2014 Fall Dragon Run...10/8 thru 10/12

Klasse Act said:
Love the FD's the best, especially in yellow:dblthumb2:

Hopefully you get to make the run Derek, its been waaaaaay too long for you for sure! Plenty of time to break-in the upcoming brakes too, they'll be ready and I'm sure you'll be too!
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I'm in for sure, I just can't leave till Thursday the 9th like we talked about.
 
Its only 45 more days to go :dblthumb2:

"...its 650 miles to the Dragon, we've got 2 buckets w/ grit guards, a 2 gallon hand pump, plenty of supplies to stay clean and we'll need to wear sunglasses....HIT IT!"
 
Klasse Act said:
Its only 45 more days to go :dblthumb2:

"...its 650 miles to the Dragon, we've got 2 buckets w/ grit guards, a 2 gallon hand pump, plenty of supplies to stay clean and we'll need to wear sunglasses....HIT IT!"
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Don't forget to drive while you're down there :laughing:
 
DetailKitty said:
Don't forget to drive while you're down there :laughing:
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This made me LOL, seriously:righton:

As you know Monica, the Dragon run is an "Automotive Orgasim" (wait, I can say that, right) Here's a basic run down of your average day down there:

-wake up and do a rinseless wash and good cleaning of the wheels, they take a BEATING down there! If your rotors aren't blue, well, you didn't have enough fun, vets of the run only.

-drive for some breakfast at the Town Square restaraunt, all nice, twisty back roads to get there too!

-enjoy breakfast with the locals and head then head out to the Cherahola Skyway, stopping at the Cherahola Market for some gas and supplies for the drive.

-Head up the Skyway, stopping when need be, usually if there's slower rides infront but it gives you time to take some pics at the pull offs.

-Get back on the Skyway and let it unwind a bit, spectacular driving road that some like more than the Dragon itself.

-Turn left at 129 and stop at the new gas station in Robinsville for a bathroom break and maybe get some stickers or patches and then head out.

-About 17 miles down the road you look to your right and see the Fugative Dam and encounter a steep, right hander, its about to get going here.

-In a short time you'll come up on the route 28 and 129 intersection aka Deal's Gap and NOW IT STARTS, THE DRAGON!

-Your about to take 318 turns in 11 miles and hopefully you get NO traffic because you get into a groove out there, similar to a dance and if you don't have to stop one bit, your lucky and its driving nirvana!

-At the end of the "real" section of the Dragon is a rock wall on your left and a paved clearing on your right, perfect place to stop and take a breather and give the cars time to cool down, especially the brakes. This is where you'll notice if you became a member of the BRC Blue Rotor Club, extra points for smoke:dblthumb2:

-At this point you can head back down the Dragon and stop across the street from Deal's Gap and get some BBQ, cool stickers or patches or stop at the world famous Deal's Gap and do the same thing, except they have a sit down, inside restaraunt and restrooms.

-Because of where we've been staying, we head back down 129 to the Dragon Pitt Inn and call it a day, I say "a day", at this time we R&R and/or go out for dinner.

-I said "we call it a day" but now its night and night down there is NIGHT, there are NO lights anywhere, no street lights and because there's no homes, no house lights, nothing! Now its time to hit the Dragon at night time, the very best time to go out because there's hardly any traffic. Its at this time you can drive a bit more "spirited" because you can see the headlights coming down the mountain but by no means does mean you drive like an asshat though, the Dragon must be respected or you'll get bit, badly! The key here is to have the faster car and/or best driver be first, this way the 2nd or 3rd car can just follow the lead cars headlights and because of this, the 2nd and 3rd car know when to brake but you have to stil maintain a gap unless you really know and trust those 2nd and 3rd cars!

-One pass up and down the Dragon is more than enough, and its time to head back to the Dragon Pitt Inn, build a fire and for those who drink, its time to have a few and talk about the days action and then head to bed.

