Tail of the Dragon

[nilez]

My buddy and I have been hassling my roommate to pick up a street bike for some time now, and he finally decided to go for it (he has two dirtbikes and occasionally takes my R1 or my buddy's R6 out for rides). He found a leftover '09 CBR1000RR Repsol that the dealer is trying to move and is getting a really sweet deal on the bike. When he told me the dealer was in Chattanooga, TN one thought sprang into my mind... TAIL OF THE DRAGON! We're taking leave this Wednesday through the following Wednesday, trailering the the R1 and R6 up there, picking up the Repsol, and then heading to Rt. 129 for a day or two of 'conservative' riding. This will be my second time riding Deal's Gap, and I'm stoked to be going back. My roommate and I spent the afternoon getting his trailer ready to move 3 bikes. Front wheel chaulks for each bike and 4 eyelet hooks per bike for tie-downs. It's a covered 16 foot V-nose trailer, so the bikes will be kept out of the elements. We'll be sleeping in a tent at a campground somewhere in the area. We already talked it over with our OIC and he's cool with it. Officially submitted the leave request this evening. CAN'T FREAKIN' WAIT!

I'll be taking pictures on my Droid, and I'll post them when I get home next week sometime.

Anyone on the forum happen to be in the TN area next weekend???

[sdog30]

My buddy and I have been hassling my roommate to pick up a street bike for some time now, and he finally decided to go for it (he has two dirtbikes and occasionally takes my R1 or my buddy's R6 out for rides). He found a leftover '09 CBR1000RR Repsol that the dealer is trying to move and is getting a really sweet deal on the bike. When he told me the dealer was in Chattanooga, TN one thought sprang into my mind... TAIL OF THE DRAGON! We're taking leave this Wednesday through the following Wednesday, trailering the the R1 and R6 up there, picking up the Repsol, and then heading to Rt. 129 for a day or two of 'conservative' riding. This will be my second time riding Deal's Gap, and I'm stoked to be going back. My roommate and I spent the afternoon getting his trailer ready to move 3 bikes. Front wheel chaulks for each bike and 4 eyelet hooks per bike for tie-downs. It's a covered 16 foot V-nose trailer, so the bikes will be kept out of the elements. We'll be sleeping in a tent at a campground somewhere in the area. We already talked it over with our OIC and he's cool with it. Officially submitted the leave request this evening. CAN'T FREAKIN' WAIT!

I'll be taking pictures on my Droid, and I'll post them when I get home next week sometime.

Anyone on the forum happen to be in the TN area next weekend???

Is the Deals Gap still closed from that rock slide?

[R7]

Has it re-opened yet? I know it was closed because of a rockslide for a while

[Ray-Ray]

IM 99% sure its still closed...

[hskater26]

its open 8am-8pm with 2 cops on it at all times

http://killboy.blogspot.com/2010/04/...g-site_14.html

[nilez]

wow, I never knew it had closed down for a while. At least it's back up and open to some degree. We're really not looking to push any limits on this trip anyway, so I'm not worried about the THP being there nonstop. Thanks for the info though!

[mycirus]

Just remember you can only get in from the NC side.

[Ray-Ray]

[crowspeed07]

My buddy and I have been hassling my roommate to pick up a street bike for some time now, and he finally decided to go for it (he has two dirtbikes and occasionally takes my R1 or my buddy's R6 out for rides). He found a leftover '09 CBR1000RR Repsol that the dealer is trying to move and is getting a really sweet deal on the bike. When he told me the dealer was in Chattanooga, TN one thought sprang into my mind... TAIL OF THE DRAGON! We're taking leave this Wednesday through the following Wednesday, trailering the the R1 and R6 up there, picking up the Repsol, and then heading to Rt. 129 for a day or two of 'conservative' riding. This will be my second time riding Deal's Gap, and I'm stoked to be going back. My roommate and I spent the afternoon getting his trailer ready to move 3 bikes. Front wheel chaulks for each bike and 4 eyelet hooks per bike for tie-downs. It's a covered 16 foot V-nose trailer, so the bikes will be kept out of the elements. We'll be sleeping in a tent at a campground somewhere in the area. We already talked it over with our OIC and he's cool with it. Officially submitted the leave request this evening. CAN'T FREAKIN' WAIT!

I'll be taking pictures on my Droid, and I'll post them when I get home next week sometime.

Anyone on the forum happen to be in the TN area next weekend???

[KB]

Brilliant idea get a new rider a liter bike and take him to the gap.................I have said it before.

Be carefull down there. We have had a few guys from here get pretty fucked up down there.
129 isn't even the best ride down there. Lot's of better roads in the area. Check it out and please be carefull!!

KB

[tonyd]

Agreed. Thousands of other great roads down there, don't get hung up on riding Deal's

[ctbandit]

Brilliant idea get a new rider a liter bike and take him to the gap.................I have said it before.

Be carefull down there. We have had a few guys from here get pretty fucked up down there.
129 isn't even the best ride down there. Lot's of better roads in the area. Check it out and please be carefull!!

KB

I was thinking the same thing, picking up a brand new liter bike with a new rider and starting at he gap. Seems like a recipe for trouble. Wish you the best. Take it easy and everyone will enjoy it.

