.....got nabbed by the long arm of the law up there today. it turns out chasing a tennis ball colored Lotus Elise on the fast bits before the start is a bad idea....

 

Sorry to hear this Baller, where did you get caught exactly, on 129 coming out of Robinsville or something I followed a yellow Elise in previous car (Mini Cooper S) and let me tell you, that thing goes around the turns like it really is on rails, as you know from being behind him! Did you both get caught?

We're only got 74 more days, August is right around the corner guys, so you FF's looking to go and need more details, either check the first post on page #1 or drop me a PM, thanks!

 

it was the fast bit before you actually get to the tight parts. headed from maryville south on 129, past the dam, the bridge and with the lake on the right. FYI the speed limit is 10 mph slower headed south (toward the dragon from maryville) there than it is headed north.... so we were headed thru some of the fastest parts before you get to the slower switchbacks.

the lotus and i came screaming around a long left hand turn and the state trooper came the opposite direction....

sooo, the lotus was in front and motioned for us both to pull over and wrote us both a ticket - 71 in a 40 - ouch....

so lesson learned that i can pass on here is this: dont get caught up with speeding in the wideopen parts. the cops seem to be hanging out toward the north side of the dragon, catching people carrying too much speed in the longer turns... because of all the crashes and deaths up here, the cops have really cracked down on this area, but seem to leave the twisties alone for the most part. the most fun you will have is the switchbacks and really twisty stuff. you can actually go the speed limit in the twists and have a great time.

so when you guys are up here, be very careful for several reasons

 

EVERYONE, READ WHAT BALLER POSTS HERE, ITS THE TRUTH!

I've been going down there since 2003 and doing the speed limits in the twisties is more than enough, you can't go much faster than that anyways. I asked my buddy one time to watch the speedo in my old Mini and tell me how fast I would go and he said "you hit 60 mph a couple times", I was surprised to say the least. Its not IF you can its SHOULD you and the answer is no, not really and Baller has a good reason NOT to for sure.

Baller, did you hear something about how many have died this year or something? Its sad to hear about someone dying out there but it happens, usually a biker having a heart attack but the thing is this about the trip out there, more people have DIED on the Skyway than the Dragon, I read that someone where and when you see how the Skyway is compared to the Dragon, well, respect MUST be given to that road as much or more, please.

What Baller and I are saying is not intended to scare anyone, trust us, but its to inform you noobs out there who are making the trip for the first time, those vets too, plants a seed in your head and must stay with you if you wanna keep coming back year after year like I've been doing since 2003

I spoke about the night run and all of this MUST be heeded and then some, its VERY DARK out there and you can't see anything past your headlights. Us Fits with our highs/lows on the same bulb have a disadvantage for sure there, aux driving lights would be a HUGE help for us, just saying. I was lucky at night last year because my buddy with a Mazdaspeed 3 was infront of me using his HIDs and highs, so I kinda used his lights to help me set up for the next turn, not mention I trust him completely and likewise. When doing the night run you should use "the buddy system", your buddy is either a better driver or has more skill should be the lead car, it works, trust me.

Now, those who've posted lately about saying their going, have you gotten your cabin/tent area taken care of yet? Are you staying with us at Caney Creek Village or another cabin rental in Tellico? Or are you staying in a Motel down route 68 near I-75? Just wanna get a general idea about who's "really" going so I can update our main thread over on The Contour Enthusiasts Group, that's our home base for the run every year, thanks for you help on this guys

By the end of next week, we'll be 2 monthes away from the run, its getting close guys/gals, time will start going by faster and faster once summer is over, so get your place taken care of and enjoy our run!

 

69 days to go!

 

Not sure how many people have lost their lives up there, but its getting to be a highly patrolled area as more and more people come to drive/ride it. The smart thing to do is drive it slow first (get behind a group of cruiser bikes, lol) and get a feel for it and the rhythm of the turns, then turn up the wick. Don't go out there trying to be a hero or prove something - those are the ones that end up getting themselves or someone else hurt. Focus on reading the road and staying in your lane. There are plenty of distractions up there - beautiful scenery, crazy bikes and cars flying at you in the opposite lane. Just dont get caught up in any of it and drive within your limits. Sounds like I am beating a dead horse here, but you can easily get caught up in it all.

Driving at night sounds scary as sh*t, lol. I'm down.

 

BALLER, your not "beating a dead horse", trust me, it can't be said enough especially since there's noobs going with us every year, so its all good. We're not even going out there Saturday, really, we're going out on route 28 which starts right next to Deal's Gap. The cop count out there last year on Sat was a wake up call and really took all the fun out of the trip for sure.

The night run is awesome, no traffic and if you've got your head right, which most of do, the night run is no problem, just gotta have a more experienced/faster car infront of you to have maximum fun Cool down at Deal's Gap after the run is VERY IMPORTANT! I smoked my brakes pretty good, no fade by they were smokin' when I stopped there for a break after the night run. Its really awesome out there because its so dark, we stopped at "The Wall" and turned off our lights and you couldn't see anything. We took everything in for a while, got ourselves together and went for it.

