Shots from the Tail of The Dragon

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One of the Shinbone Valley Hooligans from Alabama on the Dragon's Tail June 8th 2011

I traveled to Robbinsville NC, known for the tail of the dragon, to test my skills of shooting riders as they maneuvered the twists, turns and switchbacks of the dragons tail. Little did I know that I would be shooting one of my regulars from Alabama, Jeremy, as he was dragging knees through the curves on US129. As it turns out, the Dragon's Tail is the third unscheduled location where I've shot Jeremy in action. Our first encounter was on a popular stretch of road just outside of Leeds Alabama, Highway 25, that I liked to call "Hwy25 Switchback to 29Dreams". Later came Mt. Cheaha and now on the infamous US129 better known as The Dragon's Tail. The Dragon's Tail or Tail of The Dragon as some call it, offers up to riders in eleven miles, 318 turns, twists and switchbacks that challenge the skills of novice and veteran riders alike, winning at times as evident from the body parts (bikes) that hang from the "Tree of Shame" found at the Deal's Gap riders resort. 

Jeremy is member of an extremely talented group of Alabama riders as evident from this shot of him, that call themselves the "Shinbone Valley Hooligans". Sounds like a rowdy bunch doesn't it? But to the contrary, they are a great group of guys and gals that simply love sport-bike riding both on the street and on the track. Even though I ride a clunky, in comparison to what they ride, Suzuki M109r, they invited me to join and participate in their forum discussions, an honor that I will never forget. When they aren't sweeping the curves along the back roads of Alabama, the Hooligans are participating in track days on two well known Alabama tracks, the Barber Motorsports Park and the Talledega Gran Prix Raceway better know as Little Talledega. There they fine tune their riding skills by laying it all out, gaining experience and confidence with every lap they make around the track.


For more photos of Jeremy and others riding the Dragons' Tail that day, go to www.JoeRides.com and look for the Dragon's Tail US129 Deals Gap 2011 gallery.