[nilez]

Figured there might be some safety nazi comments about bringing a new bike/rider to the gap, but we made it out unscathed and had a blast riding. He may be new to the bike, but he's ridden some street here and there on borrowed bikes in the past, and grew up riding dirt, so he's not necessarily new to riding in general. Bottom line, he did just fine, and our goal was not to push the envelope on this trip. My command wouldn't be too pleased finding out one of us had crashed because we were being idiots.

Anywho, we ended up riding about 250 miles on Friday, from our campsite just north of Maryville, through the Great Smoky National Mountains on Rt. 441, down Rt. 19 to 74 (?), to Rt. 28, then to 129 and all the way back, pretty much the same route on the return. I was sore as a bastard the next two days. We decided not to ride a second day (Saturday), for two reasons: (1) we were beat, and (2) incoming shitty weather, which we later ran into on our drive south to Pensacola on Saturday (in a truck, trailering the bikes).

While he was finalizing the paperwork at the dealership in Chattanooga, I got 'hustled' into buying a new lid... ok, well, I've been keeping my eyes open for a new lid since my Arai is approaching retirement. Ended up getting the same exact shell (different graphics), for nearly 50% off because the dealership hadn't moved it for almost 6 months and wasn't an actual Arai retailer, so it was just taking up space as far as they were concerned. $600 Arai Quantum II for $325 + tax. Couldn't pass on the deal.

Took some pics I thought I'd share with everyone. Feel free to criticize/critique/call us bitches/or whatever you'd like

[nilez]

a couple more...

[markbvt]

Nice. I'll be down there in two weeks.

--mark

[Doc]

I did not make one safety nazi comment in this thread.

[markbvt]

Doc, that's only because you didn't make any comments at all in this thread, apart from your denial.



--mark

[Evil_Weasel]

oooh, congrats on the awesome trip.

i had a room mate while i was in the corps that bought his first street bike after a life time of dirt bikes...inside of a month he was as fast as me on a twisty road and better at wheelies. it was very dishartening to some one that had been riding on the street for 8 years at that point.

i suppose every rule has it's exception, even the one about noobs and sporty riding

[KB]

Good job on making it back in one piece. Some familiar looking pics.

KB

[RandyO]

Just remember you can only get in from the NC side.

its my understanding they reopened it only after they got one lane open at the rock slide, and no trucks allowed

[Twheat18]

Nilez you unsafe bitch! That ride looks the titas.

[mycirus]

its my understanding they reopened it only after they got one lane open at the rock slide, and no trucks allowed

From Tailofthedragon.com

ROCK SLIDE UPDATE April 16, 2010: The rock slide on US 129 is located between the Dragon and Happy Valley Road/Foothills Parkway. TDOT has announced in a press release that the 11 mile section known as the Tail of the Dragon will be open from 8 am to 8 pm beginning Monday April 12, 2010. The only access is from North Carolina US 129. THP announced that there will be zero tolerance for traffic violations, so I'd travel the Tail with extreme caution. Please obey the traffic laws and report any undue harassment to us. We will forward all complaints to the Tennessee and North Carolina senators and representatives who worked so hard to get the road open. We will continue to post the latest information here so keep in touch.

[nilez]

I did not make one safety nazi comment in this thread.

...but you were thinking it Doc, you damned nazi it's all good though.

oooh, congrats on the awesome trip.

i had a room mate while i was in the corps that bought his first street bike after a life time of dirt bikes...inside of a month he was as fast as me on a twisty road and better at wheelies. it was very dishartening to some one that had been riding on the street for 8 years at that point.

i suppose every rule has it's exception, even the one about noobs and sporty riding

I agree, my roommate did just fine riding the roads up there and I'm sure he'll be as savvy as I am on the street in no time.

From Tailofthedragon.com

ROCK SLIDE UPDATE April 16, 2010: The rock slide on US 129 is located between the Dragon and Happy Valley Road/Foothills Parkway. TDOT has announced in a press release that the 11 mile section known as the Tail of the Dragon will be open from 8 am to 8 pm beginning Monday April 12, 2010. The only access is from North Carolina US 129. THP announced that there will be zero tolerance for traffic violations, so I'd travel the Tail with extreme caution. Please obey the traffic laws and report any undue harassment to us. We will forward all complaints to the Tennessee and North Carolina senators and representatives who worked so hard to get the road open. We will continue to post the latest information here so keep in touch.

THP is no joke on 129 right now. 2 of them sitting near the beginning of the run, spaced about a mile apart. Each time we passed them, at least one of them had a customer. The nice part about the dragon is you really don't need to be pushing faster than the speed limit (30) in order to enjoy the road and get your jollies in. As long as you're not looking to post up a track lap record, they won't bother you. They've established a turn-around about 1.5 miles past the gap just before the rock slide; it's completely shut down from that end.

[markbvt]

THP is no joke on 129 right now. 2 of them sitting near the beginning of the run, spaced about a mile apart. Each time we passed them, at least one of them had a customer. The nice part about the dragon is you really don't need to be pushing faster than the speed limit (30) in order to enjoy the road and get your jollies in. As long as you're not looking to post up a track lap record, they won't bother you. They've established a turn-around about 1.5 miles past the gap just before the rock slide; it's completely shut down from that end.

Thanks for the intel. I'll be watching for them and running my radar detector. But I'll also be on a V-Strom with 90/10 dual-sport tires and luggage, so won't be trying to set any speed records.

--mark

[loridin64]

Niles, thanks for the invite