Winter on the Dragon's Tail
 

It was clear and cold today (Mon 12/4/06) -- a perfect winter day for the Dragon's Tail. I drove it twice - S to Deals Gap, stopped to shoot the bull there and then back N to Vonore. Absolutely wonderful road for a Boxster. Both the TN and NC side have been recently repaved so the surface is in great condition. There was a Miata in front of me heading S but he pulled over and let me by which is typical, especially from the locals. :) On the way back N I got behind an 18 wheeler who wouldn't let me by. He was literally all over the road. A hazard to somebody heading the other direction in some of the curves. :( It was especially irritating since I had pushed it only a little heading S to check out the road condition. I was really planning on going like Hell on the way back. C'est la vie!

As the crow flies I live just 10 miles from this wonderful road so I get to drive almost routinely. So if any of y'all decide to do the Dragon's Tail let me know and I'll join you. :cheers:

I hit the Dragon in the 928 on the way to Sharks In The Mountains last June. Awsome drive. One day I'll do it in the Boxster.....maybe when we have Box In The Mountains.

id be down for this too, whenever it happens. may 7th is my bday tho :)

I actually think I'll be able to make this!! To the Chicago caravan: when do you think you'll be heading out, and how long will you be staying? :dance:

I was planning on road tripping in the spring up to the DC area to visit a friend, and figured I'd try to swing by the 'Dragon and run it a few times. My plans were going to be early to mid april... but if there will be a group thing in early May, I'll slide my plans back a little!

I'm thinking we head out Friday morning and come back Monday. I thought about coming back Sunday, but that's a lot of driving for what would be a one day visit. I'd rather get down there and enjoy a couple days of relaxing, driving, BS'ing, tossing back a few, etc.

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Will that be 5/4 or 5/11?

That would be 5/4... :)

I'll play, too, if there's room for another one...

This is a free for all and I'm sure I speak for everyone here in saying the more the merrier. :)

I believe RandallNeighbour is going to generate the master plan in terms of when and where we're going to meet up. Right now it looks like it is scheduled for the weekend of May 5-6. I will be rolling down with either my GF or a friend and will be staying at whatever hotel is set up by the group.

Hi,

I agree. The last time my wife and I did it was in late Nov. of '01. Coming right on the heels of 9/11, Maui was absolutely derserted. No lines for Restaurants or attractions, vendors were selling everything at 50% off or better.

We rented a brand new '01 Miata for the 10 days, unlimited mileage for $17/day. The car had 60 mi. on it when we picked it up and 1,893 mi. on the Odo when we turned it in - that's 180+ mi./day. We spent maybe 5 min. on a beach the whole time, but were thoroughly tanned from the waist up... ;)

We had 2 drives to Hana (out of several) where we only passed two other cars the entire stretch! So, I was really able to throw the Mazda around, doubt I'll ever be able to do that ever again.

Also, the road to the summit of Haleakala Crater (Kahului - Route 37 to 377 to 378) is a great set of roads, but they were iced over at about 8000 ft., so I had to reign it in a little to avoid sliding off the mountain. Too many Bike tours on 378 though.

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

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Looks like I'll be joining you all. I am concerned about traffic once we get there and such. It sounds like a haven for sports cars on the east coast.

Cool! We could consider leaving Thursday and come back Sunday in hopes that we could get an awesome day of driving the TOD on Friday before the weekend starts and still drive the TOD on Saturday with the rest of the crowd that would be coming in just for the weekend (or the locals)?

From what my experienced buddy tells me, it's busy 7 days a week, and weekends are the heaviest... however, bikers and sports car nuts that are out of town like to drink a lot after dark and thus need to sleep in.

So, I will be planning a very early meeting on Saturday and Sunday morning so we can have a couple of runs at speed. Then, when it starts to get thick, we can stop for brunch. After all, we're a civilized bunch of Pcar owners!

As far as lodging is concerned, I need to let you know that hotel and motel rooms around the TOD are really booked this particular weekend. I would like to recommend that anyone going should go to this web page and start hunting for lodging arrangments as soon as you read this...

http://www.tailofthedragon.com/accomodations.html

I called a couple of places and they are too booked already to reserve a block of rooms. So, it's every man for himself I guess. Dang, we should have planned this early last year for this May. I just didn't know what my work-travel schedule would be until a few weeks ago.

I will post the meeting place soon. My buddy knows of good parking lots or places where we can gather. It will be at the crack of dawn if that's ok with you all.

Would it be any lighter for longer on a Friday? I'll be burning a couple days vacation so whether I take a Friday/Monday or Thursday/Friday off it makes no difference to me. :)

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Where do you recommend staying for us vacactioners. Something ideal to drive all the major roads there, including the skysomethingorother. A b&b is OK, but anyplace with cable and breakfast works for me!!

Jeff, the pickins are gonna be slim as far as lodging is concerned. Get on it now with the link I just posted above.

I'm up for leaving Friday, returning Monday, but Thursday - Sunday would work for me as well...

Here a suggestion for lodging, but I leave the details up to Randall :

http://www.dealsgap.com/motel.htm

Nick

I just signed up for probably one of the only hotel/motels with rooms just now, and they have 9 rooms available on the nights of the 3rd and the 4th, so call NOW:

http://www.twowheelinn.com/

The two wheel inn at Robbinsville. 59.99 a night, 69.99 a night double occupancy, and you also get a free bike garage (not a selling point for me, but hey, I thought I'd toss it in there in case any of you plan to ride your bike down instead of your boxster!)

Ok, called Deal's Gap and they are booked !

Randall, thanks, called Two Wheel Inn, reserved a room for the 4th, 5th, and 6th.

8 rooms left ! Book now if you are interested in going...

Also, when I talked to Deal's Gap, there are two rallys that weekend, Triumph Motorcycles and Two-Stroke ( ? ) Motorcycles.

Should be a blast ! Can't wait :D

Nick