Cops at Deals Gap?

[Pappy]

Been reading about the gaps for three years. Lots of stories, videos, the picture of that cruiser guy falling on his arse, etc. No one ever writes about getting performance awards there.

Now's that I've moved to within a day's ride of the place, I'm gonna go. So what's the scoop? Cops? Yes? No?

Pappy

 

[Rogue]

Never been but from what I've read... thicker than flys on sh*t.

 

[luvtoride]

Been reading about the gaps for three years. Lots of stories, videos, the picture of that cruiser guy falling on his arse, etc. No one ever writes about getting performance awards there.
Now's that I've moved to within a day's ride of the place, I'm gonna go. So what's the scoop? Cops? Yes? No?

Pappy

The Gap is pretty much all that you've heard. Be sure to be careful when you decide to run it. Be sure to run it well b4 running it hard. She bites... & the name is fitting. The Dragon... definitely better run when it's a touch cool out (April, May) as opposed to when it's really warm & on the weekends.... ooh, big following there! People who like to pass on blind curves aren't so good in my book. A big suggestion... run it during the week or when cooler.... Anddddd.... be sure to get a tee @ the DG store when completed because WE MUST CELEBRATE!

Rest assured there are absolutely awesome roads within riding distance that easily rival or are better than the Dragon. There is some absolutely gorgeous & great riding in the area.... some of the best on the east coast.

My vote will go for 2 roads in particular to ride while in the area. #1... Rte 28 on the southeastern side of 74 in Carolina... but both sides of 74 (on Rte 28) are outstanding. Depends what you're looking for... sweeps or tight... southeastern tight & northwest TO THE DRAGON is sweeping.

#2 - An absolute "MUST RIDE" is the Cherohala Skyway. Definitely go & experience it. One of my favoites thus far... a huge mass of high speed sweepers. )

I'm jealous... This is a serious area of twist and sweep. Be good... be careful but have fun.

Heidi

 

[FJRocket]

The Gap is definitely patrolled. Saw a copper on a Harley dresser running through there more than once. Rest assured those guys can get you. And it's expensive.

If you see someone coming the opposite direction and they pat the top of their helmet, there's a LEO nearby. They like to get you at the NC border, and coming into the few short straights along the way. When the limit is low, and your FJR accelerates so fast, believe me, you can get an EXPENSIVE trophy.

More importantly, be careful out there. The Dragon WILL bite your ass. I think speed trapping on those short straights is bogus, but the speed limits are probably a good thing. Watch your speed, know your OWN limits, and keep it right of center.

First time I went through, I followed a few sport bikes on a training run. As in they were showing a newbie "the lines". They weren't going particularly fast, just working on technique. That was really helpful to me, especially since I'm a flatlander. I had to re-learn to LEAN. Lean ME as much as the bike, if not a bunch more. And don't freak out when you scrape your pegs...

The maps with speed traps on the Dragon pages are fairly accurate. I've seen LEO's at all the places marked in the Dragon and all of the surrounding areas at one time or another (and I've not been THAT many times). Good idea to print the maps, study them, take them with you and get familiar with the zones.

In the Dragon, if you get to a short straight, and there's no minivan to pass, think of it as a rest zone, not a balls to the wall zone.

Also remember that there are hundreds of miles of great riding outside the Dragon well worth your time to explore. Especially on weekends when the Dragon is jammed with bikes and tourists. Get a MadMap and explore the whole region.

Man, there are some beautiful rides around that area. Enjoy!

 

[TheAxeman]

Its amazing, the more information I read about The Dragon the less I actually want to go. Probably for the same reason I've never been to DisneyWorld. Large crowds, long lines, to many rules, cartoon characters, and to short a ride on the roller coaster....I think I'll stick to the little know winding roads with sweepers, no LEO's and no cages to gum up the ride.

 

[black mamba]

I'm lucky enough to get to spend 4 to 5 months each year riding the high country of NC, TN, and the Virginia's. I can go in any direction from my mountain house in Boone, NC, and enjoy riding to rival that available anywhere in the world. One place you won't catch me riding is the Dragon at Deals Gap. All-in-all, it is probably the most dangerous stretch of road you'll ever get on. Idiot bikers riding way beyond their skill levels are a constant threat to your safety. Huge trucks travel the road and there is NO WAY for them to do so without coming into your lane...the many cars that use the road frequently come across the line as well. Occasionally, some local imbecile will throw oil on the road for his version of fun and games. The Dragon is famous and every one wants to ride it. But as others have pointed out, the region is loaded with terrific roads ( many much better than the Dragon ) so why risk life and limb when you don't have to? Hunt out these superior rides and enjoy your mountain riding at a much lower stress level.

 

[MrVvrroomm]

Rip it up as much as you want Monday through Thursday. Weekends are HEAVILY patrolled by the local law. There will be no breaks if you're caught.

The weekends at the Gap are made for spectating.

 

[drjfjr]

+1

The Weekends are a joke unless you go early morning. Weekdays rock. I have made several passes on the dragon in week without getting behind a cage. Now that is an unusual event on the dragon.

There are many roads in the area including Wayah and the North Georgia roads are good too. They are down by TWO (Suches Georgia.)

I will be in the area in late April for the first of several slayings of the dragon this year.

DRJFJR

 

[TheRepairMan]

The weekends at the Gap are made for spectating.

I agree. Watching from the sidelines is a blast, too! ...and I'll second that about being careful.

Highway 126 is a tight, twisty, quick road with many surprises and some of which can jump up and slap you real fast, but the LEOs were the least of our concern it seemed. The bikes and cars were out in fair numbers for an October day.

I was going to the Gap with my Wife in her new Honda Accord just to see first hand what all the fuss was about, and it was quite some work to get through there smoothly because of all the traffic, much less the winding road.

It was our first trip there and we saw two bikers down but they appeared to be unhurt, yet heard of others that had gone off the sides when we got to Deals Gap Store. One had to be Air Flighted out. Aside that, I really enjoyed meeting Gordon and his wife Barb there on their FJR and FZ1. Got to sit on Gordon's FJR! That was a HUGE thrill!

Have yet to ride it on my new FZ1 ...'cause I'm still waiting for MamaYama to let her go. Dealer's telling me May now. (WTF!) A whole 'nother thread.

We parked off to the side several times just to get out of the sport bikers' ways and to take pics and video. It's a complete rush to watch the runners. Sent chills as I heard them coming round one turn and then another then blasting past us as if we had fence seating on track day.

If some of you guys make it to this years EOM you can have a very similar experience on highway 421 from Boone, NC up into the Mountains in Tennessee. Many more turns over a longer section of road crossing through Shady Valley and all the way into Bristol should you wish to expand your adventure.

This region NC, TN, and Southwest Virginia offers some of the greatest sport-touring roads and scenery this side of the Mississippi. Beautiful parkways, mile high lookouts and some good food, lodging and friendly folks.

BTW, 421 was completely resurfaced and lines repainted at the end of the Summer last year so it's a pleasure to ride but you still need to be careful and also watch out for the THP and local LEOs.

Well, come see us and have fun!

Roger B in Tennessee

 

[slapnpop]

What everone else said.

If you want a tour of the best roads in the north eastern part of TN, and the Northwestern part of NC, let me know! It's where I live, and I know most of the roads pretty damn well!

As mentioned before, us421 is just as good a road to ride as the dragon, if not better. The road conditions are pristine, LOTS less traffic, and fewer idiots too.

 

[Calabash]

Here is a picture taken by Killboy to show how dangerous it can be up at the gap:

I have gone up there twice a year with a group from another forum for the past three years. Last year one of the riders went down and his bike looked like this:

To the right of the picture is the tree of shame, you can nail/hang a piece of your bike to it if you crash up here.

Some good sites to read if you are going:

Killboy

East TN Riders?

If you go early and ride especially on a weekday like everyone said, you should have a nice ride. After 10am it starts to get crowded.

Go with friends, the guys whose bike went down was lucky, one of the people in the group had a trailer and was able to take it back with him to Nashville.

This is what the Gap looks like when you go early:

I have mostly seen police at the bottom of the run on the TN side. They are on the gap when there have been accidents but I have rarely seen them pulled off on the side of the road.

The two website above would talk about that more and update you before you go there.

The Gap is a beautiful place that can be dangerous especially on weekends and nice days.

 

[TheRepairMan]

What everone else said.
If you want a tour of the best roads in the north eastern part of TN, and the Northwestern part of NC, let me know! It's where I live, and I know most of the roads pretty damn well!

As mentioned before, us421 is just as good a road to ride as the dragon, if not better. The road conditions are pristine, LOTS less traffic, and fewer idiots too.

Is I'm one of the fewer idiots, Travis???

I just watch my mirrors to keep the squids from hitting me...but that was when I was on the Honda ST1300.

We encountered cyclists in the high ground on 421 last fall. Lots of them, but since it's easy to share the road briefly with them it's not a real problem.

Like Travis said, 421 is very good road. It too, has it's own store located in Shady Valley. A nice little stop to grab a bite and meet the two wheel travelers.

I'm so looking forward to seeing you all there!

BTW, Great pics CALABASH, that one dude riding backwards really should space it out a bit! :dribble: :blink:

Travis, call me,

...my people will set up a time with your people to ride 421 sometime!

Roger

 

[S76]

I went with a group last year and it was fun and all, and we are going again this year, but I'm not going with them on the day they go to the Dragon. To many idiots there, just like the picture above. Maybe a week day would be fine but we were there Saturday and it was insane. Although I didn't experience someone coming at me over the line, 3 others in my group did, and it was only a group of 25. That's bull$ hit. Especially when you consider there are so many beautiful roads in that area that aren't packed with squids. If they want to endanger their lives I am all for that, but I'm the idiot if I knowingly put myself in their way.

