"Mox vs. The Dragon"
It was just after 8am and I was sitting in the parking
lot of a hotel in Raleigh, North Carolina. It had been an
okay trip up to this point. My brother's wedding gave me
an opportunity to hang out with my father's side of the
family, something that rarely happens. The trip to
Raleigh was incredibly long. I had left right after work
and I hadn't driven more than 3 hours in a single car
side since I drove to Florida from California in 2003. 12
hour car rides are never fun. I learned that at an early
age when taking our annual summer vacations. Nothing like
being confined to a small space for hours on end to
really drive you bonkers. During the 12 hour trip to
Raleigh I killed Big Bird and I completely shattered the
screen on my cell phone when I dropped it while getting
out. But all this was irrelevant at this point. I had no
other business in Raleigh and I had a decision to make.
Drive the 5 hours to Deal's Gap, North Carolina; or make
the 12 hour trip back home to Fort Myers, Florida.
The whole reason I had driven to North Carolina for my
brother's wedding, rather than flying, was to make the
trek to The Tail of the Dragon. That's exactly what I
kept repeating in my head over and over again sitting in
the hotel parking lot. This decision shouldn't be this
hard. I punched in an address for Robbinsville, North
Carolina into my GPS unit and my choice was made. In 5
hours and 20 minutes I would be somewhere that I had
wanted to go since I had first heard about it way back in
2002 at a California race track. A place that had a road
that I had on my list of things to do before I die. A
road that was "318 curves in 11 miles."
The drive along I-40 in North Carolina was long and
pretty boring. There's really nothing to do on these long
trips except listen to the radio, watch the scenery, and
think about random things you normally would never think
about. I have Sirius Satellite radio in my car and it's
one my favorite things. I flipped back and forth between
4 stations on this trip. During the 5 hour drive I
realized how much I hate most of the rock music on
"Octane" and how much I hate music from Radiohead,
Coldplay, Brandon Flowers, Brandon Boyd, Civil Twilight,
etc on "Alt Nation." There's a lot of comedians that are
simply not funny on "Raw Dog," but Bob Marley from Maine
is hilarious. The scenery is pretty boring in this part
of the state. It's flat, straight, and full of trees,
Yawn. I did drive by signs for Duke, UNC Chapel Hill, App
State, and other major colleges. One sign caught my eye
and made me laugh pretty hard. "Billy Graham Training
Center: The Cove." I give you permission to take a break
and laugh as hard as I did.
I will be perfectly honest the EVO is the complete wrong
car to take long trips in. When I would get out of the
car to get gas after only 260 miles, My kidneys felt like
I had gone a few round with Mike Tyson in his prime and
instead of going for his legendary upper cut he decided
to take out his aggression on my lower back and kidney
region. I was completely surprised that I wasn't pissing
blood at each pit stop. Oh, and if you didn't catch it,
my car only gets about 260-280 miles on a tank of gas,
and that's with 100% highway driving. It is kind of
convenient because it's about the time your legs would be
going numb and the pain in your lower back would be at
the point you needed a break and the 32oz diet coke had
finally ran it's course through your body.. but it's
still a ridiculous number and just slows you down when
you're trying to get some where in a hurry.
I would like to know when the highway driving population
of the world went completely insane. I had my cruise
control on for 95% of the trip, usually set about 5-10mph
above the legal speed limit. I would come up onto slower
traffic and go to pass them, never speeding up or turning
off the cruise control, and as you get along side these
people they would speed up or match your speed and make
the pass completely impossible. It baffled me and a
stream of profanity would exit my mouth each and every
time. Why do you feel you aren't going fast enough only
when someone is trying to pass you. I would also get
pissed when I would see someone obviously going faster
then me coming up in the rear view mirror, I would move
over and as soon as they would get along side of my car
they would match my speed and not pass and I would
eventually have to slow down as slower traffic would be
in front of me. Stupid Idiots!
Okay, back on topic.
I arrived in Robbinsville around 2pm and immediately made
the right turn onto Highway 143/129 towards the Dragon.
