Topic: NC - How to Drive The Dragon

[tazz]

I'm posting this because of the recent loss of one of our members and so that others may be helped by this info.  I'm truly sorry for the loss and my heart and prayers go out to the family members.
When this forum mentioned the Dragon I had no idea what it was so i did a google search to find some info.  While sifting through the info i came across this article on another forum on what you should do and what you shouldn't do while Driving the Dragon.  I think everyone should read this and really take the advice to heart.  While it was on another forum most if not all the info will pertain to the Kappa's or almost any vehicle.


HOW TO DRIVE THE DRAGON:

Drive the Dragon at your skill level - don't try to push it or keep up with faster vehicles.

STAY IN YOUR LANE, There are videos available for sale that show vehicles cutting the corners and taking chances that might appear "fun" while sitting in your easy chair. BEWARE ! This style of driving on the Dragon can cost you dearly. The challenge of the Dragon is to take the many curves in the best line possible and both lanes IS NOT "the line". Drive Florida if you like to straighten out the curves.

Do NOT sight-see. The Dragon is to drive, not to watch the sights. On many runs I don't even see what is on the side of the road. I'm watching the roadway way ahead.

Look far ahead at the road, curves, bushes, other vehicles, etc. If you haven't seen the hazards right in front of you, you are going to hit them anyway, so you might as well pay attention to what you have time to avoid.

We have seen deer, bear, turkeys, and wild boar on the roadway. Be ready to brake and slow. When we say brake we DO NOT mean slamming on the brakes. That will get you turned around in a hurry and it’s no fun looking at where you’ve been at any speed.

Maintain a "safe zone." Keep a safe distance between you and the vehicle ahead of you. Watch your rear view mirrors for faster vehicles. If you see a faster rider/driver coming up behind you, pull over to the right of your lane, slow down just a little, and wave them around. It is much safer to let a faster vehicle around you than to try to outrun them. NEVER stay left trying to keep someone from passing you. NEVER pull off the road onto the shoulder unless it is at one of the pull-off parking areas. It may be illegal to pass on the Dragon, but I'll let a faster vehicle get around me to protect my safe zone.

There will always be faster drivers than you. Don't try to be the King of the Dragon.

Drive the Dragon many times before trying to challenge it. Then you still need to respect it at all times.

DO NOT STAND ON THE BRAKES if you see danger ahead. You are much better off to tap the brakes and maintain control. Some 90% of the accidents on the Dragon are due to speed and then over-braking. If you see another vehicle coming at you in your lane, hug the white line in your lane. In all likelihood you can avoid trucks and trailers if you stay alert and watch ahead.

DO NOT be spooked by other vehicles. DO NOT make sudden avoidance moves. You might have to adjust your line to avoid a car, truck, or bike, but DO NOT lay on the brakes or turn off the roadway suddenly unless that is the only out you have. Motorcycles might dent your car, but that is better than going off the bank and hitting a tree sideways. If a cycle is in your lane that is their mistake and problem … don’t let them force you into a worse situation for yourself.

Trucks are usually traveling at a very slow speed and you should have time to stop and back-up if you see one coming at you and taking the whole corner. Watch for signals from drivers/riders coming at you. Many times they will escort a big truck over the Dragon and wave a warning to you to pull over. DO NOT ignore these warnings.

Avoid driving hard on the Dragon in heavy traffic times. Weekends from 11 am to 5 pm are the busiest. These are the times to lay back and enjoy watching the "show" go by.

The early mornings (before 11 am) and the late afternoons (after 5 pm) have the least traffic.

ALWAYS stay 100% alert. You do not have the advantage of relaxing on the Dragon.

Make sure your vehicle is mechanically sound and that your tires are good.

Plan to make several runs, the first is always a nervous one .... then you can have fun on the second and third.

DO NOT over-use your brakes. Use your gears and DOWNSHIFT. A good Dragon driver WILL NOT use a lot of brakes.

Focus - do not daydream. Watch the road, your mirrors, and pay attention to other bikes/cars/trucks.

99% of the accidents on the Dragon come from the following:

Too much speed
Too much brakes
Inattentiveness
Driving above your abilities

[smartin]

I'm posting this from the Killboy site as it gives an account of what might have happened.

