The main pull-off near the middle of the Dragon — long views over the Calderwood Lake gorge and the Cherokee National Forest. Pull all the way off; watch the blind entry.
This is the pull-off you don't skip — the Overlook, near the middle of the Dragon, and about the only place on these eleven miles you can safely stop and actually look up from the road. Pull all the way in, and mind the blind entry; folks come through these curves faster than you'd think.
Get out and walk to the edge. Below you, the land falls away into the deep green gorge of the Little Tennessee River, dammed here into the long still finger of Calderwood Lake, and beyond it ridge after ridge of the Cherokee National Forest rolling off toward the Smokies. It's a different kind of beautiful than the road — slow where the Dragon is frantic, wide where the Dragon is tight.
Take a minute. Let a few bikes go by. Breathe. Because you're only about halfway, and the second half is every bit as demanding as the first — whichever direction you're headed. Boone's got a tale or two for you nearby while you catch your breath.
When you pull back out, ease in gently, get your eyes way up the road, and settle back into the rhythm of it. Watch that centerline. Let's ride.
Photo: Thomson200 · CC0
