Interest Thread: Tail of the Dragon - US129 Meet

[Viper5000]

So, just wanted to throw this out there for all the east-siders or whoever....

I took a trip last month to US129, aka Tail of the Dragon, aka Deals Gap. It was by far the best driving experience I have had so far.... Located in western North Carolina this awesome driving road is like no other (at least on the east coast). It is curve after curve of exciting mountain driving.

Here is a site that has a lot of info about the area:

http://www.tailofthedragon.com/

Google is your friend as well.

Anyways, currently there are lots of car clubs/organizations/forums, etc that meet there and do runs throughout the year.

I was thinking that it might be cool to see if we can get a gathering of Altimas/Altima Coupes out there to represent sometime next year.

Express your comments.....

[dangeris]

I've done the dragon a couple of times and I can say for sure that if one thinks that they're gonna go down there and drift around the curves, they're outta their minds!

I don't mean to rain on anyone's parade here but the dragon is 318 curves in 11 miles can get pretty insane and exhilarating and dangerous however, they're are a couple of things to keep in mind... - It is a US highway so it is patrolled by both NC and TN state and local police all eager to give speeding tickets! I know..my buddies got a few!

- This area is a hot spot for anyone with motorcycles...some of which should not even be on this road as they tend to cut corners and veer into your lane...not good since there is no pull offs

- Tractor trailers sometimes go down these roads making it really dangerous for on coming traffic.

- Wildlife... There is a a lot of them! My friend went off the road trying to avoid hitting a freakin turkey. I hit the freaking bird instead!

- Steep drop offs with no guard rails - no need for explanations...

Other than that, it's a cool place to at least drive on once and experience it. Hell, while you're down there, might as well see fugitive dam...the dam that Harrison Ford jumped off of while filming the fugitive..

Also, there are a bunch of beautiful roads to ride on like the Cherahala skyway, Devils Triangle and such. But in terms of a meeting place, there is only on place to stop which is in Deal's Gap and will most likely be swamped by bikers. I doubt that you'll be able to park there especially if you plan to do this in the weekend.

[Viper5000]

You bring up good points Dangeris...

I was just thinking that there could be a place for this kind of meet in the future. Tons of other car clubs meet there and have a blast, driving slow or fast.

I went there about 5 weeks ago (didnt see a single cop the whole trip )and I am still wishing I was over there, and not here.... but..

just seeing if this any potential..

I will say that if you have not been on the dragon and you are on the east coast, you need to get your butt over there and ride it...

[rjdmmfl1]

West coast canyon runs kick east coast canyon runs' a$$es!!!!!!!

WESTSIDE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[dangeris]

Agreed... Def. a fun place and I know Killboy takes pics of you at certain points of the tail. There was a bunch of cops there when I went but then again, i forgot to mention it was during the peak season of summer. I'm sure the traffic goes down in the fall/winter hence why you probably didn't see any cops.

Did you see the tree of shame while you were down there?

[Viper5000]

Yeah man, I saw everything i could while I was up there for 4 days...

Saw all the dams, including the fugitive one.... went on the Cherahala, all parts of 28, and Wayah road. It was all incredible

I met some guys from Virginia that were on some KTM dirt/sport bikes at Deals Gap and that next day I met up with them and they have footage of me following/being chased by them from their helmet cams.... still waiting for that!

Oh yeah, I met Killboy and his wife. They were cool, and it was interesting to talk to him about his business and how he came up with the idea

I guess I will put some pics up from my trip:













Killboys Ride:

Killboy on the right:

[dangeris]

....

I met some guys from Virginia that were on some KTM dirt/sport bikes at Deals Gap and that next day I met up with them and they have footage of me following/being chased by them from their helmet cams.... still waiting for that!

Oh yeah, I met Killboy and his wife. They were cool, and it was interesting to talk to him about his business and how he came up with the idea

Those bikes are called Super Moto Bikes..There was a lot of them when I was there too

Cool that you met Darryl..aka Killboy.) Met him a couple of times already and finally his wife up at the NYC motorcycle show. They are cool people

[Viper5000]

bumpidy

[Viper5000]

Some action shots: