There is no denying that America is beautiful. Even the sticky backwoods of North Carolina boasted some of the most refreshingly beautiful scenery I've taken in. But then again, I suppose beauty is in the eye of the beholder (or the beerholder, hah!). The cabins were nestled just off of the beaten path and as we made our way up the dirt-and-gravel driveway I was charmed with how quaint it was. I do remember thinking that I was not going to enjoy riding a sportbike on that crap, though. No one else seemed to have much of an issue with it so I moved on and made myself at home, regrouping with the folks and patiently awaiting the arrival of my stuff, which had been loaded into the truck of our host and was en route to the cabins. Others had already started making their way up and down the roads in an effort to squeeze what they could out of what daylight was left. I was just happy chillin' out somewhere new with good folks.
 |
The fleet is ready to roll.
|
Since I was on a loner bike we alternated use. I didn't mind as I knew I would get plenty of ride time in. My steed for this adventure was a blue Yamaha R6 which is a hybrid of an 07+ model that the owner had put together using all of the best pieces of each year. It was a great bike and given my familiarity with the R6 I took right to it once I threw a leg over it for that first ride up and down The infamous Tail of the Dragon.
I have to say the pictures really don't do it justice. Those of us who are blessed to live in California (and other places of similar landscape) won't be a bit surprised by the tightness of the curves, but I must confess that if it weren't for all of the traffic this would make my top 10 list of all time favorite roads. Whatever they do with those roads back east is some kind of magic because the road is really quite a dream for those who like to lean but don't particularly ride track. I will bow my visor and declare that the Tail of the Dragon is well worth the respect and well worth the detour if you ever find yourself in the area.
 |
My trusty steed for the weekend.
|
The first day of riding (which was actually day 2 of my visit) was spent making my way up and down US 129, and just enjoying the ride. I took a break to ride two up with a fellow member who claims to have ridden The Dragon some ridiculous amount of times and I figured (well why the hell not ride it from the perspective of someone who knows it pretty well. So off we went...
The Dragon, in all of its glory, isn't really for the faint of heart. If you are the lightest bit skirmish on a motorcycle it will definitely bite you in the ass and I saw quite a few riders run wide or blow corners in moments of overconfidence. What makes it that much more exciting is that almost every corner is a blind corner so you really don't know what is waiting on the other side. Prior to my visit, I had heard and read the stories about the big rigs that mistakenly take 129 as a shortcut and wind up getting stuck or worse. The road has since been officially closed to truckers, but not before we had our own experience with a truck coming down as we were riding up. All I have to say is that I'm glad there was a turnout and I'm glad our friend was ahead of the truck and gave us a heads up as he came down the other way. It was humbling watching a behemoth that large devour damn near every inch of asphalt as it slithered along. Still... we pressed on and stopped for some photos.
No comments:
Post a Comment