Hwy. 129

Tag: Hwy. 129

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Better Than The Tail

Posted by Ted Edwards | May 8, 2023 | Rides & Roads | 67 |

Ken’s Op-Ed: Riding the Tail of the Dragon, Pt. 2

by Ken "Hawkeye" Glassman | Sep 19, 2024 | Ride Life, Rides & Roads | 4 |

It seems that while riding on the fabulous roads that lead to and from the Dragon, some of the riders in the group got separated from each other, which is not unusual. It was before GPS, but they all had maps, and the route was not very complicated. But one guy (I’ll call him Jack . . . short for Jackass) fell quite a bit behind, whether intentional or accidentally. At some point he decided to catch up to the group. So he began to speed up and got frustrated by the slower moving traffic on the two lane roads. “Jack” began to pass cars and other traffic by crossing the double yellow lines and passing on the left and right at breakneck speeds. Apparently, some of the folks he blew past were startled and other drivers got the crap scared out of them. Someone among them called the police on Jack for riding like a crazy man.

Ken’s Op-Ed: Riding the Tail of the Dragon

by Ken "Hawkeye" Glassman | Sep 12, 2024 | Ride Life, Rides & Roads | 8 |

I first rode the Dragon way back in 2007 when they referred to that area as Deals Gap, and it boasted a small 1-story motel with a place to stop for some refreshments and food, and of course a souvenir shop. I took some photos, bought the t-shirt. It also had a huge old tree, with hundreds of pieces of motorcycle wreckage hanging ominously from it’s many branches recovered from the numerous crashes, (sometimes fatal) warning folks what had occurred on that road, and what may happen if ridden beyond one’s capabilities. The “tree of shame”, they call it.

2024 Yamaha MT-09 SP: Taming the Dragon

by Ryan Nolan | Sep 3, 2024 | Bikes & Gear, Rides & Roads | 0 |

I was recently in beautiful east Tennessee for the 2024 Yamaha MT-09 SP press launch. As many of you may have seen, my man Rob was out for the press launch of the base model MT-09 back in the spring, and I came to put this SP version through it’s paces. I was super excited because not only would I get to ride this amazing motorcycle, but I’d get to check an item off of my motorcycle bucket list- to ride the legendary Hwy. 129, the Tail of the Dragon.

Better Than The Tail

by Ted Edwards | May 8, 2023 | Rides & Roads | 67 |

Legends grow as they roll along. Like snowballs they gather hyperbole packed deep in layers until the truth is buried somewhere way beneath. Telling and retelling of ancient stories swell the past until they take on a life of their own, only resembling the original in hazy memory. Good days far removed become epic, the older I get the faster I was and ancient asphalt snakes become the Nurburgring.
Highway 129, i.e. The Tail Of The Dragon, is such legend. Its 318 curves in 11 miles are fact, but there is also some legend around this stretch of twisty tarmac. The Tree of Shame, that tree at the beginning whose bark is a mangled plastic fairing testament to poor decisions adds to the lore, attracting swarming moths of sporty pretenders on everything from Honda Groms to McLaren hypercars. They make the pilgrimage to ride The Dragon, to get the sticker, buy the refrigerator magnet and say they were there.