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Ride the road at the level of your skill. Took me and the wife 'bout 30 minutes to make the trip. Saw 2 seperate accidents. 1 guy was just off the side rubbing down a knot on his head and limping around while the other guy was some 200/250 feet out in the woods trying to hobble back to the hardtop. When we got to the north end on the dragon, we saw 2 of Tennessee's finest driving as hard as they could, 1 on 4 wheels and 1 on 2. Never try to keep up with the Joneses when you ride, it could be the ride of your life.
Thanks for the video. Makes me want to visit there now. I rode what has been described as Ohio's version and it wasn't nearly as nice as that. Its on the to do list now :-)
And I totally agree with others. Ride your ride and to your level and have fun doing it. I know if I was to visit there now I wouldn't be racing it that's for sure. And if I make someone mad and hold them up oh well they can get over it.
Wife and I went there for our vacation this year. Great road. She is still talking about the Tail of the Dragon and I am just remembering the good time. Great ride, great memories.
Love the Dragon ! yes you can do exactly as you say about the parking lot practice. I know, because I do it myself. You can practice getting your beast leaned over in a turn, a decreasing radius turn, transitions to turn, turning from one side right on over to the other side, practice altering your butt placement on the seat, varying your throttle while in turns and accelerating out of turns, braking before turning, trail braking, the list is nearly endless. If you practice diligently you can increase greatly your confidence in maneuvering your machine on the highway, particularly highway 129.
Love pics and vids of that road. (I cross the line too on occasion just as you note your reason, but be aware the LEO's will ticket at the Gap if they see it)
Look for a Lee Parks Total Control Advanced Riding Course in your area. I took the Level 1 Course in April 2009 with Christine's Kickstart in Poughkeepsie, NY. Can't say enough good things about it. It was great, especially for me, since I had been off two wheels for 20 + years. I plan on taking a course every year to improve my skills. IMO, it's a better purchase than some more chrome doo-hickeys. BTW, I was the only person out of 25 on a Harley Davidson bike. And the others weren't all crotch rockets or streetfighters.
The Dragon is a pretty cool experience. Just stay focused and in control. Here's a shot of me finishing a turn when I was there a couple weeks ago. That's about the only time I cross the center line...at least the wheels aren't over the line.
Last edited by mtnlvr; Sep 29, 2009 at 11:26 PM.
Reason: bad link?
The Dragon is a pretty cool experience. Just stay focused and in control. Here's a shot of me finishing a turn when I was there a couple weeks ago. That's about the only time I cross the center line...at least the wheels aren't over the line.
There's three or four companies that post people along the Dragon to just take pictures all day. When you're done with the ride you can go online and find the pictures of yourself and purchase them if you like.
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