All photos are available in Weekly Update - May 3, 2006
Uploading photos from last week into our store here. Please check back in a day or so, we got a TON of shots.
It was pretty busy Saturday, but not as bad as I had anticipated. Sunday was a little damp so we didn't even shoot. Highlights are below as usual.
This weekend is the big Mini Cooper rally, with over 600 registered participants, and many more who chose not to register. It may well be the largest Mini gathering ever in the US.
I want to mention a couple of things. First off there is a benefit bike show on Saturday May 13th in Wartburg TN for Gap regular Josh Price. He was in a tragic accident on April 15 and had to be flown to ER. He ended up requiring brain surgery and reconstructive facial surgery with 65 screws and 10-12 metal plates in his face. He was wearing a helmet and riding gear and I believe this happened in town. The benefit is to help raise money for him and his wife of 9 months, and will be held at the Sonic drive-in in Wartburg. Registration is $20 from noon to 2pm, and $25 after 2pm.
I also got this letter last week that I want to share:
My name is Cecile and this was my third time on the Tail of the Dragon. Once riding with my husband and twice by myself. Only this time I wasn't as fortunate as the first time I rode alone I did not make it all the way through. I also probably made some statistics by surviving going down one of the ravine's or as I say it was the side of a mountain. Going North on the tail about 8 1/2 miles I was being over taken by some sport bikes passing me on "of course a curve" even though there was a double yellow line they didn't pay any attention to that. My husband saw in his mirror that someone went off the road as the bikers passed him. He laid his bike down to help out who ever went over the side. At that time he didn't know it was me. Other bikers stopped and looked down at me. The bike was about 50 feet down on its side and I was about another 50 feet from it. How I got off the bike I don't remember but I remember rolling and then a sudden stop,
It was a nice size tree that caught me right in the middle of the back. I straddled it as soon as I got by bearings and I basicly stayed agains that tree on and off for three hours. I tried belly crawling up the side and would keep sliding back down. Once again, I rolled down and the tree caught me again I just couldn't take much more. About an hour later my husband slid down the side and got to me and then he climbed back up by stomping foot steps in the side of the mountain. Finally he got me out. I was down there almost three hours. The vines that I held onto had worms crawling on them, ants, spiders, creepy crawl bugs. I thought I should have been on Fear Factor.
22 comments:
1. Being passed on a curve.
2. ???
3. Went off the road.
Just wondering what happened in the middle.
I dont mind being passed.. and I dont see why its a really bad thing.. faster riders should be able to be upfront.. I myself am a slower rider and when I was at the gap was overtaken a LOT.. the only thing I think should be happening thats not is the faster riders should wait for the slower rider to notice there there and wave them by so they dont scare the bajezuz out of them and cause an accident.. but then.. that just seems like common courtosy to me
aw you didn't take pics Sunday... :( my bud from up here was there that day on a 1000rr and said it turned out to be a great day and noone was there.
I too personally don't have a problem with passing but doing it in blind turns and just flying by them is not the way to do it. There was a picture 2-3 weeks ago of 2 riders going single file on the right side of the lane letting the others come by nice and smoothly for a great pass. That imo is how it should be done.
If being passed up there on a double yellow bothers you then man did you come to the wrong place.
Also, if being passed makes you uncomfortable enough to leave the road and slide down the mountain then you are definitely in the wrong place.
Get some seat time and then come back.
This is not a place to learn to ride.
On the other hand there are some out there that will do some crazy things and put people at serious risk. Don't be one of these people.
I'm all for letting faster riders/drivers go by, but some folks need to be more patient. There is a time and place to pass. I ride the Gap all the time, I'm there more than most people. I get frustrated because of slower riders/drivers that won't let me by too. If you can't find a spot to overtake the slower rider, pull over for a couple of minutes or turn around and go the other way. Or take the time to explore another line at slower speeds, you can still learn alot about the road going slow.
Weekend before last I saw some of the most dangerous passes I have seen in a long time.
Sat. on the gap faster rider comes up behind me, I wave him by. We get behind a suv, he passes suv with another bigger suv coming at him. I was holding my breath, I didn't think he was going to make it.
The next Sun. just starting up the gap at the Dam at Tapoco, I'm following 3 sportbikes. The first to nearly hit tow guys on Vespas passing two cars in a blind left hand kink. At this point about five more bikes get behind me. Well the last of the first three desides to pass in a bad spot and ends up going half way around a blind turn in the wrong lane. I pull in to the scenic pull off for the dam to let the other riders go by. The rest of the guys proceed to pass with cars and other bikes coming and in blind turns.
