Going to the Gap!!

Finally, I get to go to the Gap!!! I've been dying to go for over 2 yrs now, but the POS ex bf wouldn't allow me to go. Now that I'm happily single, I've made plans with a friend to hit the Tail of the Dragon. The date, so far, is set for June 16-17th but I may leave that Thursday. We rented a place with 2 bedrooms and baths, jacuzzi etc etc... http://www.sunsetcottage.com/ (I stayed at this one last Dec for my B-day http://www.sunsetcottage.com/spiritofthevalley.html and LOVED it!!)) If any one wished to join us or will be any where in the area, let me know. The more the merrier!! Weeeeeeeeeeee!!!

Make sure to remind me and Ill ride out.:dthumb:

Well you know when you go you have to take a lot of pictures.....I want to see the "wreck tree" from what I'm told it's called.

Well you know when you go you have to take a lot of pictures.....I want to see the "wreck tree" from what I'm told it's called. That would be The Tree of Shame http://www.midsouthminiacs.org/user/Tree_of_shame.jpg Here is one of a few Deals Gap Sites (http://www.dealsgap.com/).

lmao what a tree! We should start a singles thread. What do you think jappysRR? :cheers:

Thats awesome Jappy..you are going to absolutely love Deals Gap. Riding the dragon is an experience every rider should get to do. Its one of the most amazing pieces of asphalt in the world. 318 turns in 11 miles, just doesnt get any better than that!! :willy: Im heading back down there for a week in July, 15-22. I cant wait either! Take lots of pics, and remember, there's tons of roads to ride on besides the Dragon. You gotta ride Cherohala Skway as well, talk about breathtaking views !!

lmao what a tree! We should start a singles thread. What do you think jappysRR? :cheers: Hahaha..... Not a bad concept.... I do sense some bad puns and double meanings in regard to throttle control :D

Take lots of pics, and remember, there's tons of roads to ride on besides the Dragon. You gotta ride Cherohala Skway as well, talk about breathtaking views !! :iagree: The Skyway is cool but lots faster and lost easier to get into trouble.

lmao what a tree! We should start a singles thread. What do you think jappysRR? :cheers: ha! ha! ha! oh my God, I could see it now, the official "I hate men/women" thread... just a little place to bitch about your spouse/ex spouse etc etc.. lol I'm going to ride the Tail, but also any other road I come upon. Sense I'll be in Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge area, I have TONS of roads to hit. Last time I was up there, I spotted quite a few I need to hit. I made a mental note of where they were at.. :) I cant wait!! I'll re post when the time gets closer. If ppl would like, let me know if you want us to get a bigger cabin. We can get ones the sleep 2-8...if more ppl chip in, its rather cheep!!

WOO HOOO!! Your going to have a blast Jappy! We will be down there 2 weeks prior to you - otherwise would have been great to meet up!

Finally, I get to go to the Gap!!! I've been dying to go for over 2 yrs now, but the POS ex bf wouldn't allow me to go. Now that I'm happily single, I've made plans with a friend to hit the Tail of the Dragon. The date, so far, is set for June 16-17th but I may leave that Thursday. We rented a place with 2 bedrooms and baths, jacuzzi etc etc... http://www.sunsetcottage.com/ (I stayed at this one last Dec for my B-day http://www.sunsetcottage.com/spiritofthevalley.html and LOVED it!!)) If any one wished to join us or will be any where in the area, let me know. The more the merrier!! Weeeeeeeeeeee!!! THAT'S AWSOME!... I'll be... I'll be.... in the desert! :lol: Take some pics for those that can't go! :dthumb:

That would be The Tree of Shame http://www.midsouthminiacs.org/user/Tree_of_shame.jpg Here is one of a few Deals Gap Sites (http://www.dealsgap.com/). :jacked: what's up with the exhaust on that bike to the right?! looks like it's VERTICAL?!

:jacked: what's up with the exhaust on that bike to the right?! looks like it's VERTICAL?! Looks as if the whole tale is bent upwards. I'm betting its another bike the Dragon has bitten and was parked at the tree for the shot.

We will be down there 2 weeks prior to you - otherwise would have been great to meet up! I asked Twisty to give me a reminder but you may have too.

WOO HOOO!! Your going to have a blast Jappy! We will be down there 2 weeks prior to you - otherwise would have been great to meet up! UGH!! No!! Ok, I'll see what I can do to push the date back. I think one reason for the date is because the person I'm going with gets his sick days back around June. Dang! I so wanna meet other women that actually ride and are not all talk. Shoot, shoot shoot!!! :cursin: I'll honestly see if there is anyway to push it back. Problem may be getting another cabin. These things fill up so dang fast. If I can Pippi, see if you guys would want to split the tab on a 3 or 4 BR cabin. I have the site in the first post. If we have 3-4 ppl or couples, we'll be paying around $50 a piece. And the places are super nice. All we'd have to do is bring food or not if you so chose to eat out.

Jappsy They usually stay a little closer so they can devote more time to riding rather than fighting tourist traffic.

