Dude, you must be my long-lost twin.

 

New Mirror Caps (Body Color) installed, Car looked over, and washed $19 at Hendricks Mini. Ready for a Dragon Run!!!!!

 

And believe me, you certainly do HEAR that rental mustang. . . LOL

 

Don't know about you dude, but in my defense... you can take the boy out of the trailer park but... you know

 

Yeah - our house didn't have wheels when I was a kid... but I was jealous when our neighbors got their new double-wide. No lie.

 

I forgot to take the wheels off mine

 

Hey, I'm going to hit BJs discount warehouse type place for snacks. Any "special orders"? I'm thinking chips, pretzels, peanuts, what else?

Did somebody say Pork Rinds? ;-)

Seriously, any requests?

 

St. Pauli Girl Special Dark.

 

Dave,
Definitely the pork rinds, and I think the Canucks would enjoy some Vienna Sausages, too! Thanks Dave for picking some stuff up! You da man!

 

Not to put a damper on the fun or darken the mood but I think anyone who hasn't been to the Dragon before should take a look at this thread.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...d.php?t=117745

The Dragon bites, and it can bite hard. You can be a good driver, be safe, be alert and aware and it can get you. Be careful, do not rush, do not overestimate your abilities. I am so glad that MINIs are as strong and safe as they are and that everyone is okay.

If you are from the land of flat and straight roads... I HIGHLY suggest a few slow speed runs before you try to even get up to the speed limit. I know, some of your autocross, you've been driving for years, you know what you're doing but this is not a place to mess around at all. There is no run off, there are no cones.. only rock walls, VERY steep drops and other cars that are mere feet away.

Do not try to keep up with the car in front of you. Drive your car and stay in your abilities.

I know, normal people in normal cars who are not enthusiasts drive this road every day. It's a public road, not a race course. But you will notice, most people drive it at under the speed limit because that is where they feel safe. Yes, MINIs are amazing handling cars but the Dragon had claimed quite a few of them.

I saw it claim a car a few months ago when we were up there for Rotaries at the Gap and it was in a slower speed area where we were just cruising. I never would have expected a car to end up in a ditch there.

Please, everyone stay safe.

 

Great advice Jenn.

This is a road to be respected and it does not hesitate to bite back if you push your car beyond the abilities of the driver.

If your route from home takes you through the dragon with a fully loaded car, be especially careful as your cargo has a nasty way of altering your car's ability to handle the turns.

Also, even if you have your racing license in your wallet, this is not a road to drive at 100%. The Dragon rewards drivers who are smooth and consistent and punishes the erratic driver. You do not get to choose the apex of the turn since the center line and cliff/wall makes that decision for you.

Nobody will be impressed if you drive like an ***, and you can be certain to be ridiculed online when killboy or other photographers catch you straddling the yellow line around the turns.

If you are feeling even slightly out of control on the turns, just back off a little bit until everything feels smooth and in control.

Expect zero sympathy from officers of the law. I was chewed out for nothing last weekend by an officer who had reached his limit of dealing with idiots. I'd hate to hear what he might say if I had been doing anything outside the law.

On the bright side, North Carolina is much much better for taking the twisties at speed. They have a "55mph unless marked" policy which makes it possible to find stretches of twisty roads where you can legally go about as fast as you might want to around the turns.

 

Good reminder there as well. The cops are still very much present up there and very tough. Do not test them or this vacation will cost you a lot more than you wanted it to. I know we all think they are harsh and sometimes they are but they are the ones that have seen the deaths up there, they are the ones that have to deal with getting cars and bikes up 40 ft drops after they go off. They sit there all day and see people cross the yellow lines when in normal day to day driving, it would rarely matter but up there, a few inches across the line is a head on collision on a blind curve.

It's a beautiful and fun road but you have to take it seriousy. You never know when you can come around a corner, taking it quick but comfortable and there is a truck or car doing 1/3 the speed you are and you have about 100 feet to slow down... if that much. For all of us who know the road and love it and can take it at a decent speed, there are countless larger vehicles and slower vehicles who barely do 15mph on some curves and you never know when you'll end up behind one.

