jackdaroofer

:sad: Dave and i spent last weekend on and around the Dragon..this was my second trip this year

It appears to me that the DRAGON will soon become the "victim of it's own success" :rolleyes:

Three years ago, you could generally, not always, run the entire lengtrh of the Dragon or at least most of it, without interruption from slow moving bikers, and cars. There was always the slow moving trucker to contend with, but you could just stop, give them 5 minutes to get ahead and off the road and go for it again.

Not so anymore! This past wekend, we encountered bikers who didn't have enough horsepower to get up the hill at over 25 mph. I see on the Dragon web site that people are encouraging drivers of Ford Focus's and Contours to come out and "clog" up the road way.

There was a time when the bikers who ran the Dragon and the cars, had their act together...but it looks like the success of the Dragon promotions will kill it :rolleyes: :mad :cry

:seeya


[Modified by jackdaroofer, 8:37 PM 9/30/2003]

Sully C5

Unfortunately so true...it is becoming too popular. However, there are still a lot of good mountain roads with little or no traffic...I run a few where I can drive 15 minutes without seeing a car.

CrazyMagMan

:nonod: :sad:

MrWhan

Smoky Mountain Cruisers and the Confederate Corvette Clubs of Louisiana hope to "clog" it up with Vettes on October 25th....

We've learned to go early....

SeaUSA

We ran it on a Thursday afternoon last itme and there was "0" traffic. had a great run but the locals were telling us about the weekend crush and how bad it had become. Very sad. :confused:

That Bad Man

I don't even go on the weekends anymore unless I really need the "G" fix. I have fun on the way there and back.

It is so much more fun on the week days with no traffic or Law Enforcement Professionals.

It is pretty fun to set the cruise on 30, in third for the turns on the weekend though...keeps me out of trouble!

jackdaroofer

:D :D We found about 150 miles of roads I won't tell anyone about :D

:seeya

:steering:

barkingowl

Jack we just got back from Oregon & there's a road out there that makes The Dragon look like a straightaway. :eek: If you ever get the chance drive Rt. 242... the McKenzie pass. You won't be dissapointed. :steering: :seeya

SebringBill

Wayah Road.....

That's all I'm gonna say.

motordavid

No Xpert here, but having driven Deal's Gap several times in the Vert and on 3 diff. M'cycles during the past 2 yrs, I always wondered about the hoopla;
course that is exactly it: Hoopla. No dis to the Dragon, but there are several
hundred miles of Sensational 2 lane blacktop roads in far western NC, beyond Deal's Gap,imo.

Many of the roads leading To the Gap are actually much more fun, forgiving and faster.

Having poked around most of the counties here for the past 2 yrs, the routes offer everything from haul azz as fazz as you dare, to mild and scenic cruises.

Not sure I've seen too many m'cycles that can't keep up, though some of the older Harleys are chuggers, (I own a couple,Lol!)

Weekends there, Fuggedaboudit! But, weekdays are diff, and on many of the fine routes, ya'll can take a nap on the road w/out seeing another car.

My 2 cts; run the Gap to say you did, but a good western NC map will show anyone about a week's worth of fine azz cruising roads.
BR,David :cheers:

savewave

Some of the loop roads in that area are just as much fun as they include some high-speed sweepers. I guess I ran Deal's Gap for the first time maybe 25 years ago. It's a fun road, but carries too much traffic most of the time now. :(

jackdaroofer

:cheers: Jim

You are right, there are about 150 miles of roads all around the gap that are as good...I don't want to mention them here :D

Out of seven or eight runs I have made on the Dragon, I have had two that were relatively uninterrupted...meaning I could quickly and safely get around slower cars and bikers and get on down the road. It seems like the best time to do the Dragon is just before dark!

See ya soon

Jack

Purerock105

Well obviously part of the problem, good and/or bad is that a couple of Dragon locals operate a web-site and the other roads mentioned do not.

In todays' world, marketing is everything, especially to the younger demos.

I agree with other's saying that the Dragon is great but it's not ALL World.
And the eye-opener for me was that there are PLENTY of roads in that neck
of the woods, that offer up a challenge or a view NOT just the dragon. But it's
only word of mouth promotion.

I plan on returning next year and will prolly just do the Dragon once and only
to get to another road. There's much more to driving those roads than just
the Dragon, and with less traffic too.

:cheers:

Violater

meaning I could quickly and safely get around slower cars and bikers and get on down the road. [/QUOTE]
:lol: I love it

savewave

Hey, Jack. :cheers: You're right. No need in mentioning any roads. They are there to be found -- all over East Tennessee and western North Carolina, not just near the Gap.

I made some runs up there a year or so ago with Jet Jockey&C5. We had fun making some early-morning runs on the Dragon and then shifted to some other roads after it got crowded with bikes, campers and mini-vans. :rolleyes:

Took turns playing fox and hound and had a blast. And we were fortunate to run into some slow-moving traffic at one spot because we came around a curve and over a hill and there was a radar car set up waiting for speeders. And it didn't matter because we were momentarily stuck behind a slow car we had just come up behind. :eek: :lol:

MrWhan

You guys let us know when you are in the area again...we love to run the mountain roads....and "fox and hound" sound fun! :D

savewave

:D :cheers:

TennLee

Weekdays are nice... I'm local though. :rolleyes: :cheers:

Icebear

Made 3 runs through yesterday 10/13 and saw a total of about 10 cars total. Lots of bikes even on a Monday but most wern't letting any moss grow under them. Cept the one who decided to lay down and put his bike into the side of an oncoming car. :nonod: