I thought you guys who do the Dragon run would appreciate this.  

http://plays-with-cars.kinja.com/heres-why-the-tail-of-the-dragon-is-overrate...

Here's Why The Tail Of The Dragon Is Overrated
Doug DeMuro PFollowOUnfollow 8/06/13 1:22pm Yesterday 1:22pm g 12,578L 265Edit  When I decided to become a writer, it wasn’t so I could expose the most pressing myths facing today’s automotive enthusiasts. It was so I could wake up at 10 a.m. and lounge around all day without wearing pants. Today, I’ve decided to do both.
The myth I’m talking about here is one of the most sacred beliefs among car enthusiasts. No, I am not referring to the 3,000-mile oil change. I love the 3,000-mile oil change, largely because I have a Land Rover, which means I’m at the dealer every 3,000 miles or so anyway. “All the exterior bulbs went out simultaneously,” I’ll say. “Might as well change the oil while I’m here.”
No, I am instead referring to an even more widely held belief: the one that says the Tail of the Dragon is among the best driving roads in the world. You’ve probably heard this myth from various sources, namely the Tail of the Dragon Area Chamber of Commerce, which teams up each year with the local police force to ensure that everyone who visits the area gets a ticket, but only after they’ve placed a non-refundable deposit on lodging.
Well, today, I’m going to debunk it, using my typical Myth Debunking Strategy. This involves a) looking up “debunk” in the dictionary to make sure I’ve used it correctly, and b) employing gross factual inaccuracies to convey my point. Let’s get started.
First, a little background. Nestled in the marry-your-cousin hills of eastern Tennessee, TotD (as guys who drive modified GTIs call it) is a really curvy stretch of some US highway. I don’t remember the exact highway number, but a lot of motorcycle riders do, since they get it tattooed on their arms. For you Europeans out there, imagine Stelvio Pass, except all the road signs have bullet holes.
Now, when I say the road is “really curvy,” I don’t mean it’s a lot like that one on your commute home that’s fun for a couple of minutes until you get stuck behind a lady in a Sentra. I mean Tail of the Dragon has a claimed 318 curves in 11 miles, and I stress “claimed” because I have difficulty believing the local residents can count that high. (If you are offended by this, please send hate mail to me at: matt.hardigree@aol.com)
Of course, I already know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking: Tons of curves in the middle of nowhere?! How can that be bad?! You might also be thinking: DeMuro you sunovabitch, I live right next to the Tail of the Dragon, and I can count as high as I want! Hell, just last month, me and my brother Cletus shot 219 different road signs! Presumably, you are thinking this while riding a lawnmower into town.
And I admit, I might be wrong. About the counting thing, that is. But I’m certainly not wrong about the Tail of the Dragon, and here’s why:
1. The curves. If you’ve never been to the Tail of the Dragon, you probably think it’s a fun, winding road where you can have a good time exploring the limits of your car. But really, it’s like trying to drive a pontoon boat through Venice.
There are two main problems. One is the sheer number of curves. Think of it this way: 318 curves in 11 miles translates to an average of one curve every 60 yards. That means just as you’re coming out of one curve, you’re slamming on the brakes for the next one. You never get above 40 miles per hour.
The other problem the type of curves. These aren’t sweeping bends. No, sirree. These are harsh, tight corners; the kind where you might say “Honey, we can’t take that road!” if you were, for example, bringing home a fish from PetSmart.
2. It’s crowded. I recently made the mistake of visiting the Tail of the Dragon on a weekend in the summer, which meant I encountered what I can only assume was every single car club that operates between Miami and Greater Toronto. As I recall, it was the Isetta Club that really ruined things for everyone.
It’s not only cars. The sheer volume of motorcycles at the Tail of the Dragon is such that riders who frequent the area have taken to manufacturing a robotic arm that sticks out from their chest and gives that two-finger wave that motorcyclists are always giving to one another. If bikers didn’t have this, they would never have their left hand on the handlebars.
3. Police are everywhere. The last time I visited, I was given a ticket by a police officer who openly admitted he had “no idea” if I had committed the offense he described. Of course, I paid the ticket anyway, because going back up there would probably mean a) getting another ticket, or b) getting stuck behind the Isetta club.
4. There are better roads nearby. And now we come to the biggest problem with the Tail of the Dragon. While the Dragon is full of tight corners, and traffic, and police, many nearby roads have none of those problems. In fact, there are dozens of well-paved, little-traveled area roads with excellent sweeping corners and little traffic. And they’re largely free from police, who are busy clearing an accident where two motorcyclists lost their hands after colliding while attempting to give each other two-fingered waves.
Seriously: it doesn’t matter if you visit the Devil’s Triangle, or the Cherohala Skyway, or some other road that sounds like a place Harry Potter might wake up with his lightning bolt scar throbbing. All of the area is a car lover’s paradise.
And so I suggest: forget about the Tail of the Dragon, and instead enjoy everything that the North Carolina and Tennessee mountains have to offer. And don’t worry about getting lost. Just follow the signs with the bullet holes.

