Cyclist dies on Dragon; second motorcyclist taken to UT Medical Center
#21
09-07-2008, 11:38 PM
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I've never been there and likely won't be, but I always wonder, after reading lots of posts about this road, why, if so many people get injured or killed on this lil stretch, the state highway dept doesn't either straighten it out or move the road , eliminating that stretch? Maybe the topography makes it impossible?
Yes topography makes it impossible. Well not impossible, but the cost would be enormous to do that.
Besides, it wouldn't be a Mtn road if it was straight as the roads in the flat lands...People just need to learn to respect these Mtn roads, maybe a few lives will be saved in the process.
#22
09-08-2008, 05:41 AM
I try to leave a little in reserve when riding up there. It's a shame people like this come up here and ruin a good thing. Hopefully this guy will make a full recovery.
#23
09-08-2008, 05:52 AM
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Over ten years ago my girl friend and I were crusin' a great rode in the California mountains. Two sport bikes passed us like we were standing still. 15-20 miles down the road we came upon an accident. Both guys had rear ended a mid-sized delivery truck. We were first on the scene. The truck driver was in shock and sport bike drivers probably died instantly when they slammed into the back of the truck. The truck was mid way thru a curve and there were a few feet of straight line skid marks. They passed us riding side by side. I checked vitals; they were dead. The driver had three warning reflectors so I put them a couple hundred feet back up the road. We sat with the truck driver for a while (no cell phones) and then continued on until we found a cabin with people and a telephone.
Both guys had full leathers, boots, gloves and helmets. Their front wheels must have hit the trucks rear end collision safety bar causing the bikes rear to come up and hurl both bodies into the truck rear door. It was a mess! I have often wondered if the truck driver ever got over it.
Both guys had full leathers, boots, gloves and helmets. Their front wheels must have hit the trucks rear end collision safety bar causing the bikes rear to come up and hurl both bodies into the truck rear door. It was a mess! I have often wondered if the truck driver ever got over it.
#24
09-08-2008, 06:06 AM
Speed, inexperience, amount of traffic, cagers, trucks and weather conditions usually adds up to the accidents there. That whole area not just the Dragon has hundreds of thousands of motorcycles come through it every year, I guess if you took the true actual number of bikes and did the percentages on it, 4 fatalities for this year would probably be way less than what some national average is for that amount of traffic motorcycles or not.
#25
09-08-2008, 06:31 AM
I've driven that in a cage and on a bike. It's not too awesome compared to many mountain roads out West here. It's certainly not dangerous except for other riders/drivers who could take you out.
$.02
$.02
#26
09-08-2008, 07:39 AM
There are great roads all over SC, NC, GA, TN, VA and WV. I see no reason to go there just because it has a name. It attracts all the elements that I would rather not ride with.
#27
09-08-2008, 07:44 AM
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The dragon is a one time experiance, I will never go back, it is not the palce for an Ultra although lot of harleys were draggin floor boards. The road to the dragon past the dam in North Carolina was more stress full than the dragon. Posted 5 mph corners. Three days of the parkway, N.C., & TN mountains I was ready for the long straight roads. Its good to be young, but its better getting older.
#28
09-08-2008, 09:41 AM
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I have been up there (it's fairly local to me) and I can't work out why anybody would want to go there. It's almost always crowded and it's not just bikes, but sportscars and cyclists as well. Half of them are "on a mission" and just downright dangerous. I'm lucky enough to live in the Blue Ridge Mountains and nearly every road up here is a rider's dream, so why go somewhere crowded? Just my .02
#29
09-08-2008, 01:04 PM
i rode it saturday morning around 9:00, wow, didn't hear about this until now. it was the first time i'd been there, i loved it, but i respected it. can't believe some of these guys doing wheelies on this road. i came around one corner to see a line of civics, one which was in my lane. he got over quickly but scary as s**t.
#30
09-08-2008, 06:20 PM
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I went there a couple of years ago, I did that stretch of road fairly early in the morning on a weekday. There was not much traffic and I was able to ride it at a quick but not insane pace. I would not ride that area again on a weekend, too many people riding above their skill level. I had a much better time on the Cherohala Skyway.