All this for all of them to pull in at the store. They risked their lives and others to make it 2 miles up the road 1 minute quicker. Was it really worth it? To me no, that is why I followed the cars until there was a clear place to pass.
Please be patient when going around and make sure it is safe for you and the person you are overtaking. Everyone has the right to enjoy their ride through the Gap, slow or fast riders. We are all there for the same reason, to ride.
Hahaha...in a good way or a bad way TR? From what I've seen of motorcycle "gangs" back in the day, I'd say that's pretty promising odds...especially considering it's on an internet forum where everyone tends to be more macho than they'll ever be in real life.
Still the discussion has remained fairly sane. There are asses in all groups, all we can do is try not to be the one in our own group. ;)
You would think after people have seen 1,000.00 sport bikes buzzing around them on this road they would look in their mirrors once every hour or so and see the line of traffic behind them and slide over just an inch and share the road . The twisties are not a place to learn to ride and if you are hanging on to your grips so hard that your knuckles are white maybe you should have picked another mode of transportation! I have seen The worst passing on this road from cruisers as well as sport bikes and cars. We have all been behind people that have no clue how to negotiate a turn and are not comfortable on their bike. When you get behind someone that is obviously haveing a hard time in the turns just be paitent and pass in a safe place not mid corner at 16000 RPM's and spook them. It's unfortunate that this may or may not of happened, Heck I low sided and trashed my ride up their do to my own error! I didn't need anyones help. Paitence pays.
My wife and I ride the gap a few times a year. Anita really came unglued the first time a bike passed her, on the outside of a turn.
I was so overwhelmed on my first couple of trips, that I did not notice people bunching up behind me. I was concentrating on riding my line safely.
More experience, and a couple of track days have made me safer, and more comfortable pulling over for faster riders. I also watch the rider skill of who I am following before making a pass. I only takes a turn of two to determine if the rider is holding a good line, or if I should just back off and let them go.
I can't comment on the crash, I wasn't there.
We all need to remember that this is a public road, and as such will have riders of different skills on it.
I just wanted to relay something that happened to me wensday. I usually go during the weekdays because traffic is lighter. I pulled out of the store going up wheelie hill when a line of bikes went screaming by me, all the way threw the first left hander. Passing in a blind turn is just plain stupid. I have a GSXR 1000, and I know my car can't accellerate as well as the bike, but what it does have is good tires, suspension, etc., it's not stock, so by the time we get to the gravity cavity I've already caught back up to the pack. After about a mile of riding there smart ass's, I finally pull over and wait so that I dond't have to be held up by a bunch of inconsiderate riders. I was born and raised here and have been running the dragon since 1985 so I know the road. I guess the point being, don't be stupid and think that just because your on a bike you need to be careless and pass just because YOU THINK you are faster. I'm fast on my bike and in my car, but also know that there are those who are way faster. Be considerate, be carefull, and have fun.
I like toast...
Is there any corroborating evidence that this incident actually took place? 3 hours, no LEO? Other bikers there?
And I'm a little confused. If you're northbound, how do you go off the downhill side without sliding across the other lane?
If the sportbikes scared this person by passing on the inside of a right-hander (then they weren't crossing the double yellow) and she stood up her bike, forgot how to use the brakes, locked up the rear, I suppose it could happen. Any other scenario I can play out in my mind has her crashing into the side of the hill. This sounds suspicious to me; anyone else?
her being an experienced rider does matter though. More then likely regardless of her being passed or not if she was inexperienced and it was due to target fixation, thousands of different things could've triggered her to stand it up and go off.
Also yeah going over the speed limit is illegal but um... more then likely you do that every day just like everyone else. There's LEO's out there and if they feel you're going too fast you'll hear about it from them. Also passing imo is safer then staying behind someone who's slower and less predictable. There's a reason people ride at their own risk and as long as they don't endager others then as far as I'm concerned they're fine. It's their choice if they want to risk getting a ticket, not yours.
With that all said I do find it a little odd that someone could go off and noone really stop even her husband... He sees someone go off behind him and he knows his wife is behind him... Doesn't even stop like any other rider would when someone first goes down... And then doesn't make the connection until 3 hours later that she went down and it was her who went off... Also the motorcycle community wouldn't have just let her sit there for 3 hours with people at the top of the hill. 1 person gets sent to call 911 and the others do what they can but don't move her because anyone who has any first aid training know that isn't the right thing to do. get her in a neck brace and on a backboard and pull her up the hill... I don't like calling bs but I'm forced to but the story simply not making any sense.
ps. sorry for the absurdly long post
I admit I've passed on double yellow many times at the Gap, always in lefthanders, and do so intentionally because I think it's the safest way to pass:
- You avoid the straight-line race that people have mentioned.
