Since the mountains would not come to me, I went to the mountains in late June of 2006 to ride the infamous Highway 129 through Deals Gap, “The Tail of the Dragon” and the surrounding area. It was a great trip.
Things I Did:
1) Enjoyed some very challenging riding
2) Met some really great people
3) Got my tires hot enough through the corners to make the air reek of burning rubber once stopped
4) Bump started my bike due to some unknown, one-time electrical problem (with the help of some nice folks in the Stalker crew)
5) Met an 18 wheeler in a blind corner and survived to tell about it (although I’m not so sure my underwear made it…)
6) Had an up-close-and-personal interview with the Graham Co. NC Sheriff’s Dept.
I used
Tail of the Dragon.com to do most of the planning. It’s a very good website for someone that hasn’t been to the area before. The site is kept up to date on a weekly basis, it appears, and has excellent riding information, photos, maps, lodging and dining info, etc. I would encourage anyone planning on making the trip to spend a few hours on that site while in the planning stages.
I arranged for reservations at the Fontana Village resort. From the info available on their website, it appeared to be about the nicest accommodations very near the Dragon. I’ll mention more about the pros and cons of staying there a bit later.
We had decided to trailer the bikes up to save the wear and tear on the bikes, tires and our bodies that would be involved in a hot and boring 3 hour interstate ride. It was a good choice, as the extra capacity for clothes, riding gear, and tools was handy, and it allowed some freedom in making meal runs and such after dark. There are a lot of critters in that area, as you are in a remote national forest. We encountered a deer crossing the road and a large owl sitting right in the middle of a curve on a couple of the nighttime excursions. With the challenging, unfamiliar roads and the plentiful fauna, it’s not the best area for riding after dark. Our decision was additionally reinforced on the return trip with a rush hour encounter in Chattanooga TN with a pretty rough thunderstorm.
So, we were pretty fresh when we arrived late on Tuesday afternoon, and with a lot of light remaining, we unloaded the bikes and decided to scope out the infamous “Tail of the Dragon”. My first run across it was very careful and slow, and it’s probably advisable to proceed that way just to get a feel for things. My fuel gauge was apparently acting up and indicated I need gas soon, so we made a run all the way into Vonore on Hwy 411 to fill up, and on the return trip very late in the day I turned up the wick for my most aggressive run across the Dragon. There was very little traffic on either leg Tuesday.
Wednesday morning, we ate at the Fontana Village restaurant (so-so) and headed out for the day (and just across the bridge saw the first and only wreck victim we saw over the few days, although a couple on the Cherohalah told us they’d seen five). We stopped at the Crossroads of Time to look at the bikes and souvenirs. We made a few more photo stops, including one at the Overlook where my bike refused to start, and then completed the run over Hwy 129. After a stop at the Hwy 72/129 intersection for a drink, a look at the Sprint, and an enjoyable conversations with a couple of characters up for the Honda Hoot, we then headed to Vonore TN to make the loop back down to Tellico Plains and across the Cherohalah Skyway.
The Skyway is a very different kind of riding, with long sweeping corners. It’s got some great views, so plan on stopping on a few of the overlooks and taking some photos. It also offers a nice escape from the heat near the NC/TN border, as it ascends to approximately 5400 ft. We made the loop back into Robbinsville, over the Stecoah Gap and back down Hwy 28 to Fontana Village to complete the day.
On Day 3, we headed over to the Stecoah Café that we had identified the night before and had a hearty breakfast, and then headed back into Robbinsville to cross the Cherohalah in the opposite direction. We stopped at the Bistro By The River for a late lunch, and then pushed on to Vonore and back to Hwy 129 for our last trip across the Tail of the Dragon. This was Thursday afternoon, probably near quitting time for locals, and the road was quite busy. It was difficult to do anything other than cross it in follow-the-leader fashion, and this was the trip where I met the 18 wheeler coming around one of the many blind corners. A stop at the very crowded Deal’s Gap Motorcycle Resort/Crossroads of Time yielded a couple of enjoyable conversations but some shaky nerves as the parking lot reached an unsafe density of cars and bikes, with one fellow finally dropping his cruiser while trying to dismount.
We departed early Friday morning with the bikes safely in the trailer and drove to Knoxville to take a look at the Honda Hoot (can’t recommend it) and then returned to Huntsville that afternoon.
To wrap up the report…
Being in the Deals Gap area is, as my riding buddy pointed out, like being at a rolling bike show. Almost any type of bike, or even automobile, is likely to be spotted. I have to admit that my favorite from the trip was an upgraded 1977 Honda CBX ridden by a Brit expat living in the U.S. for the past 37 years (one of the fellows encountered at the 72/129 intersection). It had later model CBR wheels and brakes on it, and an aftermarket exhaust. He turned it loose for us when leaving, and if that sound doesn’t make your hairs stand on end, then I’d say you need to find another hobby.
Another highlight of the area is the great people you meet. Almost everyone is a motorsports enthusiast, whether a fan of the two-, three-, or four-wheeled variety. We had chance encounters with a lot of great folks and talked about bikes, cars, etc. We stopped and talked with Zee Steinberg, one of the photographers who works the local area and featured along with her husband and some local friends in the recent RacerX magazine article about the area.
Gasoline is only available in a few locations as well (Robbinsville, Deal’s Gap Motorcycle Resort, Tellico Plains, Vonore, i.e. the “major” towns”), so it would behoove one to pay attention to their tank range and fill up at most opportunities.
Dining is a problem in the area where we stayed. Fontana Village had a grill and a restaurant. The restaurant didn’t impress for breakfast, and the grill was too crowded with screaming pre-teens to try it the one afternoon we stopped by. The closest place to eat would be the Deals Gap Motorcycle Resort, which we didn’t have a chance to try. We did patronize the Stecoah Café on Hwy 28 for both breakfast and dinner. It’s just past the turn to go over the Stecoah Gap into Robinsville, and can highly recommend the catfish dinner. The dining highlight of the trip was the Bistro By The River in Tellico Plains, TN, coming off the Cherohalah Skyway. I had the bison meatloaf with mashed potatoes and sautéed green beans, and it ranks up there with some of the best meals I’ve ever had. My riding partner enjoyed his pulled pork sandwich with homemade chips as well. The bistro has a gourmet flair and is very nice inside, but is obviously motorcyclist friendly as this must make up the bulk of their business. Highly recommended. A quick glance at the menu indicated entrees ranging from $10-$20.
Overall, I was satisfied with the stay at Fontana Village. I plan to write a letter to the owners soon identifying what I found to be problems; i.e. some sort of food needs to be available late every night, till maybe midnite anyway. It doesn’t get dark till 10 p.m. local time in June, so it only makes sense. Also, the restaurant needs to be improved as to the quality of the food. Mini-fridges would make a nice addition to the rooms (athough the cabins may have them). If you choose to stay there, make sure you ask to be made a part of their motorcyclist club, and there is a substantial discount on room prices.
So, all’s well that ends well, and it’s a trip I highly recommend. I think we’ll be going to the area again, and will probably stay in another locality for some variety. There’s a lot more roads waiting that we didn’t cover.
Oh, and I don’t have to go back to make an appearance in the Graham County courthouse, as the very nice officer (and fellow rider) just let me off with a warning!
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