The Tail of the Dragon by Ronald E. Johnson
The Tail of the Dragon, also known as Deals Gap or just the Dragon, is considered by many as one of the world’s premier motorcycling and sports car roads. Anyone looking for an exciting piece of asphalt will enjoy this stretch of US 129 at
the Tennessee/North Carolina
state line. Route 66, which gained notoriety because of the popular 1960’s television show, is perhaps the most well known road in America. It stretched thousands of miles from Los Angeles to Chicago, but today only short segments remain. But the Dragon is only 11 miles long and someday might surpass the mystical legends of that famed route.
The Dragon has a notorious past.
private property. There were meager sleeping quarters for guests to spend the night. Some who tried to cross without paying the toll were caught and hanged. There are ghosts on the Dragon.
The Dragon in the late 1920s was
renumbered US129 and was paved for the first time around that date.
The road was only lightly traveled
for decades, primarily by locals and lost tourists. In 1992 the road was mentioned in Rider Magazine and word was out.
The first white men to use the trail were hunters and trappers who clashes with the Cherokee Indians in the early 1700s.
In the 1800s the path became a
crude roadway used to access the remote settlement of Cades Cove .
The Civil War brought more
bloodshed to the Dragon. Gangs, such as the Kirkland Bushwhackers, often attacked Northern patrols and anyone else who happened their way. There are graves on the Dragon dating back to this era.
Toll Booth Corner, located about
midway over the Dragon, was a place to pay for the right to cross
Each year since then the number of motorcycles and sports cars has seemingly doubled. Today riders and drivers from across the US, Canada, and many other foreign countries come to test their riding skills on the Dragon. There is always a show from April through October. We have seen everything from one- of -a-kind vintage motorcycles to 253 mph Bugatti Veyrons with more than 1000 horse power and worth millions.
The Dragon is truly a unique
road. In 14 miles there are only two intersections. There are no buildings other than the Crossroads of Time and our Tail of the Dragon store. There are 318 curves in the 11 miles located on the Tennessee side. Most of the time there is very little traffic which is primarily motorcycle riders and sports car drivers looking for the thrill of their lives. It is remote. Most of the roadway is bounded by United States Forest Service property and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Deals
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