That's not too far, we've got people who come from the middle of FLA. You could come down here to Chicago and meet up with our crew, its worth the trip if your into driving your car on a road with 318 turns in 11 miles, not to mention the 57 mile drive on the Cherahola Skyway with its 1 mile elevation, 9% grades, sweeping turns and the scenery, OMG the scenery

Think it over, we've never had someone from that far north come on down with us. Last year we had 6 different states represented. FWIW, the trip from the metro Chicagoland area takes about 9 1/2 hrs.

 

I got my Automobile magazine the other day and there's a great article in there with Jean Jennings and Hurley Haywood where they checked out some BBQ joints in Tennessee. They also "happened" to check out the Dragon/Cherahola Skyway as well, good article. They went down there it seem a couple weeks or monthes ago because they said there was snow on the sides of the road in the mountainous parts of the Skyway. The car they were using was a 10' Porsche turbo cabriolet and it was a good thing they had that too, they had heavy rain, mist, fog and while on the Skyway in the higher elevations, a mix of all 3 as well as night driving, talk about a handful. This Harley Haywood is an ex-Porsche factory race car driver, so he knows how to handle a car and its a good thing he does too, that combo of fog, night and mist is a real challenge on the roads down there. We had heavy, heavy fog 2 years ago and had to pull over, all 16 of our cars pulled over and waited it out. It was very cool to see the fog just roll over the road as well just looked around in amazement, you never know what's going to happen while your out there, afterall, at a mile high at one point, your in the clouds!

The article is well written, giving you a sense of what they were going through while driving through all of this, so if you're interested in going and need a little encouragement, I suggest that you pick up this issue (its got the new AMG SLS on the cover with an AMG cigarette boat behind it) and read the entire article.

In my 9 years in a row of going down there I've only encountered one misty morning, about 6 years ago and that heavy fog from 2 years ago, both resulted in NO accidents or issues and actually, the foggy day from 2 years ago, cleared out the road for us and by the time we got down the hill and onto the Dragon, we had almost a straight shot w/o any slowdowns from other cars.

 

I'm 663 miles away which is about 11.5 hours of driving for me. Dang it! :-(

 

In a car? Why waste the time?

PS - It's Hurley Haywood...

 

Dang it what If your referring to the amount of time and miles to get there this run may not be for you, just sayin'. Not sure what your level of enthusiasm is for driving, but trust me when I say this, if your into driving and enjoy your car....THIS IS A MUST DO, ATLEAST ONCE I've been going every year since 2003 and our run has grown from 3 cars back then to 26 total last year. We have people from 6 different states that show up to this, maybe more this year. Right now it appears we've got 4 FF's coming out this year, not including myself, so we're going to have a good showing this year.

Tail of the Dragon at Deals Gap, motorcycle and sport car two lane tourism serving Tail of the Dragon at Deals Gap, Cherohala Skyway, Moonshiner28, Devils Triangle, and Six Gap North Georgia.

Today is the 6 month mark for our run, 183 days to go.

BTW, I hope it didn't sound like I was giving you a hard time about the time and miles because that wasn't my intension at all Its just I'm very passionate about this run, I look forward to it the day I get back from it, I've been really, really bitten by the Dragon!

 

I take it your an avid biker?

 

I'll have to see if I can get some vacation time in October. This looks like fun, but I would definately be wasting an entire day just driving there. 535 miles.

 

Yeah, its a drive to get there, that's why we leave on Thursday, early in the morning (5:30 a.m.) and consider it our travel day but we get there around dinner time and unwind and relax and then go out for a little spirited run up the Skyway, nothing to hard but its waiting for you so why not. Sunday is the day most of us head home. The drive from the metro Detroit area and greater Chicagoland area is about the same drive. You Ohio guys can meet up the Detroit guys on I-75, no problem at all. We run a tight scedule too, so you can just about predict when their coming down the freeway too.

We set this up and run it like a swiss watch and will work with anyone who's looking to meet up while coming down the road, we meet up with the Detroit crew down in Kentucky and have done so for the past couple years, its all good.

This is why this has been posted so early, getting all the questions and concerns out in the open so you know this run is legit and well organized....and it is and its a BLAST

 

174 days to go guys, we've got a good showing of Honda's showing up already. Looks like 4 Fits and 2 S2000's already....VTEC kicked in YO!

