Tail of the Dragon area....
#31
As mentioned above, we left D.C. at 7am and made Roanoke by nightfall. It was high summer and we used all of the daylight. From F.R. you knock about an hour off our ride, so you have a little more cushion. So, even with a lunch stop and some photo ops, it's very doable. However, some folks prefer to take a little more time to smell the roses. We roll.
#32
As far as your route south of Huntington, that's the basic idea I had as well. We missed our turn (heading north out of Williamson) and headed a bit west on 119. It looked really great. I was tempted to ride it out, but again, wanted to continue on 52. FYI - Williamson was the biggest town we rode through. They have the basics - McDonalds, fuel, etc. It's a good planned stop. From there south to 23 is good I'll bet, but I would look more closely at High **** Rd out of Norton and run that to the Veterans Hwy 72. By look more closely, I would ask locals and make sure that it's not gravel. I recall running down to J.C. on my BMW GS one year and taking that basic route over the mountain. It was epic - and it was dirt. But, I'm not sure if it's that road or not. I'm inclined to say it's not. The satellite view makes it appear to be paved. If it is paved, it will be fantastic.
Again, I'll create a route on Mapsource for future reference and let you know more info. Regardless, it's all good in that area. Just don't go bow hunting or canoeing.
#33
I grew up in Canada and since I have been in NC I have been loving the Hills, riding up there every year, the 1st 2 years I had my Bagger I put 40000 miles on it and a lot of those miles were in the hills of NC, TN, VA & WV....done the Dragon about a dozen times now so I bypass it now for better roads... You have to do it at least once....it's a must....I like other roads....Pigeon a Forge and Gatlinburg might be ok during the week but the weekend can be hell....
#34
I rode the from Skyline drive to the end of the BRP and took 2.5 days to do it. In that time I left camp around 9 AM and pulled into my camp for the night around 5.
I did stop at probably 80% of the pull offs to snap some pictures. I didn't really get off the BRP and poke around the towns except to get gas. I didn't feel too rushed to stick to the time I had for my trip by doing the above.
You could ride it all in two days or you could spend a week. It all depends on how much you want to see/do.
This year I'll be leaving Friday morning from Cleveland to ride the tail of the dragon and then camp out at the Iron Horse that night. From there I am going to ride the BRP and Skyline Drive, then end up back home in Cleveland early evening Monday.
Hope this helps with your planning.
I did stop at probably 80% of the pull offs to snap some pictures. I didn't really get off the BRP and poke around the towns except to get gas. I didn't feel too rushed to stick to the time I had for my trip by doing the above.
You could ride it all in two days or you could spend a week. It all depends on how much you want to see/do.
This year I'll be leaving Friday morning from Cleveland to ride the tail of the dragon and then camp out at the Iron Horse that night. From there I am going to ride the BRP and Skyline Drive, then end up back home in Cleveland early evening Monday.
Hope this helps with your planning.
#35
Pigeon Forge is a tourist trap town. There are plenty of places to eat and lots of stuff to buy. Traffic isn't too bad on the week days but by Friday it's going to be gridlock on the main road.
If you take 321 to Foothills Parkway as someone else suggested, keep your eyes peeled for Smokey Joe's BBQ in Townsend TN. Good food in that place.
#36
Gatlinburg is a great place to stay for the area . The ride is not far to The dragon.
When you get to the end ride on down to :http://www.highlandsinfo.com/Video/BridalVailFalls.htm Then follow alone see some other great fall and end up back in Gatlinburg.
Face it riding that entire area is almost impossible to get it wrong. We have made the trip many times . Plan to spend two weeks riding there again in May.
Gatlinburg it's self is not that great but it is a good place to stay.
Bridal Vail Falls one of the trips
When you get to the end ride on down to :http://www.highlandsinfo.com/Video/BridalVailFalls.htm Then follow alone see some other great fall and end up back in Gatlinburg.
Face it riding that entire area is almost impossible to get it wrong. We have made the trip many times . Plan to spend two weeks riding there again in May.
Gatlinburg it's self is not that great but it is a good place to stay.
Bridal Vail Falls one of the trips
#37
Don't get me wrong it's beautiful but the speed limit is a killer...Just a suggestion...One to consider anyway.
#38
Salut papi... J'espere que tout va bien... Try breaking the whole Skyline/ BRP in half or in 3 section... Skyline, then highway to Asheville then southern part then on your way back north do the north of Asheville part to Fancy gap or something like that... The damn speed limits and the tourist will slow you down...
Don't get me wrong it's beautiful but the speed limit is a killer...Just a suggestion...One to consider anyway.
Don't get me wrong it's beautiful but the speed limit is a killer...Just a suggestion...One to consider anyway.
#39
That's interesting. I've heard of some people getting stuck behind tourists. But, when we did it in June, it was clear sailing all the way. I think I had to pass one car in all of Skyline and the BRP. And the road is so curvy that the 45 limit on the BRP isn't that unbearable. We would kick it up to 60 here and there, but that's about it.
#40