Hi everyone! The wife and I are planing a week long ride to and through Deals Gap this spring. I was curious how many have ridden that infamous 11 mile stretch with 318 curves, where you stayed while there and if you have any thoughts, advice, or recomendations for a guy making his first ride through that set of twist and turns?

Thanks everyone!

Dave.

Well Dave, I can tell you that staying at the Deal's Gap Motor Lodge would really NOT be a pleasant experience for you and your wife if you want amenities and comfort. This is really bare essentials and IMHO not suited for any long term stay (more than one night). There are however some great places to stay around the area. Fontaine Village Resort ( http://www.fontanavillage.com/ ) offers a variety of accommodation options but can be expensive. The riding around the area is spectacular.

As for the Deal's Gap Tail of the Dragon; it's definitely NOT a sight-seeing ride. Some of the vids uploaded on youtube make it appear that it is but trust me, it's not. It's a ride where you really and truly need to pay attention. I've seen some of the best crotch rocket riders I've ever seen in my life make that run and they don't do it casually. A good many HD riders think they can do the same thing and honestly, IMHO, they can't nor should they try.

That's not to say you can't enjoy the ride. I've done it a few times and it was fun but it is challenging. The one bit of advice a crotch rider gave me was, "Don't pay any attention to us. Don't move over for us. Just ride like you always do and we'll figure it out. We'll get by you". My advice if you want you and your wife to experience and enjoy the ride is, stay away from the center line as much as possible. Everything you ever knew, learned about riding happens on the Dragon. And, you see them everywhere you go when you ride; idiots who think they are better than the road.
http://www.lakeviewatfontana.com/directions.html />
http://www.ironhorsenc.com/ (great place and friendly)

If you are just going to ride the Tail of the Dragon once or twice you can always stay a bit away and just head over in the morning.  If you are looking for more of a touristy place you've got Gatlingburg and Cherokee within an hour. Both have lots of hotels and motels and resort type places.  Gatlingburg has lots of restaurants shops and stuff like that.  Another cool place is Maggie Valley, NC that has a number of nice motels and some great BBQ at Butts on the Creek.  My son used to live there and we love that place.  They even have a pretty famous Motorcycle Museum (http://www.wheelsthroughtime.com/).

No matter which you choose, you should take a ride to all three of those places.  And the ride from Cherokee to Gatlingburg over the Smokie Mountains on 441 is a great road!!!  Not quite as intense as the Dragon, but you can enjoy the scenery.

Wife and I spent a few bikcations in that area. We have ridden about every road there, to include the Devils Triangle. We found our favorite place to be Maggie Valley. We found that Maggie Valley is an area that you can go anywhere you want to go in a days ride. We stayed at the A Holiday Motel it is a biker friendly establishment and Wheels Through Time is with in walking distance and is a must see. Oh yeah, Tail of the Dragon traffic starts to get heavy towards the afternoon time. We like to ride the Dragon early in the morning when traffic is lite. Robbinville, NC area is a dry county. We stayed there on our very first trip and didn't realize that it is a dry county. Besides we were wiped out from our long days road. You will definitely have a great time no matter where you stay and ride.

www.holidaymotel.net

Plus 1 on Maggie Valley. We stayed at the Apple Tree Inn. It's right on the main drag. Friendly folk. And it's not a dry county either. But you do have to finish one drink before they put the next one in front of you. And yep, WTT is a must see

Talk about timing I'm planning a trip down that area myself this year. WTT was already on the list with The Tail of the Dragon and the Devils Triangle. Plan on spending about a week in the area giving myself a week to get down and back from the NorthEast.
Now my question is what time of the year is best to be there. Plus any other then rides in the area other then Lucks suggestion which I'll add?

Quite a ride from Massachusetts eh? I think that once you're down in N. Carolina you'll find plenty of gorgeous riding.  The ride over the Smokies from N. Carolina to Tennessee  on 441is breath-taking.  The Cherohola Hwy is as well.  The whole area is a place to ride.  All of it.  Enjoy

He is a suggestion; if you are biking down from Mass. and taking I-81S through VA, get off at I-77 to Fancy Gap, NC and jump on the Blue Ridge Parkway. From Fancy Gap to Cheroke, Maggie Valley surrounding area is a pretty good days ride. You will be able to see some great scenery, lite traffic in the morning, and most of the time you are out of the direct sunlight for some nice cool riding. Also, there are plenty of towns and historical places to sight see if you are into that.  I am into that stuff thats one reason I love to ride the Park Way. Good Luck and let us know how your trip went.

Great info and suggestions guys. Thanks! I wll defianatly be riding over the Newfound gap, and WTT is now on the list as well. I will be riding up from Louisiana to a cabin the wife and I found on line in Maggie Vallly. It does look to be pretty centrally locate dto all thye places we want to ride and see.

Chaz, if you settle in on or around June 8th drop me a note as that is when the wife and I are set to arrive. Maybe we can go ride the dragon together..

If you are stayin in Maggie Valley there aren't any bad rides, just look on a map and you will see just about any road that is a pleasure to ride, with some being much more enjoyable than the crowded and too curvy Dragon, but I guess you should do it once just to say you did.
One of my favorites on my trips to that area is Rt,.28 south, just head west out of Maggie valley and about 5 miles past Bryson city you will see sign for 28 south just hang left and enjoy immediately. you will pass a few roadside waterfalls and one that you can even drive your bike behind for a photo op. continue south and you will wind up at the Highlands smokehouse a great place for lunch and only be about 5 miles from Georgia border. The whole round trip ride is a good day but well worth it.

