CC goes to Deal's Gap, BRP - Non CMoto

Last weekend the Versys and I had a meeting down in Tellico Plains, NC at the western end of the Cherohala Skyway and near Deals Gap (The Dragon). The idea was to meet a bunch of old Honda V4 cronies down there at Hunt's Motorcycle lodge but first ride the ol' Blue Ridge Parkway down to Boone, NC and stay at the Willville Campground in Meadows of Dan, VA.

A departure from fun and light weight single cylinder bikes, the Versys is more Interstate capable and comfortable for two people. Not only that, but it's my first fuel injected bike and while it proves reliable so far, I do kind of miss the low speed throttle control of carburated bikes.

Both campgrounds are great and worth a visit if you're in the area. Twisty roads are everywhere and the cops are minimal (except on the Dragon of course).

Anyway, here are some pics if you're interested. I may post the GPS tracks later but I expect many of you have already been on the BRP, Cherohala and Dragon.

First lets start with some Versys overlook pics! :)

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In Virginia, much of the vistas look like this and get a little more dramatic in North Carolina.

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And on the BRP, much of the roads look like this. VERSYS HEAVEN!

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There's no doubt the V is a great bike for twisties and an extremely competent all rounder...

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...especially when farkled out for touring.

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Once at Hunt's Lodge in Tellico I met up with a bunch of old V4 cronies and we did the usual croning and consuming of beans, BBQ and inebriating beverages.

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Let not forget good times around camp-fires!

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and talking to the wee hours...

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Beautiful stars that evening as well. As a matter of fact, the weather couldn't have been better on Friday and Saturday.

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The next morning, the crew got up and prepped to ride the hills and mountains of NC and TN.

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A scrumptious breakfast which consists of eggs, biscuits, gravy and cheese potatoes is served to get everyone kick started.

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If you haven't been to these places to ride yet, GO. Lots of great people and terrific roads to get your lean on. The Cherohala Skyway is about 46 miles of beautiful scenery and perfectly smooth sweeping turns cutting through thick forest.

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This could be you!
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Of course it doesn't take too long before the Sport bikes and motards come on the scene.

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But now for perhaps the most famous and well known of twisty roads in the US... Deal's Gap, US129 aka: The Dragon.

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This road has collected it's fair share of spills and wipe-outs as the "Tree of Shame" attests to.

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The road sports over 300 turns in 11 miles and attracts all kinds of tricked out vehicles besides bikes. Apparently there was two GT40's there scaring the hell out of the motorcyclists the day before I arrived.

- IMAGE FROM US129.COM -
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Hi performance cages aside, bikes of all kinds ruled the road and I was lucky to get one spot where I could photograph the traffic. Every good available turn suitable for pictures was taken by local motographic entreprenuers.

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This dude in the new VMax and color coordinated outfit was doing some major peg scraping up and down the dragon.

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And speaking of color coordinated suites! Many of the riders there were sporting their bling and trying out for the League of SuperHeros on Bikes.

- Knee Draggin' -
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And let's not forget the ladies riding pillion having a good time!

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Then there's the ladies riding up front, having probably an even better time!

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But after a full day of riding and photography, it was time to head back to the ranch for more delicious eats. BBQ and Motorcycle cakes!

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Unfortunately the next day it was time for everyone to pack up in the rain and head home. It was an 11 hour wet day in the saddle to get from Tellico to Northern VA but managed to get and stay ahead of the serious rain.

Good times had by all and now after my first real trip on the Versys I gotta give it a triple thumbs up! :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup: She's an inexpensive mid-weight bike but extremely reliable with strong performance. If China can eventually manufacture mid-weight bikes in this league for a good price, I say LET THE GAMES BEGIN!

Ride Safe Ya'll,
CC

I have always wanted to do the Dragon but never got pass east of Denver:lol8: Great report CC. I will come tour the US again when I can't handle the roads of China anymore.:scooter:

Great reporting and photography as usual Carl. Thanks.

