Still happening on the dragon
- Thread starter pack mule
- Start date
That was always my worse fear riding the Dragon, coming around one of those blind turns and finding something across the road or in my lane. Hello Cherhola! 
He's got it, he's got it!
lil charlie
Registered
The driver should be fined
MelodicMetalGod
Registered
Now, don't be hasty. I'm sure the truck was much shorter when it left the house. It probably got rained on and swelled up! 
PS: Originally the lettering on the truck read "AD - The Caners"
PS: Originally the lettering on the truck read "AD - The Caners"
GNBRETT
Registered
at least u can ride on the dragon.... most have to travel accross the country to ride in a place like that. a small inconvience to be able to rip thru there every day or weekend.
and you probably have a drag strip near by to. most of us our hours away from that as well.
so is the tractor trailer prohibited to be on that road or was he just a bad driver? if there prohibited then the state should hang the markers prohibiting them from entering. if its prohibited what the fine?
thats about a $10-15k tow bill tho.:nervous:
most have to travel accross the country to ride in a place like that. a small inconvience to be able to rip thru there every day or weekend. and you probably have a drag strip near by to. most of us our hours away from that as well.
so is the tractor trailer prohibited to be on that road or was he just a bad driver? if there prohibited then the state should hang the markers prohibiting them from entering. if its prohibited what the fine?
thats about a $10-15k tow bill tho.:nervous:
at least u can ride on the dragon....
and you probably have a drag strip near by to. most of us our hours away from that as well.
so is the tractor trailer prohibited to be on that road or was he just a bad driver? if there prohibited then the state should hang the markers prohibiting them from entering. if its prohibited what the fine?
thats about a $10-15k tow bill tho.:nervous:
A tractor trailer is simply too long to make most of the turns safely(I used to drive them otr and local for several years).
You end up with the tractor in one ditch and the trailer in the other.
The driver was either unaware of how tight the curves were(and belive it or not, possibly even routed that way), or they were simply an idiot for trying.
If I'm not mistaken, trucks are prohibited on the NC or the TN side, but not the other.
Makes no sense, like most things in government.
I've also encountered the same thing a few times close to home(on my bikes) on a road very similiar.
No worse feeling that coming around a blind curve looking at a truck grill or trailer blocking the whole road.
The problem is the drivers see a US highway on a map or GPS, big shortcut across the Smoky Mountains. The trucks are not prohibited from traveling from one state to the other as mentioned by sixpack. They need to prohibit these vehicles from both sides, we all know that. Wonder they have not yet???
at least u can ride on the dragon....
and you probably have a drag strip near by to. most of us our hours away from that as well.
so is the tractor trailer prohibited to be on that road or was he just a bad driver? if there prohibited then the state should hang the markers prohibiting them from entering. if its prohibited what the fine?
thats about a $10-15k tow bill tho.:nervous:
Here goes... The Dragon is not worth riding. Yes, I just said that.
The road itself isn't the problem. The problem is the other drivers who ride/drive it and create dangerous situations. Full length semi trucks cannot safely navigate this stretch of road. Period. It cannot be done. There are signs posted for many miles leading up to the Dragon on the North Carolina side that make it very clear that semi trucks over a certain length are not permitted, but still they come. I could be wrong, but I don't know of any such signs on the Tennessee side. They may be there, but I tend not to use the road and may not have seen them. I think the numerous easily avoidable crashes, including that of the motorcyclist who was crushed under a set of trailer wheels last year, probably qualify as more than a "small inconvenience."
A smaller but more common danger is other riders. Other motorcyclists, mostly those from distant states, are incredibly dangerous on that road. They get there all hyped up and ready to "slay the Dragon." Often they go right in over their heads and ride far beyond their ability, and they end up planting their hog in the mountainside or launching it right off the edge.
US 129 is just a twisty road, nothing more. On its own, there is nothing special about it. A few people decided to exploit it as a tourist attraction, and it has since become an overcrowded deathtrap.
Visit the area all you want, but don't come just for 129. There are many other roads in the area with at least as much potential for great sport riding, minus the idiots.
Regards & :2cents:,
A local
Crash on 'The Dragon' kills motorcyclist » Knoxville News Sentinel
And an entertaining little blog site: Slayer Hater
bingo......alot of the truckers these days use gps devices and they route them that way because its the shortest distance. Most drivers anymore dont know how to get somewhere if the gps on the dash isn't telling them how to get there. My dad and brothers who drive over the road will not use gps for that reason, they use a regular old school map.
so dont lump all truckers in the same category.....i guess all walks of life have thier "squids"
It's a public road, first and foremost...it's not feasible for trucks to use this route, so both NC and TN need to do everything they can to STOP that traffic from passing through, period.
