55380
Rainwater
WOW! I have wondered when the rally would make it to this general region. If y'all have never been here or, even if you have, get ready for some really great roads! The more famous roads, such as that part of 129 that some folks have been calling "The Dragons Tail" is amazing. Of course the claimed 311 curves in 11 miles requires that, for example, a decreasing radius curve is carved into at least 3curves to count for one tight curve, one tighter curve, and one even tighter curve. No matter how you count them, there are a lot of curves on the Dragon and most are stuck right up against each other. I tried counting the curves while riding one summer day. I just could not keep count while concentrating on the curve that I was leaning into at the time.
It is hard to find an uninteresting or straight country road in this area.
I do have a PRIMARY REASON FOR WRITING THIS. I live in Maryville, TN maybe 8 miles from the Dragon. Every Summer the local newspapers report several fatal or near fatal motorcycle accidents on the Dragon. I do not remember any of these riders being identified as "local riders". I am not saying riders from other areas are any less skilled than local riders but if you live in an area where most of the curves have stop signs on them the Dragon will be a challenge. This is true for the Blue Ridge, the Cherohala, and many of the other roads in this area.
On the other hand, I do not remember any of the motorcycles involved in these accidents being identified as a BMWs. Anyway, I would like to continue to NOT hear of any BMW riders ( or anyone else) loosing life or limb in this area.
The very tight and closely spaced curves on the Dragon can be tricky if you are pushing it a bit. It is hard not to push it when the sun is peaking through the trees onto a smooth and curvey stretch of road. I was riding that road downhill with my wife on the passenger seat one summer. I was relaxed and was riding at a moderate pace. I guess I was a bit too relaxed. I overlooked a decreasing radius and was too close to the apex too early in the curve. I slid over into a racing style hang-off to gain some ground clearance so I could tighten my line. This worked fine but my wife did not know what I was doing. In a slight panic, she grabbed me and attempted to pull me back onto the seat! We laugh about this now. If it had turned out differently we may not have been able to do any laughing. I was riding slow enough that I was able to recover in spite of the short tug-of-war with my passenger. Sure, I made a mistake. I should have been more focused. I learned from it, etc. I probably have around 250,000 on motorcycles & about 100,000 on BMW's. I am not a perfect rider. Sometimes I might miss something or just make a wrong decision.
My point is that mistakes happen. It is even easier to "goof" when riding on unfamiliar and challenging roads.
The Dragon is a 5 to 10 MPH swarm of cruisers on weekend days. Go in the mornings or during the week to avoid having to slip the clutch while creeping along behind the "poser parade"! To complicate things, the sport bikes may be there at the same time!!! Oh yeah, the state troopers are all over the Dragon during the popular riding times.
The Cherohala is beautiful. It also has mostly increasing radius curves in one direction and, of course, decreasing radius curves in the other. Some of these are not obvious until you hear yourself say "UH-OH" (or something like that). The Blue Ridge Parkway is a nice ride also.
Get a map, ask around, go for a ride. Enjoy yourselves. Please ride with due caution. From Johnson City you can be on the crest of the mountain in less than an hour. You can take some nice back roads in just about any direction. Folks are generally VERY friendly here. Do not be surprised to see more than one elderly couple sitting on their front porch smiling and waving as you ride by.
I look forward to seeing you in July.
It is hard to find an uninteresting or straight country road in this area.
I do have a PRIMARY REASON FOR WRITING THIS. I live in Maryville, TN maybe 8 miles from the Dragon. Every Summer the local newspapers report several fatal or near fatal motorcycle accidents on the Dragon. I do not remember any of these riders being identified as "local riders". I am not saying riders from other areas are any less skilled than local riders but if you live in an area where most of the curves have stop signs on them the Dragon will be a challenge. This is true for the Blue Ridge, the Cherohala, and many of the other roads in this area.
On the other hand, I do not remember any of the motorcycles involved in these accidents being identified as a BMWs. Anyway, I would like to continue to NOT hear of any BMW riders ( or anyone else) loosing life or limb in this area.
The very tight and closely spaced curves on the Dragon can be tricky if you are pushing it a bit. It is hard not to push it when the sun is peaking through the trees onto a smooth and curvey stretch of road. I was riding that road downhill with my wife on the passenger seat one summer. I was relaxed and was riding at a moderate pace. I guess I was a bit too relaxed. I overlooked a decreasing radius and was too close to the apex too early in the curve. I slid over into a racing style hang-off to gain some ground clearance so I could tighten my line. This worked fine but my wife did not know what I was doing. In a slight panic, she grabbed me and attempted to pull me back onto the seat! We laugh about this now. If it had turned out differently we may not have been able to do any laughing. I was riding slow enough that I was able to recover in spite of the short tug-of-war with my passenger. Sure, I made a mistake. I should have been more focused. I learned from it, etc. I probably have around 250,000 on motorcycles & about 100,000 on BMW's. I am not a perfect rider. Sometimes I might miss something or just make a wrong decision.
My point is that mistakes happen. It is even easier to "goof" when riding on unfamiliar and challenging roads.
The Dragon is a 5 to 10 MPH swarm of cruisers on weekend days. Go in the mornings or during the week to avoid having to slip the clutch while creeping along behind the "poser parade"! To complicate things, the sport bikes may be there at the same time!!! Oh yeah, the state troopers are all over the Dragon during the popular riding times.
The Cherohala is beautiful. It also has mostly increasing radius curves in one direction and, of course, decreasing radius curves in the other. Some of these are not obvious until you hear yourself say "UH-OH" (or something like that). The Blue Ridge Parkway is a nice ride also.
Get a map, ask around, go for a ride. Enjoy yourselves. Please ride with due caution. From Johnson City you can be on the crest of the mountain in less than an hour. You can take some nice back roads in just about any direction. Folks are generally VERY friendly here. Do not be surprised to see more than one elderly couple sitting on their front porch smiling and waving as you ride by.
I look forward to seeing you in July.
This will be my first rally so I'm not up to speed on all the goings on. Is the pre-rally anything more than folks resting up after a long ride before arriving at the rally looking all clean and refreshed?