Great to see you back in the saddle and hitting the "motography" in style. I lived in Atlanta for a year and managed about a half dozen trips to "The Dragon", it really is one of the greatest motorcycle roads in the world. :thumbsup: Lots of twisty roads out there, but few of them have the surface and engineering quality you find in those eleven miles. Must have been designed by a motorcyclist. :riding:

I agree with you on the fuel injection, there's a "forgiveness" with carbs that just can't be programmed into FI.

Thanks for sharing :clap:

Cheers
ChinaV

Great report!

I'd love to go to Deals Gap, but I have never even been to the continent of the the Americas....One day! Still I've had more than my fair share of beautiful twisty roads.

Looks like a perfect weekend with perfect pics from Carl :thumbsup:

I was on a nice, scenic and very twisty mountain road between Miyun and Pinggu (Beijing) last weekend - by car :sad:. Loads of Porsches, Ferraris, ..... but no bikes. They all seemed to recognize the road as their private race track. If you want to ride there you gotta be on the spot by 6 am or on a weekday to avoid all these idiots.
I heard from a bunch of perfect motorcycle roads in Germany which are closed to bikes on weekends for obvious reasons.

So, how about discipline and civilized behavior at the dragon and in the US in general ?

Brings back great memories. I used to live in Randleman, NC and used to go up to the BRP at least 5 or 6 times a year.

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Originally Posted by Franki

I have always wanted to do the Dragon but never got pass east of Denver:lol8: Great report CC. I will come tour the US again when I can't handle the roads of China anymore.:scooter:

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Well it's certainly a different experience in China that's for sure. Pro's and con's I suppose. The challenges of riding in the US are different and take some getting used to. I'm going to have to plan another IronButt ride sometime soon... maybe on my way to Alaska? :thumbsup:

:riding:
CC

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Originally Posted by ZMC888

Great report!

I'd love to go to Deals Gap, but I have never even been to the continent of the the Americas....One day! Still I've had more than my fair share of beautiful twisty roads.

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ZMC,

I imagine you'd be like that guy who's draggin' his knee on the sportbike. There's lots of very skilled riders there but most of them are cruiser riders just chillin' out. There's tons of roads in the area with killer twisties and less traffic that 129 but, Like ChinaV said, this one is extremely smooth and well engineered.

If you like looong hihg speed sweepers, the Cherohala Skyway is a better candidate and packs less fuzz.

CC

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Originally Posted by chinabiker

I was on a nice, scenic and very twisty mountain road between Miyun and Pinggu (Beijing) last weekend - by car :sad:. Loads of Porsches, Ferraris, ..... but no bikes. They all seemed to recognize the road as their private race track. If you want to ride there you gotta be on the spot by 6 am or on a weekday to avoid all these idiots.
I heard from a bunch of perfect motorcycle roads in Germany which are closed to bikes on weekends for obvious reasons.

So, how about discipline and civilized behavior at the dragon and in the US in general ?

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Andy,

Some of the new roads in China are gorgeous and perfect for this type of thing. I can't imagine a twisty mountain road full of exotic sports cars driven by rich local drivers? Are they good drivers or just like 500hp fools?

The folks on the Dragon are generally very polite, especially when there's police cruisers pacing people. :lol8: Naturally though there are quite a few wipe-outs but I think they've got it pretty well under control now. A few years ago they were considering banning bikes from the Dragon but the local raised a piss-storm saying that the riders supplied a MAJOR percentage of the local economy.

Apparently, motorcyclists, like other human beings need to eat, sleep and buy cheezy tee shirts so pumped a good amount of money into the sleepy Appalachian towns in the area.