Last Saturday night was one of those unfortunate moments. A member from the Sky/Solstice group was giving another member a ride, and lost control on Hwy 28 about 1/8th of a mile from the turn off from 129. The car side-swiped a tree and the passenger was killed instantly. Driver was, and still is in critical but stable condition. He was flown out and friends on the scene said the Graham County EMS team did an amazing job, working very fast to stabilize the injured and get a helicopter on route immediately.

The left turn they wrecked in is a fairly tricky one, in that there is always gravel around the outside of it because there are dumpsters there and people going in and out all the time. Most traffic doesn't stay wide through the turn, so the gravel accumulates. If a person is driving nice line, staying well away from the yellow, they are punished with a loss of traction. We will try to take a broom out there as often as possible and work on keeping it cleaner. (along with the rest of the Gap as always) The dumpsters there were also very prone to attracting wildlife, mostly bears, but I think they have made upgrades to keep the bears out, so I'm not sure if there was an animal involved in the crash or not.

It shouldn't need to be repeated, but let's all please be careful when we have precious lives in our cars or on our bikes. Imagine the sorrow this poor driver is going to face if he survives. Our thoughts are with the families of the Nellie Tubbs and Keith Wolven.

[Uranium-238]

This pretty much applies to any good road. Heck, much of that should apply to whenever you're behind the wheel. IMO, your commute to work should occupy your attention just as much as a mountain road. If you're behind the wheel, drive, you're not there to do anything else.

I personally have no interest in driving the tail of the dragon. Way too many cars, and way too many cops. I'd drive it to say I did it, if I was in the area, but I wouldn't make it a destination.

[nomead]

This was my first time at the dragon - it won't be my last.

I made about 10 passes through the dragon this year - got a CEL on the last run through.

The top 7 things I saw & had to deal with while coming around corners:

7. deer

6. slow cars / tourists / sightseers

5. oncoming cars & motorcycles impinging on my lane (actually followed a harley cruiser for a while and they went around all the curves hugging the yellow line, followed a Subie that routinely crossed it - I pulled over and waited these out)

4. oncoming vehicles with trailers - small boats up to to 18wheelers (2 of the latter).

3. a motorcycle broken down sitting in my lane (fortunately warned of this before I got there, I pulled off the road and offered to help, ran into him later - his chain bound up and froze his back wheel & he could not move it until it was cleared)

2. a motorcyclist walking up the hill in my lane going up to his bike - while an 18wheeler came the other way (one of those two trucks from #4)

1. two motorcyclists sitting, completely blocking my lane having a conversation!!!
I actually stopped and told these two - "thank you, now I have seen every f**king possible road hazard here"

Enjoy the challenge  
Drive within your capabilities  
But seriously - be careful out there.

[Aspenrose]

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&q=Fontana+Dam,+Graham,+North+Carolina+28733&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=46.092115,76.552734&ie=UTF8&cd=1&geocode=Fe35HAIdHj0B-w&split=0&ll=35.464445,-83.918896&spn=0.093116,0.149517&z=13&layer=c&cbll=35.464484,-83.918991&panoid=ifpnqttNtZXxXpAQ8GGVfA&cbp=12,149.25,,0,5

This is the curve, in question, and it's definitely not the worst on Hellbender, but the gravel issue compounds the difficulty. Gravel on a curve is almost as dicey for us as it is for a motorcycle, if speed is not adjusted, line changed, etc.

Among the photos up on Killboy or Zee from the Friday run of the Dragon was a series of 2-3 of one of our own, in both lanes on a left hand blind curve. Drivers that cannot drive in their own lane on that road don't belong on that road. That factor, coupled with the traffic, and the high percentage of drivers that aren't as good as they think will keep me away from any event at the Dragon.

[Treeman]

I have vacationed in Fontana several times and driven the Dragon those several times, though not in my Solstice.  I have come around corners and found wrecked motorcycles and ambulances and had to stop pretty quickly.  I have also lived and worked in western NC and hazards range from suddenly wet roads (very local showers, water seeps, etc.) to bears to people.  It is a fun road to drive at any speed but definitely is not Road Atlanta or any other closed course that is a controlled environment.  Driving at 10/10ths on such a road is a recipe for disaster.  Don't know what happened in this case and I am not going to speculate.  Bad accidents can happen any driver on any road.  But there is a balance between having fun today and being around to have fun tomorrow.

