Tail of the Dragon and Blue Ridge Parkway

"Mr. FiSTer of Team FiST Fetish" (mrfist)
02/04/2020 at 09:50 • Filed to: None

The gift shop and everything else at the Dragon was closed so this picture will have to do.

Recently took a trip down to Tennessee to get away from the nonsense that is NJ.

Lunch time right over the NC border. Fence hopper is not with us.

We took the Blue Ridge Parkway for about 90 miles, it was amazing. We were able to average around 60 mph because the roads were empty midweek. It’s a quiet road with a ton of turns and great views. Definitely worth the small detour (4 hours...)

The views out there are quite nice.

I made sure we could get to the Tail of the Dragon before the traffic started up. We were on the road by 7:45 am and it was just us and one very ballsy biker. The road is insane and I can’t imagine being up there on a busy day. I wish I had my summers on but, it is what it is.

DISCUSSION (14)

CobraJoe > Mr. FiSTer of Team FiST Fetish
02/04/2020 at 10:22

I’m jealous, for several reasons...

Maxima Speed > Mr. FiSTer of Team FiST Fetish
02/04/2020 at 10:23

Awesome dude! Was that your first time on the dragon? I had an absolute blast.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Mr. FiSTer of Team FiST Fetish
02/04/2020 at 10:49

Last I know, the Blue Ridge Parkway’s speed limit was 35 MPH for its entire length. Is it still?

Mr. FiSTer of Team FiST Fetish > Maxima Speed
02/04/2020 at 10:50

It was my first time, I only went up and down. More cars were showing up as we were heading out.

Mr. FiSTer of Team FiST Fetish > CobraJoe
02/04/2020 at 10:50

It was a cool little trip, I need to get more little trips in when I can.

Mr. FiSTer of Team FiST Fetish > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
02/04/2020 at 10:52

To be honest, I have no idea. The only time we saw anyone else on the road was when we stopped for lunch. I was able to move pretty quick the whole way.

CobraJoe > Mr. FiSTer of Team FiST Fetish
02/04/2020 at 11:22

Little trips are a good idea. I need to figure out where I could go near me.

Nebraska is pretty depressing this time of year.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Mr. FiSTer of Team FiST Fetish
02/04/2020 at 11:27

Fantastic. I’m jealous.

notsomethingstructural > Mr. FiSTer of Team FiST Fetish
02/04/2020 at 11:39

Nice. I’ve got a work trip in March to Atlanta. Currently debating whether to fly there and rent a car to drive back to NY . Tail of the Dragon up the whole Blue Ridge to Shenandoah and Skyline Drive. About 24 hours which I would try to tackle in 3 days 8/12/4 most likely .

Sadly I’ m stuck looking at some real dogs on the rental side. Jetta is probably the most fleet of foot unless I really want to wring out a Mitsubishi Mirage. Which, yeesh. Not sure I want to eat $50 + gas + food + tolls + a night or two of lodging compared to a flight. Going up to just a freggin Maxima is another $140 because it’s not eligible for the company rate, and I’m not sure how much I’ll feel a difference between a 16 and 15 second 1/4 mile anyways . Decisions, decisions...

Any advice?

Rust and Dust - Oppositelock Forever > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
02/04/2020 at 12:17

Not sure about NC, but it's 45 in my stretch of Virginia.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Rust and Dust - Oppositelock Forever
02/04/2020 at 13:12

Has been many years, but even Jeremy Clarkson mentioned the 35 mph thing on Top Gear a few years ago.

Maxima Speed > notsomethingstructural
02/04/2020 at 13:34

From my little bit of experience (only one trip) im going to say, defi ni te ly go with a manual or something with a automatic transmission that you can control the gear you are in. Not sure how the CVT does with engine braking and such. This is pretty much necessary to drive properly quick on the dragon. If you’re trying to just use the brakes you will over heat your brakes in short order. My first run attempting to drive fast I cooked the brakes and nearly went off about half way through headed down the dragon. Honestly, I doubt power is going to be a concern on the Dragon itself because its all extremely tight corners, maintaining your speed is going to be key. The fastest I was able to get the Solara on the actual tail of the dragon was just barely touching 80 before I was hard decelerating again, most of it is much, much slower . Having said all that; h aving something with some go is going to be really nice climbing up the mountain on the Skyline Drive because otherwise yeah, that might be a a slog. Just my two cents.

notsomethingstructural > Maxima Speed
02/04/2020 at 14:19

Well I’m unfortunately gonna be at Dragon like mid-afternoon on a Saturday. Hoping with it being early March it’ll be a thinner crowd. But not expecting to have a properly spirited run , nor would I necessarily want to in a rental Jetta (funny you think anyone rents manuals anymore) . Good advice on the brakes though. I think on my route I’m going down Dragon (heading East?) so maybe power is less of a factor. Really, you just have to be up to speed headed into the corners to have a good time , I’d imagine.

Going up Skyline might be a schlep but OTOH I’ve got like 500 miles to cover and not all of them are gonna be at 90% or even 60%. I’m also not pulling a Patrick and going to jail because I wanted to juice my borrowed Jetta just a hair more.

This is making me think even in a Jetta I can still have some fun, I just have to do it when it’s literally going downhill.

Trriumphx2girl > Mr. FiSTer of Team FiST Fetish
02/04/2020 at 21:37

My father has done the same trip on motorcycles several times in his life. I took up the challenge this year as well in my classic Triumph TR8. If you are driving fool like myself this trip is a must do.

Kinja'd!!!