Riding the Dragon Safely, Part 2

[Yellow Jacket]

The following is a quote from Ben, the Administrator of the forum on the Deal's Gap website:

Allow me to elaborate.

The Dragon is known far and wide for having many turns in a short stretch. Many of the turns are not standard type turns. There are decreasing radius turns, blind turns, uphill/downhill, off camber turns and all the above in some of them. It is a challenging road, period. Thats why so many like to come here and ride. The challenge of making a smooth pass from start to back is what interests many riders. There are no street lights or fire hydrants. There are no driveways or mailboxes. There are very few guardrails. There is NO cell service....

Now couple that tight road with busy traffic - bikes, cars and sometimes 18 wheelers - as well as some inexperienced riders, and you have a recipe for disaster. Don't forget one side is mountain and trees, and the other is a drop off with rocks and trees.

I'm not the one to tell you you can or cant come here. Far from it. Its everyones right to go where they want, how they want and when they want. BUT, there are plenty of places to go figure out how to ride before coming here.

My concern for newer riders is simple. Not only are new riders taking their lives into their hands, but they are putting others at risk with their inexperience. On any given day theres no less than 1500 bikes that come through here. On weekends, its twice that.

Again, I'm not trying to tell you how to live your life, but most don't consider all the possible repercussions of not being in complete control, until its too late. Take it from me.... Ive been here 5 years, and in that time Ive seen 11 deaths, and dozens of serious damage done to people, never mind the hundreds Ive bandaged up with minor injuries. Some will never be able to ride again in their lifetime and all because they wanted to come ride one of the most demanding roads on the eastern seaboard.

Its just like an education. You don't just sign up for college, take a couple of days worth of classes, and graduate. It takes time in the seat to make someone a better rider, not challenging one of the toughest roads out there.

Ride safe and remember there are 2 kinds of riders. Ones that have gone down, and the ones that will go down. Do you possibly want to have a wreck in a place that might not let you walk away ??

I don't mean to sound like a pessimist...... sorry if I do, but I've just seen it too many times.

[ringadingh]

That all makes pefect sense, we all made mistakes while learning how to ride well. That road isn't very forgiving when you find out your in over your head.Its best to learn your bikes limits as well as your own before you attempt the dragon..

[nomad561]

As someone who has ridden the Dragon several times,I can completely agree with his statements.Something else I would add is, even if you have been riding dirt bikes for 15 years,don't think you can get on a 600-800 lb cruiser and ride the Dragon or any other road like it.(I've had people tell me this before)

[Top Cat]

That my friends sums up the reason or reasons I will never attempt to ride the dragon
Even if I thought I was an expert rider, which I don't, nothing says a newbe won't come around a curve and knock me over the side.
Yeah, call me a candyass, but I like riding to much to take a chance on having it taken away fom me.

[rflnomad]

I am not really looking to ride the Dragon. Rider Magazine had a article that they called "The Snake" in a area close to the Dragon. 200 or so miles and 3 states; it looked like a cool cruisers loop.
That is what I want to ride! ;)
I bet the Dragon IS nice, but I like to see the stuff around me too.

[tinskeep]

The Snake actually is more of a challenge than the Dragon and goes much further. Again the "common sense thing" and obeying the speed limit makes it quite enjoyable, even with a passenger..

[macmac]

Over that way is another parkway called Cherholla or something like that, and it has demands, but is a nicer road over all. Longer ride, better vistas, and underated for riders.

I missed what ever the snake is. Any links to it?

When I was in the area of the Dragon I was staying at a TVA camp ground in Tn. Basicly the Dragon started across the street for the camping gound.

I chose my times fairly early on mid week days, and had little traffics the 3 times i decided was safer.

It is a road riding it for 3 tiimes isn't enough to go fast. I knew that and had no incident what so ever.

When a rider came up behing me I just moved over and let him go if he wanted.

I would wave to indicate I knew he was behind me and then make the slow down motion till I was ready to wave him by. That was respected.

And there is just no telling who and with what is coming from ahead of you.