Highway 129 splits from 143 after a couple miles. 143
turns into the Cherohala Skyway and 129 runs along the
border of the Smoky Mountains National Park. I made the
right turn and continued on 129. Around Santeetlah Lake
and with each moment I was getting closer and closer to
the Dragon. I was actually quite impressed with road
leading to the Dragon. I hadn't driven on any decent
roads since moving to Florida. The biggest mountain in
Florida is basically the fire ant hill in your front
yard, and there aren't really any curvy roads because you
would have old people, who should of stopped driving
years ago, forging a straight line through the grass as
they can't navigate anything more complex than a 4 way
stop. I grew up in a town known as the "Gateway to
Yosemite." My friends and I used to take regular trips to
the Sierra Nevada Mountains, planning for several hours
the day before while looking at paper maps and deciding
which roads would be the most fun. We drove like *******s
on those mountain roads, Youth and inexperience have a
way of creating a no fear and invincible feeling. Cutting
corners, pushing cars way beyond their limits in unsafe
conditions. We were Stupid kids.
A few years back my grandfather was killed on a Tennessee
mountain road when a kid in a lifted truck cut a corner
and he was hit head on. This incident did a real number
to turn off the God Mode for my driving through mountain
roads. My father had told me to be careful and to watch
for the "other guy" about a hundred times after I told
him about my planned trek to the dragon. Rightfully so as
he was worried about my safety. I also had a second
guessing feeling in my head as I was careful to not cross
into the oncoming lanes and to keep looking around the
next corner to ensure that the "other guy" wasn't there.
I crossed the "Fugitive Bridge" and went through a couple
more corners and there it was. The Deal's Gap Motorcycle
Resort which signified the beginning of the Dragon. I
pulled into a small parking lot across the street and got
out to stretch my legs. Took a couple of pictures the
scenery and then mentally prepared myself to run the
Dragon. I let a couple cars and a couple bikes go ahead
of me and I watched the clock. I didn't want to have
anyone in front of me to ruin my fun. I thought 5 minutes
was long enough and I pulled onto the road. Shifted into
second gear and accelerated. I passed the gate and the
Tennessee state line and blasted into the first corner, a
90degree bender into a 180 called the "Crud Corner."
After that I got into a rhythm It really felt like a road
course. The EVO wanted to go faster and be pushed harder
but the dragon has a 30mph speed limit and I was paranoid
to break that limit due to all the stories I had heard
about the cops hanging out to catch people driving
spiritedly. The road flowed very well and each corner was
banked just enough to make the g-forces really push you
back into the seat.
Around "Mud Corner," just when I don't think the smile on
my face could of gotten any larger, I caught up to a
group of cruiser bikes and a semi truck. Talk about a
huge buzzkill. 5 more miles I reached Chilhowee Lake and
the road was surprisingly straight. I pulled onto the
shoulder and parked the car. I got out, turned the car
off and let the dragon experience set in. "Wow" was the
only thing repeating in my head. It could of been better,
but the flow and challenge of the corners made it one of
the best driving experiences I've ever had in my life. I
needed to just revel in the moment. I leaned against my
car and stared into Chilhowee Lake. A few bikes rode by
giving me a thumbs up sign, probably to see if I was okay
or if I needed help. I gave the thumbs up back and they
motored off. I got back into the car and started to turn
it around. I wanted to experience the dragon on the
reverse. But this time I was going to push harder. I
hadn't seen any cops and I knew that if I gave enough
room and stayed in my lane it would be relatively safe.
The EVO wanted to be pushed, it wanted to go faster, it
wanted to feel more g-forces, it's really an evil car and
I could feel it telling me to do illegal things..