You can always drive the Skyway a night time too, its really awesome because your in the mountains but because of the percentage grade out there, you must pay FULL ATTENTION at night time out there! Pulling over to one of the pull offs is cool because what you do is pull over, turn off your headlights and car and just take nature in and look up, the stars in the sky, OMG all the stars in the sky are in full display for you to enjoy, its really something.

I haven't been out in the early morning too many times but its usually a little damp but this year I plan on doing this, hopefully the other guys will join me. One time we were out in the later morning and we ran into fog, it just rolled across the road like tumbleweed and we had to pull over because you had 1 car length visibility, crazyness but cool at the same time. If you head out early enough and drive the Skyway early, you can stop at the Town Square restaraunt for breakfast, you just took the 57 mile "long way" to get there!

So, now that you've read all that, who wants to go?




 
Roger, I was hoping you'd laugh at my comment ;)

Yup, lots of twisty driving down there. My one buddy has set his brake on fire. Yes, fire. Not just smoke... FLAMES!

I usually stop my driving around 5. Early for some, but I enjoy kicking back with a few for the rest of the evening. I don't enjoy driving at night. I just don't see well then.

Oh, I also tape up my car for the drive down and back. I wash it once while I'm there and that's it... no detailing till I get home.

Enjoy Roger! Take pics when you can.
 
Well if your not comfortable at night its not for you, that's cool! Have you ever rode shotgun at night?

BTW Monica, I know you'll enjoy this:



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You guys have so much fun Detailing in the US. Canadians don't have any similar events. I am jealous

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Klasse Act said:
Well if your not comfortable at night its not for you, that's cool! Have you ever rode shotgun at night?

BTW Monica, I know you'll enjoy this:



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HA! Love the Moke!

Yeah, I just don't see well at night, period.
 
35 days to go, ohhhh so close!

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28 days to go!

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Great article in Road and Track magazine about the Dragon. They (R&D) had to pull some strings to find "The King" as he's called out there and tried to follow him in his car built for the Dragon, a 93' FD RX7 w/ 275 series tires in the front, 315's in the rear and R&D bring out a 458 Speciale. The Mazda makes 300 whp and the Ferrari and its driver did ok for a while but he lost his nerve a bit.

I've been going out there every year since 2003 and never heard of this guy, but I have now! The "unofficial" record is 10 minutes, which has you averaging 54 mph, I can't imagine that for the life of me to be honest. I'm going to time a night run but will drive the way I normally do, not trying to be a hero but just wanna know what my own time would be. It will be at night and more than likely I'll be the lead car, so no "cheating" knowing where and when to brake, the guys behind me will be able to take advantage of that, LOL. I only say behind me because I know I'll have to be the lead car due to experience.

I CAN'T WAIT TO GO!

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Klasse Act said:
"The Tail of the Dragon" starts at Deal's Gap Motorcycle Resort, intersection of route 28 and 129, which is in North Carolina and quickly goes into Tennessee in about 1/4 mile. There's 318 turns in 11 miles, yes you read that right...THREE HUNDRED AND EIGHTEEN TURNS IN ELEVEN MILES!
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Klasse Act said:
The "unofficial" record is 10 minutes, which has you averaging 54 mph
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The last time I drove 11 miles in 10 minutes:
I averaged 66 mph. :D

Bob
 
Klasse Act said:
Have you driven the "Triple Nickel" in Ohio Bob?
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Yes...Several years ago when I had a Sportster.
Lots of twisties, blind peaks...FUN!!

Need to go again:
Only in a Corvette this time around! :dblthumb2:

Have you driven it?
If not...you ought to someday.


Bob
 
Yeah I've known about it for some time and will do it. What city does it start and end in?

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Bucket list
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Well Ron, I'm not an official tour guide but I've been going since 2003 and know my way around down there, so when your ready, I'll be here. I will make the effort again to invite AG'ers out to the run for 2015, count on it.

Just a heads up, I come down from Chicagoland and its about $400.00 for the long weekend, give or take and it really depends on how far away your coming from and what kind of mpg's your car gets. For us its about a 625 mile drive roughly and is WELL WORTH IT!

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