Deals Gap solo run video
 

Here is an old Deals Gap solo run. 2002 R6. Enjoy...

http://www.vimeo.com/3950160

good video, is that you? good pace, good lines, I'd like to make a couple of passes following someone that knows the road


that's the kinda curves we have here "Shady Valley(The Snake), i'm only about 2 1/2 - 3hrs from deals gap, but its only 30 minutes to Shady Valley


I dont think some understand the term "twisties" till they ride roads like these

good job

I dont think some understand the term "twisties" till they ride roads like these

Amen Brother!

here's a video I found of "the snake", not my video ,just one i found of part of the road, not a real fast pace, but you can tell its a pretty good road


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Has4q5Yr-Eo

i still llike the one of the r6 and evo the best

Curious, you still push this hard even though you track/race? Or has racing curtailed your desire for this?

Was that a big ol tankslapper at 605?

And dare I ask how many runs did not go quite as 'well' as this one? :lol:

Every once in a while,Chris,we think a like. I was wondering those same exact things.

I kinda stopped watching that video 10 seconds in when you crossed 2/3 of the way through the left lane to make it to the next corner quicker. Don't ride like an asshole.

Yeah that's him, good luck to you if you try to follow him.

My favorite vid of you is the one taken by someone else as you go through gravity and they go "WOW!" I can't seem to find it though.

:panic: not the user to poke with a stick

more talent in one pinky toe then most users have total

its not the speed that bothers me, i just dont know that road good enough to ride it that hard

Well,I haven't had those balls for going on 20 years! He's got a lot of talent that's for sure! Even so,I agree with T-rock that there's no way I'm crossing the double yellow in a blind corner,that's just asking for it,and exactly what I'm afraid of going to the Gap. I really don't want to be coming the other way while he's trying to improve his "lap time". If it's necessary to risk a head-on collision to keep up....I'll see you at the end.

Cross the double yellow...doesn't matter how much talent or ability you have.

FAIL

It's called riding like an asshole and being a moron who ruins it for everyone else.

I didn't see one inadvertant double yellow cross.

Everytime the bike was in the "wrong lane" it was setting up for the next turn, or taking a short-cut with plenty of forward visability. :idk:

Sick video.

I like to push myself on the track but to pull that off on real road takes a special kind of balls. :pat:

I don't ride anymore, but this video was made long before I started racing. I didn't street ride much after I began racing.

Yes.

I have crashed 3 times at the gap if I remember correctly. I hit an antifreeze spill once, tucked the front end once, and highsided once. No major injuries in any of those crashes.

You are correct that there are no blind or otherwise dangerous line choices in this video. Interaction with oncoming traffic was not a factor.

and it was taken before the massive influx of idiots and cops

thats the problem, you jump the double yellow now ant the tenn PD will have you for lunch. heard they dont cut anyone a break down there now.

Tom

It started making me dizzy about 3 minutes in........

How did you like your R6??? :rockwoot:

Well,if you say so but I couldn't see,so I'm not sure how he could have. Besides,another bike coming at 100 mph would make the impact a split second affair. If nothing else you could potentially freak some poor guy (me for instance) the fuck out and cause him to crash. But again,he has balls and talent and for that I can't help but respect him!

painted line cause the tank slapper?

Nah,rake/trail and the lack of a steering damper,I'd bet!

Didt look like the front end came up...Could be the Video though...But I dunno..

Bad technique caused it.

So are you done with riding altogether or do you think you will be able to get back out at a slower pace/different style of riding like a tourer or something?

I'm done entirely.

To much to ask why your doen ridign all together??

If not I understand...Just curious.

that sucks bro...

The bottom line is I'm not willing to accept the risks involved with riding anymore.

Got it...I can respect that

even on the track huh? damn... well hopefully you'll find something ya enjoy as much if not more with risks your willing to take:rockout:

That sucks man, hope you still come to the *OSBs and such if you can stand to be around it.

I've ridden that road a lot and that's probably the fastest time I've seen. Do people still leave the timing tower in the trees at the NC sign? I did from the lookout to the state line in a little more than 12 minutes behind a fast guy on a motard a couple years back...that was definitely as fast as I want to go on that road.:panic:

Tracks have done a lot more damage to me than street riding ever did.

I'll be out this weekend. I still plan to be around to hang out now and then. Though I'm sure it's going to suck watching everybody else have a good time, but I'll have to get over it.

well that's too bad... sorry bro...

I'm with you on that one Bro! Sorry about your decision to quit. Maybe you'll change your mind with time. I quit in '02 and bought a 4 wheeler with the insurance money. I ended up coming back at the end of '03... Anyway,good luck with any future hobbies you may pick up.

Holy Sheep Shit that's sick. Under 10minutes!!! I take it that's probably one of the fastest times out there. If not then who has it?

I also don't see any major double yellow crosses. Or none while in a turn. Most "squidly" action was a quick wheelie near another motorcycle.

And I guess take it easy since you decided to quit riding. I guess you've just gotten so fast that you know you'll just push it and push it until you push it too far. And at your speeds it seems you are either riding or hugging a tree. No in the middle shit like we get to deal with.

the awesome was definitely one of the quickest up there.

Great vid man. I wish I had a road remotely curved to ride.

That was a very good ride through there. The rider didn't do anything wrong on that run. I am going to step over the PC line here and say that every yellow cross does not make an asshole on that road. Or if it does, I'm a gaping sphincter.

