Tail of the Dragon is a biker’s dream.

The Tail of the Dragon is a notorious 11-mile stretch of highway 129 between Tabcat Creek, Tennessee and the intersection with highway 28 in North Carolina. Along with its apocryphal 318 curves (it’s actually less than 100) the road draws motorcyclists for it’s uninterrupted length. There are no roads that connect to highway 129 along the length of the Dragon. So, there is no concern about cars merging into traffic. What there is, though, is a lot of sharp, blind curves that motorcyclists have made the mistake of taking too widely. The tree of shame sits on the North Carolina end of the Dragon and is littered with the remnants of motorcycles that were damaged or destroyed along the treacherous roadway.

There are several artistic renderings of Highway 129’s “Dragon” at the beginning of this treacherous route in Deals Gap, North Carolina.

While some motorcyclists may bare the scars of their accidents along the Tale of the Dragon, the Tree of Shame bears the remnants of their wrecked equipment. Smashed helmets, displaced mirrors, and cracked fiberglass are all suspended from the branches of the tree along with notes poetically relaying their doomed encounter with The Dragon.