318 Turns, 11 Miles, No Wimps

Sections: Events Apr 12th, 2005 27 Comments

Yes it’s that time of year again. Time for a few hundred MINI enthusiasts to tackle that little stretch of road simply known as the Dragon.

Once again North American Motoring (along with countless volunteers) is helping to put on one of the biggest US based MINI events of the year centered around the road. Like last year MINIUSA will be making an appearance (with a JCW S Convertible no less) along with around 400 participants and over 300 MINIs! For those that are interested but haven’t signed up yet.. the clock is ticking.

There’s only a couple of days left until registration is closed. Here’s a quick overview of the event for those interested to know more (from North American Motoring):

So what is the MINIs on the Dragon?

MINIs on the Dragon is the largest gathering of MINIs and their owners in the US. This year we’re expecting around 400 people and more than 200 MINIs. The weekend is centered around the mutual interest and enjoyment of what can be argued as the most fun car on the road.

Where is the event held?

Deal’s Gap, North Carolina. The home of the Tail of the Dragon. The Tail of the Dragon (Hwy-129) is perhaps the finest road in the United States for motorcyclists and sports car enthusiasts who enjoy driving on an 11+ mile stretch of twisty road with a fantastic road surface and not a single intersection or cross road for the entire length of the Dragon. 318 curves in 11+ miles! The MINI was made to TURN and the Dragon is the perfect asphalt compliment to our fantastic little cars.

What do you do?

Hang out with our MINI friends from all over the country, drive the Dragon and other great roads through the Smoky Mountains, and generally just have a great time surrounded my beautiful scenery and more MINI’s than you have ever seen in your life. There are group drives, meals, fun contests, vendors coming from far and wide to meet YOU, and even a few (ok, more than a few) giveaways. This year many of the social events and hub of activity will be Fontana Village Resort. Located on Fontana Lake and surrounding by beautiful scenary it’s a great chance to both get away from the daily grind and obsess about your MINI at the same time.

How do I get started?

To get started be sure to log into North American Motoring (or register if you haven’t already done so). Once you’ve logged in start out with the Events link. This page will be your personal event planner. At a glance you can see your status on the basics and each event that requires some form of RSVP or registration. If the event is clickable just click on it to find out more information on it as well as who has currently RSVPd to attend.

The other area to read is the Registration area. This attempts to explain the updates to this year’s event in regards to event insurance and what options are available for registration.

Here are a few more details on registration for the Dragon (again from North American Motoring):

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Registration options are new for this year. As with organized clubs whose officer’s and members plan activities there are potential risks that arise relative to liability. With an event that involves driving there are additional risks that can place the organizers and coordinators of that event at a significant financial liability if something (accident, injury, claim by third-party non-event participant, etc.) were to happen during that event. To alleviate this concern and allow everyone to put forth a best effort for coordination and planning without worry about risk DC Metro MINIs has worked to support the 2005 MINIs on the Dragon with event insurance.

To participate in any of the events at the 2005 MINIs on the Dragon an event registration is required. This provides a form of documentation that you are indeed a member of this group of attendees for the weekend of the event and thereby covered by the DC Metro MINI policy. There are two options available, both of which include this coverage.

[ Dragon Registration ] North American Motoring

If you would like to know more about the Dragon itself, check out the official website (yes, a website for a road): TailofTheDragon.com

For those curious, there’s an outside chance that I’ll be making the trip this year.

Written By: Gabe

27 Comments

Mike Apr 12th, 2005 Link

Anyone have any idea how this compares to California roads like Skyline? The road sounds great, but not all that much different than lots of things we have around here. So is this really amazing by west coast standards or is it just the only road this good on the east coast? I’d be looking for comments from someone who’s driven both.

doug Apr 12th, 2005 Link

Hey Mike, consider this more of a “MINI SOCIAL” as opposed to a driving event.

If you’re looking for thrilling drives, sign up for some track days. They are safer, regulated and I’ve been told often, nothing beats them!

The dragon, over the past several years, preMINI, has been the East coast’s answer to a socially adequate location for a swift drive through a curvy road. If California had more socially adequate “Inn’s” and “Cabana’s” through a twisty, you’d see the same thing happening on the Left Coast.

Hope this point of view helps somewhat.

Greg Apr 12th, 2005 Link

Hmmm…the Dragon sounds very much like Bill Bryson’s Walk in the Woods, on the Appalachian Trail? Hang on a minute lads…I’ve got a good idea!

GW.

Bob Womack Apr 12th, 2005 Link

The Dragon itself is an exotic little stretch of mountain road on the South end of the world’s oldest mountains. It is, in fact, curvy enough to easily turn riders tummies. The stretch of road regularly draws bikers for events and has sprouted its own website ( http://www.tailofthedragon.com/ ). Having grown up in the area, I can tell you that the area is FULL of fun roads, actually. I happened to have done the Dragon in a Mini in the 1960s, and can tell you it is lots of fun, especially if you are in the front seat…

Bob

gmini Apr 12th, 2005 Link

You’re absolutely right about track days, Mike. And a lot of folks I know are less than eager to visit upon the Tail of the Dragon in the midst of a giant MINI meet. Alternative plans are made. I’m personally satisfied with my routes too work. (albeit without MINIUSA’s JCW S C ).

Everyone I know who has attended this event has absolutely loved it and has chanted “you gotta do the dragon”. There’s no doubt in my mind that MINIs on the Dragon is a thoroughly enjoyable event.

Gabe Apr 12th, 2005 Link

Mike – here’s more info on the Dragon: tailofthedragon.com

Gabe Apr 12th, 2005 Link

And if anyone is curious just how impressive the Dragon is… consider this BMW Motorcycle ad

Michael Burchill Apr 12th, 2005 Link

What’s the driving experience actually like though, when you’re trying to drive down a twisty road with 200+ other MINIs? I mean, different people have different driving skill limits and tastes, so do they break the group up into smaller subgroups?

Seems like it could potentially turn into a serious ‘traffic-jam-on-the-Dragon’?

RB Apr 12th, 2005 Link

MIKE…

I used to work in Palo Alto and I lived in Pacifica, circa 1969. I drove the old Skyline daily and it was a blast. I entered Skyline somewhere west of Burlingame or was it Hillsborough? I recently drove the new road and found it rather dull, if I’m not mistaken it is mostly freeway now. The 1 south form Pacifica was still fun and the 17, either way is a must in a MINI, if you can find it with no traffic.

I must admit that we in CA have a lot of fun drives but do you really think we have a lock on fun drives, I don’t think so. I’m a California native and found your comment a bit antagonistic, but hopefully no one else did. Maybe I just miss read your intent.

Bob Womack Apr 12th, 2005 Link

Well, we out East are used to having all things east of the Rockies minimized by those out west, so we just bear up. ;)

Bob

dgszweda Apr 12th, 2005 Link

The road is great. One of the best in the country. I drive it on a regular basis, since I live quite close to it. The event is not really a driving event, and is turning into more of a social event, which I think will have a self defeating purpose. It is starting to peak now, since I don’t think it can either hold much more, or even be a lot of fun. At some point it becomes a traffic jam on a twisty road or a crowded town, which isn’t a lot of fun at least for me. At this point, the Minis stretch out covering over 5% of the road as it is.