Tail of The Dragon US 129

porthole

porthole

Retired
So, I heard a rumor that one of our Heartlanders ended up on what has now become a world famous for "road enthusiasts" twisty bit of highway.

I have ridden-driven the road many times and sure would not want to pull a 5th wheel down it, especially for my first trip!

Hope the ride wasn't too much of a white knuckler!

AS you can see by the pictures, it is not big rig friendly. Crossing the double yellow line is not only illegal, dangerous but sometimes fatal to motorcycles coming the opposite direction.

LEO enforcement of the the speeds and lane maintaining can be pretty intense at times, although the LEO consider themselves exempt from the legalities of law and safety of others.



Duane
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porthole

porthole

Retired
But - once you do "Ride The Dragon" you "qualify" to get a decal to signify your feat.

I'll be riding the Dragon next week, so whomever it was, let me know and I'll pick you up your dragon decal - just tell me the color. Just about any color is available including gold, chrome etc.

BTW, there are anywhere from 1-6 photographers on the stretch taking pics and posting for sale. Do a google search of dragon tail pictures.
Killboy.com and US129photos.com are probably the two most popular.

Odds are good your trip is well documented on the World Wide Web.


Duane
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Nabo

Nabo

Southeast Region Director-Retired
Yep Rodbuster did with a picture to prove it. Can you imagine taking a 40 foot Landmark over the Dragon!!! His excuse was that his Garmin told him it was the shortest route to Dillard, GA. ummmmmmmm
 
Kbvols

Kbvols

Well-known member
Oh boy!! Have been on Dragon multiple times on motorcycle even in the dark No way would want to pull 5'er over it. I hope he got dragon sticker for his RV.
 
Rodbuster

Rodbuster

Well-known member
Nabo said:
Yep Rodbuster did with a picture to prove it. Can you imagine taking a 40 foot Landmark over the Dragon!!! His excuse was that his Garmin told him it was the shortest route to Dillard, GA. ummmmmmmm
Click to expand...

I totally agree. Anybody that would try to take a brand new "40 foot Landmark" over the Dragon's Tail is gotta be nuts. I assure all of you that I have more sense than that. Just to clear things up a little, my 2014 Landmark Grand Canyon measures 38'8".

One last note. Duane (porthole), if that offer still stands about the decal, GOLD would be nice.
 
K

krhyde

Kentucky Chapter Leaders-retired
Rodbuster said:
I totally agree. Anybody that would try to take a brand new "40 foot Landmark" over the Dragon's Tail is gotta be nuts. I assure all of you that I have more sense than that. Just to clear things up a little, my 2014 Landmark Grand Canyon measures 38'8".

"...I have more sense than that." I'm not going to comment on that. Ken
Click to expand...
 
Rodbuster

Rodbuster

Well-known member
Mizmary said:
Nice! Now that you have proof you don't have to do it again, right? 
Click to expand...

I guess that I can say that now that it's over, I'm glad that I did it "BUT" I would never suggest anybody try going down this road while towing anything....not even a pop-up trailer. This is the worst piece of as---phalt that I have ever dealt with. So, "NO", I don't have to do it again.
The lesson to be learned here is that if you are embarking on a route that you are not familiar with and you are not using a trucker's GPS or a RV friendly GPS, do everything possible to check the route that your GPS is sending you on. Check for things like low bridges or "scenic" roads such as this one.

Yes, we did the "Dragon's Tail" pulling a 1 month old 2014 Landmark. We were lucky that nothing bad happened and we certainly did not enjoy the ride. Driving 11 miles with 318 curves, some of which are so sharp that you can just about read the license plate on your own trailer does not lend itself to being a fun trip.

szewczyk_john, to answer your question. We did this ride on a Tuesday so there was not a alot of traffic. There are small (very small) little cut-outs every few miles. Whenever I had the chance I would tuck in to one of these as best as I could to let the bikers pass. Every now and then we had a couple of crazy bikers that just had to pass us. I gave them as much road as I could and we were "all" lucky that day.

Safe driving
Dick
 
Nabo

Nabo

Southeast Region Director-Retired
I'm still amazed how calm you acted and sounded afterwards. Fran on the other hand ------
 
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