2011 Tail of The Dragon Run

[Bob Jones]

2011 Tail of the Dragon Run…318 Curves in 11 Miles!

Several of us from the Raleigh area and our sons plan a run on The Dragon, weather permitting, on Saturday September 17th.

For those of you who have not participated in the past, the runs went something like this:

Participants from the east and south of Asheville met for breakfast at the Cracker Barrel Restaurant at exit 44 on I-40 just west of Asheville, NC around 8-8:30 AM on Saturday morning.

Those who cared to arrive on Friday night have usually stayed at exit 44 at either at the Sleep Inn or Comfort Inn near the Cracker Barrel. My son Mike and I will be at the Comfort Inn this time so we can use our frequent flyer points for free rooms. Several hotel options are nearby.

If you arrive early enough on Friday the Fatz Café nearby is a good option for dinner.

After breakfast on Saturday, we then departed the Cracker Barrel about 9:15 AM for Fontana Dam with a “bio” & gasoline stop after about an hour’s ride.

We arrived at Fontana Dam about 11 AM meeting up with more participants coming from other directions and the “meets” they arranged for breakfast etc.

We all left Fontana Dam about 11:30 AM and made the northbound run on the Dragon collecting up at the end to swap stories and enjoy the scenery and fellowship.

Afterwards some headed north for lunch enroute & the northbound run around the loop towards The Cherohala Skyway; some made the southbound run to lunch at Deals Gap & make the Dragon run again; some ran south to Robbinsville for lunch and then made a run on The Cherohala Skyway; before heading home or staying overnight in the area.

(Note: FYI, last year the restaurant at Deals Gap was not letting cars park in their parking lot as they had in the past, so I don’t think any of the Cobra group ate lunch there. Re. that I spoke with Ron Johnson, the owner of the Tail of The Dragon web site, and calendar of groups running the Dragon, who also has a Dragon souvenir store across the street from the Deals Gap restaurant, with regard to whether he could/would let us park on his side of the street and walk across to eat lunch. Ron graciously invited us to park on his side of the street at no charge. This is a good thing, if you want to lunch at Deals Gap, so I encourage you to visit Ron’s store and see if there is not something you can’t live without. He has a good selection of shirts, stickers and other official Dragon stuff; also check out his web site.)

Mike & I plan on doing as much riding in the area on Saturday as we can and then stay over Saturday night at the Microtel in Robbinsville, so we can have a leisurely drive home on Sunday. Any and all are welcome to join us.

This is a great adventure for anyone wanting to enjoy their Cobra…whether it’s the first time riding the Dragon or not, it is still a blast…the ride and fellowship are something to remember!

So with that said…let’s do it!

Bob Jones/Raleigh, NC

[lovehamr]

That sounds like fun! Did the tail last October on my Buell and would love to do it in the Cobra. Don't know if I'll be able to get up that way in Sep. but I will be there a couple of weeks later in Oct. We go to Tsali on a MTB vacation every year and Fontana et al is right there.

Steve

[coyote cruiser]

Great run!

Jack's FFR "Black Widow":


Jim's Roarin' 40s GT40:


Edwin's BDR:





Black bear cub in the tree at the dam: