HaulinAshe
Well-known member
It's NC-197 that has about a three mile dirt section over the mountain. The asphalt to the north is sooo good. We were running North to South and the leaves had gorgeous colors with just enough moisture on the gravel section to make a smooth and dust-free ride. When suddenly there it was, a cager off the mountain side, lying on its right side.
I found a suitable place to turn around and headed back up the mountain to take another look. My ride boots did not have enough sole to confidently investigate close up, but you could tell that the cager had been there a while. The leaves had covered all the skid areas where the cager had slid off the side. There was no smoke or sign of motion anywhere, and no one answered any call. So I assumed that the accident had happened a day or two earlier and that someone would be coming back to retrieve the vehicle.
You could see where the back window had been broken out in what appeared to be the driver's chosen path of exit. I did notice a few scattered Budweiser cans along the exit path and the whole thing added up to somebody being very foolish and very lucky.
So we put our helmets back on and headed down the mountain once again. About 1/4 mile down here comes the EMS and Fire/Rescue units, sirens blaring and lights flashing. Once young man rolled down his window and asked "You seen any car slid off the mountain?". "Yep, about a 1/4-mile up on the left" I answered.
Wow! Seems the one and only cager we passed, just as we started the dirt section, must have called in the wreck and we must have been among the first to spot it.
Not what you expect to find on a leaf-peeping, Sunday morning FJR ride in the NC mountains!
I found a suitable place to turn around and headed back up the mountain to take another look. My ride boots did not have enough sole to confidently investigate close up, but you could tell that the cager had been there a while. The leaves had covered all the skid areas where the cager had slid off the side. There was no smoke or sign of motion anywhere, and no one answered any call. So I assumed that the accident had happened a day or two earlier and that someone would be coming back to retrieve the vehicle.
You could see where the back window had been broken out in what appeared to be the driver's chosen path of exit. I did notice a few scattered Budweiser cans along the exit path and the whole thing added up to somebody being very foolish and very lucky.
So we put our helmets back on and headed down the mountain once again. About 1/4 mile down here comes the EMS and Fire/Rescue units, sirens blaring and lights flashing. Once young man rolled down his window and asked "You seen any car slid off the mountain?". "Yep, about a 1/4-mile up on the left" I answered.
Wow! Seems the one and only cager we passed, just as we started the dirt section, must have called in the wreck and we must have been among the first to spot it.
Not what you expect to find on a leaf-peeping, Sunday morning FJR ride in the NC mountains!
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