband had ridden. :o ) So Saturday morning, after a night of not very much sleep (still hyped up from the ride Friday), we took NC 28 to US 129, and down 129 three miles to the Tapoco Lodge, where we were meeting. I believe that stretch of 129 is also considered part of the Dragon; if not, it should be. Very twisty, downhill most of the way, and the pavement was in… well, questionable condition. Okay, it terrified me. :o It scared me to the point where, when we got to the Tapoco, I actually told Paula and her husband that I wasn’t confident that I’d be able to ride the Dragon, and asked if it would it be okay if we didn’t. And Paula and her husband, rather than roll their eyes and smack me off the back of the head, were very nice about it, agreeing that if I wasn’t sure I could do it safely, it shouldn’t be done. Paula’s husband, meanwhile, needed gas; and the closest place to get gas was at Deal’s Gap -- right back up that three mile stretch of 129 that I had just ridden and never wanted to see again. It was easier this time, since it was uphill; by the time we got to Deal’s Gap I felt better about it, and thought I might actually be able to pull off a Dragon ride. I don’t remember exactly when I changed my mind (at Tapoco or at Deal’s Gap?) but upon telling Paula and her husband that I would, in fact, ride the Dragon, they once again did not roll their eyes and smack me in the back of the head, and did not yell “Make up your mind already!” They’re very nice people. And very patient, obviously. So we rode the Dragon, emerged unscathed, pulled off at the Overlook near the TN end, got off our bikes, looked at each other, and said, “That was it?” Turns out it’s not so bad. It's challenging, definitely -- but it can be ridden without any carnage ensuing. :) (Although there was one guy pulling his bike out of the weeds when we got there.) (Of course, I don’t think I hit the 30 mph speed limit for longer than 2 seconds – I kept it around 20 or thereabouts, I think, for most of the ride. But don’t tell anyone. ;) ) It was at the Overlook that Paula’s husband performed a truly saintly good deed, returning a dropped beer cozy to a fellow rider who was about to ride the Dragon in the other direction. That’s why I was so nervous about riding it – I didn’t have any beer with me! From the Overlook we continued on up 129 – straighter now, but it ran alongside a river; a beautiful ride on a sunny morning. Made the left on 72, another left on 411, and a left on 360 (IIRC), stopped for lunch at the Cherohala Market on 165, and then rode down 165 and onto the Cherohala Skyway. We turned off onto a forest service road, continued on a few miles, and stopped at Bald River Falls (gorgeous), took some pictures (not necessarily of each other); turned back, got back on the Skyway, and pulled off at an overlook and marveled at the view. Got back on the Skyway, and pulled off at another overlook a couple of miles later. Then got back on the Skyway, and pulled off at another overlook a couple of miles later… and another… and another… Finally it got silly, so we stopped at every two or three overlooks, or just kept riding; at the pace we were going, if we hadn’t done that, we’d still be there. The Skyway becomes NC 143 on the NC side; we came down off the mountain and continued on a very twisty portion of 143 to US 129. (People who know the area say there are plenty of local roads as challenging as the Dragon, and they’re not kidding. :o :) ) Headed up 129 back to Deal’s Gap, gassed up, bought t-shirts (as in been there, done that, and yes, we got the t-shirts) and called it a day, about 9 or 10 hours after we began. I took over 50 pictures that day. I’ll go through them later on and post a few. They don’t do the ride justice, though. GaThumper, we did see Killboy (or whomever works for him/them) – we came around a curve and saw the zoom lens aimed at us. I hope nobody can tell from his pictures how slow I was going. I can show people the pictures and let everyone think I’m cooler than I am. 8) So I got to go on a great ride, and I got to ride with very cool people. Paula, thanks again to you and your husband -- we had a blast riding with you! ;D |
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Title: Re: Tail of the Dragon, 9/24 Post by Karen627 on 09/26/05 at 17:05:59 Pictures. This is at Deal's Gap at the beginning of the day. http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a256/twowheels000/Dragon/DealsGapAM2.jpg The Overlook at the Dragon: http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a256/twowheels000/Dragon/Overlook4.jpg The old gas station. I love the gas prices. Remember those days? http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a256/twowheels000/Dragon/OldGas7.jpg Bald River Falls. http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a256/twowheels000/Dragon/Falls8.jpg Remember the guy who dropped his beer cozy while heading the other way on the Dragon? That afternoon, there he was on the Cherohala! (The white-haired leather guy.) http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a256/twowheels000/Dragon/BeerCozyGuy9.jpg One of many beautiful views from the Skyway. http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a256/twowheels000/Dragon/PullOffTen.jpg |
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Title: Re: Tail of the Dragon, 9/24 Post by gandalph40 on 09/27/05 at 09:40:21 Dang it! Dadgummit! Heck! Crap! !@#$%^&*(...What a gorgeous ride...Ok, just moved this one up on my "to do" list...It was already pretty high up there. Thanks for all the gorgeous pictures. I put an email notice on killboy so I can find out when the pics go up from last weekend. I am SO SORRY I missed this one...if you have more pics, post 'em! Thanks. Tom |
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Title: Re: Tail of the Dragon, 9/24 Post by Mr 650 on 09/29/05 at 09:13:56 Cool!, more pics, more PICS! ;D |
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Title: Re: Tail of the Dragon, 9/24 Post by gandalph40 on 09/29/05 at 10:04:39 OK...the pics from Saturday are up from killboy http://www.photoreflect.com/scripts/prsm.dll?eventthumbs?event=04RK005D09&start=80&ts=1128013528...if I did this right, I think the Savage owners pics are about in the middle row...YOU'RE FAMOUS! Tom |
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Title: Re: Tail of the Dragon, 9/24 Post by Paula71 on 09/29/05 at 13:21:57 gandalph40 wrote:
Hey Tom great detective work!! That would be us :) Karen is in the lead with the white helmet then her husband on the blue VStar. Followed by me then my husband on his Boulevard C50T! What fun to see those pics, I wanna go back :D |
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Title: Re: Tail of the Dragon, 9/24 Post by Karen627 on 09/29/05 at 16:06:32 Saw them. Very cool. ;D Um... Well... I kind of look like a circus bear on a tricycle, actually. If I'd seen the pictures sooner, I wouldn't have had the grilled cheese and fries for lunch that day. :o ::) :) |
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Title: Re: Tail of the Dragon, 9/24 Post by gandalph40 on 09/29/05 at 16:14:43 LOL! |
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Title: Re: Tail of the Dragon, 9/24 Post by Greg_650 on 10/01/05 at 10:36:55 Cool. The dragon was slayed by Savages again. |
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