- You limit your time in the oncoming lane, double-yellow or not, because a) the distance is shorter for the passer than the passee, and b) the slower rider is typically going slower than in the straights, so a quick bike is by in no time.
- The risk of passing in the straight is always someone in front of you in a line will also try to pass & pull out without looking. This risk is much lower in a corner.
To avoid spooking a person being passed, I once tried pulling alongside (but pretty far away) in a short straight to show her I was back there before zipping by in a later corner. But that didn't work: she came and yelled at me and some others later at the the Overlook screaming "this is not a racetrack!" Point is, some people will always see passing on double-yellow as bad, and it's hard for me to argue. Despite my best intentions, I *did* spook her (& I apologized). Of course I think she should have avoided the road as a beginner, but she was right: it is a public road, not a track. However, I can't say I won't make the same pass next time.
Finally, I also call BS. A crash happens on the Dragon, two bikes go down, and no one other than the husband helps out for 3 hours???
"ARC954RR said...
Hello everyone,
I have never been to the dragon (and sound like I don’t want to go any time soon either"
Enough said, go to another blog and comment about something you are familiar with.
Until you go out there and ride 20mph behind some inexperienced rider that wonders back and forth across the yellow line and jerks the bike back and fourth because they are scared to death you have no legs here.
For the record, the lady didn't send me the message with intent for me to post it, she was just asking about when pictures would be up and included her story about her day.
It is odd that she went down a drop while traveling northbound. There are very few drops on the right side of the road while going that direction, but there are a few. (Parson's Branch comes to mind) I'd like to know more about her story too. I just posted what she said up as a reminder for everyone to take it easy around timid riders. We don't need anymore crashes out there.
It would be nice if you could ask her for some more information and permission to post it. Or let us know if she refuses.
In my eyes, with complete information, any accident can be learned from and thus avoided or mitigated in the future.
As I alluded to in the first post, there is a lot of missing information given the situation.
I agree. The motorcycle community tends to be very good with helping downed riders. Doesn't matter what they're riding or who they are. Everyone knows it could've easily been them or someone they know so do everything they can to help. Only way the story would make sense is if noone saw her.
I've gotta agree with khelton..I see people stopping all the time to help downed riders they don't even know..I've personally been covered in chiggers/poison ivy after helping and would/will do it again..Jason(riding the 250 on front page) stopped last week and told me about a bike off the road a few turns down from me..We went back to the crash site and the rider was gone but in the mean time several other riders stopped to see if everything was ok..To get to the point we had the guys bike back up the 30ft bank and on the road when he got back from the store..
Of course you go right over the deep end. My only point is that "Anyone" regardless of the laws "because the laws will not save you" that rides out there MUST expect to be passed. Also, that I see lots of new riders that are very twitchy and jumpy. I am not a racer nor do I ride a crotch rocket. Actually a Roadstar Warrior. "But I do occasionally pass and break the speed limit.
You on the other hand have never been there and are only spouting experience and law that do apply everywhere but until you have actually been in the situation you don't know what you are talking about. Sure you can rave all day about laws and your many thousands of hours in the seat but maybe this weekend go up there and make a few passes.
It is really unlike any road I have ever traveled. Maybe it's old hat to you. But know this. If you are jerking your bike all over the road and twitching every time you meet oncoming traffic you will get passed. Maybe even by me.
And every year a handful of "been there's" always predicts the end, and every year everyone just keeps having a great time.
There are 22 miles of road to play on if everyone can act sensible, lots more all around the area. There doesn't have to be any "mass pileup" drama.
Darryl,
WOW!
1st and foremost, I'm glad the lady is OK to ride another day!
2nd, I'm from Florida and ride a Road King. I ride several passes a day every time I come up and can't wait to get back. BUT, I have never seen any of the riders mentioned previously! I have been passed by much faster bikes and all of them seem to be in total control and posses high riding skills. I have never seen another bike or car coming at me in my lane and the vast majority of fellow riders I have encountered have been courteous and as thrilled to be there as I am! I'll be back there May 19 through 24 and I hope all the "road thugs" that were written about have moved on! I LOVE the Dragon and everything about it. I check your site and Ron's almost daily. Keep up the good work and LET'S ALL PLAY TOGETHER NICELY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Jerry from Tampa...
Nice reply Jerry, thanks! It's my observation that most people out there have just the same experience as you...not a lot of drama, sharing the road respectfully. Let's keep it up, it's not asking that much. ;)
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