One of my rides I encountered a log cabin off the road and down hill! No chit a real wooden log cabin fell off a 18 wheeler and there it was too.. High sided right across the road into the rocks on the high side and the trailer was off the road on the low side and some of the wheels were no longer on the ground at all...

Tractor Trailers get hung in places where they sit on the frame and no wheels on the trailer touch the ground like a big sea saw

[AlabamaNomadRider]

I have been riding bikes since I was a teen and believe me, that is a long time ago. The Nomad is probably the heaviest bike I have ridden. I owned an '83 Goldwing and not sure if it weighed more or not. It probably didn't since it only had an 1100 engine. I am still learning the Nomad since April of this year and have ridden it 3700 miles. Believe me, I am still learning it. But, The Dragon is one road I am going to have to ride. But believe me, I will definitely keep my speed at or below the speed limit. I will definitely be watching the traffic and not the scenery. But Yellow Jacket you gave some sound advice. Most people will not pay heed to it though. And that is where the problem begins when people don't pay attention. I'm not saying to anyone not to try it, just don't try to get from bottom to top and top to bottom in record time. Watch what you are doing and know your capabilities.

[dkdixie]

The Cherohala Skyway and DragonTail are not far apart. Many riders do both in the same day.
Cherohala is completely different with long winding curves. The sport bikes really get crazy on it.
In fact, there have been more deaths on Cherohala than the Dragon.

[Scoot]

I really don't see the big deal of saying the Dragon is so bad. It's to many curves to get up any speed as long as you ride to your experience you should be fine........To me riding in a big city is alot more scary than the dragon. I have never rode in Atlanta and probably never will......I'd go miles and miles out of my way to keep from riding there.

[oldbikers]

There are plenty of ways to kill your self on a bike with out pushing the limits in a curve, I am old enough now where I just like to take it easy and look at the scenery and smell the roses.

[nomad561]

The main reason I bought my Nomad was because I lost the "need for speed" and want to enjoy the ride now.

[glwilson]

Oh Bob... there you go again... convincing me I don't want to ride the Dragon. :-/

According what was written... even if you watch your speed and ride within your skill-level... you have a high potential of getting "wiped-out" by another idiot... an 18-wheeler... or whatever else is screaming down that road. ::)

I am not afraid of riding the Dragon... but I am afraid of putting myself at risk of other rider's and driver's lack of skill or common sense -- especially in an environment that almost begs for idiots to show up and prove they are one. ;)

But then again...

[dabull]

just a little side note here,,,the dragon is a fun ride..when i rode it during the SENR rally i did not have anyone come zipping up the rear or in my lane from the other direction...had a good ride with the buds...same goes with the cherohala ride...BUT....i did see several dudes in racing leathers and witnessed a couple of drkkar rally cars go flying by...actually heard the cars coming fast....

[Yellow Jacket]

The two posts I made about Riding the Dragon Safely was not intended to scare anyone out of attempting to make the ride.

Rather, it was an attempt to educate about the unique situation that exists at the Dragon.

Traffic levels can be very high and is comprised of a large number of motorcycles of every kind, automobiles and pickups, sports cars, three wheeled vehicles of all kinds, tractor trailers, bicycles and even an occasional segway!

I believe that anyone planning to ride the Dragon should be aware of the possible hazards.

So far, I haven't encountered a tractor trailer on the Dragon. I did meet one south of the Dragon between Deals Gap and Tapoco at a straight section. I also met a car straddling the center line in a right hand curve (left for them) on Hwy 28 just south of Deals Gap. Since I was already in the right hand side of my lane, keeping plenty in reserve, I had no issue in avoiding the car.

If you're interested in riding the Dragon I would suggest that you check out the following sites. There is a lot of good information on them.

http://www.dealsgap.com/
http://www.tailofthedragon.com/

Also check out Killboy's highlight page for tons of photos of all kinds of vehicles on the Dragon.

http://killboy.blogspot.com/

Don't be afraid of the Dragon, be informed. And then make the decision that is best for you.