Great Motorcycle Ride Rivals the Tail of the Dragon

Posted on January 8, 2012 by Wayne Busch

You hear a lot of folks say “I know of roads better than the Tail of the Dragon“, but I, like you, am often doubtful of such claims.

The Dragon at Deals Gap is pretty much the benchmark motorcycle ride to measure and compare to. There are darned good reasons the Tail of the Dragon is legendary. But what about those other roads?

This abandoned gas station/store on Banner Elk Highway (SR 194) alerts you to the start of the ride. The road is just beyond it.

Here’s one I really enjoy, Beech Mountain / Flat Springs Road. I won’t claim it’s better than the Dragon, but it ranks right up there.

The pavement is not as good in places. There are connecting roads and driveways so you’ve got to ride alert, watch for gravel and sand at those connections and in tight turns. There are no motorcycle resorts at either end. Still, Beech Mountain Road is an excellent, challenging , and fun ride.

View of what I think is Roan Mountain. It's not the rare views that make Beech Mountain / Flat Springs Roads good, it's the ride.

This great motorcycle ride is labeled as Beech Mountain Road on the south side of Beech Mountain, then becomes Flat Springs Road once you start descending the north side of the mountain.

Grades are steeper than the Dragon but generally mild. It’s a bit longer. Best of all it’s a road I use to bypass traffic and avoid going through large towns and the city of Boone.

I use it often when I’m headed up to Tennessee and Virginia to ride The Snake and the great roads nearby, and it’s also in the neighborhood of Roan Mountain and the Murder Mountain Ride. It’s a good one to know about and add to your list of great back roads.

Image - Map shows location of Beech Mountain Road

Beech Mountain / Flat Springs Road help you avoid all the traffic to the east.

So how does it stack up?

I was going through my video files one day and found two that were nearly identical. Same camera angle. Same bike. A complete ride through both roads. So I matched them up side by side to see how the roads compare in a contest. The outcome was surprising!

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Wayne Busch - Cartographer

Learn Total Control

– Wayne Busch lives in Waynesville, NC, where he produces the most detailed and comprehensive and up-to-date motorcycle pocket maps of the Blue Ridge and Smoky Mountains to help you get the most of your vacation experience. See them here – AmericaRidesMaps.com

Wayne is an advanced motorcycle instructor for Total Rider Tech teaching Lee Parks Total Control Advanced Rider Courses. It’s time you looked into advanced rider training to ride more confidently and safely, it will change your mountain riding experience. It worked so well for me I became an instructor! Total Rider Tech

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Motorcycle Friendly – Skyline Village Inn, Little Switzerland

Posted on August 27, 2011 by Wayne Busch

The Skyline Inn, Little Switzerland, NC

Located right at the start of the Diamondback Motorcycle Ride, the Skyline Village Inn offers a scenic stay, good food, a nice selection of beer and wine, and one of the most unique and historic places to stay on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

First of all, the Skyline Village Inn has a story and it’s a great one. (If you want all the details click here and go the their site in a minute). In a nutshell, the Skyline Village Inn was built as a front to cover up a huge moonshine operation which operated out of secret caverns beneath it. When not brewing corn, they used their free time to do intricate stone and woodwork throughout the building and grounds. Some of the wood inlay work on the tables in the lounge belongs in a museum. They give tours of the moonshiners caverns. I didn’t ask if they still sell “shine”, but the beer and wine on hand is diverse and high quality.

Those moonshiners used 17 kinds of local wood

The building was constructed in the 1930’s and 40’s, before small roadside motels came into vogue, so it has an authentic historic atmosphere that permeates the entire place. Those moonshiners built with quality and it endures.

The Skyline Village Inn sits high atop the ridge with commanding views. You can see the beautiful stone arch where the Blue Ridge Parkway passes over NC 226 down the road at the Spruce Pine exit at milepost 331 from out front of the Inn. The rooms open onto a porch where you can sit to enjoy the view.