If you know that road, you know where you can cross and where you can't, just like passing cars. What you can't see on a video is where you can see with your eyes. One of the best places to pass is in the middle of a turn. You can look though the trees to see what is coming and if there is nothing there, you are clear, cars slow to about 10 (or less) MPH, and you can just roll around them.

On many of the turns you can see 2-3 turns ahead if you know where to look. Nothing coming-you are safe. It all has to do with having an intimate knowledge of the road and not riding above your skill and knowledge. I have thousands of miles on that road, all in 9.37 mile increments and it is a very demanding road to ride at a quick pace. The biggest problem with it now is that it is too busy and too well known and most of the people that go up there to challenge "The Dragon" (I hate that name...) do not have the skill or knowledge to ride fast safely.

I guess my point is that on that road, just because you cross the center line does not necessarily mean you are a careless asshole, if you know when, where and how, you can do that safely. If you don't and just blindly bust thru, you are a careless asshole and I hope when you auger into a rock bank you don't take anyone with you.

I used to ride thru there and try to not touch the brakes. Never made it through without ever touching them, I think 4 lever pulls is the best I ever did, but I learned a
lot about the road in the process. I have ridden through there one time in the last 8 years and that was after not being there for 7 years and I still remembered 90% of the turns and setups. I probably passed 300 cruisers and tourist in one pass through and everyone of them called me an asshole. I didn't put anyone in a risky situation and risked no ones safety. Some photo shooter caught me and a cruiser in a frame that I saw that summed it up pretty well. I'm rolling in behind him coming through a right setting up for an immediate left. He is looking straight ahead and I'm looking through the trees to the straight before and the other end of the turn from the opposite direction. The road was empty, but I'm sure that when I rolled past in the middle of the turn in the oncoming lane he called me an asshole. Oh well..

Hey you all kick ass in my book BUT I take two well known exceptions to your proposal that you don't endanger anyone by crossing the double yellow;

1. What if someone was coming full bore the other direction? I can't see how shaving a split second off your "lap" time could be worth my life. I don't care how fast everyone rides but I still think you should keep it in your own lane.

2. How everyone is quick to pat guys on the back dragging knee and crossing double yellows on a public road but immediately call "squid" whenever they see someone doing wheelies on the freeway.:idk:

Like he said if you realy know the road there are safe spots to cross the double yellow. Upstate we have a few nice hairpin turns that you can see through for some distance so if I see its clear I will use more of the road for my turn, but again its only speciffic instances.

As far as #2 guys ripping up the twisties arent seen by as many people where as the guy doing wheelies and lanesplitting on the hwy at high speeds is seen by many more people.

And in all my street riding and 4 years of track riding I have never put a knee down, only times I did were followed by other parts of my body as Icrashed :lol:

Tom

Yea I guess but I know that going at those speeds you only have a split second look through the corner...if someone else was coming at 100+...
Anyway,what does how many people see an act have to do if it wrong or not?:idk:

The corners I am referring to you arent going that fast comming up to them anyway.

its all about perception as far as people seeing riders do questionable stuff and attracting unwanted attention. To my knowledge dragging a knee isnt illegal, crossing the double yellow is a big no no, and wheelies and lanesplitting are also a no no. if youre running in the backroads and theres few if any people, theres less chance of them complaining. Guys using a crowded highway for stunt practice or high speed flybys will attract more attention and the POPO will be out more to stop it.

its just like if theres a bike hangout and guys piss off the local neighbors, they complain and the cops will do what theyre told, and start cracking down. Similar thing if a lot of guys crash in some of these backroads all of a sudden you will see more cops hanging out there.

Tom

This is where the road knowledge and careful consideration come into play. You have to know what section of road a person coming the other way has, and how fast they could potentially be going. A big problem with people trying to pass up there is that they calculate based on the speeds of normal traffic. Most people don't even have a concept of how fast certain vehicles could be coming at them. Any pass or line choice where oncoming traffic could become a factor is a bad one.

Oh well,I'm discussing the potential endangerment of others. Not legalities or perceptions. My concern is I'm flying through the Gap going fast but staying in my own lane and someone else crosses the line and hits me head on. I won't care who gets the ticket, I sure as hell won't care what the bystanders might think and who gives a fuck if the cops start patrolling that area more afterward? :lol: Anyway,to each their own,I'm going riding!

I am a safe rider and I care about others. If there is any doubt I will wait until I am sure it is safe. It just may not look like it to others who are not equipped to safely do it.
A fighter pilot pulling a 4G turn may be relatively safe for him, but not not at all for the cargo plane he just went by, as the cargo pilot shakes his head and says "Suicidal Asshole"
Deals Gap has no driveways, houses, or any other buildings or roads intersecting it from the overlook to the store, except for Parsons Branch, which is a dirt trail. One side of the road is National Park, the other side is owned by Alcoa. There is no private land or residences anywhere on it. Until a few years ago it was unknown and secluded.

Now it is, sadly, a National Parade route and turned into a zoo. For me it has been ruined for the most part. I have stayed in the motel there and been the only guest for days and I have ridden that road for hours continuously and not seen more than one or two cars or bikes. What a waste of what once was a Motorcycle paradise. But it is what it is.
There are plenty of good roads in the mountains, but I have not found another that was as safe and exciting as that one used to be. Now, I don't go there much.

See? Candor! Thankyou! That's all I'm saying. Wow you truly are awesome!

The Awesome, do you have any videos that show you on the bike going through, I'd like to see your body position.

I have 1, but it has a tag visibly displayed, so I'll be keeping that one for my personal collection.

gotcha