THE DRAGON

The Dragon from 10,000'.  The northern end is at the left of this picture with the southern end and Deals Gap Resort at the right. 
In between lie 318 curves disbursed along 11 miles of motorcycling nirvana!

Introduction...

What?  You've never heard of The Dragon?  Well join us in Townsend, TN, this summer and we'll put you on first name basis with her.

The Dragon is an 11 mile stretch of U.S. Highway 129 that straddles the border between North Carolina and Tennessee and connects the Foothills Parkway on its northern end to Robbinsvilee and State Road 28 on the south.  But it's the 318 turns in those 11 miles that give the Dragon it's name.  "The Dragon" is short for "Tail of the Dragon," a description born out of the rising ridge line Highway 129 follows over the mountain.

This page is a collection of resources designed to allow the uninitiated to get a feel for the road and environs.

Motorcycles aren't the only vehicles on The Dragon!

Web Sites...

Tree of Shame...

With thousands of motorcyclists visiting The Dragon every year, wrecks are bound to happen.

A tradition started in the 80's at Deals Gap Resort has bikers making an offering to the Motorcycle Gods by placing a piece of their wrecked bike on the Tree of Shame.  Many put their name, date, and a little saying on a part before they add it to the tree in remembrance of their tangle with the Dragon.

After you have successfully "slayed" the Dragon, stop by the tree at the resort and check out the parts left behind by those less fortunate who've been bitten by her in the past.

Our goal is that no Aeros will contribute a part to this monument but should the Dragon bite you, then be sure to save a part for the tree.

Zen of The Dragon...

AAF member Zen brought a video camera with him to last year's ride and captured some great footage.  A professional videographer by trade, Zen purchased a special mount for his Aero1100 and intended to capture his own personal take on riding The Dragon.  Arriving at Deals Gap he realized his brand new camera mount was still sitting at home.  Not willing to admit defeat he fashioned a makeshift mount using an inexpensive tripod and duct tape and was able to return home with the footage he sought.  A special THANKS! to Zen for allowing us to use his footage on this site.

Footage © 2006 zenbeer

Alvey8 Slays The Dragon...

Aero 750 member Alvey8 visited the Smoky Mountains for the first time in May 2008 spending a weekend in Gatlinburg, TN.  He slayed the Dragon riding 2-up with his wife who shot this 4+ minute video over Alvey's shoulder.  She did a great job capturing the ride and while this video doesn't cover the entire length of the Tail of the Dragon, it will really give newbies a feel for what it's like to ride it.

Thanks to Alvey8 for letting us use the video and to his wife for having the steady nerves to shoot it.

A Yellowjacket on The Dragon

In late March of 2007 Aero750 Forum member Yellowjacket (YJ) took a four day vacation in the mountains, just he and his Magna dubbed "Flora."  YJ has been experimenting with mounting his video camera to Flora and agreed to record one of his rides across the Dragon.  Unlike Zen's video above which uses some time compression in order to keep the viewer's interest YJ decided to record his journey in realtime.  This decision required him to break it up into five pieces in order to fit the file size requirements imposed by YouTube.  While not as entertaining as Zen's video these files will give the Dragon newbies a "rider's eye" view of the road and will, hopefully, relieve some anxiety some riders may have.

Part 1:

Part 2:

Part 3:

Part 4:

Part 5:

YJ is still playing around with the original video and hopes to edit a higher resolution version which we may be able to host on this website's servers.  If that video and storage space becomes available then we'll add it as soon as possible.

The Dragon and the AAR:TN...

We're expecting anywhere from twenty to forty bikes this summer so it's fair to ask "how the hell is such a large group going to ride The Dragon together?"  Easy.  We're NOT.  Well, not TOGETHER, anyways.  Depending on our route we may be traversing the Dragon several times this June.  However, EVERY time the Ride Captain will stop the group at a safe area before starting The Dragon and a brief rider's meeting will be held.

At this rider's meeting, the RC will instruct everyone to literally RIDE YOUR OWN RIDE across The Dragon.  We suggest Dragon veterans ride ahead of the newer riders so that they can enjoy a pace of their own.  The Tailgunner will again be bringing up the rear in case anyone encounters a mechanical failure.  A post Dragon meeting spot will be announced and we ask all riders to try their best to rendezvous at that spot in order to avoid unnecessary delays in resuming our group ride.

IF there is a "secret" to riding the Dragon it's simply to remember your fundamentals.  While much has been made of 318 curves in 11 miles the truth is each curve is just that, one more curve like the hundreds of others you've already ridden that day.  RIDE AT YOUR OWN PACE and don't let anyone bully you into riding over your head.  Remember, look THROUGH the curve as the bike will go where you're looking.  If you believe a rider or car behind you is pushing you to go faster than you are comfortable then pull over and let him pass.  Though not frequent, there are a number of pullouts on the Dragon and even a few short straight sections where they can safely pass.

DO NOT CROSS THE CENTERLINE OR YOU WILL DIE.  Seriously.  Highway 129 is NOT a motorcycle amusement park.  We will be sharing the road with everything from high powered sport bikes to aunt Edna in her '72 Chevy Nova.  Cars especially tend to run wide on the turns and there are 318 of them.  If you're straddling the center line in a curve the odds of you becoming a grill ornament go up exponentially.  Be especially mindful of your line through left hand turns as you can easily lean across the centerline.

Did we scare you out of wanting to ride the Dragon?  We hope not.  If you ride it on your terms then a crossing can be quite enjoyable.  The key is to ride your own ride.

Does this look & sound like fun?  It can be, but remember...

Copyright © 2008  MotoPhoto. All rights reserved.
Revised: 05/20/08.