Cherohola Skyway, 421, Blue Ridge Parkway, all beautiful and fun.

 

[Diesel6.6]

I will recommend you experience the dragon, hede the advice and go on a weekday mon-thurs. I know if I was in the area of the dragon and did not make a pass down it I would be kicking myself, because I did just that. I was talked out of riding the dragon by the group I was in and it took two years for me to get back to the area. The dragon was a great road and I'll never forget riding it.

PS: just ride within your limits and remember it is not a race track, even though some people treat it like one.

 

[rogerfjrfaster]

Just like everyone said do it on the weekday and early, we rode it March 15th no traffic no squids altho there were a few there but not rideing when we went through. We stopped and had coffee bought what we wanted before we rode as we were head to I 40 and head home after rideing the dragon. We got home on 20th. Out running the storms.

rogerfjrfaster

 

[yanktar]

I've been down to DG twice, but don't know if I'll go again--800 miles each way.

The Dragon is a lot of fun to ride, even for a timid rider like me. But the first time you ride it, put your ego down for a nap and ride it slowly--and let all the squids and faster guys pass you. You WILL see bozos like that squid in the torn tee shirt taking a blind left-hander on the wrong side of the double yellow in the picture posted above. On my first ride, from the NC side, I rode slow and let anybody and everybody pass me. On the way back down, I met a friend at the overlook. He was MUCH faster than me, and was riding with a friend. About 10 minutes after I left the overlook, I found him standing slightly dazed by the side of the road. "Mark? Where's your bike?...." "It's down there." says he. He had lost traction on a left-hander (I think it's called "The Wall") and went down a cliff, luckily loaded with brush. The bike stopped 10feet down, and he went down another 20. He was banged up, bruised and cut up, but damned lucky. The bike was pranged completely.

You gotta watch for cops on the Dragon. The THP are trying to stop all the folks who are getting killed from getting killed. Without much luck. Worse than the squids are the car guys. I've seen WRX rallies where they ALL drove like nuts. A lot of BMW drivers (cage, not bike) are driving like (they hope) Mario Andretti and come around left-handers well over the line. Plus the bicyclists trying to prove something.

Early morning is a good time to ride.

My WORST ride was when we were going home. It was 4am, the bikes were laden down with our stuff, it was pitch-black and....pouring down rain. I got to lead :blink: because I was the ONLY one with any significant experience riding country roads at night, in the rain. a VERY long 11 miles....

The Cherahola is a much higher speed road, with better views. But you gotta watch it, too. There are lots of decreasing radius turns, especially down hill, and, just to make it interesting, not properly banked. A lot of accidents happen there, too.

 

[GAPS]

Its amazing, the more information I read about The Dragon the less I actually want to go. ...I think I'll stick to the little know winding roads with sweepers, no LEO's and no cages to gum up the ride.

+1, ditto, yup. Too much trouble for me, not interested in finding that squid in my lane or having LEO bait me in. Lots of great options, so little time. Seems like the Dragon is more about bragging rights and cool T Shirts than anything else. At some point the risks out weight the benefits.....

 

[OHFJR]

I have been down at the dragon twice over the last few years. The last time down we saw the most outrageous thing ever. There was a full size tour bus going through the dragon at 8am on a Saturday morning. Luckily for us we where at the small motel at the base drinking coffee and not out running the dragon on our bikes. Could you imagine meeting that half way around a blind corner and your already deep into your turn. You know darn well the bus can not stay on his side of the road and probably comsumes 9/10 of your side going around every turn. They really should put a vehcile length limit of that road.

 

[TheRepairMan]

I have been down at the dragon twice over the last few years.  The last time down we saw the most outrageous thing ever.  There was a full size tour bus going through the dragon at 8am on a Saturday morning.      Luckily for us we where at the small motel at the base drinking coffee and not out running the dragon on our bikes. Could you imagine meeting that half way around a blind corner and your already deep into your turn.  You know darn well the bus can not stay on his side of the road and probably comsumes 9/10 of your side going around every turn.  They really should put a vehcile length limit of that road.

+100

I saw a photo last year, probably from Killboy, of an 18 wheeler stuck with it's rear trailer tandems on top of the guardrail on the inside of a tight turn.

There was no place to go around him at all!

If you ran up on it quickly and couldn't stop your only choice would have been to turn straight up the dirt bank from either direction.

How stupid do you have to be to even try to take a truck through there. I don't get it. That's not a slam at truckers in general by no means. I drove also at one time.

Someone post that photo here if you know where it's hosted. It's unbelievable!

Actually I found it and a page full of them and will try to post a few pics or at least the link.

You got to check this out!

https://www.tailofthedragon.com/dragon_trucks.html

Roger