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| http://tailofthedragon.com |
It was a hot Sunday afternoon in early June. My family was
sitting around the pool enjoying the company of my sister and her husband, both
of which are avid Harley riders. My husband inquired if they had ever ridden
the “Tail of the Dragon”. This piqued my interest, but I was unable to glean
any details concerning this curious sounding place from their conversation.
Later that evening, I asked my husband about it. From his first description of
the road, I was thoroughly hooked. I had to see this phenomenon for myself, but
only from the safety of a car, no motorcycles for me.
Imagine traveling along 318 curves, many are blind, in the
short distance of 11 miles. The curves have names such as Brake or Bust Bend,
Wheelie Hell and the Whip. On one side of you is the mountain wall; on the
other side is a plunge into the valley below. Sharing the road with you are
motorcycle and sport cars enthusiasts from around the world who are attempting
to prove their driving skills to themselves and others. Sounds like a nice, quiet Sunday afternoon
drive, right? Ahhh, no. This road has
claimed over 30 lives since 1995, and the number
of accidents are too numerous to count.
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| Tail of the Dragon Warning Sign Photo: Brad Snoke |
It was a picture perfect Thursday morning when we left
Chattanooga for our trip to the Dragon (yes, I did make sure our car insurance
was paid up). We traveled I-75 to the
first Cleveland exit (Exit 20) and turned right off the exit. We hit the back
roads to Tellico Plains and then to the Cherohola Skyway (also considered one
of the best touring roads in America). At the end of the Skyway, was a little
gas station called Skyway Food mart. We stopped off for a snack and bathroom
break. I have to admit, these bathrooms
were the nicest I saw on this trip. At this point, we were only a few miles
from the head of the Dragon.
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| Fugitive Dam Photo:Brad Snoke |
The beginning of the Dragon, for us, was the Cheoah Dam,
locally named Fugitive Dam due to its role as the dam from which Harrison Ford
jumped in the 1993 movie “The Fugitive”. As we passed the Dam, I pulled out the
map we had printed from the tailofthedragon.com web site. This map had all the
points of interest marked so we could see which hair-raising curve we were on.
As we took the first of the curves, we were greeted by the beautiful scenery of
the Little Tennessee River and the forests of the Great Smokey Mountain
National Park. It was just a few miles
of curves and then we hit Deal’s Gap Motorcycle Resort and the Tennessee
boarder which caused a small chuckle. At the state line, between North Carolina
and Tennessee, was a chain length fence that was only a few feet long on each
side of the road. I assume this is used to close off the mountainous road
during adverse weather, but it looked devilishly funny.
Continue to read Tail of the Dragon: Part 2
Also read a few other articles by Dusty Snoke: Dinner at Big River Grille
Also read a few other articles by Dusty Snoke: Dinner at Big River Grille
