I passed on my opportunity to go August '08. I had a friend nearby in TN who I wanted to visit one last time before moving to San Diego withmy new bike and Google Maps even suggested US129 (AKA "The Dragon") when I selected the "Avoid Highways" option for Princeton, WV (dealer) to Newnan, GA (home), but the whole point of picking that option was due to having never driven on the streets with my only experience being the MSF course so there was no way in HELL I was going to take "The Dragon." I'm lucky I even knew what it was enough to suspect that 129 may have been it or else I would have taken it and been blind-sided by it.
I did enough research before buying to see plenty of references to The Dragon. When my friend moved up there earlier that summer and heard that I was planning on getting a motorcycle he mentioned "a place nearby that motorcycles love to go," which I instantly knew was The Dragon. No matter how I calculated the directions, "Avoid Highways" would always send me into serious twisties (looking at the sat view was scarry), so I just had to hit the Interstate for my trip home. At least my break in was complete by the time I got home! Ah well... someday.