Road Trip Archives | Page 2 Of 2

Small Bikes, Big Fun: Why the Tail of the Dragon Belongs to the Lightweights

They call it the Tail of the Dragon—eleven miles of relentless, coiled pavement twisting through the Smoky Mountains, with 318 curves so tight they could snap your concentration in half. It’s a place where dreams go to lean, scrape, and occasionally low-side into the trees. The speed limit is 30, the shoulders are nonexistent, and the margin for error is about the width of your front tire.

And I’m here to tell you: leave the big bikes at home. The Dragon belongs to the little guys.

How to Plan a Motorcycle Road Trip: A Rider’s Guide to Freedom

There are two kinds of riders who struggle when they need to plan a motorcycle road trip.

The first kind plans everything: hotels booked six weeks out, a rigid daily mileage target, a schedule that turns riding into a commute with better scenery. The second kind does the opposite, shows up with no plan and ends up sleeping in a gas station parking lot because every campground within 40 miles is full.

The sweet spot is somewhere in the middle. Enough structure to keep things comfortable, enough flexibility to let the trip be what it wants to be. Here’s how to get there.