"Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)" (rduncan5678)
08/12/2016 at 17:06 • Filed to: None
2
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"Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)" (rduncan5678)
08/12/2016 at 17:06 • Filed to: None | 2
| 6 |
Recently I visited US 129 at the North Carolina and Tennessee border, better known as the Tail of the Dragon. Now this has been covered on Oppo and elsewhere on the internet MANY times before, so I really just want to focus on the driving that I did during that trip. I definitely would recommend driving basically everything that I will map out here. During this trip, I skipped meals, I went to sleep late, and woke up early just to keep on driving. People outside of the car hobby (coworkers in particular) think I am clinically insane to take a 5 day vacation where I never leave the car. But if extremely challenging and amazing roads are something you are into, then maybe you might understand.
Of course I had to get a Killboy photo, but I am too cheap to actually buy it lol.
Anyways, here are a list of the google map routes that I took. This covers my journey from Wednesday through Sunday with every route in between. There are a few that need to be zoomed in to really follow but I made sure to map everything out as accurately as possible. I subtracted out the boring highway bits where possible as well, although there weren’t many of those!
Day 1
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Day 2
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Day 3
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Day 4
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Naturally, the titles don’t include everything but they give a basic synopsis of the roads taken each day. By far, Wayah Road was my favorite of the whole trip. It beat the dragon solely because of the zero traffic found midday on a Friday. By that point, I had grown incredibly comfortable with my car and with my tires, so it was amazing to ride that road.
Roads such as Rhymers Ferry and the Hill Climb though would easily top my list if it weren’t for the pavement. Same goes for much of Joyce Kimler as well. Those are just spectacular unknown roads VERY close to the Dragon but the pavement reminds me of roads in NJ with crazy bumps, pot holes, and uneven surfaces. But they offer a great driving experience if you can find clean spots.
Of course I had to eat some meals to keep energy up.
I was down there for !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! but I was also there for going on an awesome camping trip. I didnt spend a whole lot of time camping but the little time I spent at my campgrounds resting, I certainly made some food as well. Although of course I had to !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! just to supply my camp. What better than a 4 pound steak on an open fire?
A Miata is like a backpack, so my lodging was appropriately sized.
Anyways, I cannot wait to go back to the area again. It truly is a driving paradise. The Dragon is worth checking out (any day after 5pm, including weekends!) but all of the other roads are just multitudes better. There are WAY greater challenges on roads like NC151 and Wayah Road. The elevation changes are greater, there is less traffic, and you get to see more. One thing I will recommend HIGHLY for the Dragon are midnight runs. Friday night, I went out on the Dragon around 10pm and headed home around midnight. That was my favorite couple of runs on the whole trip. Something about top down, pitch black, and flying through the woods is just exciting. It actually felt safer than many of the day runs just because only people interested in driving hard were out there at that hour. Next time I will definitely be exploring the midnight runs more.
I found a night video without friggin dubstep. These guys seemed to take it pretty easy but it surely captures the essence of how little you can see out there. Its much more enjoyable if you have already ridden it a few times in daylight so its not all a surprise.
Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap
> Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
08/12/2016 at 17:23 |
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when I get a car that won’t fall over in corners, this is the first place i’m going.
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Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
> Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap
08/12/2016 at 17:27 |
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You just need some of these on there:
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Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap
> Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
08/12/2016 at 17:31 |
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Those don’t roll though
Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies
> Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap
08/12/2016 at 18:33 |
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I saw several shitbox trucks on NC215, so your 4Runner would be fine. Just get over for cars on your bumper.
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Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
> Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap
08/12/2016 at 22:19 |
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Well what I was thinking was not extend them all the way to the ground and just have them act as training wheels. It would be hilariously scrapey and dangerous
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Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap
> Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
08/13/2016 at 00:08 |
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Id want that not on my car. Because ugly and weight.