Slaying the Dragon...today is the day!

The other day Randy told me that the Tail of the Dragon is on our itinerary for this week.  For those of you who aren't familiar, Tail of the Dragon is touted as one of the most famous motorcycle roads in America with 318 turns along 11 miles snaking through the mountains of Tennessee and North Carolina.   For many motorcycle enthusiasts this road is their dream road but for me, it's not.  Although I've been riding for about 7 years, I'm still not comfortable on curves - they require skill and confidence.  I know I have the skill, but I'm not confident in my skills.

In Summer 2013, I conquered Bear Tooth Pass which is 21 hairpin turns and I even scraped my floorboards (for non-riders - that's a big deal).   I've ridden Independence Pass; handled Rocky Mountain National Park, Yellowstone, Sturgis, all the Utah Mountain roads and most of Colorado. I even rode to Crestline, CA in the dark, with rain, snow and fog along with several treacherous hairpins and that by far was the hardest road that any of us had done.

Before planning this trip I had never heard of the Tail of the Dragon.  Now it's another twisty road that I have to conquer.  Randy has assured me that my riding ability is far superior than most and gives me a pep talk to help my confidence.  He reminds me that I've ridden over 20,000 miles; 4400 in just the last 2 weeks.  He's my biggest champion. 

I google comments about the road and, of course, everyone loves it.  I wonder...are they being honest?  Do they really love it?  Isn't there someone out there that hated it?  I did find a few comments that it's overrated and that there are other roads in the area that are more scenic, and windy.  I also read about how fast everyone goes and that the goal for some riders is to get over the Dragon as fast as possible, scraping their knees on the curves.  Nope, that's not me.  I'm a firm believer in "riding your own ride" and I intend to enjoy this road, use it as a learning experience to improve my riding skills so that the next windy road will inspire me instead of terrify me.  I also, study the google earth map, watch a few videos and visualize myself completing this road safely but most importantly actually enjoying the road as I ride.  

Riding this road, I'll be armed with my amulets and my confidence.  Like St. George, the great dragon slayer - today, I'm going to slay this dragon!