Does anyone have other drives planned? I know Wayah Road is close and very nice. It's also in NC so the not as intimidating from a law perspective.

 

I was thinking of going down to Bridal Veil falls, but might decide to make the trip on our way back home

 

Very good advice for all. Just pay attention and don't drive outside your limits or law.

 

As a first timer driving the dragon, I have to say sorry to the person behind me as I will be taking my time!

 

I plan on a Wayah Road run - haven't driven it before but it's supposed to be excellent. I also plan to do the Dragon / Cherohala Skyway loop on Saturday if anyone wants to join me (I hope some folks will!). We could actually do that, then tack Wayah road on the end and then head back to Fontana - that would be a great day of driving and get us back in time for disc golf if we head out at 10ish or a bit before... (I hope to sleep in a bit after the midnight run...)

Frankly, the drive from Stecoah to Fontana to Deal's Gap (NC 28) is outstanding and safer than the Dragon.

 

i got my lights for the midnight run :P

 

If they wanted to be in front of you, they would have set their alarm clock earlier.

There are a very few places where you can safely allow another car to pass, but don't endanger anyone just to let some hot-head go by.

When heading away from Deal's Gap, the pullouts are typically located on the major left hand hairpin turns.

When heading towards Deal's Gap, the pullouts are more frequent and are again on the left hand hairpins or in the straights.

 

While they can be a little scary, it really did help me to watch some of the YouTube videos available of various Dragon runs. The "realtime" speed ones are best (because the sped up ones are TERRIFYING if you haven't done it yourself yet)... but they can give you a feel for what the road looks like, the kind of corners that are there, you can actually see the places to pull off on some of them, etc. When you get GOOD you can watch the video and follow along on the Dragon map and actually know where they are... but that takes practice...

It's also good to see some of the videos that show oncoming semi's and stupid bikers crossing the centerline - because that conditions you to look for those things and always be at least a little afraid of what's around the next corner...

And whenever you can see a good ways up the road, be aware of what's up there (like across the switchbacks) - that's how you'll spot slower vehicles before you actually round a corner and find them going 15mph in front of you...

But, yes, the first rule is ALWAYS take a nice, steady, non-speedy run before you even THINK about getting fancy... and then think twice. And don't get too fancy.

 

It's soooo much easier to look ahead once the leaves are down. I haven't seen any kind of leaf report to know if the trees are bare yet.

When we run at night, whichever one of us isn't driving is the spotter and will watch around every corner and parts where you can look down on the road and warn of every oncoming car.

 

I'm in for the Cherohala loop. I missed that run in May as I was busy doing the Dragon 16 times (first time there). I did find time to do the Foothills Parkway all the way to Townsend and back and that was a beautiful drive that didn't require the same level of concentration (you could actually look around!).

 

Great! We'll have a great day!

 

Which direction is the Foothills Parkway? In May we made a big loop down past the Tapoco lodge and into Robbinsville, then we came past the dam on our way back up to Fontana. It was a nice drive but I have NO IDEA which roads we were on

 

Cooper Gal if anyone comes up behind you just look for a place to pull over and let them by. If you see a big LOST 18 wheeler fall in behind and get a great look at the Dragon other wise look as far ahead as possible and everynow and then behind you. DO NOT CROSS THE DOUBLE YELLOW LINE and Tennessee side speed limit is alot lower than NC SIDE. Good luck and have fun. Unfortunately alot of people think they are on a race track especially the crotch rockets and they will pass and go over the yellow line. Thats one of the reasons for the crackdowns. I married a gal from Topton NC just a few miles away and was doing the dragon before it was ever popular in a 73 Goat 400cu engine with 4 in floor and it will bite the most experinced driver. Personally there are better less travelled roads to drive in that area which are alot safer but just as challenging.

 

Absolutely true - Cooper_Gal come with us on "the loop" run on Saturday and you'll get to drive some!