Atlanta to "Tail of the Dragon" and back in one day?

[bellelolly]

Any advise for someone contemplating doing the Tail of the Dragon from Marietta, GA and making it back the same day?

[msheron]

Yeah....................ride fast!:mrgreen: And don't forget to get a shirt to show you were there.

[Bahill]

Done it a couple of times. I leave early (around 6:00am), breakfast in Blue Ridge or Tellico Plains then over the Skyway and on to The Dragon. You'll get back late. How late depends on how much time you spend not rolling while eating and taking in the sites.

Careful with the deer before and after daylight between Copperhill and Tellico.

[bellelolly]

Thanks for the advice. I'm beginning to think I might want to spend the night up there so I'm not so rushed and riding in the dark.

[Fletchstrom]

Wear your riding gear, and I second the deer advice. Be careful at dawn and dusk. I would plan on staying the night. Be careful on that "one last run" through the dragon. Almost every wreck that I have assisted with while I was up there the rider was on their "last run through" before going home. My point is take your time, and have fun. Don't rush too much. Take care. :-)

Fletch

[dirtgeek]

i think i would do the overnight thing too. on a long day like that rider fatigue could come into play.

al

05 wee
honda xr650l

[bellelolly]

The fatigue thing is of most concern to me. Not the same being tired on a bike vs. auto. I'm convinced to do the overnight stay. Thanks to all for sharing your experience and thoughts. I'm new to the site and appreciate having heard your personal views.

[waxrash]

I second the fatigue issue. If you have never ridden the dragon, you don't want to get on it tired. It takes significant concentration.

When you are done experiencing all the hype of the dragon make sure you cover the Cherohola skyway.

BTW, if you need a cheap place to stay, I recommend to Microtel in Robbinsville. If you want a cool place to stay, I recommend
http://www.ironhorsenc.com/

Be safe.

[Ogre_FL]

Are you guys for real???

The dragon is only around 150 miles from where this guy lives.
Sure you may be a bit tired on the last leg home, but come on.

Go for it!!

PS: Do watch for the deer though.

[waxrash]

I fell out laughing. I had just come from the "Young Riders" thread back to this one.

I would like to change my answer. If I was in my 20's I'd go for it.

At 45, I'd make two days out of it to allow for the 45 minutes to get the sciatic nerve to calm down, 2 x 15 minute stops to get the right knee meniscus floaters out of way, multiple pee stops, and at least one "yes dear" call from the wife.

Moral of the story is "years of fun hurts".

BTW, make it two days, and ride hwy 28 down to franklin, catch 64 and stop to enjoy the absolutly beautiful water falls along the way.
There are several really good books about this region. (I'm not at home or I'd recite the titles).

[tas2]

There are several really good books about this region. (I'm not at home or I'd recite the titles).

I've enjoyed the Motorcycle Adventures In The Southern/Central Appalachians series by Hawk Hagebak. The books have been instrumental in my planning of rides and routes from Atlanta to Asheville.

As suggested, Cherohala Skyway at the south end of the Gap is not to be missed. Being on the 1K I welcome the sweeping turns it offers. You can find more of the same on the Foothills Parkway on the north end of the gap as well.

[waxrash]

That's them! I don't plan a ride without them.

[Bahill]

O.K., somebody had to bring age into this talk. I’m fifty six and I am NOT an aggressive rider and don’t believe I have more than average endurance but the trip you talk about really isn’t that bad. I live in Marietta and I went up to Tellico Plains yesterday and I might ad it was just a gorgeous ride. There were still lots of colorful leaves on the trees and the sun was brilliant. Although I didn’t go any further up the Skyway yesterday I left the Quick Trip at Hwy 92 and Hwy 575 at 8:15 a.m. and was back home (about 7 miles from the QT) at 3:30 P.M. and still got some yard work done. I didn’t make many stops along the way but I did bum around Tellico Plains and stopped by to visit friends (the owners) at the Cherohala Motorcycle Resort just outside Tellico Plains for a while.

My concern this time of year would be the lack of daylight. I personally don’t like to ride too much before or after dark and I especially have a respect (read that as fear) of the 125 lb squirrels (read that as deer) that are on the move this time of year due to the cold mornings and them being in rut and having hunters move them around. I believe it’s a much safer one day trip to the dragon from here with the longer daylight hours in the summer. One of the reasons I headed back when I did yesterday.

I guess the point of this post is to let you know it really isn’t a bad day trip but as with any ride on a motorcycle the common sense thing is all important. Always know your limits and know when to turn around and head home. Everyone has their own limits to risk I guess but for me I always like to stay a good ways on the safe side if there is a safe side on a motorcycle. For what it’s worth…..

You and I are close and if you want to make a run sometime drop me a PM.

[abnormalwon]

Are you guys kidding? I live next door to Marietta and have done the trip many times with time to spare. I mean if your pushing a scooter or something make a vacation of it but anything bigger and you'll have a great day trip. Days are a little short this time of year but I did it just a month ago and had more than enough time to do it in one day. And I'm 50 so age ain't the issue!