Jappsy They usually stay a little closer so they can devote more time to riding rather than fighting tourist traffic. true.. I thought about that, but I also have my secret way around all that crapola.... From where the cabin is located you can take back roads to get there. Doesn't take more then 30 Min's. and you get to ride the kick butt roads out there as well. Oh well, just thought I'd throw it out there just in case. :cheers:

I asked Twisty to give me a reminder but you may have too. Yeah Pip will definately have to do that... he won't remember... thank god Twisty has Pip!

man, I wish I could get a cabin there, that 15 miles from maryville is a hard ride.

Finally, I get to go to the Gap!!! I've been dying to go for over 2 yrs now, but the POS ex bf wouldn't allow me to go. Now that I'm happily single, I've made plans with a friend to hit the Tail of the Dragon. The date, so far, is set for June 16-17th but I may leave that Thursday. You'll have a blast. We've been there several times and are heading back down to Tennessee on June 17th for the Honda Hoot. We always make it a point to do the Gap. The ride is awesome, as it sitting around the campground and watching the bikes come in and out. And here's a pic from the Cherohalla. http://lanesonline.us/photos/hotshoe/images/43/original.aspx The rider was okay, but had broken his arm, and you can see him sitting, facing the guard rail. He was pretty shaken up, though, and the rider with him kept going, probably unaware that his buddy was down. So, Jappy, do be careful. The more spirited your ride, the more you have to keep on your toes. But frankly, the riding down in TN is fantastic.

Ooops! So sorry about the size of that pic. I promise to resize them before posting in the future.

Hey Hotshoe, I will be at the Hoot. Only thing bad about riding in tennessee all the time is the drivers really suck around here. No one understands the concept of passing to the left at all here. Oh yeah, downtown knoxville is a construction fest as well.

Hey Hotshoe, I will be at the Hoot. Only thing bad about riding in tennessee all the time is the drivers really suck around here. No one understands the concept of passing to the left at all here. Oh yeah, downtown knoxville is a construction fest as well. I know the worst part for us is the drive into Pigeon Forge where we always stay. It's always hot, and stop/start to the end of the strip. There's a back way in but I guess it's much longer. Hey, I'll look for you. Will you be wearing those same panties you have on in the picture? :lol: Seriously, I've never gotten on a demo ride and that's what I want to do this year. I want to ride something completely different just for fun. My husband would love to see me abandon the chain drive, and I'd love to try the ST13 or FJR. I don't think that there were that many manufacturers signed up for demos and no indication of what bikes they'd have there. Maybe as the Hoot gets closer there'll be more detail.

Yeah that gaurd rail shot... OMFG!!

Yeah that gaurd rail shot... OMFG!! :iagree: Did the other rider ever come back looking for his friend?

The other rider didn't come back before an ambulance arrived. The two people on either side of the rider were vacationers who stopped to help, and the guy with his back to the road is our late friend, Gary.

I know the worst part for us is the drive into Pigeon Forge where we always stay. It's always hot, and stop/start to the end of the strip. There's a back way in but I guess it's much longer. Hey, I'll look for you. Will you be wearing those same panties you have on in the picture? :lol: Seriously, I've never gotten on a demo ride and that's what I want to do this year. I want to ride something completely different just for fun. My husband would love to see me abandon the chain drive, and I'd love to try the ST13 or FJR. I don't think that there were that many manufacturers signed up for demos and no indication of what bikes they'd have there. Maybe as the Hoot gets closer there'll be more detail. I will try to post some info as I hear it down here. It keeps getting bigger every year, this will be my first year with a bike so I am all pumped to go to some of the events. Probably won't do any rides, I like riding alone or in a very small group a lot better than with hundreds of bikes.

You'll have a blast. We've been there several times and are heading back down to Tennessee on June 17th for the Honda Hoot. We always make it a point to do the Gap. The ride is awesome, as it sitting around the campground and watching the bikes come in and out. And here's a pic from the Cherohalla. http://lanesonline.us/photos/hotshoe/images/43/original.aspx The rider was okay, but had broken his arm, and you can see him sitting, facing the guard rail. He was pretty shaken up, though, and the rider with him kept going, probably unaware that his buddy was down. So, Jappy, do be careful. The more spirited your ride, the more you have to keep on your toes. But frankly, the riding down in TN is fantastic. That Canadian tuxedo really stopped him from getting hurt worse. He must've had his sleeves rolled up that day. If they were all the way down, his arm woulda been alright.

I asked Twisty to give me a reminder but you may have too. Be warned, if you come up that way Jeeps, you will have to deal with me too :D Mwahahahaha... :angelhap:

Be warned, if you come up that way Jeeps, you will have to deal with me too :D Mwahahahaha... :angelhap: Give me a PM on dates and such. Maybe a reminder when its closer to time also.

That would be The Tree of Shame http://www.midsouthminiacs.org/user/Tree_of_shame.jpg Here is one of a few Deals Gap Sites (http://www.dealsgap.com/). Thanks jeeps......I'm about to check out the site as we speak ( or type :lol: )

Ya gotta love it..... 5453

Ya gotta love it..... 5453 A bunch of non gear wearin peeps!

