Deal's Gap

[lazylightnin717]

Heading down to the tail on Thursday for the weekend. Never been down there so I'm not sure what to expect. I'm guessing that many of you have so any info would be great!

Favorite turns or roads other than 129?

Sights to see or overlooks?

Good food and beer?

Anybody else going to be there and want to meet up?

Weather isn't looking too promising as of now. Hopefully it holds out but if it doesn't, plan b is to go somewhere where the rain isn't. Hopefully we don't have to resort to that. Ok enough said on my part.... Have at it

[caperix]

Access to 129 may not be too good now due to rock slides.  From what I have head you can get to it from the NC side only and have to turn around at the look out point.  Hopefuly that has changed by now though, that being said there are many great roads in that area, my favorites are the smokey mountain parkway and highway 28.  There are not alot of food choises in the area, and many counties are dry, check to see if you have to bring beer with you.  I do have a burger place in Bryson city I like, I think it is called Jonny Macks.  Have a good time on your trip.

[kopfjäger]

www.tailofthedragon.com

[myssrhl]

 do the  Cherohala Skyway which is right there at the gap....just enjoy the ride and remember this is not a track day, it is a road with oncoming traffic

[El Matador]

Now that several people have voiced reason, its time for some stupidity.

Take the first few passes very easy. There are a few off camber, decreasing radius turns that will catch you off guard. The typical run usually starts at the Tail of the Dragon Resort, which is in the NC side, and ends at the dam overlook at the TN side. Take it especially easy on this direction, as it is the one closest to the mountainside and as such more prone to debris. Also, use this leg of the run to scout for police presence. Since the run is so short on the NC side, almost no police officers come from this direction, so if you don't see any on the way over, there is a very good chance that there wont be any on the way back. You can open it up a little more.

If there are any crashes, throttle it waaaay down, as police are sure to follow.

If you see any riders riding really slowly with their left hand up, they're probably escorting an 18 wheeler, so be prepared and pull over as far as you can.

There are much, much more experienced riders than you out there, don't get sucked into following anyone. Ever. Specially the Repsol. Never. Follow. The. Repsol.

You'll find that most slower riders will encourage passing. Don't be afraid to do it. They will usually go towards the outside of the lane and signal you.  

Ride the white line. Make a conscious effort to stay towards the outside of your lane as much as possible. There are a lot of people that run wide, consider this cheap insurance.

Don't get distracted by the photographers, don't do anything stupid, don't show off. There is nothing quite as embarrassing as crashing on camera.  

Have fun!

I wish I were there again. Soon.

[ian48th]

I hope you have a great trip, but it should be noted that due to the rockslide the road is, in fact, accessible only from the NC side and is open from 8am to 8pm daily with what sounds like a more regular police presence than usual.  By all means, give it a go.

The Tapoco Lodge sells beer, by the way, and is just a few minutes away from the Deal's Gap Resort.  Also not a bad place to stay if you want to overnight right around there. 

[RAT900]

The Gap is a "get-your-obligatory-Gap-ticket-punched" ride these days with all the notoriety it has been given..blind turns into dead stopped vehicles, traffic jams and dangerous fools

far better riding roads down on the Ga. side of the border....but lousy/no cell service and some passages are pretty desolate if you go off-road on a nature tour

Route 60 south off Rte 515 (Southern Highlands Trail) in Morganton/Blue Ridge takes you through the Chattahoochee National Forest up to Suches and on down to Dahlonega...you won't ride a prettier more exciting ribbon of flat valley sweepers and straights and mountain climbing hairpin switchbacks

the only cautionary is that you will see more wildlife than you will humans and you don't want to fark-up alone out there

[Slide Panda]

There's plenty of good riding that way, not just the gap. Skyway has been mentioned I'll toss in HellBender http://www.hellbender28.com/ and just some of the back roads going from town to town are great riding and have some epic views.

