My trip to deals gap | GTAMotorcycle.com

My trip to deals gap

brownelvis

brownelvis

Well-known member
So right now I'm starting on my second day to deals gap. I figure I could lay out my trip and also fish for suggestions along the way.

So I did 500 miles yesterday on the dot, right now I'm at a super 8 in west VA a little past fort royal. The whole day took me 14 hours, it wasnt ideal but I still enjoyed it.

I started in kitchener and left alot later than planned, around 1130am instead of 6 or 7am. Traffic to the border was nasty and the wait times were ridiculous. 2 people tried to merge into me on the QEW in stop and go traffic. I ended up in Buffalo after 4pm.

As soon as I get to buffalo my left contact lens gets dry and popped out, but luckily they're disposable. I stopped at a gas station and fixed it, but when I went to fill up gas my gas tank cap was stuck and I had to pull they key out causing it to break inside ...luckily I had a spare key on me, I use the broken key to gas up and the spare for ignition. Then I had to head to a PO box to pick up an amazon order but my phone which im using as GPS died and I didnt know where to go. So I circled around for a while until found the PO box. Part of my Amazon order was a charger for my phone so that won't be a problem anymore.

Leaving Buffalo was alright. I took the 219 south and a kid in an suv almost merged into me at full speed. It was an ok road but got much nicer in PA. Then in PA I took the 253 and 453 which made me want to stay there, just incredibly fun roads. I got off the twisties and slabbed it after 10pm when it got dark out. There was some dear in West Virginia but I ended up at my motel at 1am.

Today im gonna slab for a bit and then do some of the blue ridge parkway. My goal is to make it to North Carolina, maybe Boone, NC. I have to cover alot of miles since I have to be back by Wednesday or Thursday. I might try to score a drift can today so I can document some of the trip.

Any suggestions on where to go for max efficiency while still enjoying the drive would also be appreciated.

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if you're heading to the gap, this is a nice side trip. The top piece is quite technical and a riot if you're on something nimble.

https://maps.google.ca/maps?saddr=N...FWzgFgIdtncK-w&mra=me&mrsp=1,0&sz=12&t=m&z=12

Cafe Rel, excellent food here if you do the trip, although it can be quite a busy resturaunt, I suggest either early or late lunch:
https://plus.google.com/117185222163223168034/about?gl=ca&hl=en

if you're in asheville, hit up the 12 bones smokehouse, excellent food, not for the calorie concious, inexpensive if you like bbq. It's a little tricky to find, but well worth it.
 
Hope your luck improves over the rest of your trip!
 
There's a small portion of the BRP closed, http://www.blueridgeparkway.org/v.php?pg=25 looks to be a 30 to 40 minute detour.

I did US219 down to Rich Creek, Then down to Robbinsville via the highway, the way back Robbinsville to Rich Creek mainly up the BRP but hit some smaller back roads then home via US219.

Pretty much anywhere down there the roads are great. If you go down to Deals Gap run the Dragon, the NC28 loop from the CROT back to Robbinsville, Cherohala Skyway (my Fav) and maybe old 28.
 
In asheville nc. Yesterday i slabbed to brp and went up to roanoke, incredible road. Then took the 221 to hillsville and after dark i slabbed to asheville. Every road out here is great.

Doing the deals gap loop today as suggested by woobie, wish me luck

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So yesterday I did 470 miles and I still felt good this morning.

I left my motel at like 830 and the staff let me leave my saddlebags and topcase at the desk sso I was travelling light. I made it to deals gap and did a run on the dragon, it was realllly intense. Not a ton of traffic and I did better than I thought, some really dodgy turns though. Only one Sherrif aat the end and other bikers warned me as they came the opposite way. The dragon was really taxing, mentally and physically. I looped around and did tthe cherahola skyway which I actually liked better than the dragon, I really got some good corners in and the vview was amazing. Traffic was very light. I did one dodgy pass which I almost paid for, i was literally saved by a hair, so I'm really lucky. I recorded the entire run with a helmet mounted drift can.