I counted off ten minutes after a car passed me and then
I accelerated hard at the Tabcat bridge.. I really wasn't
expecting the challenge of "Rocket Corner" and if you
aren't paying attention you'll end up on Housley Drive
and off the Dragon. I was probably doing double the speed
limit down the straight aways. Braking hard into the
corners was incredibly fun. Accelerating hard out of them
to the point the rear of the car just kicked out slightly
was even more fun. I was incredibly careful to not cross
into the oncoming lane and to actively look around the
next corner for the "other guy." I pushed and pushed.
Left, right, left, right. I was really in the flow. I was
having fun. I had escaped nothing else was running
through my head except the proper entry point of the next
corner and how hard I could push out of the corner. I
hadn't had this much fun in years. 11 miles, 318 curves
and 1 really big smile. I crossed the state line back
into North Carolina and saw the Deal's Gap Motorcycle
Resort again. I slowed the car pulled into the parking
lot. I let the car cool off and then turned the car off
and got out. I had to get a t-shirt.
After spending sometime at the giftshop I got back into
my car and put my home address into my GPS. It was time
to go home. I had "tamed" the Dragon and crossed
something off of my list of things to do before I die. I
had fun. But it was time to go home. The GPS squawked to
turn onto Highway 28. I followed the directions. I had no
idea what highway 28 was and no idea of the fun that was
in front of me. Splitting the Smoky Mountain National
Park and the Nantahala National Forrest, highway 28 has
almost no traffic and is actually called the
"Hellbringer." I was in love. I followed the spooky
Cheoah Lake taking the posted "10mph" turns at double and
triple the speed and then eventually stopped at the
Fontana Village Pit Stop near the Fontana Dam. The rest
of highway 28 would be some of the best roads I've ever
had the pleasure of driving on. Long Sweeping corners,
tight esses, and increasingly tight hairpins. If you have
the chance to go to the Tail of the Dragon I suggest
following Highway 28 until it eventually ends in the
small town of Franklin, North Carolina. It's simply
unreal. Some parts are slightly residential but as long
as you are careful you will not be disappointed.
Franklin ends the fun and it began my 12 hour, 715 mile
drive home. But it was worth it, well worth it.
this was in a brand new EVO X.
It was just after 8am and I was sitting in the parking
lot of a hotel in Raleigh, North Carolina. It had been an
okay trip up to this point. My brother's wedding gave me
an opportunity to hang out with my father's side of the
family, something that rarely happens. The trip to
Raleigh was incredibly long. I had left right after work
and I hadn't driven more than 3 hours in a single car
side since I drove to Florida from California in 2003. 12
hour car rides are never fun. I learned that at an early
age when taking our annual summer vacations. Nothing like
being confined to a small space for hours on end to
really drive you bonkers. During the 12 hour trip to
Raleigh I killed Big Bird and I completely shattered the
screen on my cell phone when I dropped it while getting
out. But all this was irrelevant at this point. I had no
other business in Raleigh and I had a decision to make.
Drive the 5 hours to Deal's Gap, North Carolina; or make
the 12 hour trip back home to Fort Myers, Florida.
The whole reason I had driven to North Carolina for my
brother's wedding, rather than flying, was to make the
trek to The Tail of the Dragon. That's exactly what I
kept repeating in my head over and over again sitting in
the hotel parking lot. This decision shouldn't be this
hard. I punched in an address for Robbinsville, North
Carolina into my GPS unit and my choice was made. In 5
hours and 20 minutes I would be somewhere that I had
wanted to go since I had first heard about it way back in
2002 at a California race track. A place that had a road
that I had on my list of things to do before I die. A
road that was "318 curves in 11 miles."
The drive along I-40 in North Carolina was long and
pretty boring. There's really nothing to do on these long
trips except listen to the radio, watch the scenery, and
think about random things you normally would never think
about. I have Sirius Satellite radio in my car and it's
one my favorite things. I flipped back and forth between
4 stations on this trip. During the 5 hour drive I
realized how much I hate most of the rock music on
"Octane" and how much I hate music from Radiohead,
Coldplay, Brandon Flowers, Brandon Boyd, Civil Twilight,
etc on "Alt Nation." There's a lot of comedians that are
simply not funny on "Raw Dog," but Bob Marley from Maine
is hilarious. The scenery is pretty boring in this part
of the state. It's flat, straight, and full of trees,
Yawn. I did drive by signs for Duke, UNC Chapel Hill, App
State, and other major colleges. One sign caught my eye
and made me laugh pretty hard. "Billy Graham Training
Center: The Cove." I give you permission to take a break
and laugh as hard as I did.
