Events on the Dragon

JrGMan

Registered
The below listed article appeared on the Knoxville, TN News Sentinel's website today and I thought that those who come up here to ride might find it of interest. Plus those coming for the Eastern Owners Bash in September. I try and ride the Gap once or twice a week but continue to worry about the numbers of people, both 2 and 4 wheel, that I find in my lane. Ride safe.

July 14, 2007

MARYVILLE (WATE) -- Three people have died in two days in motorcycle accidents on a dangerous stretch of highway called "the Dragon" that twists through the Smoky Mountains.

The deaths have raised serious questions about safety along the eleven mile portion of U.S. 129.

Authorities said a couple from Florida were killed Friday when they took a curve on U.S. 129 too quickly and lost control. The pair were riding on a three-wheeled Honda motorcycle, which hit a car carrying a large boat on a trailer.

Their identities were not released pending notification of family members.

Highway Patrol officials said the accident knocked the 5,000-pound boat off the trailer and the couple became trapped under it.

Highway Patrol said a 40-year-old Michigan man died Thursday on the same road after he lost control of his motorcycle and slid off an 80-foot cliff.

Kevin James Hoyt of Highland, Mich., braked too hard while taking a curve and his bike slid off the highway and over the cliff into some woods.

To keep fatalities and wrecks at a minimum along this portion U.S. 129, the Blount County Sheriff's Office and the Tennessee Highway Patrol are increasing patrols.

Lt. Ron Runyon says already the number of citations are adding up. "Like on the weekends they will have three officers here and, so far, between those three they will issue anywhere from 15 to 30 citations."

Some experienced bikers we talked with don't agree with the extra police presence.

"I think it's getting bad," said Jacob Lampkins, from Gleason. "We're thinking about not coming up here as much because, you know, you don't want to come here and get tickets all day long."

The increased patrols started on July 1 and they will run through early fall.

The Governor's Highway Safety Office recently passed on a $60,000 grant to help Blount County and THP pay for overtime during the increased patrols.
 
RIP, Hate to hear about riders losing there lives...



Uh oh!!!!
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Think the Gap might become a little less of a popular motorcycle hangout with increased patrols.
 
With that kind of police presence it kind of seems like a waste of time to be there until until things ease up. Sad to hear about bikers who have died riding.
 
Went for a ride today on a mountain road with 40 or so miles of twisties, almost no traffic, and not one single cop. Can't recall that I've ever heard of someone getting killed up there but I'm sure there have been some. There HAVE been some accidents here and there but only one that I've known about personally.

Wanna have the next bash out here?

--Wag--
 
It seems we lose about 3 or 4 a year for the past five years. It is really sad news when we lose 3 in two days. It seems that most of the deaths come from out of town....people just dont realize how bad it is on that mountain. The locals dont help things much due to the fact they know the road ...then fly on it .....then an out of town guy tries to keep up. It wont be long before we have 318 cops rather than turns in 11 miles. I wish nobody ever found out about that road, we have more and more tourists every year, and more and more crashes to go along with it. Most locals dont even ride the dragon anymore....its just gotten to crowded. Good news is that we have plenty of other roads, in some cases, that are even better than the dragon. I'll never mention them online for obvious reasons. Be safe and remember "35 stay alive" !!!!!!!!!!
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I bet they wouldn't keep it so freshly paved and pristine if it weren't for the out of staters ridin the curves or lookin at dead leaves! can't have it all! Tell em at the Deals to stop makin a profit! Has there been any mishaps on the skyway? I have had closer calls there. Deals gap is ok for ride up lookout, down look @ the bikes and who has the most exp! Sip a RedBull get the latest sticker, then ride the other roads the squids and leo's aren't.
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I was gonna do a Daytrip August 4th, but now I just don't know.............

Unless I could get the scoop on those roads that are better than the Dragon!
 
Funny you should say that Jet Li... I was just perusing my August edition of American Motorcyclist when I came upon an article about a bike tour they took thru Kentucky based on AMA members suggested riding areas. The whole article was great but the part that caught my eye was about a stretch of route 32 running from Flemingsburg, KY to the WV state line. They say it's a bikers dream, it's not well known except to the locals and it rivals the dragon in several ways - the major exception being a 55 MPH speed limit. The whole region is full of attractions (they refer to it as the Bourbon Tour), good places to eat and beautiful scenery. If anyone has been through this region, it would be interesting to know if it is a feasable alternative since the Gap appears to be getting riskier as it's popularity has increased. I'd copy or link the article but it's in a "members only" section and the site doesn't let you - sorry about that. Anyone out there with an AMA membership, read the article, look at a map and see if this might be a suitable place for a future meet and greet... It's about 6 hours N/NE of Robbinsville...
 
As much as I enjoy US129 I think I'll take a few more Months off from that particular road and the roads near-by.

It's sad because a lot of people are going to make this same decision. Wheelers, and the many other businesses in the area that make a living off the Gap are going to suffer because people like me don't want to risk a citation. From what I'm hearing, riders are being pulled for just about any and every reason possible. I assume they are accomplishing the task at hand, people are thinning out on the Gap.

Here's a question I have always asked. Why would someone want to bring an unstable trike to the curves? Three Wheeled ATV's were banned for a reason. They are UNSAFE machines.
 
There are good times to be had on the Dragon...just look at the posts this weekend from me georgiabusa_05 and Learjet. In fact it was kind of nice to ride through without a bunch of bikes and cars screaming by at ultra high speeds. JMHO
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Ya know, it really has to p*ss off the LEOs and emergency crews up there that they are constantly scraping folks up off the roads every week.

Not sure where all this will go but they sure need to tame it down somehow.

A Goldwing trike?
Should have kept that one off of the Dragon and rode 28 and the Skyway all day... I dunno, its sad.

RIP
 
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