cbzzoom

Man, the US really needs a road like that to be set aside for safe speeding.

The way it is now you have cars that are sometimes speeding mixing with motorcycles, and even pedestrians and bicyclists. Very dangerous.

They could easily make it cars only one day a week, motorbikes only one day a week, and even make it one way which would help a lot.

Charge $50 a run and it would make more than the speeding ticket revenue.

BMWDavid

In southwest Indiana there is SR 450 that runs from SR 50 just outside of Shoals Indiana to Bedford Indiana. Its about 25 miles of pretty twisty road with nice altitude changes.

David

Dharn55

I have ridden it a half a dozen time on a Harley, never driven it in my Porsche, would love to though.

jakes dad

A couple questions regarding Tail of the Dragon......

How diligent are the police patroling the most used stretchs of road?
Is the road closed at certain times of the day?
i'm assuming that the road runs between different states... Is one state better than the other regarding enforcement?

Bruce R

The Dragon is about 11 miles long and 90% of the road is in TN. On a recent trip two TN cops patrolled the road. What sometimes works is going a recce run out, determining their position and then a hotter run in return. I didn't notice any NC cops.
Yes road did seem to closed at certain times - can't be certain.

Actually my best advice it to also a run on the Cherohala Skyway that runs between Robbinsville, NC and Tellico Plains, TN. That road seems to be unpatroled and is taken at a higher rate of speed. (photo on the Skyway)

Tellico Plains, TN is "dry" so carry beer/wine if planning a night there.

NC 997

I spend a lot of time up that way, mostly on two wheels. Here's the real story.

Last year there was a rock slide that totally closed the road for months. It opened last spring during the day, then later in the summer it opened back up 24/7. It's a state highway that's open 24/7 now, just like the rest of the state roads.

Three years ago there were four m/c fatalities in the area - not all on 129, but they drew enough attention from the Tennessee law makers that they authorized $75K of the taxpayer's money to pay for overtime for the Blount County Sheriff and TNHP. See the results here (keep in mind that this is all in one 11-mile stretch of highway):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJ9pA...eature=related

At the same time they lowered the speed limit from 45 to 30 (many moons ago the speed limit was 55, but to this day I'll never understand how anyone could run 55 through there w/o knowing the road very well). Once the speed limit was lowered, it wasn't uncommon for TN's finest to pull someone over for doing 37 in a 35. It got stupid.. and a lot of the regulars quit going, which I suppose was the intent. That's why I strongly recommend initially running it at the speed limit, then turn around to 'play' on the return trip.

There is so little of what's known as the Dragon in NC that you're likely to only see TNHP and Blount County Sheriff's cars on the sides of the road.

Things have loosened up a bit, but I suspect once the warm weather rolls in for good, there will be more patrolling than there is now.

Although this site is more m/c related than car related, it does provide a good source for updates on road conditions, police presence, etc.

http://tailofthedragon.com/index.html

Be sure to stop at the Deals Gap Resort store, which is at the start of the Dragon on the NC side, and pick up one of those small dragon decals for your window...

sjfehr

Are there any other good driving roads are up in those mountains, that are less patrolled?

NC 997

You bet there are.. which is why the lads that I ride with and I rarely venture over to the Dragon (unless it's mid-week or unless we have a new rider in our Group who feels compelled to 'punch his Tail of the Dragon ticket').

.. but I'm not telling anyone where they are...

The mountain roads of north Georgia are equally as impressive as 129 in NC.

Seriously, if you map out any of the backroads in the western NC / east TN / north Georgia area, you'll find that there are some of the best twisties in the U.S. in those parts.

limey940

Well got back last night.
the bad news is that it didnt stop raining while we were there. And it was raining pretty hard as well. I did find some great roads, 28 to Highlands was very technical, mostly second gear corners, but as i say, it was wet, and each time I looked at my wife she had her eyes tightly shut so obviously i wasnt pushing that hard. The drive to Biltmore the following day was fun, r 64, then on to a two lane highway, nice hi speed sweepers, had my radar detector on but didnt see one LEO. We did the off road land rover driving at Biltmore that was a lot of fun, then coming back same hi speed road, saw a few LEO running radar but no problems. There are so many great roads out in this area, we will be going back again, Old edwards Inn in highlands is highly recomended. Cant wait to hit these roads in the dry.

cheers

NC 997

I wondered about you with the weather we had this weekend. Now you know that a weekend in the mountains is a thing to consider.

Good looking pups you have there.. Is the hunter a Weimaraner, or a Visla?

limey940

Hey NC
Yes, we will be back, im particulaly looking forward to some weekend trips when it is 100% humidity and 100 degrees down here. thanks for the kind words on the puops, i really need to update my pic, my border collie passed away about 18 months ago, and the choc lab/german sheperd/malumute/husky 9among other things) passed away two weeks ago. Kyla is a weim, a rescue, very small for her breed, wonderfull dog, she was just stalking canada geese out back!
cheers

hotwlz

I have an artic silver 4s 996 and have been considering black spoke wheels, and in particular the Victor Turismos. Your car looks great. What wheels are you running, and who supplied them, at what price? Any issues? Also, if you have any more pix (like a side profile shot of the car, or some corner shots) it would be very helpful for my decision. Your avatar is a little too far from the lense for a really good look.
TIA, Larry

KBS911

The Dragon is as fun as any DE I've been to. Not the speeds mind you, but the never ending array of twist and turns and drops and rises and camber changes are amazing. As Charlie Sheen would say.........Winner!

NC 997

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