2011 East Coast Gather

honestly the Dragom aint that great its mostly hype.I have been there 3 times this year and I doubt I will go back this year however if you guys are going check out Iron Horse Motorcycle Lodge near Deals Gap and Cherohala Skyway for camping internet,nice lodge,pool table movies tv meals served a camp site with electric is 25 a night awesome clean facility .Been going to the gap for 5 years now about twice a year sometimes more and this is the best camping i have found
 
amevl said:
honestly the Dragom aint that great its mostly hype.I have been there 3 times this year and I doubt I will go back this year however if you guys are going check out Iron Horse Motorcycle Lodge near Deals Gap and Cherohala Skyway for camping internet,nice lodge,pool table movies tv meals served a camp site with electric is 25 a night awesome clean facility .Been going to the gap for 5 years now about twice a year sometimes more and this is the best camping i have found
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Whats good in the Eastern TN area? Longer than 11 miles:confused:
 
You boys had better get up to "The Snake" .... I'm telling you... I lived there for long enough to know all of the good roads in Western NC / Eastern TN ... Go. To. The. Snake.

That said....

When I hosted the first East Coast Gather, we had riders of all levels and experience.. the key is to have someone leading the group that knows how to lead a group.... We stayed pretty tight for the most part, with a few stragglers on Gen II's in the back... but, we formed back up as a group before any major turn off... every time the road hit a straight section... and there was always visual communication from front to back... (simple "thumbs up" from front to back makes everything happy) ...

I found that people tended to sort themselves out after the first ride... faster riders up front, riders looking to take it a bit easier to the rear... but, there was always a visual line from one "group" to the next... no more than 2-3 curves between them....

The most dangerous part is the "fast group" ... you get a bunch of guys together that all ride quickly... those are the ones most likely to try to keep up with each other... it's not often that someone slow tries to keep up with someone hauling ass.... but, you get a group of 5-8 guys hauling ass... it's a good bet (unless they ride together every weekend) that 3-4 of them are riding over their heads.... My solution to this was putting myself out front, and riding "The Pace" ...
 
amevl said:
honestly the Dragom aint that great its mostly hype.
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FINALLY! Someone else gets it!!!

There are soooooooo many better roads....


This was my stomping grounds....

Routes.JPG


That's over 400 miles of creamy curvy goodness... Centered around Boone, NC.

and... the outer loop....
saturday%252520Route.JPG
 
TachedOutOffRoad said:
If you had a few months notice (mid Oct?) who thinks they would really, no BS, come to a FZ ride in Eastern Tn/ Deals Gap/ Smokies ride? Fri-Sun, twisites during the day and BBQ and beers in the evening.

I have a connection on a motel in Gatlinburg and would be down for making Tshirts and routes, but not if its just me, myself, and I :teeter:

What yee say FZ1ers?
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I haven't read this thread yet but Gatlinburg is too far away from the best riding.
 
Tw3nty said:
I really want to do this, but I'm nervous. I am a new FZ1 rider. I road cruisers for years. I don't curves real fast yet. I just want to make sur I won't be dragging anyone down if I go. But, I want to learn about bikes and riding from other guys.

Should I go? And, how do u think we will ride. I don't mind pulling up the rear if I'm to slow.

I do go fast on highways though. It's just turns I get nervous on.

Thanks
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I wouldn't recommend you going until you have more experience in the twisties.
 
TachedOutOffRoad said:
Host the 2nd!!:party0011::party0011:
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Heh... unfortunately, I don't live in the area any more.... now I ride in western VA and West Virginia ...

But... I know plenty about the area if y'all need ideas....

For those folks that don't know, route 421 North of Mountain City, TN is "The Snake" .. it's got 489 Curves in 12 Miles.... and those 489 Curves are connected to thousands of others, all within a short ride.... With the layout of the 489 curves, there is a crossroads in the center with a General Store... so, you can stop, get some food... something to drink... etc.. also... there's a campground.. so, you can literally stay in the middle of 489 curves... you can wake up in the morning and put on 489 Curves before your morning coffee.... Home ... I know the owner ... Wyndy... he's a cool guy... so... 2 cabins.. plenty of camping room... full bath facilities.. and it's in the middle of (in my opinion) the best road on the Eastern side of the country...

final words... sitting at the Shady Valley Country Store in the middle of "The Snake"... I saw plenty of folks come rolling in... smiling ear to ear as they pull off their helmets... and they hop off their bikes and start peeling off the Dragon stickers.... No Kidding.
 
va_rider said:
FINALLY! Someone else gets it!!!