I will be perfectly honest the EVO is the complete wrong
car to take long trips in. When I would get out of the
car to get gas after only 260 miles, My kidneys felt like
I had gone a few round with Mike Tyson in his prime and
instead of going for his legendary upper cut he decided
to take out his aggression on my lower back and kidney
region. I was completely surprised that I wasn't pissing
blood at each pit stop. Oh, and if you didn't catch it,
my car only gets about 260-280 miles on a tank of gas,
and that's with 100% highway driving. It is kind of
convenient because it's about the time your legs would be
going numb and the pain in your lower back would be at
the point you needed a break and the 32oz diet coke had
finally ran it's course through your body.. but it's
still a ridiculous number and just slows you down when
you're trying to get some where in a hurry.
I would like to know when the highway driving population
of the world went completely insane. I had my cruise
control on for 95% of the trip, usually set about 5-10mph
above the legal speed limit. I would come up onto slower
traffic and go to pass them, never speeding up or turning
off the cruise control, and as you get along side these
people they would speed up or match your speed and make
the pass completely impossible. It baffled me and a
stream of profanity would exit my mouth each and every
time. Why do you feel you aren't going fast enough only
when someone is trying to pass you. I would also get
pissed when I would see someone obviously going faster
then me coming up in the rear view mirror, I would move
over and as soon as they would get along side of my car
they would match my speed and not pass and I would
eventually have to slow down as slower traffic would be
in front of me. Stupid Idiots!
Okay, back on topic.
I arrived in Robbinsville around 2pm and immediately made
the right turn onto Highway 143/129 towards the Dragon.
Highway 129 splits from 143 after a couple miles. 143
turns into the Cherohala Skyway and 129 runs along the
border of the Smoky Mountains National Park. I made the
right turn and continued on 129. Around Santeetlah Lake
and with each moment I was getting closer and closer to
the Dragon. I was actually quite impressed with road
leading to the Dragon. I hadn't driven on any decent
roads since moving to Florida. The biggest mountain in
Florida is basically the fire ant hill in your front
yard, and there aren't really any curvy roads because you
would have old people, who should of stopped driving
years ago, forging a straight line through the grass as
they can't navigate anything more complex than a 4 way
stop. I grew up in a town known as the "Gateway to
Yosemite." My friends and I used to take regular trips to
the Sierra Nevada Mountains, planning for several hours
the day before while looking at paper maps and deciding
which roads would be the most fun. We drove like *******s
on those mountain roads, Youth and inexperience have a
way of creating a no fear and invincible feeling. Cutting
corners, pushing cars way beyond their limits in unsafe
conditions. We were Stupid kids.
A few years back my grandfather was killed on a Tennessee
mountain road when a kid in a lifted truck cut a corner
and he was hit head on. This incident did a real number
to turn off the God Mode for my driving through mountain
roads. My father had told me to be careful and to watch
for the "other guy" about a hundred times after I told
him about my planned trek to the dragon. Rightfully so as
he was worried about my safety. I also had a second
guessing feeling in my head as I was careful to not cross
into the oncoming lanes and to keep looking around the
next corner to ensure that the "other guy" wasn't there.
I crossed the "Fugitive Bridge" and went through a couple
more corners and there it was. The Deal's Gap Motorcycle
Resort which signified the beginning of the Dragon. I
pulled into a small parking lot across the street and got
out to stretch my legs. Took a couple of pictures the
scenery and then mentally prepared myself to run the
Dragon. I let a couple cars and a couple bikes go ahead
of me and I watched the clock. I didn't want to have
anyone in front of me to ruin my fun. I thought 5 minutes
was long enough and I pulled onto the road. Shifted into
second gear and accelerated. I passed the gate and the
Tennessee state line and blasted into the first corner, a
90degree bender into a 180 called the "Crud Corner."
