I will be up there myself, always wanted to drive this and now is finally the right time for me.

 

If anyone needs lodging, you can stay in Maryville about 15 minutes away. There is also lodging on the North Carolina side as well.

 

sounds good. Add me in!

Hopefully, this thread will stay clean.

 

I will be heading up there the 10th instead of the 9th. Mainly because my friend has school that day and doesnt want to miss class. I'm only going to stay till saturday night though. I might change my mind on that and stay till sunday. sounds good though. I'll decided tonight. I think i have another friend in his evo following me down that day as well. so my list is:

me and a friend riding.
sti friend
and my other evo friend.

each of us will try and stay at a place down there over night. so any group discounts you find the better!

 

I can't wait to see everyone up here!

-Josh

 

Yeah, hopefully!

Has everyone decided on where they are staying?


I'm really looking forward to meeting everyone, especially you and your wife James!

 

Just came back from the Dragon......tons of fun!

Make sure to say hi to Killboy!

 

I got a room at the Fontana Village Resort. I looked at the map and it is right off the Dragon so should be great. They told me they did have anymore motel style rooms so I got the fireplace suite. It was that or the honeymoon suite

Anybody from the New Orleans area or Louisiana going up?

 

I'll be here, working the camera from about noon to 6, but should be up for some play time late in the day and nights.

PLEASE STAY IN YOUR LANE! This is no small matter here...you are driving a relatively large vehicle surrounded by smaller vehicles. (motorcycles) You can easily kill someone (like my wife on her own bike) by driving over your head. Please don't make our whole group look bad by being the no-driving tool that everyone remembers.

For accomodations, check out the "Accomodations" section at www.tailofthedragon.com. There are a few hotels here in Robbinsville, including a 3 story Microtel that is pretty inexpensive and has lots of rooms.

Group discounts: Although this is a pretty good size group for Evos, there are always groups here...big groups like 300-400, so don't get your hopes up on discounts.

Good to meet ya LoCo!

 

Good advice have fun and keep it safe ..

 

Killboy- Wats the deal with cops on the dragon? Do they sit in certain places or patrol pretty heavily? I assume the speed limit will be broken because isn't the speed limit 35?

 

May see one out there during peak hours just hanging out, usually won't mess with folks as long as you're staying within your limits. (and it's real easy to tell when you're here every weekend) They may be stricter on cars because we pose a larger threat than we often realize. (kinda like the way semis have stricter regulations on the open highways) Speed limit is 30, and it's hard to go a whole lot faster than that. Average speed for the really quick locals is about 55-60, although there are places where it's possible for someone who has the road memorized to hit triple digits briefly. The cops pretty much let us play though...they've been really cool over the past couple of years.

We have to be careful about saying that in public...bad things can happen and tourists can come in acting stupid and screw it up for all of us. Have fun, don't crash or cause others to crash, and keep your playing confined to the Gap. By all means check out some of the other area roads, there are some killer drives around here like Hwy 28, Cherohala Skyway, and Foothills Parkway, just realize that during peak hours (noon-6pm) those areas may be patrolled, so take it easy or save it for off-times.

Think of it as a cheap trackday...usually you have to pay to play, but it's not very often around here if you use your head.

 

Hey Darryl, how ya doin! I sent you several emails. I'll try to post some video of me on Sebring International Raceway chasing down a viper! Hope you can come out and play a little! Maybe you can lead a night cruise!
I'm kind of torn between staying in Fontana and Townsend, both are convient to the Dragon, although you get to take the Foothills Parkway to the Dragon which is a nice drive in itself.
BTW,
30 mph was my low speed, averaged about 45-55 on the Dragon. The Cherohala Skyway, now that was a whole different story, triple digits easily on some of those long straights, although I did experience some brake fade on the way down.
Just a note to those of you who haven't driven your car in serious mountain terrain. Nows a good time to change your brake fluid and pads bu upgrading to something like Motul 600, which I recently did. The roads up there are no joke!

 

I'm down for leading some night runs. Most people say they make their quickest, smoothest runs when they follow a local moving at a modest pace...you just might learn something from those who have it a little more figured out, if you let yourself. Maybe Josh aka "battlecattle" could lead a second group also...he's got the road nearly memorized and pretty comfortable with night runs I think.

Even I can't stay above 30 all the way through the Gap. Whether I'm on the sportbike, supermoto race bike, or Evo, there are a couple of turns that are so tight, they're hard for me to take above 15-20mph.

Foothills is a sweet drive, but I actually like Hwy 28 from Fontana to the Gap better. Plus the Foothills is federally patrolled (federal ticket = federal court) and hwy28 has a 55mph speed limit and lightly patrolled by state/county.

It's certainly true that the Gap and other area mountain roads are pretty rough on the brakes. I've even managed to fade my big brake kit from Racing Brake (the largest they offer for the Evo) on the Gap a few times. It has a lot to do with your technique though, and I'm always working on that...ideally you want to use them hard and fast, and get off the pedal as soon as possible so they can begin cooling. Lightly dragging the brakes is the worst.

Look forward to playing with everyone soon...should have new tires this week, hopefully they'll last until the Evo gathering. Josh will be running some super sticky Yoko A032s as well.

 

Will you guys be running through/making a quick pit-stop in Atlanta? I have a few friends coming along with me and it'd be fun to ride up there with the big group rather than just a few of us up there to meet ya. If not then I suppose that's what we'll have to do!