JKJ-FZ6
Junior Member
Another of the hazards on the Dragon: truckers who don't heed the signs. This one had the road completely blocked.
Guard rails? What are guard rails? Most of the mountain roads we ride don't have guard rails because the snowplows push the snow over the edge in the winter (or spring for the roads that close over the winter). As far as drop-off's, one of my favorite roads hugs the north rim of the Black Canyon. If you ride it west to east putting you in the right lane, sometimes you can see the river if you crowd the white line along the right edge of the lane. Attached a pic, is this what you mean by drop-off?
Thanks everyone for the terrrific feedback and advice. Sounds like we will have a great time. Definitely will be avoiding the weekend since we will be on vacation and probably be there between M-F and doing the CO-TN-CO drive over the weekends. Just hope it stays relatively dry when we are there.
Oh, and just kidding on seeing the river. On the curves along the canyon I'm usually leaned too far over to see the river...I think that's part of why Lytehouse rides her own bike now. I used to get slapped on the side of the helmet a lot coming out of tight curves. LOL.
Wether your on the twisties out west or out east, any roads with steep drop offs, especially on corners (and no guard rails) are extremly dangerous / deadly if pushing the limit. Low speeds to very high speeds juat makes the issue that much more an issue
You can die on a 100' drop as easily as a 1000' drop...
Guard rails, snakes, cars coming at you, sand, gravel, trucks, crowds? I think I would prefer the much faster and much safer route and suggest turns with air bags, medical assistance at every turn, everyone going in the same direction, regulated traffic, clean surface, etc. and do a track day while also taking in the museum at Barber Motorsports in Birmingham, the best or one of the best tracks in the country, the weekend of 4\5 or 5\17. Plus a little farther south the weather should be warmer.
Guard rails, snakes, cars coming at you, sand, gravel, trucks, crowds? I think I would prefer the much faster and much safer route and suggest turns with air bags, medical assistance at every turn, everyone going in the same direction, regulated traffic, clean surface, etc. and do a track day while also taking in the museum at Barber Motorsports in Birmingham, the best or one of the best tracks in the country, the weekend of 4\5 or 5\17. Plus a little farther south the weather should be warmer.
IMHO, I'd take the Cherohola Highway over any track, anyday, but thats just me...
Cherohola Highway must be pretty special! When it comes to great views and casual riding with friends, good roads can't be beat.
Track riding is obviously not about scenery, but if you want maximum curves and silly speeds, it's a far better place to do it than any road.
I'm sure Bren does not intend to ride the dragon at her maximum pace, but lots of people do just that, don't they? For them, I'd absolutely suggest track day over any public road.
I've never ridden Deals Gap (so please correct me if the following is not true), but from loads of write-ups + videos + pictures, it does seem like being there at the wrong time can be very dangerous. Things like trucks completely taking up oncoming lanes and suicidal riders and drivers crashing and taking others with them.
If I was planning to ride there, I'd want to know best time of year to be there and I would definitely plan to ride it on a weekday.
Don't go during tourist season. too many idiots trying to go fast and causing wrecks. You could go toward NC and pick up HWY 9 in Black mountain and ride to Chimney Rock, where the Last of the Mohicans was filmed.
yeah that is my sunday ride home from church its great
We took the trip to Dragon and BRP last June. The weather on BRP were changing from sun to rain by the minutes... If you want to do the BRP - just do the last 120-150 miles of it. It runs for 470 miles north to south, but don't waste the time doing it all, rather save it for the nicer roads down there. The last 150 miles are nice and curvy, the rest up north are so-so.
As for the Dragon itself, it worth to do it and later to say been there - did that.... I don't know what's the fuss about it here in the East, but I guess it is the only "attraction" for bikes on the East Coast. Stay within your limits and you'll be fine.
Run it several times back-to-back and you'll see how better you becoming with each run. Key is not to get ****y with a shot of overconfidence.
Be careful in a left-hand blind turns as some pushy biker can go wide into your lane. The photographers in the sharp turns are a main distraction. Inexperienced riders want to "pose" and therefore they go wide. This what happened when I was there.
Other roads like rt28 which starts at the Dragon by the Dragon resort (where we staid) is nice, curvy and fun. You can ride it faster as the curves are not as sharp as on Dragon.
And yes, weekdays are much less crowded and more space for you to ride.
To give you some idea, here is a vid from our ride on dragon and rt28.
This day I ran into that accident when a biker on a toures went over and hit a HD head on somewhere down 3/4 of the Dragon in TN. I didn't want to continue after this and just turned back to the motel.
So I rode my FZ6R before I bought the FZ.
It may look slow in the vid, maybe cas of the wider angle, but I pushed the bike at about 80-90%.
If you'll notice in like min 5:05 I went over the left side, but don't be afraid... did it for fun...
Dragon - YouTube
Rt28
Ride from "BaseCamp" toward Pit Stop - YouTube