They’d vacationed in the area since the 1970s. he and his wife moved to Robbinsville, N.C., southeast of Deals Gap, in 1991. Johnson retired as a fire fighter in West Palm Beach, Fla. 129 began to prosper.Īccording to Johnson, the undulating byway was known simply as the Dragon until he came along. One writer in American Motorcyclist described it as the “best asphalt thrill ride in the East.” The motel/diner at the intersection of N.C. Johnson said bikers began discovering this stretch in the 1990s after write-ups in Rider and other motorcycle magazines. It was featured in the 1971 movie Two-Lane Blacktop. It became a gravel road around 1900, Johnson said, then a paved state road in the late 1920s and a winding federal highway in the 1930s. During the Civil War, the passage was a hotbed for bushwhackers. In the 1800s, it was known as the Tallassee Turnpike and a man who owned the land on both sides of the road operated a toll booth three miles west of Deals Gap. In colonial times, it was a route for soldiers and settlers to Fort Loudon, a British outpost in Tennessee. 129 in the Deals Gap pass seems to have been a river path used by the Cherokee. He and his wife, Nancy, operate, a comprehensive website for Dragon information. This wasn’t always a popular road, according to Ron Johnson. View Gallery: Tail of the Dragon, 'the best ride in North America' And watching for oncoming vehicles that barrel into view. I saw no litter on the Dragon’s slim shoulders, just occasional clumps of yellow-bloom wildflowers. At high noon, you often motor in heavy shade. The asphalt sleeve is tightly bordered by thick hardwood forests. You experience mountainside wilderness, often with a rock wall or hill on one side of the road, a sheer drop on the other. This adds to safety as well as natural beauty. No public roads intersect with the Tail of the Dragon and it is free of driveways. ![]()
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