Advice wanted on The Dragon

lytehouse

lytehouse

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John & I have been discussing trailering the bikes out to Tennessee to ride the infamous Dragon and from you guys who live in the area, is the end of April kinda safe as far as weather goes or would May be better?
We will be staying in Cleveland, TN. (if my brother oks that).
Also, besides the Dragon & Blue Ridge Pkwy, is there anything else I should add to the ride list?
Thanks
 
It will be in the rainy season there and if you have seasonal allergies, pollen will be very high. Temps will be balmy so you'll want to pack warm gear. See April Weather in Tennessee - Average Temperatures and Rainfall for some averages.

We went in the middle of May and it was very nice. Warmer, less rain and because it was before Memorial Day, not so crowded. Try to hit the Dragon in the middle of the week. ;)

There are MANY great roads to ride there. 129 is the Dragon, but 28 is great. 143 is the Cherohala Skyway which is a faster road than the Dragon with long sweepers. Be careful of the one large diminishing turn! At the TN end of 129, turn off to the Foothills Parkway. A great ride through to the Cherokee Nation.
 
Last year I was up at the end of April and the weather was perfect (lower 40s in the morning warming up to upper 60s in the afternoon). There was a lot of pollen though ( you'll have to wipe the bike down every morning).
I'll be up again at the end of April and most likely will be riding there again instead of trailering. My favorite is Blood Mountain.
 
middle of May is usually best I have found better temps and before the crowds come for the holidays.RT 28 is my favorite run actuall there are just to many good roads the Dragon would be one of my least favorite because of crowds and LEO's. Afriend of mine lives close to Cleveland TN. I think I may be there around May 9th.
 
Our trip is at the end of June. We'll be doing two days of training with Cornerspin, then three days of riding in the general area before heading back to Michigan on July 2nd. Someone else is organizing the trip, but I can push him around a bit :sinister: and will be doing everything I can to make sure we don't just hit the "sweeper" roads like we did on the last trip he planned. I'm advocating for hitting The Dragon on Tuesday (rather than Sunday as our illustrious planner was intending), but was wondering if anyone would recommend Monday given that it's a holiday week (Independence day on Friday of that week).
 
I just ordered the "100 Great Rides in the Smokey Mountains" from America Rides Maps. I'm sure this will include some of the roads mentioned in this and other threads on the site. Having a paper map is something I usually try to do even though most of my navigation and planning is electronic.

I'll try to do a review of their maps both before and after the June trip.
 
I would say early May. As other stated for pollen and temp reasons. Much better chance weather is warm (maybe even hot) then and pollen would be gone by then. We have had a very wet 2013 and 2014 is shaping up the same so I'm hoping pollen season will be short. If its dry then its miserable.

The weather up there is ALWAYS a roll of the dice...between the geography, the elevation you can get big swings (although not as dramatic as out west). May/June is my favorite time to ride along with October in these parts. I can be to the Dragon in 2.5 hours from my place.
 
I will be up there Mothers day weekend for a few days I believe.

Be cautious about speed traps! They cracked down hard one weekend a month back or so.

Have fun
 
Thanks for all the great feedback everyone. This is what I was looking for when I asked Lytehouse to start a post and see what people recommended.

I had read some stuff in the past where people had said there was better stuff to ride vs the Dragon. Since we are going to be there, we still have to say we "rode the Dragon", but I didn't want to miss any other great roads. The weather was the other wild card you guys helped clear up. Early season riding is always a risk, so good to hear what you all have experienced.

I like the map. I must have 50 different maps of the western US, National Parks, etc, and using various "best motorcycle roads" websites and forum input have strung together some great rides. Looks like all the work has been done for me with this map, so guess I'll have to order one.
 
Take the first trip through and back at a leisure pace to see just how technical it really is, then you can ramp it up a little on some of the corners on subsequent runs. There's not as many LEOs in the middle of the week. ;)
 
We will probably make the CO-TN-CO drive on the weekends, and be riding in the middle of the week, so sounds like it will work out for fewer LEO's and crowds.

I got us a speeding ticket last August (me and Lytehouse). I think she may have won BOM with the pic of her bike and the LEO behind her. She may make me ride sweep because of that to keep me out of trouble. But I'll definitely take your advice if I fall behind or sneek ahead.
 
When you get there and hit the Crossroads, the people in there have all sorts of advice and maps that they will share with you too. Great folks that run that resort! A lot of other places in the area will also offer up trips to take with directions.

This is a great stop and you can drive under the falls! :D
Bridal Veil Falls - Highlands - YouTube
 
J_Slyter said:
I had read some stuff in the past where people had said there was better stuff to ride vs the Dragon. Since we are going to be there, we still have to say we "rode the Dragon", but I didn't want to miss any other great roads. .
Click to expand...

Of the roads in the area the Dragon is probably my least favorite. Its great during the week, but on the weekend all the squids, hog blocks (slow Harley riders), street racers, sport cars, and police show up.

Cherohala is my favorite (30 minutes from Dragon), 28 down to Franklin is nice, 129 before you get to the Dragon (from Robbinsville) is great. BRP if not on the weekend is pretty, but not a "riders" road with 35 MPH speed limits. Definitely explore around. There really is NO destination in that area, its all about the ride and what kind of riding you want to do. There are places where you can be a hooligan and other places where you need to chill and just enjoy the scenery. Common sense goes a long way.
 
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