I got back to asheville tto pick up my stuff and felt kinda tired and weird. I only did 360 miles today but I figure I'd pace myself and checked into a different hotel. As soon as I unlocked the door to my room it started pouring. I was really close to going back up the blue ridge so luckily I stopped myself. Total is upto 1300 miles, now for the drive back...

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Did another 630ish miles over the course of 16 hours with a few breaks and now I'm just outside of Harrisburg, PA.

I went to Boone, NC and stopped to fill up when an older guy came up to me and asked if I was here to ride the famous snake road nearby. I didn't know what he was talking about so he explained that he liked it better than the dragon and that it was a way more technical road. I booted it up to Mountain City and stopped at a place called Mikes BBQ. Mike asked if I was there to ride the snake, and he told me he liked the riding around robbinsville better so it's a matter of opinion I guess. Mikes BBQ was amazing btw.

Well either way this snake road was a tough ride, I personally found it harder than the dragon with some curves that were way more daunting. There's one nasty hairpin with a really drastic change in elevation that almost got me. The best part is its empty with no law enforcement, theres no inlets to the road and there are some decent straightaways you can blast through. The dragon is fun but its a real circus. I definitely recommend riding the snake for anyone who's down there and wants a challenge.

400 some miles of slab tomorrow and I'm back home. It was definitely worth the drive. I didn't know what a twisty road was until now.

I'll try to post some vids or photos when I'm back.

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brownelvis said:
The dragon is fun but its a real circus.
Click to expand...

Exactly my thoughts.

Worst part is, at every turn, I instantly remember some video, where someone either smashes into trees or just dives off the cliff, which is really bad to ride with those kind of thoughts on mind =))
 
Glad that you're having fun. Was at the Dragon a couple weeks ago for the whole week. Did BlueRidge Skyway and Cherahola ect. Just beautifule.

Next year we are planning to do The Snake. From what I heard it's about 3 hour ride from the Dragon.
What bike do you ride by the way?
Stay safe.
 
My wife and I got back on Monday. Down as far as the Cherahala, but didn't ride Deals gap this time. All the roads down there tend to be so good. For sure I'll be flamed but in my opinion the dragon is somewhat over rated - it's only 11 miles and it's so intense you need to be focused the whole time. Not to mention every wanna be boyracer is there along with sports car folks testing their rides.

If you get the chance to ride #20 coming home through west virginia it's excellant. The twists go on literally for hours (must be at least 200kms or more) And hardly any traffic. Further north when you get to #50 going east from 20 is also very good.

Plus with these other roads the scenery is more than just bush like the dragon. You get to check out all the redneck residences.

Enjoy the ride.
 
dirtbag said:
My wife and I got back on Monday. Down as far as the Cherahala, but didn't ride Deals gap this time. All the roads down there tend to be so good. For sure I'll be flamed but in my opinion the dragon is somewhat over rated - it's only 11 miles and it's so intense you need to be focused the whole time. Not to mention every wanna be boyracer is there along with sports car folks testing their rides.

If you get the chance to ride #20 coming home through west virginia it's excellant. The twists go on literally for hours (must be at least 200kms or more) And hardly any traffic. Further north when you get to #50 going east from 20 is also very good.

Plus with these other roads the scenery is more than just bush like the dragon. You get to check out all the redneck residences.

Enjoy the ride.
Click to expand...

You tend to forget that Dragon is not about scenery and pretty stuff. That road is in fact for testing your skills and your set up. If you want Sunday ride then it's def not for you.
Dragon doesn't forgive.
In fact, there was a fatality there this past Saturday. Rider got into a corner way too hot, locked the REAR brakes and slid over the edge, hitting a tree on the way down. He passed away before medical
could even get to him. RIP rider

This is why I'd never recomend this road to noob motorcyclists.
 
