[JyRO]

Guys,

I should have thought to do this sooner, but here is a video I made of my 450X on my own personal T.C.C.T. that leads to the start point of the T.A.T. (Trans Cades Cove Trail, Trans America Trail)

Included is about 4.5 miles of the Tail of the Dragon, on full knobbies passing road bikes.

Later I wipeout in some gravel I didn't notice in while turning through an intersection. It was my first time there and I was looking for a street sign to make sure I was turning at the correct place.

Anyway, enjoy my less than 2 minute GoPro video!

http://youtu.be/IVfR5Mxc3yk


JyRO

[Joisey]

I hesitate to comment because I am new on the forum. I will bite my tongue and go as far as to say you don't have much respect for rules of the road or other bikers. Perhaps double yellow lines mean something different where you live.

[JyRO]

Well I won't try to justify crossing the line. That was wrong. Realize though that the video is edited. I cruised up on both pairs and followed along behind them for a good while waiting for a good place to pass. If you know The Tail of the Dragon then you know good places to pass are rare. And the frequent visitors expect to be passed or the other bikes will give room to let you pass. Cars sometimes pull onto the shoulder.

What happened was that both three wheelers had given me a few chances to pass but i passed as it put me in too bad of a position to his riding buddy ahead ... too close. In case the front rider didn't know I was coming I try to give them space. But in the first case the guy slowed down quicker than expected and I had a head of steam and I was concerned he didn't know I was there and didn't know how close I was. So I broke left when I saw it was clear to give him some buffer.

The second pair I saw way through the intersection and when I saw the road was completely clear ahead I moved left to give him space and took off. Good idea to cross the line? No. But I did.

I will say that when I get out there by myself I don't cross the yellow line taking the race line. I stay in my lane. Those Can-Ams are wide. The wide view of the camera makes it less apparent how much more a person can see.

[Kap]

Really?

[Joisey]

In 1994 my friend and I were traveling down the Blue Ridge Parkway one spring morning We were enjoying the view from our motorcycles as best we could considering the fog that had not been burned off by the sun. Animals of all types were everywhere you looked, no doubt they were quite accustomed to vehicles.

We were a few vehicles back, somewhat in the middle of the pack but basically making good time and holding close to the speed limit except when it came to uphill grades, then the pace slowed to about 20mph because a camper was at the head of the line and that was as fast as he could reasonably go and still slow down for the next downhill grade.

We were part way up a steep grade that made a left turn when some idiot on a bike decided there was plenty of room to pass. Double yellow line on a blind curve. He was tired of waiting in line for some reason or other. Well, he made it past the six or so cars behind us, passed us on the apex of a blind curve. A guy towing a camper was coming down that blind curve and swerved to miss the guy on the bike. His trailer jackknifed into my lane. I took to the right as far as I could go when his trailer hit my left hand mirror.

My right foot was broken when it caught a mile marker post. I pulled over and shut the bike down, got off and took my helmet and boot off. My friend by now had turned around (we were riding single file) and came to see what happened to me. Shortly the guy in the camper stopped off the road and I guess cleaned his shorts out enough to run uphill to see if I was alive. My foot was 90 degrees to the right, broken without a doubt. The camper driver was apologizing up and down for something that was out of his control.

About 5 minutes later we're waiting for an ambulance to arrive (someone had a cell phone and was nice enough to call) when the idiot on the bike comes cruising up. He parks his bike, swaggers over while taking his helmet off and says "dude, what happened? The guy in the camper wasn't looking where he was going."

I motioned for him to lean over like I wanted to tell him something. When he leaned over I promptly broke his nose with my helmet. Flat as a pancake.

The police came with the ambulance. "Dude" was screaming that I broke his nose. I'm ready to admit to doing it when the guy that was towing the camper told the cop that his nose was like that when he got off the bike.

"Dude" got a whole list of tickets, including no insurance. I got a trip to the hospital where they set my right ankle and put in two pins. Many weeks of therapy followed. My bike was taken home by my friend on his trailer.

My vacation was shot. My insurance was stuck with my medical bill and my foot never really regained the movement needed to ride a bike on the street.

All because some "Dude" passed people where they "expected to be passed."