IMO CA-190 beats Tail of the Dragon

[Kimsey47]

Originally Posted by Ganthrithor

Harley riders are by far and away the worst group of vehicle operators in America. There should be government subsidies for controlling their population in the wild.

Sounds like a job for the Mustang:

[WolfpackS2k]

Originally Posted by Rampage

The Tail of the Dragon (US129) is a great road. 318 curves in 11 miles makes it more like an 11 mile autocross than a highway. Small, light cars are a blast on it.

Problems are traffic, high concentration of LEO (especially TN Highway Patrol), motorcyclist with a death wish crossing double yellows, pick-ups towing boats, campers and the occasional wayward truck.

I went 4 years in a row but have skipped the last two since they lowered the speed limit from 35 to 30 MPH. That just makes the traffic worse and the potential ticket fines bigger. The only times to get fast runs are after dark when the LEO go home but in the morning you can see traces of the previous night's carnage with skid marks and impact evidence on granite mountainsides and roadside trees. Not for the feint of heart.

All that said. Everyone should try it once.

I've never actually seen any LEO's on the Tail (knock on wood). Every time I've gone my first run is a scouting run. Then I light it up (which for me is 8/10ths b/c I don't have a death wish). Mostly leave it in 2nd gear, which is enough for 70+ on the faster sections. It's my impression that the LEOs mostly stay away from the area, or only go after you for violating double yellow. After all they don't want to discourage the local economy.

[Rampage]

Now I am a little jealous. I have the 4.5 FD in my 6 speed 2ZZ-GE Spyder and I have to row the gears on the Dragon. The guys that have the Euro 6 speed can mostly stay in 2nd but I hit the rev limiter on the straights. The full run can be a bit of a workout when you are constantly shifting between 2nd and 3rd.

Maybe TN has backed off on enforcement the last couple years. The Spyder gathering is usually on a weekend in mid April and I have always seen them using radar at least once or twice each meet usually in the turns between the Lookout and the NC state line. They are normally not out there until about 9AM and are almost always gone by 5PM. They have SUVs but I have seen them on bikes a couple times.

[Horrid_Funk]

Originally Posted by mav1178

190 is great and all, but it's far away from everywhere unless you're going to Sequoia.

Back in 2014 I did this drive from LA and back, the only exception was I drove PCH all the way from San Luis Obispo to SF instead of via the 101 + PCH from SF to Fort Bragg. (I also took SR120 to cut across to Mammoth instead of via Lake Tahoe).

PCH from north of SF to the Oregon state line is infinitely better than every other road I've been on during my 30+ years in California, mostly because it is fun to drive on at normal speeds and the views are second to none.

SR198 between Coalinga and the 101 is good as well, the only problem is that there's only about 15-20 minutes worth of "fun" and the rest is mostly flat with dry terrain to look at. I take it as a detour while going to Laguna Seca, but that's about all I use it for.

Yeah the PCH north of SF is pretty fantastic. I'm like half an hour from it, I'll probably go drive it this weekend. Stewart Point-Skaggs Spring Road from Lake Sonoma to the coast and then anywhere on the PCH. Plenty of wine, views, and twisty roads. No wine when I'm driving though

[BlueWhelan]

Originally Posted by mav1178

190 is great and all, but it's far away from everywhere unless you're going to Sequoia.

Back in 2014 I did this drive from LA and back, the only exception was I drove PCH all the way from San Luis Obispo to SF instead of via the 101 + PCH from SF to Fort Bragg. (I also took SR120 to cut across to Mammoth instead of via Lake Tahoe).

PCH from north of SF to the Oregon state line is infinitely better than every other road I've been on during my 30+ years in California, mostly because it is fun to drive on at normal speeds and the views are second to none.

SR198 between Coalinga and the 101 is good as well, the only problem is that there's only about 15-20 minutes worth of "fun" and the rest is mostly flat with dry terrain to look at. I take it as a detour while going to Laguna Seca, but that's about all I use it for.

I drove PCH from Monterey down to Paso Robles last month (they recently opened it back up after the landslides took Thor's hammer to it). Since it had been opened the week prior, and it was a Wednesday, there was no one on it, despite it being a perfect sunny day. I came away from the drive going "wow, that is by far the best driving road in the state I've been on." I live in Socal, and we are totally spoiled for great driving roads out here. I've always wanted to take PCH up to Mendocino. I hear great things.

That said 190 is pretty brilliant too.

[TofuJoe]

SR-33 from Ojai FTW

[Ganthrithor]

Originally Posted by TofuJoe

SR-33 from Ojai FTW

Shhhh!

[BlueWhelan]

Originally Posted by Ganthrithor

Shhhh!

But it doesn't have much scenery anymore though, so like, why bother? lol


In all seriousness, CA-33 is one of my favorite roads in socal, its just a hair too far away for me drive as often as I'd like. I'll be honest though, its a road where you really do end up saying to yourself "man, another 50hp would be great"... IMO anyway.

[firekat]

Have not driven this one yet. It's on my list.

Points to anyone that figures it out!

[gravitylover]

There are a bunch of great roads over the coast range in CA especially up north. I think that the concentration of really fantastic roads around the northeast with little to no LEO activity and not much traffic is pretty much unbeatable though. I constantly find 10-20 mile stretches that make me want to turn around and do it again

[Stephen W.]

Originally Posted by firekat

Have not driven this one yet. It's on my list.

Points to anyone that figures it out!

CA-36 between Red Bluff and Fortuna. Very, very well known area even for this Canadian. hehehe

[Irace86.2.0]

I live in Santa Rosa, CA. Probably one of the best areas for riding, IMO of course. Hwy 1, 20, 29, 128 are all great. Around me is the coast, redwoods, grassy hills, wineries and canyons. It really is hard to beat. I can be at the coast in 30 minutes. I can be to Calistoga, St Helena or Napa in 30 minutes. I can ride up North to Clear Lake, Northwest to Lake Sonoma, or go East to Lake Berryessa. The only downside can be traffic, but in general, the roads and scenery are top notch for the BRZ or my Ducati.

[Ganthrithor]

Originally Posted by BlueWhelan

But it doesn't have much scenery anymore though, so like, why bother? lol


In all seriousness, CA-33 is one of my favorite roads in socal, its just a hair too far away for me drive as often as I'd like. I'll be honest though, its a road where you really do end up saying to yourself "man, another 50hp would be great"... IMO anyway.

Haha, yeah I actually tell lots of people about 33 because it's so out of the way I don't think it will ever become crowded.

You're absolutely right-- a lot of the uphill bits at higher altitudes you're just matting the throttle and waiting for ages to gain 10mph

When you really start driving fast, the car also can't keep up with the cooling I don't think. Needs an oil cooler if you're gonna be flat out uphill for long periods of time like that. It sure is a nicely balanced car through those corners, though!

[BlueWhelan]

Originally Posted by Ganthrithor

When you really start driving fast, the car also can't keep up with the cooling I don't think. Needs an oil cooler if you're gonna be flat out uphill for long periods of time like that. It sure is a nicely balanced car through those corners, though!

On a normal day 80f degree day, I can barely go 5 min at full throttle on any sort of uphill incline before hitting 240f oil temp. It definitely needs a cooler for hotter climates.



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