This article is a bit exaggerated, but on a busy Saturday afternoon it rings more true than false.   There is a REASON we hit the area early in the week and plan to leave on Saturday AM and the article covers most all of it with fair accuracy.

What it doesn't cover is old bodies and FATIGUE which only gives us 2-3 days at a full Dragon pace before the aches begin to overwhelm the wonder of it all.

It also covers why Blue Ridge place seems to collect more of us old farts as the years mount up -- the pace and the environment is much better for old bodies and we tend to last the whole trip.

Hell, I get tired just watching them young bucks laboriously peel off all that leather when they get back down to the bottom and then they just sit on a bench at the lodge panting and swilling liquids (and bragging, can't forget the endless bragging).

I get tired just thinking about them struggling to put that body tight leather and hard body armor all back on again ....

ATGATT  my arse -- that stuff looks like hot sweaty torture to put on and take off, put on and take off, put on and take off  ....

Lancer and the rest of our crew have the right idea, just don't get into any wrecks that would need it.   Just have them little bitty band aid type boo boos if you must boo boo at all.

The mountains (and especially the Dragon) require some blood from each of us that choose go there yearly -- but it seems it can be satisfied with much much smaller amounts that some seem determined to give it)

Yup on holidays and mid-summer weekends, its right on the money. I think the worst are Holiday weekends. Go in the spring as things are warming up or in the fall when its starting to get chilly. I went in may on my ninja 300 with a bud and we were freezing on the way up, numb hands and all, but mid day was a blast! Go early in the morning.....I don't mean 10am either, go about 7-8am and ride it like you own it, even some of the photog's aren't even set up till 9am. He is on the money about all the other roads, I usually go the straightest route on the way up to that area, and when the riding vacation is done, I kinda do a meandering on the way back south....so long as the gps says i'm headed south, it doesn't matter what road i'm on.

Ya have to forgive them Paladin, I grew up in the Cascades, Olympic Range and the Sangre de Christos, so what Southrons call mountains, barely register as foothills to me... Piddly little 1200 footer is NOT a mountain, "Molehill Saint Hellhole" (Mt St Helens) is bigger than that, and IT blew up...

Haven't ridden both, so I can't say.

Versy has done both, and next year WD will have done both -- then they can have a real opinion on the subject.

We look always for the most Dragon like roads, and we ride them, every year.   Hwy 84 and Hwy 32 come to mind as real good windy little roads.   Best sweeper road (broad curves, higher speeds) is the Cherohala Skyway.   It looks to be a little tighter than the pics up above ....

Slam no ones road until you go there with them ....   all roads have good points and bad points.

Hwy 32 for example would be plumb deadly in the fall from fallen leaves, acorns and debris.

Just got back from a vacation to Lake Tahoe. The road that wraps all the way around it was some of the funest riding I've had in a long time. Super curvy (compared to Utah roads) some streches average around 40mph, others are more like 60-65, and a few of the hairpins are 10 max. It would be a great place for a group ride if it wern't so dern hard to get too. Don't think you can really get to it without interstate travel.

I'm also fond of I90 between Missoula and Spokane. Ya need a little bigger bike for that one though, 80+ mph the whole way.

A road I would like to ride is Pikes Peak Highway -- 19 miles from Cascade CO, elevation 7,379 feet, to the top of Pikes Peak at 14,110 feet.

I am not sure I could breathe at 14K feet.

stinger wrote on 08/08/13 at 03:50:52:



There are animals throughout the area but usually not in the road...USUALLY.          Yeeeeehaaaaaw  .... braking hard and trying to swerve around that large hazard with big brown eyes.