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Ease up on the attitude mate. I didn't forget anything or say I wanted a "sunday ride".
 
nikiter said:
You tend to forget that Dragon is not about scenery and pretty stuff. That road is in fact for testing your skills and your set up. If you want Sunday ride then it's def not for you.
Dragon doesn't forgive.
In fact, there was a fatality there this past Saturday. Rider got into a corner way too hot, locked the REAR brakes and slid over the edge, hitting a tree on the way down. He passed away before medical
could even get to him. RIP rider

This is why I'd never recomend this road to noob motorcyclists.
Click to expand...

I was just ath the dragon last week with my noob wife, she did one bad corner at the whip but she maintained her comfortable speed for the rest of the ride. If you want to have fun ride late after 6 pm or before 7 am. Rest of the day specially in weekend, the traffic make it a Sunday ride.

There is still time to do 125 just north east of Harrisburg and take 414-144-44 home. Enjoy the ride and we are waiting for pic.

Sucks about your key and phone, US prepaid phone is quite cheap to had while in US, specially useful for the unlimited carrier to carrier for 1$ a day plan.
 
nikiter said:
In fact, there was a fatality there this past Saturday. Rider got into a corner way too hot, locked the REAR brakes and slid over the edge, hitting a tree on the way down. He passed away before medical
could even get to him. RIP rider
Click to expand...

What time did this happen on Saturday? I was riding there Wed-Fri and was going to swing by there on Sat before leaving the area but didn't have the time for a double back via Maryville.
 
nikiter said:
2005 Kawasaki ZX12 shortly after 7 p.m. near mile marker 10
http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2013/a...yclist-on-the-dragon/?preventMobileRedirect=1

I def wouldn't have taken my noob wife down to Dragon.
Click to expand...

RIP to the rider,dragon is just a road like and any other road its made dangerous by thrill seekers and yahoos going through it beyond their skills.
Trucks barely use it anymore. Except for this one ImageUploadedByTapatalk1376065402.248582.jpg taken by noob's cam.

Police usually leave the area after 6pm and seeing the accident happen after 7:00 ....hmmm I guess the static road with speed limit of 30 or 35 mph bit him. ;) .

Anyway waiting for a full report of the trip with Pics
 
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I looked over the videos and the only one thst turned out really good was the snake which was the last video I shot after experimenting with my new drift cam. My photos are up on killboy and all tthe other sites now too. Only problem is I'm toast, being in the saddle for 5 days straight caught up to me. Will try to get them up sometime this weekend, still gotta go from Ottawa to Toronto tmw.

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dirtbag said:
My wife and I got back on Monday. Down as far as the Cherahala, but didn't ride Deals gap this time. All the roads down there tend to be so good. For sure I'll be flamed but in my opinion the dragon is somewhat over rated - it's only 11 miles and it's so intense you need to be focused the whole time. Not to mention every wanna be boyracer is there along with sports car folks testing their rides.

If you get the chance to ride #20 coming home through west virginia it's excellant. The twists go on literally for hours (must be at least 200kms or more) And hardly any traffic. Further north when you get to #50 going east from 20 is also very good.

Plus with these other roads the scenery is more than just bush like the dragon. You get to check out all the redneck residences.

Enjoy the ride.
Click to expand...

20, 18, 16, 255 though WV is where it's at. Very well paved, marked and low traffic during weekdays. the roads are both technical and enjoyable scenery-wise.
 
I'd like to know why the rider was even using the rear brake on a SS, especially when he was too hot in a corner after a pass. This shows the importance of learning to ride properly in a controlled environment. 1 day of a racer5/FAST equivalent school could have saved his life.

RIP


djez said:
RIP to the rider,dragon is just a road like and any other road its made dangerous by thrill seekers and yahoos going through it beyond their skills.
Trucks barely use it anymore. Except for this one View attachment 33152 taken by noob's cam.

Police usually leave the area after 6pm and seeing the accident happen after 7:00 ....hmmm I guess the static road with speed limit of 30 or 35 mph bit him. ;) .

Anyway waiting for a full report of the trip with Pics
Click to expand...
 
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