Tail of the Dragon
It was a Monday morning, and the guys all knew today was the
day we were going to ride the Dragon. This section of Highway 129 is only 11
miles long, but has become famous among the motorcycle community for its 318
curves! Many of these are switchbacks and nicely banked so one can carry some
speed through the turns although much of the way is marked at 30 MPH. Rumor has it that this road was originally designed
with the rider in mind, and not for general traffic use, although sometimes
there is a wayward trucker who finds his way onto this piece of highway
eventually causing serious delay. We
chose to ride today several weeks ago as part of our trip planning. Riding
during the weekend would be bothersome as the traffic is much greater, and
usually more dangerous as wanna be racers exceed safe operating speeds. Monday
seemed a perfect day, and looked to be a great choice when we started out
early.
We had a little rain yesterday, but for the most part it had
been dry and humid the entire trip. Today the humidity was oppressive, but we
knew we had come to ride, so ride we did.
Once again we fell into our conga line of riders, Bob leading, Bill and Dave
next and Ryan just in front off me riding in order, with me bringing up the
rear. I wanted to capture some video of
Ryan as we rode today, and putting him in front of me made for some perfect
camera angles. Also; I sincerely enjoy riding the drag position, it offers a
unique view of the other riders as we pick our way through traffic, or corners,
and the smaller group proved to be a perfect size as the lead never really got
out of sight, and yet we were a long enough trail to be conspicuous in
traffic. Bob led us through a series of
twisty roads that climbed up one ridge and then down the other side like a
roller coaster for bikers. Each corner was tight, but not so much that we had
to pass each other coming in the opposite direction like in a switchback. The humidity had gotten worse, and soon a
sprinkle wetted our windscreens and faces as we carved corners and climbed in
and out of valleys along the route. This
was a great warm-up for riding the Dragon and I watched intently the riders
before with a critical eye for confidence, and proficiency. In the back of my
mind I was setting the order for the Dragon ride already, thinking the faster
riders should be in front and the slower ones could ride their own pace rather
than try to push harder than personal comfort boundaries’ allow. I could tell that Bill was reining it in as
Bob set a brisk yet sedate tempo, Dave was still learning the performance
limits of his new Goldwing and Ryan was easily keeping pace on his smaller and
lighter bike. As everyone’s comfort
level increased, so did the group speed through the twisty sections of the
ride, and I was encouraged that this group would make a real show of it on the
Dragon. Riding bigger bikes through technical corners with banking and dips can
be a challenge, but this group was rapidly preparing for some seriously fun
aggressive riding. The only trouble we
had during this spirited riding thus far was when Ryan ran up on Dave too
quickly as Dave used strong engine braking entering a fast uphill left hand
corner. Ryan was setting his line and had already downshifted in preparation to
accelerate through the corner, when he noticed Dave had slowed a bit more than
was expected and Ryan was forced to swing wide through the corner to avoid a
collision. Ryan ran out of road surface and ended up riding for a short way on
the shoulder or the road, which was luckily a nice gravel surface, and not a
steep drop like one we may encounter later in the day. 
The morning progressed like this, with the group carving
corners and practicing for the Dragon run. Eventually we found our way to the
head of the Dragon and pulled off for a short break and “reorganizing”. It had
become clear that Bill, Ryan and I were the fastest riders (due to either an
experience advantage or the smaller more maneuverable bike advantage enjoyed by
Ryan) and we wanted to reorder our lineup to stay out of each other’s way
through the Dragons Tail. It was decided that Bill would lead due to his
aggressive riding style, and Ryan would follow so I could be behind him to
video. Dave & Bob fell into place behind with Bob riding tail, which
allowed Dave to set the pace of the second level group. Bill took off and we were on our way…
The Dragon is a collection of turns that climb and drop
their way through the ridges, and offer some very different sections to
challenge a riders skill. There is a section that is fast with some quick
direction changes, and then a more technical section that requires tighter
cornering and more dramatic lean angle.
Coupled with elevation changes and switchbacks the Dragon is constantly
testing a riders focus and skill. All the while, there are places to pull off,
and people stopping for a break, or a photo or just to get out of the way of
faster bikes. There is even a place where photographers have stationed
themselves and you can buy online a picture or two of you riding the Dragon. Bill, Ryan and I were working the corners and
rapidly putting distance between us and Dave & Bob. They were falling back
with each turn, and I knew we would meet them at the far end once they arrived.
With no worry about losing our way, we started to gain momentum, and Bill led
us on a merry chase through the 318 turns. Each corner found us testing the
limits of lean angle, with hard parts just inches off the ground and engines
howling at high RPMs. Running mainly in 3rd gear on the Goldwing I
was able to use the engine to ‘grunt’ through the turns and accelerate quickly
out of them. Ryan’s bike ran louder pipes and higher RPMs and I could hear his engine creating
horsepower as we three rode the Dragon Tail.
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