67 days to go guys/gals

 

Today marks 59 days to go, basically inside of 2 monthes to go, things are getting close and trust me, these days go by faster than you think which is a good thing, I for one need this vacation for sure

Quite simply, I just want you to add your name and car and who's all going with you on the run. I've been in contact with several of you via txts but if we can add and update this list I'd appreciate it for sure, thank you all BTW there are other, non-Fits going and you can check out The Contour Enthusiasts Group and www.xceedspeed.com for those going. In the Contour forum you'd simply go to the forums and then down to southeastern forum and look for the Dragon thread. This gives you a chance to get a feel for the people going from over there, a place I've been a member of since May 2001. The other forum, Xceedspeed is a forum I've been on for a couple years, I joined up when I was still in Michigan and the members who've stepped up from over there have been nothing short of a major asset to our run, nice people across the board. Over there you'd check out the events section and look the Dragon run thread there. We've got quite a cross section of cars, people, backgrounds, job types, etc but there's no hang ups and all noobs are made to feel as welcome as if they'd been going for years with us.

1. Roger (Klasse Act) 2010 Fit sport

 

2. David (Baller Status) 2008 Fit

 

1. Roger (Klasse Act) 2010 Fit Sport
2. David (BallerStatus) 2008 Fit
3. Jim (JimsbFit) 2009 Fit Sport

 

I know we've got the husband/wife team to add themselves and their cars to the list, so that would make 5.................and counting!

58 SHORT DAYS TO GO!

 

fifty two more days to go!

 

Well it took some deciding but I've finally made up my mind not to go. I've been trying so hard to convince myself that my fit is just a dd and I need to buy a better older project car. I've undone so much of what I've done, turbo/suspension/exhaust/tuning, that it would be fun but souless. I hope everyone has a great time.

Everytime I think about going on a long trip I get flashbacks to when I was assembling my frankenengine and I have this nagging feeling that keeps asking "Are you sure you tightened your headbolts correctly, are you sure you cleaned the deck well enough, are you sure you didn't scuff the bore, are you sure you didn't forget to tighten the rocker arm assembly in the right sequence, are you sure you didn't mess up the valve clearance, are you sure that you tightened the timing chain tensioner correctly..."

 

1. Roger (Klasse Act) 2010 Fit Sport
2. David (BallerStatus) 2008 Fit
3. Jim (JimsbFit) 2009 Fit Sport
4
5
6. Matt (swflej1) and 7. my wife (swfleg8) 2010 fit (only take one car)

can't wait

 

I understand but saying its "souless" without the mods, well, that's your opinion but I strongly disagree as I'm sure the fellow FF's who've went down there with their cars I mean the car's 2500 lbs and especially fun with a stick, I'm sure, combine that with some good tires/wheels and you've got a great combo for such a tight road!

50 DAYS TO GO AND I TOO CAN'T WAIT!

 

cant wait - also peeps that are new, there are like 5 different companies that photograph your car/bike as you go buy in hopes that you will buy pics from them, so may want to hit the cars with a wash and/or wax before you go, some of the pics turn out nice and the leaves turning will really be a nice backdrop.

 

sounds like a good idea but is there a car wash around that area since we wil be coming from FL. So we can give it another wash

 

yep, if you head from Maryville (south on 441) toward the Dragon, you will pass many gas stations and im pretty sure there is an actual carwash in that area. when you actually get on 129, there is really nothing but residential area, then it gets to the lake, then the twisty bits. i'm not sure about car washes around the area that Klasse is staying (this would be headed north toward the Dragon). i might go out there again this weekend to let you know for sure. we could use the carwash as a meeting spot since cell reception is crap out there in the boonies.

 

The town where we're staying (Tellico Plains) has an Exxon station with a great touch-free wash and the there's a quarter carwash right behind the BP right down the road from the Exxon station, about a 1/4 mile away, so which ever you want/need, your covered.

Just to go over it this again, the cabins where we're stayin', Caney Creek Village Caney Creek Village in Tellico Plains, Tennessee is located 3.5 miles from the start of the Cherahola Skyway, which makes it a perfect place to stay from that standpoint alone. In addition to that, they've got those 2 quality gas stations, both with a full party store inside and the Exxon one even has a little cafe' and gift shop in it. There's also nice little restaraunts in town too, along with 2 banks, a decent grocery store and a Hardee's too.

There is another cabin company that's just about right next to the beginning of the Skyway but I can't remember the name of it, but there's a Shell station right there and its right off of route 360 in Tellico Plains. I mention this because if anyone hasn't gotten their cabins yet, your out of luck at Caney Creek Village more than likely (doesn't hurt to call Dixie and check though). The weekend we're going to be there is the same weekend the town has their annual panning for gold in the Tellico River, so its going to be pretty full locally but there's some lodging in nearby Sweetwater which is about 1/2 an hour away and very easy to get to and from Tellico Plains, so anyone has to do that, we'll set up a very easy to find meeting spot, probably that Exxon station if need be.

Today marks 49 DAYS TO GO!

 

46 days to go and if you wanna go go back a page and look at the one post with the list of people going and add yourself on there. The one post has a couple spots missing for some reason, so there's your spot. Any other questions, feel free to post them here or PM me