I ride to the NC/TN mountain areas about twice a year from FL. Been on most known roads there. Dragon can be crowded and dangerous this time of year with all the newbies on the twisties on the weekends. Still an interesting place to experience. My favorite of all the great roads so far is the BRP from Asheville to Cherokee which is only a little over a 2hr ride with no sightsee stops... 4hr with all the 6,000 ft high views. Do not ride and view, view when stopped or you become part of the view. On that short stretch you go thru 16 tunnels in the high mountains. In the middle of that ride take 276 toward Brevard, a ranger station at the bottom into a great little mountain town. Pass 2 nice waterfalls on the extreme downhill curvy road, tho a good quality road.