[Cloner]

GA 60 from Morganton to Dahlonega has been a speedtrap of late.  Georgia has a new Superspeeder (super revenue) law that allows them to levy much steeper fines and LEOs in the area have been using this new tool extensively.  A friend (Chris Golden of Atlanta...another Ducati pilot if any of you know him) recently got the trifecta of speeding (super speeding if you believe the officer...though he miraculously had no radar or other concrete evidence to present to Chris), passing on a double yellow (to which Chris admits....he passed a car that was going 20 mph on GA 60 northbound), and reckless driving (probably trumped up, as Chris says he wasn't going terribly fast, wasn't doing anything reckless, and immediately pulled over when he sighted blue lights), resulting in a trip to jail, the posting of bond, and having to bail his bike out of impound.  One Sheriff (not a deputy, but the HMFIC) has gone on record as saying he wants sportbikes out of his county.  I think we should oblige him, and take our money with us....even though I don't live in the area any more. 

There are lots of places to go in east Tennessee, western North Carolina, and northwestern South Carolina without setting a tire in Georgia.  I won't post any of them here, as I don't want the "good" roads in the area to become the next Deal's Gap (a road that used to be good but was ruined by publicity, followed by excessive squiditis/cruiseritis), but if you ask a few locals they'll usually spill a gem or two upon administration of the oath of secrecy. 

BTW, ruined or not, you should absolutely "get your card punched" at Deal's Gap....then imagine what it was like 25 years ago when there wasn't any traffic there.   

Take a word of friendly advice.  Stay clear of North Georgia.

[RAT900]

GA 60 from Morganton to Dahlonega has been a speedtrap of late.  Georgia has a new Superspeeder (super revenue) law that allows them to levy much steeper fines and LEOs in the area have been using this new tool extensively.  A friend (Chris Golden of Atlanta...another Ducati pilot if any of you know him) recently got the trifecta of speeding (super speeding if you believe the officer...though he miraculously had no radar or other concrete evidence to present to Chris), passing on a double yellow (to which Chris admits....he passed a car that was going 20 mph on GA 60 northbound), and reckless driving (probably trumped up, as Chris says he wasn't going terribly fast, wasn't doing anything reckless, and immediately pulled over when he sighted blue lights), resulting in a trip to jail, the posting of bond, and having to bail his bike out of impound.  One Sheriff (not a deputy, but the HMFIC) has gone on record as saying he wants sportbikes out of his county.  I think we should oblige him, and take our money with us....even though I don't live in the area any more. 

There are lots of places to go in east Tennessee, western North Carolina, and northwestern South Carolina without setting a tire in Georgia.  I won't post any of them here, as I don't want the "good" roads in the area to become the next Deal's Gap (a road that used to be good but was ruined by publicity, followed by excessive squiditis/cruiseritis), but if you ask a few locals they'll usually spill a gem or two upon administration of the oath of secrecy. 

BTW, ruined or not, you should absolutely "get your card punched" at Deal's Gap....then imagine what it was like 25 years ago when there wasn't any traffic there.   

Take a word of friendly advice.  Stay clear of North Georgia.

WOW!!  I left the zone 3 years ago....lived off 515 on the Union/Fannin County line and that was always a clear run up 60...sorry to hear the housing development over-build implosion has sent the area back into speed trap revenue generation

How is the run headed north out of Ducktown Tenn?  Still quiet?

[DesmoDiva]

Shot "the_Journeyman" a PM.  He lives outside of Asheville and knows almost every road in 200mi radius (NC, GA, and TN).

He may even join you for a ride.   [moto]

[Punx Clever]

Thanks for all the good gouge on the roads in the area... I plan to hit it on the 28th while on my way to florida.

[lazylightnin717]

Thanks for all the info everybody! Seems like ya'all are saying to stay out of GA and I will heed that advice although I have always loved the state for reasons other than motorcycling. I've been following the weather and it looks a little iffy as of now. Chance of thunderstorms Friday and Saturday. Not sure how predictable the weather is down yonder. No sense in getting my balls twisted over it.

Dry county as in......dry?

Slightly off track but has anybody run the diablo supersport on the rear before. Getting one put on and wanna hear others opinions.

Thanks again for the good advice everyone and stupidly good advice El Matador 

I will keep ya'all posted

[FastAndLight]

Dry county as in......dry?

As in no booze. The South is a strange place sometimes.

[lazylightnin717]

As in no booze. The South is a strange place sometimes.

Is that legal?