Why this ride
From Mountain City it runs 118 km to Tazewell; allow about 1 h 58 of riding. The climb of the day is The Snake US 421. It tops out at about 850 m. The passes are the reason to go.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Appalachians · Snake and Back of the Dragon · part 1
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 118 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 1 h 58
- Journey
- One way; return travel is separate
Distance and timing basis
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: planning record, not independently verified geometry.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distances and riding times are planning figures. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Shady Valley
Shady Valley is a quiet bowl of farmland tucked among the high ridges of north-east Tennessee, close to the Virginia line, and for motorcyclists it is a pilgrimage point. The valley is ringed by the Iron and Holston mountains, and it holds something unexpected: a set of cranberry bogs, left behind from the ice age, which make it a minor botanical wonder in the Appalachians. Locals hold a cranberry festival each autumn, and the little community around the old general store feels far from anywhere.
Read the complete Shady Valley write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Shady Valley is where the day begins. Next is The Snake US 421.
2. The Snake US 421
The Snake is the nickname of US 421 as it crosses the Tennessee mountains between Shady Valley and Mountain City, and the name is earned. In about thirty-three miles the road throws up some four hundred and eighty-nine curves, according to the number everyone quotes, and it is the sort of statistic that is hard to believe until you are in the middle of it. The road climbs out of Shady Valley, a high basin once famous for its cranberry bogs, over the shoulder of Iron Mountain through hardwood forest, and then drops toward Mountain City, switching back on itself like a snake in a hurry.
Read the complete The Snake US 421 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
You top out here; the road stops climbing. Next is Tazewell food.
3. Tazewell food
Tazewell is a small town in the mountains of south-west Virginia, the eastern doorstep to a road known as the Back of the Dragon. The route, Virginia State Route 16, runs for about thirty-two miles from Tazewell to Marion through the Jefferson National Forest, over Brushy Mountain and Walker Mountain, and it has an estimated four hundred and thirty-eight curves, a number that riders repeat with satisfaction. The name was borrowed from US 129 at Deals Gap in Tennessee, but the Back of the Dragon has its own character: it is a quieter road, with fewer crowds and more forest, long climbs and descents, and hardly any buildings or junctions.
Read the complete Tazewell food write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
A break here. Next is Back of the Dragon.
4. Back of the Dragon
The Back of the Dragon is a road with a trademark and a reputation, and both are earned. Virginia Route 16 runs for about thirty-two miles between Tazewell and Marion through Appalachian forest, rising over three mountains and managing, depending on who counts, around 438 curves. The name comes from the neighbouring US 129 Deals Gap, the famous stretch of US 129 in North Carolina and Tennessee, and the Back is often described as a more relaxed relative, with longer sightlines, a smoother surface and less traffic. Tazewell, a small county seat in the Clinch Valley with a handsome old courthouse, anchors the northern end.
Read the complete Back of the Dragon write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back of the Dragon closes the day.
Leg by leg
Shady Valley to The Snake US 421
Shady Valley → The Snake US 421 is 12 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
The Snake US 421 to Tazewell food
The Snake US 421 → Tazewell food is 104 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.