The Dragon and Other Great Roads

Hey Guys and Gals.......I had a fantastic 4 day riding run in western NC from last Wednesday to Sunday.
We did a short run on Wednesday to Cherokee for dinner and back to our hotel in Maggie Valley.

Thurs.- we made the trip over to Deal's Gap, home of The Tail of the Dragon. The first run was a nervous one but exciting. The run back down was more relaxed than the first. We made a third run on our over to The Foothills Parkway to make a loop back to Maggie Valley. What a day.

Fri.-we started out later, went into Cherokee for some leather shopping for one of the guys. We then headed towards Fontana Dam intending to go to the Smoky Mtn Rally. Our lead rider missed the turn so we ended up at the Dragon again. We didn't ride it, we went back to the rally. A waste of time. They had 3 vendors set up and expected people to pay $15 to get in and supposedly the start date was on Thursday. We left there and hit the Cherohala Skyway. We rode it to the end. That turned out to be a mistake for the time of day we started. We stopped for gas and the rain started. We waited it out for a bit but once we got down the road the steady rain clicked in. We had rain, it was getting darker as we rode along and even hit some patches of fog. That was NOT a fun ride back.

Sat.- we had one who was ready to head home because he was riding his V-Rod with the stock seat and after having been rear ended while riding his Road King the day before we left home. We did not give in and we rode over towards Ashville by riding the Blue Ridge Parkway and Hwy 441, 74, and picked up 107 out of Sylva. I almost kissed a car that pulled out of a gas station and didn't make sure both lanes were clear. Thank goodness I was able to hit the brakes without locking them up and missed hitting her. She was not concerned in the least that I almost t-boned right into her. Anyway, 107 was a great road to ride into Cashiers. From there we picked up 64 to 276 towards Brevard. We rode through the Pisgah Nat'l Forest and stopped at Looking Glass Falls for a bit before journeying on through the forest. We took 276 back to Maggie Valley to finish off a wonderful 4 days of riding.

If you ever get a chance to ride in the area jump on it and ride away. I had been into some of these areas in a car but a ride on the Nomad is so much sweeter.

[trip]

Very, very, VERY nice pic of you on the Dragon, Kawgirl!!!

Sounds like you guys had an excellent time. I'm glad everything went well and there were no mishaps. The day I slayed the dragon, the cameras weren't out. Hopefully one of these years, I can get back and have a pic taken.

Cherish that pic Kawgirl...I'd given my right mountain oyster for one.

Thanks for sharing the trip info.

Trip

[Idaho]

Hey KG, sounds like you had quite an adventure. All the better because you made it home safe. You live in some beautiful country. Congratulations.

Thanks Trip. IDaho, the roads in Western NC are fantastic. The roads in Eastern NC, where I live, are bit flatter and straight. Not near as much fun.

[Idaho]

Do you ever get down to New Bern?

[dogdoc]

thx for sharing your adventure Kawagirl, cool pic.

Do you ever get down to New Bern?

Yes, I'm with the Southern Cruisers here and we do make runs down to there. Nice town. I'm assuming you are familiar with it. What's the connection?

[dan]

You are so lucky to live so close to that area. I love Maggie Valley. I was down there in June and we rode the Blue Ridge and the Dragon. I think the Blue Ridge is a much more enjoyable road. You can enjoy the curves but you can also have time to enjoy the scenery. We rode through a portion of the mountains just outside of Gatlinburg and saw a Mother bear and her Cub. They crossed the road about 50 ft in front of me. The speed limit in there was 10 mph but when I went passed the part in the road where the bears had crossed I think I was running about 600 mph. The bear was going to have to run fast to jump on my passenger seat.

[davidjones1]

great pic kawgirl looks like you had a great time, we rode to the highlands in nc, western Nc is one of our favorite places to ride, if you ever have a chance to ride durning the color change you won't regret it. glad your ride went well and your home safe.

Thanks David. I have been in Highlands as well. The colors were just barely beginning to change in the higher altitudes last week. I'm sure it will be gorgeous in the next week or so. We went last week because we had originally planned to ride the Concrete Canyon Run again this year through New York City but it was cancelled. That's a great ride through Manhattan!!! Police escorted with a lane blocked off just for the bikes. What an experience. :)

[Idaho]

Kawgirl, I lived in New Bern when I was stationed at Cherry Point in another lifetime. Have a very good friend who lives just south of town, bit of a rebel. Has put up a billboard that he uses for politcal purposes. He sells art work and jewelry. He got me into the business for a while. I used to buy oil paintings in Mexico and sell them on the side of the road. He and I had some great times together. Bill Harper is his name.

Kawgirl, I lived in New Bern when I was stationed at Cherry Point in another lifetime. Have a very good friend who lives just south of town, bit of a rebel. Has put up a billboard that he uses for politcal purposes. He sells art work and jewelry. He got me into the business for a while. I used to buy oil paintings in Mexico and sell them on the side of the road. He and I had some great times together. Bill Harper is his name.

It's a small world isn't it? Let me know if/when you come out for a visit. Maybe we can meet.

Hey Dan, that's sounds like an interesting adventure. I think I would make sure that mama bear couldn't catch up with me as well. We saw two elk as we journeyed back in the rain on Friday. The buck had a HUGE rack. We all talked about how painful he could be to somebody.

[Idaho]

I would love to get back down there for a visit. Have not been back since I moved to Idaho 30 years ago.

Just so you know, male elk are called bulls and the females are called cows.

Thank you for the Elk lesson. Wasn't sure if they were the same as the deer family or not. I appreciate the mini lesson. Come on back out this way and we'll all ride some of those roads together.