cops at the tail of the dragon

The new section of the Foothills Parkway is excellent, nice curves and elevation changes as well as perfect asphalt.

I'm going there July 14th to the 20th, so riding the full 5 weekdays (15-19)... if we can take it. Ha ha. My cousin is 57 too, and in good shape as well, but his friend is 65, so we'll see if he can keep up. He he. My longest trip has been 4 days in CO, and a while back, so this one will be tough, but we all want to make the most out of it. Unfortunately, I won't be riding my FZ-10, since it's too far away. We'll be swapping 3 bikes (all 2018): a fully customized SV650 (full suspension, brakes, exhaust, etc), a decked-out V-Strom 1000, and a Triumph Thruxton R. Hope to have fun. I don't like adventure-style bikes, but curious how the VS rides; my cousin says it's awesome too, so we'll see. Still have to figure out which rides to schedule, and to also plan shorter versions for the later days, in case we start getting tired of the bikes. We'll see. But it was one of the 'bucket list' items I wanted to do, so really looking forward to it, especially after what awaits me the week after. Will be having nasty (cancer) procedures during the Raider's Rally, so those guys will definitely be having a better time than me. Ha ha. Cheers.

Hope both of us find great weather, brother. Haven't bothered to check the forecast, since many times it's wrong one day from the next, but will check it next week. Not sure which gear to take. Pants might be too hot, so maybe just Draggin' jeans and a Tourmaster Flex jacket (3 in 1). Will take my short TCX Cube air boots that are not too bulky, but hope it doesn't rain. Will alert you guys of any issues I see on the highways (if any), so you don't have to waste time on them, like road constructions, etc.

HOLY CRAP! Damn, that was INTENSE. The best motorcycle trip of my life... by far. Hurricane Barry moved north, so we only had rain Wed afternoon. Since we didn't know that, and Monday was dry, we did almost 300 miles, riding the dragon (twice), the skyway, and the parkway. That would have been enough to justify the trip. But man, we did a lot more roads the following days which were better than the dragon, and basically zero traffic, so much safer too. We saw 2 accidents at the dragon (Harleys, of course). The best road for me was the first 9 miles of hwy 28 right of 74. We did that twice as well, and it was just incredible. About the same turns as the dragon, but not as tight, perfectly banked and paved curves, and basically all covered by trees up and down the mountain. Just incredible. The second best stretches were on 215 (lots of miles of them) and 151. I'd put the dragon in 3rd... and that's without traffic, which we could only do once, and it was Monday. I did that on a Thruxton R, and it was a lot better than I expected. The rattler was the least fun ride by far (full of gravel, not nearly as twisty, etc), but the little cafe at Hot Springs was worth the trip. Oh, and the parkway from Maggie Valley going south (brand new grippy asphalt starting there), especially the first 6 miles, is just incredible. Did that 6-mile stretch flat out on my last day, just to cross the 1,000-mile mark for the trip (ended with 1,010 miles in 5 days). The rest of the parkway in that direction (south) was all super nice too, but you'd have to go at jail speeds to really enjoy it (except twistier sections, like the first 6 miles I mentioned), so more of a scenic ride. We caught the only rain there, along with fog and maybe 5-ft visibility, but even enjoyed that immensely. And the 215 section (going up hill) before connecting to the parkway, is one of the many you HAVE to experience. Anyway, fortunately, no incidents, no tickets, and we could go as fast as we wanted probably 95% of the time, so just an AWESOME trip . My modified SV with new Pilot 4s was perfect in every way, except cornering clearance at the beginning, but once feelers were removed (after the dragon, unfortunately), no more issues, and had a blast all week. Even embarrassed a Superduke R on that little thing on 28. Had to work it hard, but it was fun. I haven't pushed my FZ that hard yet, and it has no chicken strips left. Hope it can at least match that SV in the twisties without dragging anything, or I'll be disappointed. Ha ha. But it should . Yeah, a 190/55 tire looks better, and it's needed for the power the FZ makes, but it can't be as flickable as a 160/60 tire. The front is the same 120/70. On a final note, food is MUCH better at Waynesville (a more upscale town), so we went there every evening. If you don't need space to store a trailer, I recommend staying there instead. Or at least go there for dinners. Thank you again for all your help Clayton. Hope you're having as much fun as I did now. Hopefully not as hot, as it was in the freaking 90s most days. Geez. But cool at the mountains, so it was a constant shuffling of gear. Oh well. Be careful buddy. Tackling those super technical roads at speed requires skill and concentration, especially after doing that several hours for 5 days straight. I HIGHLY recommend putting this trip on your bucket list folks. Glad I did it. Take care gang.

All riiiight!!! We did that too, but by accident, on one of our 'mixed' routes. Ran the parkway several times; it's awesome, and a nice break from the heat down below. The ladies at the Best Western are all super nice. But a lot of 'red necks' doing stupid shit, drinking loudly until very late, doing drag races in the parking lot, etc. Geez. Hey, hope you get good weather, but you need to check several towns, not just Maggie Valley, as weather changes A LOT in a short distance. Usually the south stayed drier, but Monday and Tuesday all looks wet, including Tellico Plains and Robbinsville. Good luck, and keep the rubber side down .