Kudzu Curve on Back of the Dragon (Virginia Route 16). (Photo above courtesy Back of the Dragon; other photos by the author and Dan McPhee).

Dan and I met nearly 20 years ago while playing on a recreational ice hockey team in our hometown of Ottawa, Ontario. When we weren?t talking about how bad our team was, we discussed our shared love of motorcycles. Our first motorcycle trip together was a long weekend exploring New Hampshire?s White Mountains.

Scan QR code above or click here to view the route on REVER

For our next trip, we spent a week riding in the Appalachians of western North Carolina. We enjoyed it so much that we returned the following year. Dan and I became regular riding partners, and we?ve done tours throughout the U.S. and Canada. Recently, we returned to the Appalachians to celebrate the 15th anniversary of our first ride there.
Dan made a new friend at the Back of the Dragon store in Tazewell, Virginia.

After a long day and a half riding south on Interstate 81 from Ottawa, we kicked off our backroads bonanza near Wytheville, Virginia, which is in the heart of a half-dozen excellent loop rides known collectively as Claw of the Dragon. We exited I-81 at Marion and rode north on State Route 16, a road known as Back of the Dragon that winds its way through the mountains to Tazewell, a nice Appalachian town that?s a perfect place to rest and recharge. It has a variety of restaurants, shops, and motorcycle-friendly lodging options, including The...