Riding the Dragon's Tail
Some roads are practical, some roads are built to take you places, some roads are scenic, and then some roads defy explanation. Welcome to the Dragons Tail, 11 miles of how the hell did they build this thing and why? If you own a motorcycle then you have probably heard the rumors; route 129 is America's favorite motorcycle riding challenge. 318 turns in 11 short miles makes this road curvier than Marilyn Monroe and just about as sexy. I am not talking about long, lazy curves that you might encounter on most of the highways in the U.S. The curves on Route 129 are switch backs (180° turns) winding up the mountain then down the other side.
One look at the Google map zoomed in will convince you that this is no ordinary road. The road is located on the southern end of the Great Smoky Mountains National Forest. The real fun begins at Calderwood, Tennessee and intensely goes until the border of Tennessee and North Carolina where you can stop at Deals Gap Resort. The Post at Deals Gap has limited lodging, huge gift shop, and a restaurant. You will see hundreds of bikes from all around the world pull into Deals Gap on any given day.
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Kat and I had heard about the "Dragon's Tail" from our friend David Livingston and we decide to try it out. I ride a Honda ST1300 and Kat has a Burgman 650 scooter. The Burgman is not your granddads scooter. It is a 650 motorcycle with leg room, air cooled, radial tires, and enough umpf to keep up with me on my ST1300. In many ways the Burgman 650 has all the comforts of a Goldwing without all the weight and bulk. The Burgman performs very well on curvy mountain roads.
We did not have a lot of vacation time, just one 3 day weekend to ride our bikes down and through the Tail. We began on one early October Friday morning leaving from our home in Greenwood, Indiana. Those of you doing the math will note that this is a 963 mile round trip from Greenwood to the Smokies and back again.
We like to ride the back roads as much as possible and enjoy the scenery. It is, after all, the journey and not the destination that counts the most. We took county roads to Columbus, Indiana and then caught Route 7 to Madison, Kentucky. After we crossed the Ohio river we caught Route 421 to 127 and then stopped at Cumberland Falls in the Daniel Boone National Forest.
Cumberland Falls is one of two places in the world where a moonbow can be observed. When the conditions are just right (a full moon on a clear summer night) the moonbow appears by the Falls. The other location is by Victoria Falls, Africa. (Maybe one day we will make it there too.)
We camped in the park landing on one of the few remaining unreserved camp spots. Those of you that are accustomed to riding and camping without a plan will no doubt sympathize with me when I say "beggars can not be choosers" and that almost always means no comfort. The campsite was on hill and on very hard ground. Combine hard ground on a slant with hot Fall evening and you will get a very interesting nights lack of sleep.
The next morning I was out of the tent at the crack of dawn and headed toward the showers. Nothing like a warm shower to ease sore back muscles, too bad there was no hot water.
Cumberland Falls is very pretty and I wish that we could have spent longer exploring this area. Autumn is definitely the time to visit Kentucky and Tennessee. The colors of the trees and beautiful blue sky just cant be beat.
The fun and the scenery kicked up a notch on Route 25 as we headed south. The twisties on this route got us in mood for more. It was mid afternoon when we left Maryville on Route 129 / 33. At first, both of us were wondering what the big deal was about this road. There were a few curves but nothing out of the ordinary. It was not until we passed Calderwood that the insanity began. Down shift, up shift, lean right, lean left, back and forth, speed up, slow down, man this road is fun! We began to see more and more bikers as we wove are way onto the Dragon's Tail. It is very difficult to express what this road is like. Riding is believing. The best description that I can come up with is a very long and thrilling roller coaster ride only better because you are in charge.
At some points you will see very steep drop offs on the south side of the road. If you make a mistake on this road it may be your last, one thing is for sure it will hurt. Many riders have had some very bad accidents on this road. You don't need to push it to enjoy this ride. We stopped at many of the scenic roadside shoulders just to take in the views and let other, more aggressive riders, pass us by. When riding on this road you should be very aware of your skill level and ride accordingly.
There is, at Deals Gap Resort, a "Tree of Shame" in which riders or their friends have hung various bike parts that have been lost along the Tail. There are mufflers, seats, gas tanks, tires and handlebars all hanging on the "Tree of Shame". If I had started from the North Carolina side and had scene this "Tree" I think I would have been just a bit more cautious than I was. We both took the curves maybe just a bit more assertively then we should have but we did have a blast!
We would have liked to have ridden through the Tail again but evening was coming on very fast and we needed to be in Gatlinburg by nightfall so we pressed on. The ride through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park was also very rewarding. It was dark as we rolled into Gatlinburg. We were so tired that we decided to stay in a hotel. After pizza and a beer I was asleep on a nice soft bed at 8:30 p.m.
The ride home was just shear endurance. We started early on Sunday morning and used the interstates all the way back home. Mile 963 felt very much like mile 963. We were glad to be home and off the interstate, but our first ride on the "Dragon's Tail" will be forever one of our fondest memories.
