tail of dragon this weekend

I was planning a ride South at the end of next week, maybe not necessarily reaching Deals Gap, but aiming to cover as many twisty rods as I can on the way there and back... Anybody else heading that way, interested in riding together ?
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I'd not try and cover too much on the way down or back as those are accessible on weekend trips ( PA ).

I did Toronto to State College on a half day...then was comfortably ( tho cold and wet ) into the good roads by 2 pm the next day by blitzing down 77.

Doing it again I'd leave at 6 am and do 77 on a blitz as far as you can on the first day.

It's too easy to get bogged in PA.
But depends on how long you have.

This is one route - and there are interesting side roads to take - you can pick up 144 in Coudersport and go a LONG way and have a lot of fun on it. But that is reachable in 4 hours any time.




But these are the express lanes down to WV and Back of the Dragon. 77 - far left was brilliant
I would certainly like to spend time in West Virginia.

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too much said:
I was planning a ride South at the end of next week, maybe not necessarily reaching Deals Gap, but aiming to cover as many twisty rods as I can on the way there and back... Anybody else heading that way, interested in riding together ?
Click to expand...
At the end of next week, I leave and will ride to Maine via New York, Vermont and New Hampshire. Then on Sunday Oct 5th, I will head south to the Smoky Mountains taking backroads down. I'll spend a few days down there and make my way home via Kentucky and Ohio.
 
Back of the Dragon if you do it - watch the fallen rocks and gravel in the tight corners....takes some of the fun away.....it's not bad....just enough to make you wary on a blind tight corner.
 
Things are looking up for next week

 
MacDoc said:
I'd not try and cover too much on the way down or back as those are accessible on weekend trips ( PA ).

..............................

But these are the express lanes down to WV and Back of the Dragon. 77 - far left was brilliant
I would certainly like to spend time in West Virginia.
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There are many great twisty back-roads South of Morgantown. What looks great on 77 (getting to the Back of the Dragon) is even greater on the side roads (16 for example).
 
shanekingsley said:
Thanks for that - awesome prices.
Do you normally book your stay the morning of, or do you book well in advance (a few days or a week earlier)?
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Hey Shane
I never book ahead...I like to go by the seat of my pants
I just show up at the Motel and present the coupon

hotelcoupons.com you can find the magazine for this at most of the rest areas on the interstate.
I found a Best Western in Wytheville for like $59 a night

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Thanks. I've heard of that magazine, so I'll have to make it a pint to grab one somewhere. Do you have to present a printed copy of the coupon, or would it be fine if it was just on my phone?

For my trip I'll be staying in motels 5 nights and camping 4 nights. I've plotted my routes out, because there are tons of twisty roads I want to hit up, but I was just going to book my motels on the morning of, just to make sure I know where my bed will be for the night. I have long days on the bike on this trip and don't want to be trying to find a place when I'm tired and it's dark out.

Towns where I'm using motels are Utica NY, Monticello NY, Roanoke VA, Marietta OH, Altoona PA. Trying to keep the costs under $50/night and through hotel coupons there are places as low as $40/night. Nothing fancy, just a bed, wifi and a shower is good enough.
 
To be honest I've never tried just showing the phone thing.
I've always just showed the coupon in the booklet.
Sometime they take the coupon....other times they just look at it and say thanks.
Sometimes there's fine print like "walk in only"...I think that just means you cant reserve ahead of time.
Of course you can clear this with them if you call in the morning.
Long days on the bike.....ya i know that feeling.
I have never ever had trouble getting a room...especialy on a weekday.
Motel 6 I sometimes find they charge an extra $5 for wifi.
Sometimes you can find the magazine outside of gas stations too.
 
Good tip - with the Wee I intend to be hitting the touring routes hard this coming year ( and maybe a few still this year ).

That thing has legs.
 
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