“I survived the dragon” is printed on all of the t-shirts hanging in the Dragon Pit Inn where I wake up this morning.

I wander out of my room and Dennis asks me what I want for breakfast. “I assume you are ridin the dragon today?” he questions. I chat with Dennis while his wife fries an egg for my egg sandwich. It turns out they moved from Illinois and opened the inn and restaurant about 4 years ago. “The roads are too straight in Illinois” he says, as I notice a sign leaning against the wall next to him that reads “We’re Closed, Gone Riding.” After a delicious fried egg and bacon sandwich on a country biscuit, I settle up with Dennis. “The room, dinner last night and breakfast comes to $77 dollars even” he notifies me. We shake on the deal and he wishes me safe travels over the Dragon.

As I lean into the first turn the adrenaline rush begins, my heart rate spikes and an ear-to-ear grin is plastered on my face. Each of the 318 turns is better than the last. A dozen or so corners into the ride, at the apex of an off-camber hairpin right, my foot peg scrapes the asphalt. Clearly I’ve found the limit of my fully loaded bike and I back off the throttle a bit to avoid pitching myself off the road. The Tail of Dragon lives up to all of the hype. Each of the turns alone are enough to intimidate, in rapid succession the experience is mind blowing.

Here are a few minutes of the ride, complete with the tune that was playing in my headphones. You may consider Dramamine (which they sell at both ends of the Dragon) before watching:

I resist the urge to turn around and ride it again. I figure I won’t push my luck and I intend to find the Blue Ridge Parkway later today, which is also supposed to be a great ride. I survived the dragon!

The welcoming sign at the North Carolina border on the 129 South takes the prize for being the most decorated. Leave it to the bikers riding the dragon to make it their own.

At around noon, I hit the 3000 mile mark of the trip, shortly before entering Ashville, NC. I tour around the town which is very active and seems to be home to a fairly crunchy population. It reminds me of Burlington, VT, which is surprising given its southern latitude. I find a great café nestled in the River Art District for lunch serving perfectly crafted sandwiches, delicious coffee and playing Bob Marley as background music.

Just outside of Ashville, I intersect the Blue Ridge Parkway. This road is often near the top of most top 10 roads for motorcyclists in the Country. Its also a road I have wanted to ride for a very long time, as its the one on the east coast that really rivals the great stretches I’ve grown accustomed to near LA. Despite the very high expectations, I was again surprised by just how special it is. Every mile or so there are look out points, which provide breathtaking vistas of the endless green mountains. The road has a combination of wide sweeping turns and very tight hairpins. The straight sections of road are short-lived and the variety of turns keeps me guessing all afternoon. The numerous tunnels blasted through the rock are also pretty amazing to ride through. After winding through the mountain for over 100 miles and having been on the bike for nearly 11 hours, I decide its time to descend and find a hotel. By the time I finally reach the base of the mountain, I am completely exhausted and opt for the first vacancy sign I see outside of Winston Salem, NC. What an unforgettable day on the bike exactly one week from “launch day!”

Here is a short clip of some of the riding on the Blue Ridge Parkway, again accompanied by the tune I was hearing in my headphones: