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Hmmm, this depends where you start/finish. I'd say on average 20-30 minutes depending on traffic as well. That's doing about 30-40 mph in the turns and higher speeds in the straighter parts. We drove pretty conservatively the first couple of times.
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Hmmm, this depends where you start/finish. I'd say on average 20-30 minutes depending on traffic as well. That's doing about 30-40 mph in the turns and higher speeds in the straighter parts. We drove pretty conservatively the first couple of times.
Thank YOU!, anyone else?
I Whatever the normal start and stop places may be. How long?
The drive is 11 miles (actually 11.1, I think) so 20-30 minutes is a good estimate (for light to no traffic conditions). I remember it taking 20something to get down it. I would always set my odo to zero when I started because 1/2 way thru I would think, man I have to be near the end, but alas I was only about 1/2 way down . 20something minutes is a pretty long time when you are working the steering wheel hard the whole time plus you got another 20someodd minutes to work it on the way back up
The actual tail of the dragon starts @the TN/NC line & ends at Tabcat Bridge.
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Tact is for people who aren't witty enough to be sarcastic...
Hmmm, this depends where you start/finish. I'd say on average 20-30 minutes depending on traffic as well. That's doing about 30-40 mph in the turns and higher speeds in the straighter parts. We drove pretty conservatively the first couple of times.
That sounds right to me. It took me about 35 minutes but there was a little slow down at one point.
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05 MCS-HB/W ALTA CAI, ALTA 19mm Swaybar, JCW Steering Wheel
09 Clubman S LB/B, H&R Sport Springs, ALTA 19mm Swaybar, JCW Tuning Kit, JCW Steering Wheel
I do NOT want to know how prolific a driver you are running 115MPH in the curves
Oh my! My sides are splitting from laughing! Nobody can get up to 115 mph on the Dragon.... bwahahahahahahahaaaa! (And NO...this post is not meant to be a challenge.)
Most of us consider a run to be from Deal's Gap to the Overlook...not all the way to Tabcat. 20 minutes, one way, is probably a good time if there are no RVs, SUVs, semi Rigs, an over-abundance of wild turkeys, bears, or frightened newbies on the road.
20-30 minutes to drive the dragon? Yes on a crowded Saturday. Darryl Killboy has supposedly done it in 10 minutes in his modded Evolution 8 running r-compounds.
This past summer Killboy, me, and a few more locals met at the lookout point around 6 am and did a couple lightning fast runs. Rob, a guy that drives a modified turbo RX-7 with slicks led the pack, Killboy was following, next a 2004 modified GLI running r-compounds, then me, and finally Josh (formal MCS owner BattleCattle) in his new 400+whp Evolution 8. From the start to end, we pulled off a 12 minute run. Again, we are locals, drive the road weekly at a slow speed, and know all 318 turns better than the back of our hand. Darryl is all about safety and no lane crossing occured.
Ironically enough, my "upgraded" oem brake setup completely died when we were slowing down for the final turn-off into the parking lot.
LEGEND: The record time for riding the Dragon is nine minutes.
True to some extent. There are riders past and present who can run the Dragon from the Overlook to the Crossroad of Time (9.3 miles) in nine minutes and change. These riders have been riding the Dragon for more than 10 years and know every nuance of the road. This was the original timed section for records back in the 1990s when Deals Gap Riding Society was formed. To be official one had to make the run from the Overlook to the Crossroads, turn around, and return to the Overlook. The total time was divided by 2. WARNING !!!! DO NOT TRY TO SET A NEW RECORD ON THE DRAGON ---- SERIOUS INJURY MAY RESULT, YOU ARE LIKELY TO BE HEAVILY FINED, AND YOU WILL NEVER BE THE FASTEST RIDER THERE ANYWAY.
formal MCS owner BattleCattle) in his new 400+whp Evolution 8. From the start to end, we pulled off a 12 minute run. ... LEGEND: The record time for riding the Dragon is nine minutes.
Did I just not read in OT he cracked up is EVO?
As to 9 minutes, that sounds like a bike ... not talking bikes.
As to 9 minutes, that sounds like a bike ... not talking bikes.
Actually, there are a a number of production cars that would be faster on the Dragon then most bikes. Bikes have less traction so there for are slower in the corners.
I averaged 25minutes per run, from the Deal's Gap sign to the turnaround. I'm guessing that the turnaround is at Tabcat bridge, I just know it's where we stop at Midnight on the Dragon. The runs on a weekday are a bit quicker, while the weekends seem to take closer to 30 minutes, waiting for sightseers, etc. I don't try to go fast, just what I'm comfortable with and not risk crossing the yellow.
Annette
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Gone but never forgotten, RIP El Kabong, '06 PW/B MCS 10/17/05 - 1/28/11
I'm driving down there next Monday or Tuesday (for the first time! Yay me!!) I'll have to post up the non-weekend dragon-virgin time. That would probably be a pretty good starting point.
__________________ R56 PW/B usta car-R53 RG/S
If it's on the configurator, IT'S NOT A "MOD"!!!
"I'm not advocating violence, I'm just saying it works and I highly suggest using it."- (ask a) Ninja
. 20something minutes is a pretty long time when you are working the steering wheel hard the whole time plus you got another 20someodd minutes to work it on the way back up 
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R56 PW/B usta car-R53 RG/S 
