Space Mountain, Blazing Fury, Python Pit, Scream Machine, Looping Thunder, Yankee Cannonball, Quantum Loop; these are some of the most thrilling amusement park rides in the United States. Many motorcycle riders would agree that the Dragon — a twisting, turning, undulating hunk of U.S. 129 that crests Deal’s Gap at the Tennessee/North Carolina border — belongs on such a list.

Many riders have attacked the Dragon’s 318 turns in 11 miles. The vast majority who’ve braved its lair emerged unscathed. However, the Dragon has taken a bite out of many who’ve dropped their guard, overestimated their skills or underestimated the risk.

The road challenges riders’ ability to handle short straight-aways coupled with continuous turns, decreasing-radius corners and abrupt elevation changes. Most turns offer little or no run-off space where riders can remedy bad judgment. A combination of steep cliffs, long drop-offs, and thick stands of trees bordering most of the 11-mile run adds meaning to the phrase “failure is not an option.”

A motorcyclists’ Mecca in the Smokies.

Since the early 1990s, when word started spreading among bikers about this great ride in the Smokey Mountains, the Dragon has gained the trappings of a motorcyclists’ Mecca.

On a typical warm-weather weekend, hundreds of riders converge here to test their mettle or simply experience one of the most demanding combinations of straights and twisties in the Eastern United States. They come on all makes and models of motorcycles. Many wear professional-style road racing outfits that attest to how seriously they view this endeavor.

Lots of riders — especially those on speedy, road-hugging sport bikes — arrive early and stay late, making multiple runs for a full day of excitement. Others make one or two runs and take satisfaction in surviving the Dragon. Long distance riders heading to and from the nearby Blue Ridge Parkway often add a side trip to experience the Dragon. This road sees many repeat visitors.

Few man-made distractions to get in the way.

Deal’s Gap, the moniker many riders also use for the Dragon, is actually the 1,962-foot high pass between the series of mountains this road follows. Besides the twists and turns that make it a technically demanding and exhilarating ride, this piece of blacktop has other features that attract motorcycle riders.

The Dragon is isolated in the woods and free of distractions such as intersections, driveways, homes, and buildings. Very little evidence of human infringement is apparent within five miles in any direction because most of the roadway is bounded by United States Forest Service property.

Few vehicles other than motorcycles take this route through the mountains, so traffic is normally very light. However, the occasional slow-moving or wide-turning car, van or even a tractor-trailer can cause disaster.

And let’s not forget the bears, wild boars, deer, and other four-footed creatures that could dart out of the woods to ruin the perfect union between man and machine.

Also, there are posted speed limits: 40 miles per hour in Tennessee and 55 in North Carolina. I’ve heard that on some days, troopers have ticketed just about every biker going through Deal’s Gap for deserved and undeserved infractions such as drag racing, speeding or reckless driving.

Deal’s Gap history.

Like many wilderness roads, this one began as a humble game trail. Then, for centuries, Native Americans used it as a foot path before settlers began arriving in the early 1700s. It became a rustic roadway in the 1800s. Landowners actually collected tolls at various points along the way as more and more people moved into the area. Work crews first paved the road in 1934, right around the time it was designated US 129.

Dividing the Dragon.

Riders most familiar with the Dragon divide it into sections and adjust their driving to accommodate specific landmarks, curves, corners, terrain changes, and other important physical characteristics. Here are a few: Traveling from North Carolina toward Tennessee, the Dragon begins near Slickrock Creek Trailhead, crosses Fugitive Bridge — with a view of the Cheoah Dam where Harrison Ford jumped in the movie The Fugitive — and climbs steeply over Deal’s Gap into Tennessee.

It slowly descends toward Parson’s Curve, climbs again through Carousel Corner, descends gradually to Rocket corner, then straightens for a distance before crossing Tabcat Creek.

While the entire run from Fugitive Bridge to Tabcat Creek covers about 14 miles, most riders use the Deal’s Gap Motorcycle Resort as their start/end point when attacking the Dragon. It’s located in North Carolina about two miles past Fugitive Bridge right about where the road starts climbing toward Deal’s Gap. The 11-mile stretch from the resort, over Deal’s Gap and well into Tennessee contains the Dragon’s legionary 318 twists and turns.

The resort, previously known as the Crossroads of Time Motel & Motorcycle Campground, recently changed hands and is undergoing a facelift. The new owners are upgrading the establishment’s multi-function status as a gas station, eatery, motel, motorcycle campground, souvenir shop, motorcycle service facility and all-around pit stop for motorcycle riders.

Taking my shot at the Dragon.

Two summers ago, while heading south from New York to join friends in Louisiana, I plotted a course that included a ride through Deal’s Gap.

After a chilly but enjoyable cruise through the Smokey Mountains, I reached the Crossroads of Time Motel early on a week-day morning. The place was pretty quiet. Only one other rider was there getting gas.

In the motel’s attached general store, I bought a requisite T-shirt to show the folks back home that I’d survived my ride through the gap. The T-shirt front shows a grinning skeleton leaning into a turn on a sport bike. Underneath it reads: “Put your bones on the line, ride 129.”

I suppose it was premature and presumptuous to buy such a T-shirt before I’d actually “put my bones on the line.” However, when I finally did face the Dragon, the experience was exceptional.

My immediate objectives as I approached my first Deal’s Gap encounter were similar to other “firsts” in my life — first date, first time at bat in Little League, first cast with a fly rod, first parachute jump. Don’t be a maladroit. Stay focused. Don’t hit any trees.

Simple enough, right?

I drove out of the motel parking lot and headed up this steep mountain road toward the section called Wheelie Hell. Almost immediately the turns began. The first tight hairpin was followed by another and another. I concentrated on setting up and taking the best line through each and to remain “within myself.” I didn’t want to end up in a photo like those back at the motel that showed bikers who’d been eaten by the Dragon.

I got into the rhythm of the ride and the road: downshift, lean, accelerate, shift up, back off then downshift again. The short straight-aways between turns limited my ability and desire to gather much speed.

Shortly after I began my run, a rider on a red Ducati appeared in my rear view mirror. He was negotiating the turns much faster than I. As he drew closer, I pressed harder to put on speed and stay in front. Two thoughts dominated my mind: don’t lose it and don’t be a motorcyclist version of the guy who holds up traffic by creeping along in the fast lane. What if this guy just traveled 3,000 miles to experience Deal’s Gap? I didn’t want to ruin my ride or his. At the first opportunity, I squeezed over and waved him past. He blew by and I never saw him again.

After climbing for about five miles, the twisting road turned into a downhill run and tested a different set of my cornering skills. Gradually the turns became less frequent. The road straightened as it crossed Tabcat Creek then ran beside Chilhowee Lake.

My Deal’s Gap experience was over. I‘d slain the Dragon and earned the right to wear my T-shirt.

That night I stayed in Tupelo, Mississippi — Elvis Presley’s birthplace. I bet “The King” would have enjoyed the Dragon. He rode a Harley.