Everyone seemed to just be there to have a good time and get some lean on. Good folks on great roads... just like everywhere else I guess! In the US in general, most riders are polite. Out on the highways you'll see more cruisers (Harley, VTX, Star) than anything else and then second are the tourers like Gold Wings, ST's and FJR's. One thing I missed about the US when riding in China is riders in the US tend to wave hello to each other pretty much all over the country. Maybe it sound silly but I appreciate the sentiment and it's good to know there are respectful, appreciative people around. For someone with your interests Andy, I think the Trans America Trail (TAT) would be a good time as it's an almost entirely dirt track across the US. It's actually a road I would like to take a Chinese moto on if given a good opportunity and take maybe a month with camping, photos and some side trips.

CC

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Originally Posted by billinsuzhou

Brings back great memories. I used to live in Randleman, NC and used to go up to the BRP at least 5 or 6 times a year.

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Wow! 5 or 6 times a year must have been nice (as long as you didn't have to sit in traffic near Ashville). You ever hit a wild turkey? Little bastards are all over the roads!!!

:eekers:
CC

CC,

I'm not so much into high speed turns, I like technical 20-50mph slower corners generally, but it depends on which bike I'm riding, as bigger bikes with wider tires feel more stable going quicker, small bikes feel more fun on the slower turns. It's been 2 years since I rode anything reasonably sized, I've almost forgotten :eek2:.

I just got an impression from watching Deals Gap videos that they were the only corners in the USA or something!:lol8: This was because so many cruiser riders went there and crashed! :eekers:

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Originally Posted by CrazyCarl

Some of the new roads in China are gorgeous and perfect for this type of thing. I can't imagine a twisty mountain road full of exotic sports cars driven by rich local drivers? Are they good drivers or just like 500hp fools?

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It's a "many new hands, plenty of fools" mixture. Miraculously, I didn't see an accident. Good drivers are rarely seen, but there are.

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Originally Posted by CrazyCarl

... One thing I missed about the US when riding in China is riders in the US tend to wave hello to each other pretty much all over the country... CC

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You always have to be on highest alert when riding in China - no time to wave :rolleyes1:

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Originally Posted by CrazyCarl

I think the Trans America Trail (TAT) would be a good time as it's an almost entirely dirt track across the US.

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Is it this one, you are referring to?
http://www.transamtrail.com/

any idea what bike the white honda is with the side bags ? THATS a sweet looking machine

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Originally Posted by 7up

any idea what bike the white honda is with the side bags ? THATS a sweet looking machine

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VFR800FI:thumbsup:

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Originally Posted by CrazyCarl

Well it's certainly a different experience in China that's for sure. Pro's and con's I suppose. The challenges of riding in the US are different and take some getting used to. I'm going to have to plan another IronButt ride sometime soon... maybe on my way to Alaska? :thumbsup:

:riding:
CC

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Great! I am looking forward to see your Alaska RR as I have never riden in Alaska before. How is Mrs. CC climatising in the US of A:riding:

Now that looked like a lot of fun. Very handsome Kawasaki, by the way. Great old bikes and some nice food into the bargain!

Cheers

Pete

Well Pete, we didn't have a live band like at some of your meeting but it's good stuff for sure and a totally different world of riding than in China which, to be honest, I also enjoy when able to move around.

Franki, Miss CC and I just completed our Motorcycle Safety Foundation training course this weekend and I'm happy to announce, SHE PASSED!!! :clap::clap::clap:

She didn't think she could do it but she did thanks to a lot of hard work and a well run properly organized training class. I wonder if we could get some folks from the MSF out to China... :mwink:

CC

Franki, Miss CC and I just completed our Motorcycle Safety Foundation training course this weekend and I'm happy to announce, SHE PASSED!!! :clap::clap::clap:

She didn't think she could do it but she did thanks to a lot of hard work and a well run properly organized training class. I wonder if we could get some folks from the MSF out to China... :mwink:

CC[/QUOTE]

Congratulations! Now she can ride a bike in the USA and post RR in Chinese forum. That will break many heart of Chinese bikers:riding:

Well organised and high level driving training is not available in China. At least not for the general public. May be there is a business opportunity here for ya:deal: