For many years, the town of Tazewell, Virginia, was a thriving community. The coal industry was in full swing, and it employed many of the townspeople fueling the town’s economy.
但是，随着对煤炭的需求急剧下降，所以做了镇的人口和经济性。一个曾经充满活力的市中心迅速开始稳步消亡。而且，如果不是因为一个骑摩托车的体贴，镇可能最终从地图上消失。
Thankfully for the town, a motorcyclist named Larry Davidson recognized another local attribute that could prop up Tazewell, its people, and its economy.
The man who is responsible for the Back of the Dragon and much of the revitalization of Tazewell, Larry Davidson.
As a child, Davidson made frequent visits to Tazewell to see his grandmother. During the journey from his hometown of Canebrake, West Virginia to Tazewell, a young Davidson developed a fondness for the town and the state highway that brought him there, Virginia Route 16.
The Great Depression and Route 16
当大萧条来袭，政府投入数十万年轻人工作的平民保护军团（CCC）的旗帜下。他们的工作是为了让网站如内战战场访问，开道现在被称为天际线公路雪兰多国家公园和蓝山大道道路。它是内置维吉尼亚路线16 CCC。
维吉尼亚路线16开始在饥饿母亲州立公园马里昂，弗吉尼亚州，并结束塔兹韦尔。路是路面的32英里长下面的三种不同的山的轮廓。因为它使得它的方式从马利昂塔兹韦尔，道路曲折，有四百曲线。这些曲线流向向上和向下的山给人一种刺激的过山车效应。
拉里·戴维森的想法
这是拉里·戴维森进来。1999年回国后塔兹韦尔，戴维森得到了工作的教学在当地的高中。在他的时间了，他骑着路线16.摩托车是城市的亮点为他的一个。他想知道，如果16号干线可以帮助塔兹韦尔。
“当我回来的时候，我看到了区域是如何摧毁了，因为煤走出去。我想，好吧，我们为什么不能做一些与道路？”
Davidson has indeed been able to do something with Route 16. Several years ago, he printed up a dozen T-shirts with a dragon on them and put them in his backpack. He then rode around, talking to motorcyclists about what appealed to them about the road.
A sign tells riders that they’ve found the Back of the Dragon while poking fun at the Tail of the Dragon’s shorter length.
而那些打T恤很快就消失了跃跃欲试的车手。这是这些T恤衫是由戴维森认为多一些的销售。
“这给了我一个想法，也许我们到一些东西。我看到在水深火热一个社区从煤中的下降，我想看到的东西抬不起来。”
While Davidson’s idea to make the road into something was new for Tazewell, it was not a new idea in the USA. A mountainous area on the border of Tennessee and North Carolina has a road with similar attributes. There, local entrepreneurs came up with a similar idea, and they decided to brand their sinuous road as “Tail of the Dragon.” Its 318 turns in 11 miles have become a significant tourist attraction.
在塔兹韦尔构建吸引力
所以戴维森认为，不能路线16成为一个类似的吸引力呢？特别是由于路由16较长，已经远远曲线。考虑到这一点，戴维森与当地政府弗吉尼亚州对他的想法官员和国会议员讲话。
他印刷了一些t恤和去了tate’s capital to meet with and give one of the shirts to the then Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell. And, he was successful.
In 2012, the state-designated Route 16 as the “Back of the Dragon”. It’s become Virginia’s only state-designated motorcycle route. With 4 million miles of road, could the Back of the Dragon really become a tourist destination? The answer is yes!
人们从全国各地骑龙的后面，这名男子从加拿大一样。
In just a few short years, the road’s souvenir trailer can not support the number of people passing through. In 2017, an estimated 60,000 motorcyclists passed through Tazewell. That figure is actually quite a bit larger. It does not include sports car owners who now visit Tazewell to drive Route 16.
对于所有的成功，戴维森还是相当受龙的成功返回震惊。
The thing that thrills me is, the biggest thing this shows is, we have an opportunity here that is phenomenal, because they’re here looking at what God has given us. The road is exciting, the road being named by the state, the road is technical, and they just love to come and love to enjoy that camaraderie and ride the road.”
振兴钱
Route 16 has become so popular that the Tazewell County Industrial Development Authority is receiving a $450,000 loan from the Virginia Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission to put towards a new $1.6M 5,000 square foot welcome center. Organizers hope to have the grand opening for the center this spring.
有些人可能会质疑政府是否应该支持的活动，可能是危险的。在田纳西州和北卡罗莱纳州道类似“龙之尾巴”已more than 50 fatalities since 1995。
但是，这显然不是与龙后面的情况。Roanoke时代新利18苹果下载报纸上说，“在过去的几年里，没有一个人驾驶乐趣的道路已经死亡。”因此，尽管纽约时报的报价可能不是一个苹果，苹果相比，‘龙之尾巴’，这是两者之间的相对‘安全’的指标。
Perhaps its the weekly sweeping of the road to remove gravel that helps. Maybe people treat the Back of the Dragon with more respect than they do on the “Tail of the Dragon”. Whatever the reason, it seems that the 400 turns and 32 miles of the Back of the Dragon are an enjoyable and comparatively safe road to ride.
曼尼Elswick把这个老银行成塔兹韦尔摩托车店。
塔兹韦尔改好
现在，龙的返回是一个旅游景点，都感受到整个塔兹韦尔其影响。一位居民买了附近的龙欢迎中心后面的旧汽车经销店开了一家小型酿酒厂，其她的儿子拥有和经营。
Todd Day, Tazewell’s Town Manager, agrees that the Back of the Dragon has been a blessing to Tazewell.
“我可以告诉你，在2012年，你可以不买大街上软饮料。忘掉硬饮料，你可以不买汽水“。
Now that’s changed. The Front Porch on Main now occupies a historic residence and is one of several new restaurants in town. The town’s jail has been converted into an inn. Two closed banks have become the Well Coffee Shop and Clinch Mountain Motor Works.
但它不会停在那里。阿曼达篮球，塔兹韦尔今天执行主任，镇的倡议，以振兴大街和她的丈夫塔兹韦尔市长迈克尔篮球，搬回塔兹韦尔。他们一直生活在城市，但弗吉尼亚州现在有一个使命，以帮助振兴它们连接到的区域。
Tazewell is on its way back to its glory days. Its attempts to build a new and lively community that encourages people to return home or attract new residents is succeeding. And the plan to do just that starts with motorcyclists and the Back of the Dragon.
