| You may ask yourself. What is Tail of the Dragon?? For some it’s one of the best drives you’ll every experience. While others will tell you that this is one of the scariest drives imaginable. Now before we can actually state either case, let’s learn some more about the “Dragon”. Once again what is the “Dragon”?? Well the road known as the “Dragon” is a stretch of road which runs thru both Tennessee and North Carolina. It’s route was originally just an animal track worn down by large herds of buffalo and then used by native American Cherokee Indians for centuries. The first white men to use the trail were hunters and trappers moving into dangerous territory in the early 1700s. It wasn’t until somewhere around 1934 this notorious road actually became a roadway, this is also around the same time that the stretch of road became paved. Also 1934 was the year that the two connecting roads from North Carolina(NC 108) to Tennessee(TN 72) became known as US 129. The road was only lightly traveled for decades, primarily by locals and lost tourists. Until the early 1992 when a rider from Rider Magazine stubbled across this roadway and decided to promote the now notorious road in his magazine. In the next few years motorcycle riding increased dramatically at the Dragon. 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 on the weekends from April through October. The Tail of the Dragon gained popularity after the website www. tailofthedragon.com went on-line in 2000. No other stretch of road in North America is like the “Dragon” with it’s 318 curves in an 11 mile stretch. The Tail of the Dragon, also known as Deals Gap or just the Dragon, is considered by many as one of the world's best 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. This year, the Wildhorses Mustang Club once again, made the triumph feat of trying to tame the “Dragon”. With 16 Mustangs cruising the back roads and snaking thru the turns. We were able to come out as “Dragon Slayers” and relish in the spirit and memories of an exciting event for the year. |
| Tail of the Dragon By Fast Eddie |
| Pics Links- Link 1 |
| The Tn. Wildhorses slay "The Dragon" !!! |