[Cpope]

150 miles???? This past weekend we had a rider (Keith Falkner) ride 147 miles from Sarasota FL to Ocala FL to meet at 9am and have breakfest before the Florida V-Strom Group rode a 200 mile ride, and then Keith rode his 147 miles back home. Now that's a Trooper to me, Don't know what time he left Sarasota but when I left Crystal River it was 40 degrees with a 25 mph wind from the north.
500 miles in Florida I guess is easier than it is in the mountains. Keith even left his heavy coat at home. He did catch the last half of the Green Bay and Gaints game. Great job Keith.

[Ogre_FL]

500 miles is a good day thru Florida.
However once north of Atlanta if your not on the interstates I find it takes nearly twice as long to travel the same distance as it does thru lower Ga, Alabama or Florida.

[bellelolly]

Ok, I may get some ribbing for waiting this long. But I finally did the dragon on July 2, 2009. I've done a lot of other rides, don't know what took me so long. Left at 6am from Marietta got there at 930am. Was cold from the ride up as I wore my mesh gear and didn't anticipate it being very cool. Drank a couple cups of coffee with breakfast at the Deals Gap motorcycle resort on the east end, gave myself 40 minutes to warm up and get refreshed as I was a bit tired, bought my sourvenier overpriced Tshirt and talked to some nice bikers. My first run, I only saw one cop going the other way, otherwise not one other cop sighted. Drove about 3 miles beyond, turned around and immediatley saw a cop trap set up near the end of the tail, had a couple bikers pulled over. Gave a polite waive to an officer on the road side and surprisingly he gave a polite wave back. I really think they just want to nab the idiots and make it a safe road. Just a couple other cops, traffic was light on my first run and building a little bit going back, but overall, not knowing what to expect, I thought the tail traffic seemed light. Traffic going up and back from GA was very light. Guess I hit that sweet spot before the holiday weekend rush. Was back home by 3pm. 350 miles covered. Was an awesome ride. Now I can go back to enjoying the other roads in the area.

[Subicon]

Are the roads up in NC really any better than the ones in North GA? I like to get up to Suches whenever I can. If I rode father up into NC/TN, I would want it to be worth the extra time and saddle soreness.

[Vuduchld]

Check out the Dragon website and you'll find lots of reasonable lodging in the area, Robinsville etc. IMO, riding the Dragon and surrounding area will take up most of your day so an overnight stay would be wise. One word of caution, please don't ride foolish. Most of the Dragon is in Tenn. and the Tennessee Highway Patrol have been heavy handed lately, writing "green" tickets for even the slightest violation.

I would also add a beaded seat cover...

[Bahill]

“Better”… hummmm, maybe?

I missed the ride with bellelolly a couple of weeks ago and will be interested in his answer to this question also.

In my opinion “The Dragon” is highly overrated but as bellelolly did you should do it just to see what all the hubbub is about and get your t-shirt. However, there are other roads that I believe are better than the roads in N. GA. The Cherohala Skyway is one of my favorites and is a great scenic road with long sweepers and beautiful views that I don’t believe there is anything in GA that equals it; and it can be done in a day ride for me. There are lots of other roads like Hwy 80, Wayah road, Blue Ridge Parkway, and many others that offer longer runs of twisties and higher elevations than the N. GA roads but many of these roads are out of my range for a day ride so I don’t get to them often.

I guess the bottom line is you really should go and explorer NC when you get a chance because I can assure you that you won’t be disappointed, every road is an adventure.

Ride safe!

[Bahill]

Hey Subicon, I just realized it’s been a year this month since you started this thread. Maybe it’s time to try to get a group of VStroms to meet up at TWO or Riders Hill early one Saturday morning for coffee again. For those that have time to ride that day they can discuss ride plans during coffee and it will give us another chance to meet the other VStrom riders in the area.

What ya think?

Edit: Don't know what I was thinking. Must be Monday morning or something.
The following is the thread I was talking about but I still think we should try to get folks together one day soon.
http://www.stromtrooper.com/showthread.php?t=26691

[Subicon]

Haha. I was about to say, "Poor old Ben is really starting to lose it..." ;)

Yeah, I wouldn't mind getting together for a ride. Every time I post in my thread, it seems to go mostly unnoticed. :bom_huh2:

[Bahill]

Yea, I lose it several times a day, standard operating procedure for me. Doesn’t help that I’ve been struggling with system “s#1t” since about 5 a.m. this morning and still in the midst of it… guess I shouldn’t mix business with pleasure.

Anyway, it would be nice to try to stir up another get together in the other thread. Maybe later this week I’ll see what this Saturday looks like for me and post something up. Hopefully I’ll post it in the correct thread.

Lets see what we can get going within the next couple of weeks.

[bellelolly]

Is NC better than TN? Depends on what you enjoy most about the rides. I found the Tail to be the most rewarding for pure curve enjoyment. But it's mostly treed over from any scenic views and you couldn't enjoy any scenery if there were some, because you're too busy concentrating on the curves. Bahill and I took the Cherohala Hwy just south of there and the scenery was amazing. I like a mix of curves and scenery. N. GA has plenty of both. I too, would like to get together with a few other stromers. I'll be checking the site for this weekend.