There are soooooooo many better roads....


This was my stomping grounds....

Routes.JPG


That's over 400 miles of creamy curvy goodness... Centered around Boone, NC.

and... the outer loop....
saturday%252520Route.JPG
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Hey! Two people got it! I had much more fun on all the other roads that week we were there. When you come from a place where your only roads are primarily straight and you go to the Dragon, of course your gonna be amazed as I was. For people that live in those locations, you know how hyped up it is. Even though I was impressed, I still only ran it once.

As for Aaron's routes......I've seen the videos so I know he's not pulling your leg. Do the Dragon once so you can scratch it off your To-Do list and then get out of there and run all the other great roads, which in my opinion are safer than running the Dragon.

Thanks for teasing us Aaron, appreciate it!
 
If some of you stay at the Iron Horse -- that is only 10 miles from Robbinsville where there are plenty motel rooms also and places to eat. The place on the corner of 28 and the road to the Horse has all you can eat fresh catfish on Friday nights.

I feel it is unsafe to have too wide a variety of experience levels in the riders. Newbies seem to feel the pressure to keep up greater than those with more experience. Plus, if you are too slow it will drag down the other riders.

It is also important to not mix cruisers with crotch rockets for safety sake.

The simplest way to make these rides work is to have folks pay up front, then they won't back out. The place we stayed a coupla years ago (Treetop) is great for 7 riders and not expensive. It is on the Cherohala and also near Robbinsville.
 
va_rider said:
All of those roads Billy.. are 4 hours closer to you than the Dragon...
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The only problem with that area is that all of the loops on your routes involve the BRP which has a 45 mph limit.

The Dragon is awesome but it's a lot of work to ride, especially to ride hard. There are many other awesome roads in that area that make great loops.
 
va_rider said:
that's 221 ... C'mon Joe.. I lived there for 4 years... I learned my way around pretty damn well.... and in 4 years, maybe went on the Parkway on the bike.... 3 times..
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Well, Xcuse me!!! hehe I remember you are from the area. How are the cops up there? Where are you now?
 
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Funny you should ask....

about 3 years ago, when things were going nuts at Deals Gap... cops up at "The Snake" got an $80,000 grant for more of a presence on 421... so... every weekend starting at about noon, it was chock full of cops.. not just sitting on the side of the road, doing road blocks and all sorts of dumb stuff....

the thing is, after a summer of doing this, 86% of the tickets they wrote were to locals in their cars... driving drunk, or driving without a licence.... so... they got all sorts of pissed off letters from the residents, and the State cut the $80k from their funding....

In response, THP has stopped patrolling "The Snake" entirely... you might occasionally see a single Johnson County Sheriff's car up there... but... not too often.

In my old part of NC, cops are a non-issue as long as you're not in the city of Boone (Around Appalachian State) or on 421 between Boone and Wilkesboro, or on 321 Between Boone and Blowing Rock (Cops aren't bad between Boone and Blowing Rock... there's one that likes to hang out at a gas station just outside of town.)

So... long story short... without exaggeration, I saw more cops on my last trip to the Dragon than I saw in my area of NC / TN in 4 Years.... The last time I went to the Gap, I was pulled over 8 times ... E I G H T ... times. In ONE day.... didn't get a single ticket... they pulled me over just to be a-holes... but it was still a total drag.... my favorite roads down there are 28 and 360 from Tellico Plains back towards 129... everything else is so covered in traffic (bikes doing 15mph) and cops... it's not even worth my time....

I can say with absolutely no doubt in my mind - I will NEVER go back to the Gap.
 
I was supposed to be in Boone last summer but my mother in law died then I ended up on the receiving end of a heart catheter,one of many,so I never made it there but have heard the area is awesome.Talking about the Gap area one of the best roads there is 28 south off of 74 up into highlands then follow it down into Georgia if you like tight technical roads which are my favorites or down towards suches by the TWO
 
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