Mini tail of the dragon??

[Mike Andrew]

Drove Hwy 421 from Boone, NC toward Bristol, TN this morning on my way back from my nephew's graduation from App State. Holy ****e, what a fun road! Unfortunately had the wife's X1 and not the 911 but in sport mode, it was quite fun. Virtually no traffic at 8:00A.M. A few bikers dragging knees in turns looked exciting.

Anybody familiar with this road?

[ted]

Hwy 229 south of Creston Ca. is a mini tail.
Narrow 2 way road.
Once I was parked at the end of 229 and a mini van with mom holding an ice ream cone was going the other direction.
Video of someone else.

[onlycafe]

route 51 between ilion and cedarville, new york is our local mini dragon.

[KFC911]

They are everywhere ... seriously

And full of cars, bikes, etc.

Just pick a direction and get away from 'em... if you can.

Hard to do around here any more ... should be easier in the mtns tho'.

Hoot

[ramonesfreak]

Originally Posted by onlycafe

route 51 between ilion and cedarville, new york is our local mini dragon.

Is this road worth driving from Rochester for? How many miles is this stretch ?

[bob deluke]

No, not worth the trip Ramonesfreak, pretty much for locals. It’s through the Ilion Gorge, about 10-15 miles to Cedarville. It is a fun drive, two lane twisties. Unless you get stuck behind some old fogie doing 25mph. No place to pass, unless you’re crazy. I’m from that area and we used to run Corvettes up and down the gorge road. Haven’t been there in years. Onlycafe likes to run it..

[ramonesfreak]

ok thanks. plenty of good enough roads close to me

[GH85Carrera]

Arkansas has lots of mega "Tail of the Dragon" roads. Not just a few miles of turns, but many miles of them. And the roads are astonishingly well maintained. In the middle of nowhere, the roads are just wonderful smooth asphalt, endless curves.

[IROC]

Originally Posted by Mike Andrew

Drove Hwy 421 from Boone, NC toward Bristol, TN this morning on my way back from my nephew's graduation from App State. Holy ****e, what a fun road! Unfortunately had the wife's X1 and not the 911 but in sport mode, it was quite fun. Virtually no traffic at 8:00A.M. A few bikers dragging knees in turns looked exciting.

Anybody familiar with this road?

Yes. I've driven it several times. I grew up in Kingsport, TN (now in Knoxville). Every road around here is a "tail of the dragon" road. In fact, most of us who live around here don't even drive the Dragon (even though it is 45 minutes from my house) as it is too crowded.

Another fun one I drove recently was Hwy 68 from Tellico Plains, TN to Blue Ridge, GA.

Cherohala Skyway from Tellico Plains to Robbinsville, NC is nice as there are rarely any cars on it.

[KFC911]

+1 on the Cherohala Skyway ...

Never been on the TOTD myself... no need to go that far outta the way.

IROC knows!

[GH85Carrera]

The Blue Ridge parkway is pretty, but insane slow speed limits. I drove the Tail on a Friday morning, and it was just motorcycles and myself on the road. I had a idiot motorcycle driver that likely has died by now pass me on a outside double yellow, and I was not going slow. If he kept driving like that he would not live long.



I drove it once, saw the photographers, finished the curvy part, turned around and went back to the photographers, got the contact info, went back to where I started, and turned around and did it a third time. Then on to Charlotte.

[KFC911]

The Parkways are for leaf watchers and slowpokes ... fun but sloooow . My gf & I had my 911 at a show somewhere up in northern VA ... decided to take the Parkways back.... fun, fun, fun. Until you realize you've driven countless miles and only gone a few miles as the crows fly ... we bailed in Roanoke. I stay off the BRP .... usually.

[Otter74]

The western north Carolina mountains are full of good driving roads that are not the TotD. When I lived in Atlanta it was easy to make a Saturday out of driving up there to go mountain biking and also get some great driving.

Can confirm that Arkansas is full of them, and I got to enjoy a bunch last fall.

The Triple Nickel (555) in southeast Ohio is phenomenal. I've done the whole length of it, which is like an hour, though sadly not in my 911. But I will probably detour to make it part of my route to WV in June.

[onlycafe]

Originally Posted by ramonesfreak

Is this road worth driving from Rochester for? How many miles is this stretch ?

it's about six miles. certainly worth a detour if you're nearby... maybe not as a stand alone trip.

[IROC]

If you're ever in the Maryville/Pigeon Forge TN area, Foothills Parkway is great, also. Low speed limits, but hardly any traffic. In fact, part of Foothills Parkway drops you right out near where the Dragon starts. I wouldn't come here just to drive it, but if you're here it's awesome.

We went hiking yesterday (Honey Creek Loop - awesome trail) up in the Big South Fork recreational area and the roads there and back were great. Hwy 27 north of Harriman up to the KY state line. Everywhere you go here are fun roads.

[IROC]

Recent photo from the Dragon:

[wswartzwel]

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

Arkansas has lots of mega "Tail of the Dragon" roads. Not just a few miles of turns, but many miles of them. And the roads are astonishingly well maintained. In the middle of nowhere, the roads are just wonderful smooth asphalt, endless curves.

played on 14 and 341 just north of Mountain View Friday. 341 recently was resurfaced with chip seal and is still a bit loose. may want to give it a few more weeks.

[David]

There are so many great roads around the TotD that it's definitely worth the trip even if you don't get a clear run down the dragon!

Here's a pic from my run a few years ago. Surprisingly we got a full run at speed. I didn't realize how fast the locals run up there or I would have lowered my tire pressure. I had it at spec 33 psi and was at 42 at the end of the dragon!

BTW, this is stock suspension in the pic in case anyone is wondering about the body lean.

[CarreraDan]

That area of 421 is known as The Snake. Many of the somewhat popular roads in the southern Appalachians have now been named such as Back of the Dragon, the Snake, Dragon's Claw, etc. I usually get at least one weekend a month exploring these roads on the motorcycle and have found many that are just as good as the Tail of the Dragon without all the attention that the TOD gets from law enforcement and crowds of people.

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by CarreraDan

That area of 421 is known as The Snake. Many of the somewhat popular roads in the southern Appalachians have now been named such as Back of the Dragon, the Snake, Dragon's Claw, etc. I usually get at least one weekend a month exploring these roads on the motorcycle and have found many that are just as good as the Tail of the Dragon without all the attention that the TOD gets from law enforcement and crowds of people.

LOL .... 66 around Hanging Rock State Park ... not the famous one either .