 

I went to the Autobahn in Joliet Illinois yesterday and this only made me wish for the Dragon to get here sooner.....but yah know what, let's enjoy our spring and summer first though

171 days to go

Oh yeah, this got me to thinking about the Dragon yesterday too! Like how would this be on the Dragon!

 

i hate you. you have me seriously pondering this. only real thing holding me back is stock suspensions , and an upgrade isn't in the works this year. also time off work is a problem too :P lol. we'll see.

 

I've driven my Fit on the Dragon with a stock suspension. It was very predictable and fun. The stock Dunlop tires will hang in there but not without a lot of complaining. I think the photographers stationed along the Dragon could here us coming a mile away and it wasn't our exhaust tone. LOL

Don't hesitate to come to the meet because of your car setup. There are no rewards handed out other than meeting people from all over who have come to party and have fun driving. You will establish relationships with people that will keep you coming back.

 

I honestly couldn't have said it better myself, well done, rep coming to you once I'm done with this post

I too ran the Dragon on STOCK suspension and the only issue I had was on the Skway, not the Dragon and it really wasn't a problem persay but rather the fact that the struts/shocks are a little "soft" IMO but then again this is basically a commuter car, not a MINI afterall. The rearend of the car on the Skyway got a little "light" for my tastes but after the initial day out there, I got used to it and it never gave me another issue. This was afterall my first trip out there after going out there 3 years in a row in a 2007 Mini Cooper S, a car built for those roads.

Now, one thing that helps my Fit out is the fact that my wheels are 1" wider, the tires are 20mm wider and the aspect ratio is 5% less, really helped things out out there.....just a suggestion, the stock Dunlops suck, too skinny, too tall and too soft....scrap em', there's plenty enough time to do so

I really hope everyone who's planned on attending makes it out there with us, its a MUST DO ROAD!

168 days to go BTW!!!

 

Called Dixie, the owner of Caney Creek Village and left her a message. I usually reserve my cabin a little later, usually in June, but with our interest this year I figured I'd try and get this part of the run done earlier. If for reason the cabins fill up quickly, which they could, other arrangements will be made for you and others looking to go (our run covers FF, www.xceedspeed.com as well as home base The Contour Enthusiasts Group) There's another cabin company about 2, easy to get to and find miles away. Worse case scenario is putting you up about 20 miles away on route 68 near I-75. I know this sounds out of the way and away from the group but trust me, if this should come up, an easy meeting spot will be set up. Route 68 is a straight road in the area, very easy to do this guys so don't worry. Caney Creek has many cabins in different price ranges and ammenities, so it really shouldn't be a problem We even had one guy sleep in his car because he was there one night only and another guy pitched a tent, that's only $10.00 a night for you "roughing it" guys

 

The cabin reservation is up and going! Our main hub for this run is over on The Contour Enthusiasts Group I will ofcoarse come in here and keep you guys updated but so far from here its Jim from Georgia and myself that have reserved they're cabins already, so you guys looking to go out with us in the fall, now is the time to call and reserve your cabins. NO money is needed upfront, just be honest if you know your going to make it (things happen I know but you can reserve now) and then your all set. 4 cabins are already reserved and there are more available right now, call Dixie and tell her your with the group with "Roger from Deetroit", she knows me that way

Caney Creek Village in Tellico Plains, Tennessee

The Contour Enthusiasts Group (go to the southeastern forums)

 

Well, I didn't want to let the cat out of the bag, but, you can call me "Jim from Cleeeeeveland" - even though I live in Georgia now...

Aaaaaaaannnndd... now with the jokes...

 

OHIO-WORST.jpg?t=1303988821

 

EFT, THIS PIC MADE MY DAY BUTT, YOU'VE GOTTA TRY AND REPOST THAT OUTLINE IN DIFFERENT COLORS, YOUR KILLING ME

On a side note though, Ohio does have some pretty fun roads to drive in the southeastern section and then there's the TRIPLE NICKEL too

BTW EFT, cabin reservations are now officially open, Caney Creek Village in Tellico Plains, Tennessee

 

YouTube - Roger's Honda at The Dragon

On the fence about going, check this out! The chase car is also a Honda, but a Honda with 2 seats, RWD and 240 hp, so he had NO problem keeping up

 

I like the Meeeeshigan colors... nice way to add some salt in that dig... Too bad that the Spartans... uh Badgers... oh what's their name again... Wolverettes don't play the Buckeyes in the beginning of the season this fall. Pryor should be all rested up after his suspension by the time then.