Page 1 of 5
Rode the Dragon and Cherahola Skyway today
Posted: Sat Jul 08, 2006 1:00 pm
by BigChickenStrips
I rode the dragon and the skyway today. (these are both on the TN/NC border) the dragon, for those who dont know, is considered to be one of the best motorcycle roads on the planet. it 11 miles long, and has aproximatly 350 turns. all i can say is D A M N... you better get right with jesus before you go on this road, you cant loose focus for an instant or you'll become one wth a tree at the road side. the skyway is my new favorite though. you gain several thousand feet of altitude and some amazing sweepers to go on. i rode with a bunch of 600 and 750 class sport bikes and my poor little carbs didnt like the elevation as much as their fuel injectors did. it was an amazing ride though. cant wait to go back. i'll try to post some pics here later tonight after i get them re-sized and whatnot.
Has anyone else here ridden either road?
Posted: Sat Jul 08, 2006 1:29 pm
by jmillheiser
you aint seen altitude till you have taken some of the passes in the rockies.
even my 600 doesn't like 11,000ft passes. I can see why a lot of the canyon riders in colorado prefer literbikes to 600s.
still sounds like you had a lot of fun. you should come out here sometime and try some of our roads.
Posted: Sat Jul 08, 2006 2:45 pm
by Z (fka Sweet Tooth)
I haven't gone but I've heard nothing but good things about it. We're planning on making it up there to Maggie Valley May of 07.
Posted: Sat Jul 08, 2006 3:06 pm
by Relsek
I've ridden both, and like the Cherohala much better. The dragon has too much traffic, the skyway was close to deserted when I rode it.
Kevin
Posted: Sat Jul 08, 2006 3:33 pm
by vector18
I was at the dragon a couple of months ago. I actually liked the roads around the dragon. They had nicer sweepers as compared to the sharper turns on the dragon and they had less traffic too.
Posted: Sat Jul 08, 2006 4:12 pm
by VermilionX
congrats BCS!
i wanna try the dragon sometime in the future.
it's too far though.
and...

Posted: Sat Jul 08, 2006 11:20 pm
by KingRobb
did the dragon about a month ago...was fun but on a big bike more of a workout than a joyride....enjoyed hellbender rt 29 coming off of it more...
but it was worth the trip from indy to ride thru there.
Posted: Sun Jul 09, 2006 12:08 am
by BigChickenStrips
still working on the pics, but if anyone wants info abotu it
www.dealsgap.com is the place to go for info.
sweet tooth, if you happen to wander back to the TN side and are near knoxville let me know and i'll show you some other good roads. (brushy mountain, skyway, fontana dam, etc.) or if you just want company on the gap.
i agree with the above. that many curves in that short of space, it isnt like you can build up any speed becasue there are at least 200 blind curves within the 11 miles. im not even a good rider yet and i was scraping pieces and passing cars and other bikes. they have a "tree of shame" where people nail bike parts that have broken off durign the rides up there. (see website)
VERM, you should check the callender they have at the website i posted above. i think the Pacific Riders Club is coming out later this month. they rent a truck to haul the bikes here and just ride the local roads (there are no less than 6 different rides that are INCREDIBLE for motorcycles within day-trip distance to us here in eastern TN) if you ever get some time off and some extra cash, its worth coming to see maybe you could hook up with one of those groups.
i'll get some pics up eventually....
Re: Rode the Dragon and Cherahola Skyway today
Posted: Sun Jul 09, 2006 12:24 am
by Mintbread
BigChickenStrips wrote:for those who dont know, is considered to be one of the best motorcycle roads on the planet.
Can't people just enjoy things for what they are without making it a competition?
It is a road with lots of corners. We have them here too.
Posted: Sun Jul 09, 2006 3:57 am
by High_Side
I've seen so many videos of "
aggresive riders" wobbling all over the double yellows to convince me that you are taking your life in your hands riding down there. It looks like a nice stretch of road, but the best roads are not crawling with squidlies and I'm not about to advertise where my favorites are on the internet
