Just a quickie to let y'all know the cops have set up BASE CAMP down at the lakes about 2 miles from the Gap. The only person I saw them pull over was a semi.
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27 comments:
hmm..
wonder if they would take offense if i showed up there with a box of doughnuts for them..hehehe
Damn, are they that bored? They could make a killing by banning cars and such just on the weekends and charging admission instead of trying to write tickets.
I don't like seing their presence there either, but if it keeps some drunk dumbass on a cruiser who has never ridden that road before from taking me out in a head-on, I'm all for it.
Falco
I will Bring coffee hehehe!
Drunk Dumbass on a cruiser?? I have been there three times in the last four weeks. Have seen two head-ons and both times it was dumbasses on sport bikes. Now I don't have anything against sport bikes and I spend most of my time there trying to get by the odd Hardley but lets be honest. Most of the big ones are sport bike riders riding way beyond their ability. That's not to say that all sport bike riders are irresponsible but there are as many dumbass SB riders as there are cruisers or Miatas for that matter.
"or Miatas for that matter." Hey now, why does a miata alway have to be dragged into this, enough already!
Sport bikes
cruisers
Miatas
Coopers
Harleys
Mustangs
Suburaus
Motards
To quote somebody famous (can't remember who):
"We have met the enemy and it is us."
There is enough irresponsibility and lack of: talent / self control / judgement / etc., to cover every motorized means of transport on The Dragon or any other road.
My $.02: it is typically not speed that causes the problem, it is:
riding/driving beyond one's ability (that can occur at 20 mph or 60 mph)
or
piss poor judgement
The more of these two we see, the more of Larry Law we will see.
Ah, but the foucs of LEO's attention....
THAT is where the rub gets started.
Brian
Too much of a good thing and it gets ruined. As the number of riders increase, the percentage of reckless or what ever show up and cause extra law enforcement to response. The same issue then takes place in the law enforcement ranks and you have the certain percentage of their side show-up and soon it is time to find a new road to ride and leave the gap to the crazies.
It's not surprising that they would set up for this weekend with the rally going on. Next weekend will be big too, as it's Memorial Day weekend.
Lane
well, i can say this
i have not one time seen a sport bike rider pull over at the picnic tables and crack open a cold beer, and i have seen countless harley riders do it. if you wish to drink and drive...please don't do it here, do it in your driveway
now having said that, personal responsibility could go a long way to help resolve the issues
My group of 4 Motard riders was treated very well by the THP...unfortunately they did slow us down...or the prior fools made them slow us down. They were courteous. On one occasion, I was speeding, caught red handed, they pointed at me to slow down. I appreciated the break and did so.
I got up there sunday about 3 and WOw they were all sitting there, but luckily there were about to depart as we were leaving.
FTP!
Problem is it appears to cost TN a bunch to scrape up the remains and process them. Cars or bikes of just about any category. Some way more then others. TN can just about afford an officer for a year for the cost of cleaning up one or two dead on that road. It's a bitch, but too many don't know their limits and extremes of that road. The road is getting too much attention and drawing in many that don't belong and would otherwise never be there. There in lies the problem. SUX but that seems to be the current deal.
Well, looks like I'll be riding 28 down south and then some of the good roads in GA (60/129/R.B.R/75)
Are the LEO's there every day? Maybe if one rode on a thursday or friday in the morning it wouldnt be that bad......
It sucks though. Mark my words, in 5 years time the dragon will be nothing but a clogged highway. More and more "groups" find out about it and make it their destination. There will be other, less ridden roads that will have to start becoming popular. Sure, you'd be able to ride it, but slowly and in traffic. Who the heck wants to do that?
I first rode the Gap back in 2000. On my second trip through that weekend, I got waved over at the TN/NC line by a motorcycle officer. I was very surprised when all he did was warn me about some gravel in one area and a couple of oil spots.
Most of these guys don't want to write you a ticket. We failed to police ourselves (I know you the Killboy gang tried) and now we get to have some outside help for a while.
It seems to me anyone who feels the need to bitch about the dragon and its present situation need to stay home and out of my way. The cops just add to the excitement if you are not living on the edge get off because you are taking up to much room. I like the killboy photo people if they keep taking my picture I will make them famous.
I got pulled over last year on the Dragon by a Blount Cty Sheriff for doing 57 in what ever the speed limit is. He wrote me up for some county ordinance violation and said the fine would be $10 and no points if I paid it within two weeks. He told me to slow down and ride safe and sent me on my way. I don’t know about the TN HP but this guy seemed genuinely concerned about safety. The stop was probably a good thing because I was probably riding over my head. As the last poster said, If we don’t police ourselves we’re going to get some help doing it.
I hate to see this happen to this great road. But like everybody else has said, we have failed to police ourselves. Unfortunatly Im going to be out there this coming weekend for my last ride on the dragon for a while and I hope that I can still enjoy it with out the LEO ruining my day. But if all else fails I will just make my runs in the evening and at night.
Hey anonymous if you like living on the edge so much why dont you start by leaving your name so when you become famous or dead weel know who you were.
If your are serioun that cavileer attitude will cause someone else serious harm.
bossvmax
I have been riding th dragon since 2001, and even in that short time frame I have noticed a change in the whole atmosphere of the place. Now don't get me wrong because the place is still one of the best places to ride a bike, but it just seems like there are a lot more big ego's there now. I ride during the week, and early in the morning or late in the evening, I rarley go to the dragon on saturday or sunday anymore. BTW thanks Killboy, Ron and Nancy for trying to keep everyone safe.
you know what the best part of all of this, well best for me. i live roughly 15 miles from the overlook on the dragon. i get to ride it whenever i pretty much want to. and i know when the tn leo's are up there and when they aren't
Some come to the gap to ride, others come to the GAP to talk about riding, while others come to the GAP to be seen. What ever the reason, the GAP will continue to become more popular with the increased interest in motorcycling. I ride early in the mornings and later in the evenings and enjoy less traffic and LEO presence.
I can almost guarantee that the large LEO presence was due to biker gangs attending that "Waking the Dragon" rally. H-D rallies go on all over the USA all summer long, and many biker gangs (Hell's Angels, Pagans, Warlocks, etc) make it a point to attend certain ones. I'm sure all that police presence wasn't to write speeding tickets to riders on 900-pound 60hp Harleys running the Dragon.
The continuing LEO presence is because of the advertisement and exploitation of the area by the new owners of the store. I mean, good grief, we've got EZ-ups setup everywhere selling stuff, the web-sites.....the road was pretty much a secret when Pete owned the place. You never saw any cops up there until 2-3 years ago, now they're patrolling the place on bikes. A heavily advertised car rally every other weekend doesn't help either. I don't think the new owners are very biker friendly. They seem to like the cars.....maybe they spend more money or something.
Well folks that Genie is out of the bottle and there most likely ain’t no going back. People have heard and now feel the need to go to the GAP the way some feel the need to go to Mecca. A biker rally that was to bring possibly a 1000 bikes to the area is what brought out the LEO’s in full force. I have not heard of or seen any car rally do nearly the same. But, if they want to make some real revenue and not have to chase down a sport bike, the end of July there is always the Miata crew… Double yellows. They eat them up. ;-)
FYI, the EZ-ups and the store are two TOTALLY separate organizations.
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