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Took an early May vacation to visit my little brother in Kentucky. He's in the Army, and probably heading back to I or A, sometime soon. I haven't seen him in 3 years, so I figured it's time. He rides a 04 HD something or other, so I trailered the 1979 GS1000 and drove 18 hours to visit him. To make a long story less long, he scheduled an overnight at the iron horse camp ground in NC. Not a bad place. The important thing about this campground is that it's only about 11 miles away from Deals Gap and the Dragon (I'd never heard of this place before).
We arrived at about 10 AM. The road leading to the Dragon is filled with long sweepers, tree lined, some along a river. Temps were mid 60's, and being a weekday, very few cagers were about. Beautiful riding weather.
When we arrived at the Dragon, we stopped to refuel and have a pop. I bought a Dragon sticker for the GS, and took in the Tree of Shame. Then we started. Wisely, I started in front of my brother on his HD. I won't go into it too much, but to say that 318 curves in 11 miles REALLY REALLY kept me active. I had to consciously remind myself to breathe. The route and the view (what views?) was amazing.
Once I finished it, it was time to do it again. And again. It took a while for me to become one with the GS, as my acceleration/braking/downshifting abilities had deteriorated over the years. Plus, the road can be very dangerous for the uninitiated (which I still am). I'm happy to report that the GS and I remained as one, with only minor scraping discovered. After the final ride of the day (we had to be home that afternoon) I noticed that one of my Works Performance rear shocks had succumbed to the Dragon and puked it's oil all over the sprocket and tire.
One downside to the ride was that a group of mini coopers were in attendance. The majority of the drivers were well behaved, however one idiot does deserve special mention. I was in a down hill LH hairpin, transitioning from the RH to LH positions. He was roaring uphill, and I was in his sights. Luckily, he made the turn, and I made mine. I don't recall the old cooper I owned in the UK handling quite that well.
Anyhow, there's safety in pairs, especially when one eats snakes for a living.
I highly recommend riding the Dragon, be it a day trip or part of a longer tour. More info can be found by googling "deals gap" and clicking on the link, or the url is www.dealsgap.com
BR,
Harry61
We arrived at about 10 AM. The road leading to the Dragon is filled with long sweepers, tree lined, some along a river. Temps were mid 60's, and being a weekday, very few cagers were about. Beautiful riding weather.
When we arrived at the Dragon, we stopped to refuel and have a pop. I bought a Dragon sticker for the GS, and took in the Tree of Shame. Then we started. Wisely, I started in front of my brother on his HD. I won't go into it too much, but to say that 318 curves in 11 miles REALLY REALLY kept me active. I had to consciously remind myself to breathe. The route and the view (what views?) was amazing.
Once I finished it, it was time to do it again. And again. It took a while for me to become one with the GS, as my acceleration/braking/downshifting abilities had deteriorated over the years. Plus, the road can be very dangerous for the uninitiated (which I still am). I'm happy to report that the GS and I remained as one, with only minor scraping discovered. After the final ride of the day (we had to be home that afternoon) I noticed that one of my Works Performance rear shocks had succumbed to the Dragon and puked it's oil all over the sprocket and tire.
One downside to the ride was that a group of mini coopers were in attendance. The majority of the drivers were well behaved, however one idiot does deserve special mention. I was in a down hill LH hairpin, transitioning from the RH to LH positions. He was roaring uphill, and I was in his sights. Luckily, he made the turn, and I made mine. I don't recall the old cooper I owned in the UK handling quite that well.
Anyhow, there's safety in pairs, especially when one eats snakes for a living.
I highly recommend riding the Dragon, be it a day trip or part of a longer tour. More info can be found by googling "deals gap" and clicking on the link, or the url is www.dealsgap.com
BR,
Harry61
I am heading to the gap in two weeks. I have been convincing my self for the last week that I will behave myself on this trip. Between the warning luke, Jim mark, and myself got on the skyway and then the ticket you, me, steve and mark got,in Robbinsville or near it, I really plan on slowing down for this trip. The dragon was a specticle but I always seem to get juiced by that kind of thing and I actually rode a little harder than I though I could considering the weight and my lack of seat time on the ZZR last year at that point. This year I am so much more at ease on the bike. I dont plan on riding any harder, just enjoying it more:-D
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