The suggested locations everyone else have made are all great,I too don't think there is a bad ride in that area, my wife and I were there in October last year, the fall colors were great,and a lot less traffic than peak season,I guess the only I can add is make sure you leave yourself plenty of time to get to your destinations and back before dark it gets Really Dark on those roads,LOL. 3000 miles and two weeks wasn't enough time,We will be back in that area again this Fall

WOW! Maybe I need to plan for two weeks vacation! Thinking about adding the throttle boss to my bike before the ride. No electronic cruise control, and I'm thinking it could help out on the interstates.

You know what? You guys are great! I appriciate all the advice, and the heads ups on cool things to see and roads you folks have enjoyed.

Two weeks would probably be about right. The Dragon is fun and I highly recommend giving it a run .. it will prove to be a challenge for your skills. But there are plenty of places to ride in that area. Some that haven't been mentioned yet are the Hellbender, the Cherohala Skyway, and Wayah Road. You'll miss out if you don't give them a try. You can pick up the Hellbender right there at Deal's Gap and ride it down past motorcycle friendly lodgings such as the Iron Horse Motorcycle Lodge and the Kickstand Campgrounds.
My brother & I make regular trips up there and we usually stay at the Two Wheel Inn there in Robbinsville.
One other note: When we ride up, we usually take the Interstate up to Macon GA and pick up US 129 right there. Its a pretty nice ride up to Robbinsville.

Thanks everyone also, You all have given me some more to chew on in planning this out. May start looking at a more aggressive ride down and back so as to spend more time in the area.

Hey Chaz, I found this site with some roads and stuf for the area around and through the smokies. Thought I'd share.

http://www.stayandplayinthesmokies.com/explore/scenic-drives/1/

Sounds like great place for a Cycle Fish meet and greet. As far as the Tail of the dragon what a ride pay no attention to the camera guys

I like the idea of a meet & greet! Who's in?

It ain't the camera guys that are starting to worry me. I have no doubts in my abilities, it's the guys outriding the common sense God gave them that concerns me. Lookie what I found. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K16YnmJN0fc

So true this road is not for the beginner

Well Dave, I still maintain it's not a "joy ride" for any Harley rider regardless of his abilities. The approach along the river on the Tennessee side clearly warns truckers of the danger but they disregard the warning and once you are on the Dragon you have no idea if there will be a semi coming from the opposite direction. Actually the Tennessee side approach is scenic and almost hypnotizing and actually beckons you to keep going. As for a CF meet & greet; I'd go for it but I won't ever do the Dragon again; I've witnessed the bad side. I'm 65 and I've been on two wheels since I was 12; not intermittently since I was 12 but literally my lifestyle since I was 12; dirt track, hill climb, motocross. That's a lot of years of experience. Some "experiences" lacked wisdom (despite my actual abilities) but I was younger. Wisdom and the years tell me that I will never put a passenger on the Dragon again.

A good many of us here at CF have ridden the Tail of the Dragon and I'm sure there are as many different opinions on the subject. You have every reason to be concerned IMHO. I certainly wish you all the best and the enjoyment. Plus, if your time in N. Carolina coincides with my return from the Grand Canyon it'd be great to meet up.

Peace

Well, If I ride the dragon it woill be at my pace and to the far right of my lane.in the early morning hours....Slowly, just to say I did. Mainly, the wife and I are going to cruise, see the mountains, try our hand at some trout fishing and enjoy the views. WTT and some of the rides you good folks suggested are on the bucket list.

I'v gotten a camera, so I can post some vids of the ride.

If a group from here do plan a meet please let me know. I think I'm about 4 hours from the tail. I would try and be in for a meet as long as it was on a weekend.

Hey TallDave / Chaz I live about 45 minutes from the Tail of the Dragon, and I read all of the above suggestions and they are all correct. The Dragon is a great ride but you will be so busy riding there will be no time for looking. The back roads around this area have NO Shoulders and plenty of ditches. The on-coming locals around here think their side of the road and 1/2 of your side of the road belongs to them......watch out. Something else to watch out for......A lot of the back roads are always covered with trees and there are streams that run across the road. The wet roads under constant shade creates MOSS in different areas, and I assure you this stuff is as slick as Dragon Snot.
I have spent the last year learning some of this the hard way. All and all this area is some of the best riding anywhere. Just be careful and enjoy what Mother Nature has to offer.

Night Dragon

Hi guys! Sorry I have not been on, but life has been more than a little nuts of late. Work, life, etc.....Cold weather YUCK!)

But I have seena couple of folks here asking about a meet and greet around Deals Gap and the devils Triangle. (Chaz, Speedyre, Callback......) and a lot of others have been great in sharing their experiences and recomendations for the area. So with all that said, I will post a link to the thread and a proposed meet and greet for Cycle fish members and see if we can get something rolling! It could be a blast to get a bunch together, hopefully we can pull it off.

Dave.

http://www.cyclefish.com/forum/General/CycleFish-Meet-amp-Greets/June-2014-Meet-amp-Greet-Near-Deals-Gap-and-The-Devils-Triangle-160082-1.html

@ TallDave,
The Dragon's Tail is very tricky, just as Night Dragon has said. Another area that is close & also closer, yet, to Boone, NC & thus the Boone Bike rally (the last weekend of May) is the Snake, which is mostly Hwy, 421 between Mountain City, & Bristol, TN. It is full of hairpins, just like the Dragon. There is also Hwy, 80 between Marion, NC & climbing up into TN, & I think it is called "the Rattler"? I spend many hrs.. on both the Snake & Hwy. 80 in my line of work, driving/Climbing/working in my Rav4. All of these routes, the Dragon, the Snake, and the Rattler are also in very close proximity and/or cross the Blue Ridge Parkway. Hmm, a Meet/Greet in my home/stomping area...how wonderful! & in between two great rallies...even better!