After that I got into a rhythm It really felt like a road
course. The EVO wanted to go faster and be pushed harder
but the dragon has a 30mph speed limit and I was paranoid
to break that limit due to all the stories I had heard
about the cops hanging out to catch people driving
spiritedly. The road flowed very well and each corner was
banked just enough to make the g-forces really push you
back into the seat.
Around "Mud Corner," just when I don't think the smile on
my face could of gotten any larger, I caught up to a
group of cruiser bikes and a semi truck. Talk about a
huge buzzkill. 5 more miles I reached Chilhowee Lake and
the road was surprisingly straight. I pulled onto the
shoulder and parked the car. I got out, turned the car
off and let the dragon experience set in. "Wow" was the
only thing repeating in my head. It could of been better,
but the flow and challenge of the corners made it one of
the best driving experiences I've ever had in my life. I
needed to just revel in the moment. I leaned against my
car and stared into Chilhowee Lake. A few bikes rode by
giving me a thumbs up sign, probably to see if I was okay
or if I needed help. I gave the thumbs up back and they
motored off. I got back into the car and started to turn
it around. I wanted to experience the dragon on the
reverse. But this time I was going to push harder. I
hadn't seen any cops and I knew that if I gave enough
room and stayed in my lane it would be relatively safe.
The EVO wanted to be pushed, it wanted to go faster, it
wanted to feel more g-forces, it's really an evil car and
I could feel it telling me to do illegal things..
I counted off ten minutes after a car passed me and then
I accelerated hard at the Tabcat bridge.. I really wasn't
expecting the challenge of "Rocket Corner" and if you
aren't paying attention you'll end up on Housley Drive
and off the Dragon. I was probably doing double the speed
limit down the straight aways. Braking hard into the
corners was incredibly fun. Accelerating hard out of them
to the point the rear of the car just kicked out slightly
was even more fun. I was incredibly careful to not cross
into the oncoming lane and to actively look around the
next corner for the "other guy." I pushed and pushed.
Left, right, left, right. I was really in the flow. I was
having fun. I had escaped nothing else was running
through my head except the proper entry point of the next
corner and how hard I could push out of the corner. I
hadn't had this much fun in years. 11 miles, 318 curves
and 1 really big smile. I crossed the state line back
into North Carolina and saw the Deal's Gap Motorcycle
Resort again. I slowed the car pulled into the parking
lot. I let the car cool off and then turned the car off
and got out. I had to get a t-shirt.
After spending sometime at the giftshop I got back into
my car and put my home address into my GPS. It was time
to go home. I had "tamed" the Dragon and crossed
something off of my list of things to do before I die. I
had fun. But it was time to go home. The GPS squawked to
turn onto Highway 28. I followed the directions. I had no
idea what highway 28 was and no idea of the fun that was
in front of me. Splitting the Smoky Mountain National
Park and the Nantahala National Forrest, highway 28 has
almost no traffic and is actually called the
"Hellbringer." I was in love. I followed the spooky
Cheoah Lake taking the posted "10mph" turns at double and
triple the speed and then eventually stopped at the
Fontana Village Pit Stop near the Fontana Dam. The rest
of highway 28 would be some of the best roads I've ever
had the pleasure of driving on. Long Sweeping corners,
tight esses, and increasingly tight hairpins. If you have
the chance to go to the Tail of the Dragon I suggest
following Highway 28 until it eventually ends in the
small town of Franklin, North Carolina. It's simply
unreal. Some parts are slightly residential but as long
as you are careful you will not be disappointed.
Franklin ends the fun and it began my 12 hour, 715 mile
drive home. But it was worth it, well worth it.
this was in a brand new EVO X.
to you for makin it that far in an Evo, I cant imagine its any softer sprung than my Sti 