True, True

Got the following from my f-i-l: Targeting the Dragon Tennessee May 11, 2006 Tennessee and North Carolina state troopers aren't looking to slay the Dragon, but they do want to keep its fire under control with Operation Dragon 2006. The joint effort will combine the forces of Tennessee and North Carolina highway patrols to make the Dragon and nearby roadways safer. Troopers from both agencies will provide a highly visible presence in the areas frequented by motorcyclists and sports car enthusiasts. The first coordinated operation is scheduled Saturday and others are planned during the summer and fall. Troopers in both states will conduct their own intensive enforcement efforts at other times during the season. THP Sgt. Danny Thomas, who oversees highway patrol activities in Blount and Monroe counties, said the enforcement activities are all focused on safety. ``We welcome everyone who visits the Dragon and the areas around it, as long as they obey the law,'' Thomas said. ``We're doing intensive enforcement in an effort to make the roadways safe for everyone on two, four or even 18 wheels.'' The Dragon sports 318 curves on an 11.1-mile stretch of U.S. 129, running from Deal's Gap at the North Carolina line to Tabcat Bridge alongside Chilhowee Lake -- a 1,085-foot change in elevation. It is one of the nation's favorite rides for motorcycles and sports cars. The run has been touted in several national magazines as well as on several Internet sites. The often heavy traffic on the narrow highway includes riders and drivers from across the country, some from other continents. Unfortunately, the festive atmosphere is too often clouded by accidents, some of them fatal. In 2005, there were three deaths on the Dragon -- all of them motorcyclists. Thomas said that in 2005 troopers investigated 47 accidents on the Dragon, 41 of them involving motorcycles. He said the number of accidents on the Dragon was down from 57 investigated by THP in 2004 -- 51 of those involved motorcycles and two were fatalities. So far in 2006, Tennessee troopers have investigated only nine wrecks on the Dragon. Eight were motorcycle accidents. However, troopers have responded to reports of accidents on the Dragon 27 times in 2006. Eighteen times so far this year, the troopers and often Rural/Metro Ambulance Service have rushed to the area only to find a motorcyclist's friends have picked up the rider and bike and the reported accident has vanished. ``It's hard to estimate the manpower and expense involved in responding to these disappearing accidents,'' Thomas said. Statistics were not available regarding the number of accidents in North Carolina related to the area near the Dragon. However, the five counties in Western North Carolina in the area near the Dragon have had a 56 percent increase in motorcycle accidents from 2004. North Carolina troopers will be assigned to the Deals Gap area near the top of the Dragon and to the Cherohala Skyway, where some say the probability of motorcycle accidents is even greater than on the Dragon. The Cherohala Skyway linking Robbinsville, N.C., to Tellico Plains includes 15 miles in North Carolina and 21 in Tennessee. Tennessee troopers will focus on the Dragon, but others will be active on the Tennessee end of the Cherohala. Marked and unmarked cars, motorcycles and aircraft will be used on both sides of the state line in the effort to curb accidents and, according to Thomas, ``improve driving habits.'' ``We're not anti-motorcycle. I've got one of my own and take it up and over the Cherohala into Tellico Plains whenever I get a chance. That's a really beautiful ride. ``But, I can't enjoy it as much as I'd like when I have somebody on a sports bike or sports car zipping around me on a curve and making me think I'm going to find them smashed up around the next curve. ``Speeding and reckless driving are what we're trying to stop,'' Thomas said. ``That way, everybody can enjoy themselves without getting hurt."

Here is more info about operation dragon 2006 and this weekend's conclusion which resulted in only 18 tickets... http://www.thedailytimes.com/sited/story/html/257554 conclusion info: http://www.thedailytimes.com/sited/story/html/257553 two tennessee bike cops and a trooper car waiting for you to come on the dragon right at the state line with north carolina. http://img.horvitznewspapers.net/pict/tdt/main_pict/n-drag2.jpg

The "targetting the dragon" stuff is old news. Further its mostly a problem on the weekends moreso.

The "targetting the dragon" stuff is old news. Further its mostly a problem on the weekends moreso. Not really old news, they stepped it up seriously this weekend from what they normally do. It's been all over the news in maryville and they ran a three day article in the newspaper on it this weekend, that's the links I posted. They plan on stepping it up every weekend from what they use to do all summer. I stayed away from it this weekend, but will probably go up there this next weekend and see how much presence there really is up there.

They did that last year till it started to F with the tourism and the people and the state put a stop to it! The businesses around that area depend on people coming there to have a good time. These cops have a attitude problem that WILL effect the biz!

Well last year it seemed like it was mostly TN but looks like they got NC troopers to jump on board now.

Link up with you Jappy, and Jeeps. I'll have to see, there's a few things that may prevent me from getting up there, but if I can, I'll be staying in Blairsville, Ga. which is straight due south on 129 from the Dragon ! Steve.