Motorcycle Explorer Nov 2015 Issue 8 | Page 70

Next morning after a thunder and lightning storm in Waynesville, I headed for Deals Gap. Via the ‘real’ biking roads that span the Appalachian Mountains. The approach is on The Blue Ridge Parkway a 500 mile switchback route that goes north to south in some of the best biking countryside in the USA . The king of them all is the Dragon’s Tail, a n 11 mile B-road that boasts 318 bends and is at a height of over 5500 ft above sea level. On wet roads, the Dragon lived up to its name, offering very few straight bits, and some really crazy bends that last for ever. No police, a few bikes, and some great video later, I was ready for more. 50mph speed limit, Not quite!