Secondly, and least popular I'm sure - bikers need to start using it as a public road, not their personal "track" in an attempt to get cool video and impress friends. Trucks AND bikers have ruined it for the masses. It's a beautiful stretch of road, one that I love to travel, but far too many think it's their own personal road race course and abuse the laws on bikes and in sports cars just as much as those truckers crossing double yellow lines.
Secondly, and least popular I'm sure - bikers need to start using it as a public road, not their personal "track" in an attempt to get cool video and impress friends. Trucks AND bikers have ruined it for the masses. It's a beautiful stretch of road, one that I love to travel, but far too many think it's their own personal road race course and abuse the laws on bikes and in sports cars just as much as those truckers crossing double yellow lines.
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I made probably 15 trips on Friday with no problems. It rained around 8am and that held the rolling road blocks down( didn't want to get all that chrome dirty ). The road was pretty dry by 10am, then completely dry around lunch. Only a few cars and a few bikes to worry about. Around 3pm the sun was out and so were everyone else. We left after that but not before a guy in our group highsided on the last run down. I ran my gopro most of the day but had turned it off for that run. He followed me all day and decided he wanted to try and keep up with a faster rider that was in front of me from our group. Well, I had a front row seat for what he did next. He was dressed properly so he didn't get anything but bruises but his bike took a hit. But like flicka said people try and make a name for themselves instead of riding like any other road. I never go all out because it's not a race track.
lankeeyankee
Banned
Bottom line, the dragon sucks!
Yeah its fun and exciting the first few times kinda like going to a strip joint.
The best times to run the dragon hard are crack of daylight off by 10AM
after that you deal with harleys, yuppies in there convertibles rainbow warriors
in there miatas, squids on there 600's taking up 2 lanes and the BS cops.
But during the Spring Bash at 6:30AM in the morning I was coming around
a hard turn 45-50 mph to find some jakazz driving a 53' Roma Tractor Trailer
I am not going to say you wont see me on the Dragon again but I can say you will see me
driving past the dragon to hit the mountain roads around Little Switzerland such as
226A, 421 Snake, Blue Ridge Parkway, climbing mount mitchell, grandfather mountain and other roads
that arent names yet.
The Dragon.
Yeah its fun and exciting the first few times kinda like going to a strip joint.
The best times to run the dragon hard are crack of daylight off by 10AM
after that you deal with harleys, yuppies in there convertibles rainbow warriors
in there miatas, squids on there 600's taking up 2 lanes and the BS cops.
But during the Spring Bash at 6:30AM in the morning I was coming around
a hard turn 45-50 mph to find some jakazz driving a 53' Roma Tractor Trailer
I am not going to say you wont see me on the Dragon again but I can say you will see me
driving past the dragon to hit the mountain roads around Little Switzerland such as
226A, 421 Snake, Blue Ridge Parkway, climbing mount mitchell, grandfather mountain and other roads
that arent names yet.
The Dragon.
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GNBRETT
Registered
people are crushed and killed on motorcycles just about every month somewhere in this country by either a tractor trailer or car so nothing unusual there. I still think its a small inconvenience to be held up by a truck getting stuck every once in a while. there is risk on every road you ride on. its a highway, not a race track. the road is not designed for motorcycles. its a state highway designed for full weight vehicles.
I could post 20 different videos showing how normal riders on normal roads that have been killed by trucks and or cars. that doesnt really prove anything other then people die on motorcycles just about every day in this country. and usually its because they are riding on a highway designed for CARS and somehow think its their own personal race track cause it has twisty roads....???
id be willing to bet 90% of those killed on the Dragon were those hauling ass around corners taking chances. its NOT from those are just cruising so to blame the truckers for motorcycles crashing on the Dragon is rediculous.
you want to ride like ur on a race track go to a race track. again, its a state highway designed for many different vehicles and if trucks have a tough time fitting then they shud widen the roads.
lankeeyankee
Banned
Yes its a public road you are correct, its also an ALTERNATIVE route! Its not the only route to get where one needs to go.
So in small towns with bridges that have a weight limit of say..... 20K LBS. these should be ignored by 80K logging trucks?
Yeah the city should spend millions of dollars and raise the taxes of low income people who live in the town this way the truck driver can cut 25 minutes off his route...
Do you know how many people make there living off the Dragon by tourists? Yeah widen the road, allow more tractor trailers on it, resulting in higher taxes to the residents, tourist will get tired of coming YEAH Great Idea! some people I swear!!
So in small towns with bridges that have a weight limit of say..... 20K LBS. these should be ignored by 80K logging trucks?
Yeah the city should spend millions of dollars and raise the taxes of low income people who live in the town this way the truck driver can cut 25 minutes off his route...
Do you know how many people make there living off the Dragon by tourists? Yeah widen the road, allow more tractor trailers on it, resulting in higher taxes to the residents, tourist will get tired of coming YEAH Great Idea! some people I swear!!
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