Best of all for the motorcycle rider, the Skyline Village Inn sits at the head of the Diamondback Motorcycle Ride, one of North Carolina’s most popular rides. Just roll out of the covered motorcycle parking and you’re on the ride.

Rider nears the top of NC 226. Shot from the overlook across from the Skyline Inn

While the Diamondback is popular, the ride they like to send you on from the Skyline Village Inn is the Murder Mountain Ride. You can do the short version of the Diamondback Loop down 226A then back up 226 in about 45 minutes. The Murder Mountain Ride is much more of a commitment, about 3 1/2 hours minimum, but it includes a traverse of spectacular Roan Mountain and some of the twistiest and most enjoyable roads in North Carolina and a bit of Tennessee. (See Murder Mountain Ride Description / Map here)

A room at the Skyline Inn

If you want to stay somewhere you’ll remember and can tell (good) stories about, consider the Skyline Village Inn on your Blue Ridge Parkway motorcycle ride.

Skyline Village Inn

Murder Mountain Ride

Diamondback Motorcycle Ride

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Wayne Busch – Cartographer

Learn Total Control

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Great Motorcycle Rides North of Asheville Discovered

Posted on October 10, 2010 by Wayne Busch

It’s not often I have such a successful day when out exploring for new motorcycle rides to add to my maps but Friday was one of the best. Most of the roads I evaluate don’t measure up against my strict standards – low traffic, engaging scenery, and a challenging and fun motorcycle ride. Nearly every road I explored turned out to be good enough to add to my map of “The Best Motorcycle Rides North and South of Asheville, NC”.

Most of todays rides were through the valleys near rivers. The twisty roads hug the banks.

The weather was ideal – atypically warm, sunny, and clear. The first hints of fall color were starting to emerge in places. Most of that is concentrated in the highest elevations right now, see the post to follow for some photos of the best color. The bulk of todays riding was searching out roads to link and connect to the already outstanding rides previously discovered.

I stopped here for a break along NC 197. It's a great ride as are the roads which connect to it.

I had been avoiding the area around US 19W due to the construction to widen the road to 4 lanes. Part of the mission was to discover the side roads which skirt around it. That construction will be going on for quite some time. I found a bunch of them.

You can see a hint of fall color near this lake along Roaring Creek Road in Tennessee.

I also located a nice loop ride south of Johnson City, Tennessee, a good road to make loops near Roan Mountain, and quite surprising, still more great rides near Little Switzerland and the Diamondback. Much of the riding this trip was down low, through the valleys and along the rivers which are rides you can do pretty much all year round, places to go after the Blue Ridge Parkway has closed for the winter season.

This road turned out to be a great way to make a loop ride when doing the popular ride over Roan Mountain. There is one very short but well maintained unpaved section.

I’ll be adding these new motorcycle rides to the map The Best Motorcycle Rides North and South of Asheville, NC” this week. It’s almost done with the upgrade to the new and improved format slow but sure.

The skies have been unusually clear lately and the long range views are outstanding.

I got some great photos of the start of the fall color in the higher elevations on the Blue Ridge Parkway. You’ll find some nice stuff starting near Boone and Banner Elk, in the area around Mt. Mitchell and the Black Mountains, not so much near Craggy Gardens, and then some north and south of Asheville. It’s still a little early, the peak will come next weekend, though it will continue through the lower elevations for a while. Next post will show you some color.

America Rides Maps – http://americaridesmaps.com

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Wayne Busch - Cartographer

Smoky Mountain Motorcycle Rider

The Best Motorcycle Rides in the Mountains

Tag Archives: roan mountain

Great Motorcycle Ride Rivals the Tail of the Dragon

Motorcycle Friendly – Skyline Village Inn, Little Switzerland

Skyline Village Inn

Murder Mountain Ride

Diamondback Motorcycle Ride

Great Motorcycle Rides North of Asheville Discovered