Are you up for driving some of the best mountain roads in the world? Then join us for the 2007 Cayman Club Rock'n'Croc Rally, to be held Friday thru Sunday May 18-20. Our route will take us on the superb roads of the Blue Ridge through North Carolina,
South Carolina and Tennessee, including the infamous "Dragon".
We'll be attacking a total of 10 intense runs over 2+ days. These are the best twisties up there, sequenced to maximize the fun (avoiding traffic, fatigue, tickets, etc.). While we'll eat and stay at some nice spots, there won't be any catering, presentations, tours, etc. This one is just about driving - "spirited" driving. (That's not to say you won't make a few new friends, and maybe even score some goodies from Cayman Club and/or other sponsors). There's no fee for the event. Everyone will be responsible for making their own lodging reservations (links below), paying for their own meals, etc.
We'll start Friday morning May 18 from the
Spartanburg Marriott in Spartanburg,
SC (where I-26 crosses I-85 between Atlanta and Charlotte). Our first run takes us up Route 276 to a place called Caesar's Head. (Do you remember the original ad campaign for the BMW Z3 that went "Happiness isn't just around the corner. Happiness is the corner"? Well it was reportedly thought up here at Caesar's Head - which isn't too far from the BMW plant in Spartanburg where they built them).
After a brief stop to look at Connestee Falls, we'll head to Rosman on US-64 west to do a run on SR-215 north through Balsam Grove in the Pisgah National Forest. This dumps us out at Waynesville, NC, from which we'll head west 'til we get to SR-28 south, the Baby Dragon, a fairly level route with some great banked sweepers on the way to Franklin NC.
From there we'll head up Thunder Road (ever see the '58 Robert Mitchum movie about moonshine runners?). This is SR-1310 and it's a real blast; it runs up to Wayah Bald and Nantahala Lake. It dumps us out on US-74 (in the Nantahala Gorge if you've ever gone rafting there). Then we'll take US-129 past the Cheoah Dam (Harrison Ford jumped off it in
The Fugitive) to end up for the night at the
Fontana Village Resort in preparation for our runs on the Dragon (Deal's Gap) Saturday morning.
Early morning is the best time to do the Dragon, as otherwise the amount of traffic can dilute the experience significantly. We'll run it west, stop to catch our breath in Tennessee, then run it east. After picking up some souvenirs at the Crossroads of Time shop (at the east end of the Dragon), we'll keep heading east on SR-28, to US-74 which we'll take east to I-40 toward Asheville.
Just before Asheville, we'll run up to the Blue Ridge Parkway on Candler Mountain Road (SR-151). Lots of great switchbacks on this one. It dumps us out at the top right near the
Pisgah Inn, where we'll have lunch. This is a great spot with incredible views from the dining room. They even have a pretty nice gift shop to placate significant others back home.
(Speaking of significant others, unless they'll be co-driving with you, it may be best to leave them at home. These are very twisty routes that are often nausea-inducing for those in the passenger seat.)
After lunch, we'll head east on the Parkway through a series of tunnels that'll give you a great opportuity to hear some reverberating exhaust notes. Then it's on to the Sandy Gap Loop (SR-226A) at Little Switzerland. This is a seldom-traveled twisty that's so much fun we may want to do it twice, which is easy to do as it's a loop route. We'll have dinner and spend Saturday night at the nearby
Switzerland Inn.
Sunday morning there are more twisties in store for those who've got any energy left. Of course, the Sandy Gap Loop is right there for an exhilarating wake-up. Also nearby is SR-80 which winds past Mount Mitchell. And for those who wish to cap off the weekend with a great final run, Rough Ridge beckons a few miles to the north. This is a relatively level route along US-221, weaving among rock outcroppings through birch forests around the base of Grandfather Mountain on the way to Blowing Rock, NC. Regardless of which option you choose Sunday morning, you'll wind up not too far from I-40 for your ride home that afternoon.
As I mentioned before, each of us will be responsible for making our own room reservations at the Spartanburg Marriott Thurs 5/17, at Fontana Village Fri 5/18, and the Switzerland Inn Sat 5/19. Feel free to ask any questions. I've been leading mountain driving events in the Blue Ridge for the last eight years or so; for an idea of what the last one was like, go to
this thread and
this one on EliseTalk.
I'll send out further specific info to event participants. It should be a real blast!
Bill Koff
Wilmington, NC
Rock'n'Croc Rally!!
I am definitely interested too
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