Kc-10 FE
05-26-2006, 12:57 PM
I've been to the Dragon twice. Once in September 05 & last week. So far, I'm not having trouble free times. I ride a 2000 Yellow VFR800 the wife has a 1989 NT650 Hawk GT.
#1 Last Sep, I trailered down from Asheville from the hotel we were in and only got a few runs in before we ran the Cherohala. Durning one of those runs, my wife was in the lead and a semi with a 53' trailer came around the turn. My wife has only been riding for a few years and she was concentrating so hard on not going over the side that she really didn't notice how close she came to that trailer. I had to come to a dead stop in the road and the truck missed me by less than an inch. She was less than 6' inches from being launched over the side.
#2 This time we stayed at a B&B in Robbinsville. I figured we were less than 10 miles from the Gap so I would be able to get several runs in. WRONG! It rained and was in the 40's for most of our trip. The one day of the trip we had dedicated entirely to riding never went above 45f & down poured the entire day. We were supposed to leave back to NJ on the 19th (my leave ended the 19th so I had no choice) but I decreeded that I'm not leaving without riding the Dragon at least once. We got up & chekced out early. We trailered over to the resort to find little action. Great we thought, no crowds on the road. We ran uneventfully all the way to the dam. I noticed my bike was handling a little spooky. Upon completion of the day I was told this is due to Dunlop D204K's being a POS tire. On the trip back we wacthed that sand truck almost fall over the side of the cliff. Another rider basically told him to stop what he was doing and wait for the wrecker. I was directing traffic for several minutes until the backed up cars and bikes got sorted out. We got back to the resort and I let a few people know and they said the wrecker and cops we already enroute. I told the wife that I would like to do one more run. She said go for it. I took off up the hill with a red VFR in chase. We we having a blast, since save for color, our bikes were indentical. After we passed the semi again, I noticed something moving on the side of the road. Turns out it was a female turkey. She took off proceeded to fly directly into my helmet. I almost crashed. I made it to the overlook and the guy on the red VFR said all he saw was brake lights and feathers. I made it back to the resort safely. My neck & shoulders are still sore after a week.
I'm planning on doing this trip at least once a year. Despite these obstacles, I still have a blast every time. 129 from the dam up to the resort is better than ANY road I've ridden on in NJ. I will be back & the Dragon will not beat me...
KC-10 FE out...
#1 Last Sep, I trailered down from Asheville from the hotel we were in and only got a few runs in before we ran the Cherohala. Durning one of those runs, my wife was in the lead and a semi with a 53' trailer came around the turn. My wife has only been riding for a few years and she was concentrating so hard on not going over the side that she really didn't notice how close she came to that trailer. I had to come to a dead stop in the road and the truck missed me by less than an inch. She was less than 6' inches from being launched over the side.
#2 This time we stayed at a B&B in Robbinsville. I figured we were less than 10 miles from the Gap so I would be able to get several runs in. WRONG! It rained and was in the 40's for most of our trip. The one day of the trip we had dedicated entirely to riding never went above 45f & down poured the entire day. We were supposed to leave back to NJ on the 19th (my leave ended the 19th so I had no choice) but I decreeded that I'm not leaving without riding the Dragon at least once. We got up & chekced out early. We trailered over to the resort to find little action. Great we thought, no crowds on the road. We ran uneventfully all the way to the dam. I noticed my bike was handling a little spooky. Upon completion of the day I was told this is due to Dunlop D204K's being a POS tire. On the trip back we wacthed that sand truck almost fall over the side of the cliff. Another rider basically told him to stop what he was doing and wait for the wrecker. I was directing traffic for several minutes until the backed up cars and bikes got sorted out. We got back to the resort and I let a few people know and they said the wrecker and cops we already enroute. I told the wife that I would like to do one more run. She said go for it. I took off up the hill with a red VFR in chase. We we having a blast, since save for color, our bikes were indentical. After we passed the semi again, I noticed something moving on the side of the road. Turns out it was a female turkey. She took off proceeded to fly directly into my helmet. I almost crashed. I made it to the overlook and the guy on the red VFR said all he saw was brake lights and feathers. I made it back to the resort safely. My neck & shoulders are still sore after a week.
I'm planning on doing this trip at least once a year. Despite these obstacles, I still have a blast every time. 129 from the dam up to the resort is better than ANY road I've ridden on in NJ. I will be back & the Dragon will not beat me...
KC-10 FE out...