Every motorcycle rider has a mental list of their favorite riding spots, a compilation usually dictated by teh sort of bike they ride. I’ve known stunt riders who were content to rip massive wheelies along city bridges and Florida causeways, while my cruiser-mounted friends swear by long, slightly curvy country lanes that challenge neither rider not machine too much. For many cafe racers I’ve shared the road with, post-ride talk inevitably turns towards the road known as Tail of The Dragon, or US Route 129 on the North Carolina/Tennessee border. This intimidating and skill-taxing piece of road is comprised of an incredible, improbably 129 turns in just 11 miles, and it’s enough to draw in riders from throughout North America and beyond. Most weekends, the Dragon is filled to capacity with motorcycles of every configuration, high-performance sports cars and anything else that’s fun to zip around corners with. Unfortunately, a great many commercial truckers are also utilizing the road as their GPS systems mistakenly direct them to Deal’s gap (as it’s commonly known) as a shortcut to nearby Gatlinburg, Tenn.
Having spent considerable time testing my own personal limits and that of several motorcycles on US 129, I can offer some sage advice to anyone seat on turning their wheels there in the near future. First off, try and schedule your visit to a weekday, not a weekend. There’s far fewer machines tearing up the tarmac on week days w=ich makes the road far safer the on Saturdays or Sundays. There are some seriously quick racers who congregate on US129 on weekends, and local photographers have shared plentiful images with cafe racer magazine of the disastrous results when too many decide to strafe the same apex at the same time.
