We have now had two fantastic rides in a row. Nanatahala two weeks ago was great, Deal's Gap and the Dragon today was fantastic. I don't know if can get any better!! The weather was fantastic. Despite forecasts to the contrary the sun was out, and we didn't see a single drop of rain. It was a typical summer day. It was rather warm but not too hot. There was a breeze and riding though some of the shade covered road was actually on the cooler side.

The trip up to the Robbinsville and the start of the Tail of the Dragon was a great ride itself. We headed out of AMW with 13 riders and ten bikes. We headed up GA400 and stopped in Dahlonega for a short break and to pick up one more rider. That gave us a total of 14 people on 11 bikes. The great part was that four of those rides (3 bikes) were first timers. From there we headed up US19 and US129 to our destination. That route is a great bike ride by itself. The roads are good with lots of twists and turns to warm us up for the Dragon.

We arrived at the gift shop & restaurant around noon and decided this would be a great place to eat. So everyone got some food and drink, whatever t-shirts and souvenirs they wanted and a little rest before attempting to slay the Dragon. The Dragon is 318 turns in an 11 mile stretch. Some of the turns are difficult and the entire route demands the drivers full attention. Only passengers get to do any sightseeing. So with a deep breath we mounted up and headed out.

Eleven miles later everyone was present and accounted for. So we now have 14 dragonslayers among us. Riding the Dragon has a certain prestige to it, but there are plenty of roads in North Georgia, Tennessee and North Carolina that are just as good. As a matter of fact we road one of them coming back. After a short detour that almost turned into one of our gravel road adventures we corrected our course and made our way to Tellico Plains, TN.

From there we wound our way to GA60 and down thru Suches to US19. GA60 is every bit as good as the Dragon. It has the twists and turns without the traffic. Parts of it are newly paved and it is all very exciting to ride. Along the way we made several pit stops for bathroom breaks, refreshment and to stretch our legs.

Arriving back in Dahlonega we split up and each headed our own way home

It had been a full (and long) day. Leaving home at 7:30 am and arriving back at home about 8:15 made it over 12 hours. We rode close to 400 miles....400 of the best miles you can do on a motorcycle. You would be hard pressed to put in as many great miles in a single day. This area has some of the best motorcycle riding roads in the country, and today we road as much of them as we could.

I honestly do not believe it could get too All in all, it was a wonderful day....the best we have had this year. We had good weather, good riding, good food and a good turnout...which meant lots of friends. You just can't beat a day like that!!

Attending:

Doug Turco & Teresa Turco
Gary  Kohl
Preston & Stephanie Howard
Henry Williams
Malon Metz
Jason Banister
Rick Curtis
Rick Campbell
Georges Tacquet (WELCOME)
Jeff Merry (WELCOME)
Mark & Patty Miles (WELCOME)