Gravel is an issue on any country road and it is really hard to see at night.  I leave my nannies on for any road unless I know it really well and know that it is free of such stuff.  

[smartin]

I have vacationed in Fontana several times and driven the Dragon those several times, though not in my Solstice.  I have come around corners and found wrecked motorcycles and ambulances and had to stop pretty quickly.  I have also lived and worked in western NC and hazards range from suddenly wet roads (very local showers, water seeps, etc.) to bears to people.  It is a fun road to drive at any speed but definitely is not Road Atlanta or any other closed course that is a controlled environment.  Driving at 10/10ths on such a road is a recipe for disaster.  Don't know what happened in this case and I am not going to speculate.  Bad accidents can happen any driver on any road.  But there is a balance between having fun today and being around to have fun tomorrow.

Gravel is an issue on any country road and it is really hard to see at night.  I leave my nannies on for any road unless I know it really well and know that it is free of such stuff. 

Well put, Treeman.

[Aspenrose]

Found a sobering thread on miata.net? regarding the accident, then this bit of blog from a guy who was staying at the Deals Gap resort just about .2 mile from the accident:

Overall it was a fun trip & hopefully one we take again & again. It wasn't completely without incident though. :-( On Saturday night after midnight (I think) the jovial atmosphere was shattered by a car accident two turns from where we were staying on Route 28 (also known as Hellbender 28) . Arriving nearly first on the scene - there was nothing we could do for the female passenger who I recently learned was named Nellie Tubbs (RIP). But the driver of the mangled blue Pontiac Solstice, who I later learned was named Keith Wolven, seemed to have a fighting chance. As far as I know, as of Tuesday night 8/10, he's been upgraded from critical to serious condition. I've been scanning the area news feeds to find out more information. I don't know if alcohol was involved, or if he just blew the turn, but it was an ugly scene. I dunno what else to say about it.

http://puppetmaster2u.blogspot.com/

[Uranium-238]

Note to self: Don't do any high, or even medium speed runs on twisting roads in the dark. Didn't realize that all this took place after sunset...

[smartin]

You left out one of the best paragraphs from that blog.

Little Dave coined the phrase for the weekend best though when he said in reference to last year's trip - "Keep a little in your pocket". :-) For those that don't know what that means...my loose translation is "don't go riding/driving all balls out 100%.. let off the throttle a little bit & keep a little in reserve; just in case"

[lil goat]

Never been to the Dragon and never will, to many cars and way way to many horror stories, this is not my first. I have lost biker friends down there in the past, I respect the road but feel no need to drive it. Auto cross is much safer, and closer.

[MarkZ28]

I tooki my 09 Hayabusa there a month ago, had a blast but also didnt go anywhere as fast as the bike could do. It was my first time and had no idea what it was like. Wasnt a lot of traffic then either. I do want to take my GXP there sometime next spring/summer during the week, shouldnt be much traffic then either.

[elff]

I just got back from the Dragon. It's why I missed SMMM7.
It is a road that demands utter attention but it's actually not the most dangerous road down there.

Hell Bender is the road that causes many more problems.  You have much longer straights and it lulls you into driving much faster than you can on the Dragon and the consequences are pretty severe.   
The night we arrived, our Cabin mate had already wrecked his car.  Was into a roll and hit a tree which spun him 40' down the cliff in which he hit a tree with the top of his hood to stop his fall.
Amazingly, he was just about unscratched and his car is almost completely repaired at this point. 

So it's fun, but be careful.

[NormSky]

All good reasons to avoid the Dragon.

Norm

[MomsSol]

All good reasons to avoid the Dragon.

Norm

No reason to avoid the Dragon ... but, those who drive it should not drive it beyond their skill.  Even at posted speed it is a very nice road... best time is early in the AM or late afternoon after the majority of traffic is gone.

[Treeman]

 

[smartin]

Never drive beyond your abilities!

[Gentleman Jack]

Ability doesn't stop the other guy from crashing in to you... just saying.

GJ

[Uranium-238]

Ability doesn't stop the other guy from crashing in to you... just saying.

GJ

[elff]

You might as well not drive as that can occur anywhere.

[ChopTop]

Did a YouTube search for tail of the dragon (10,300 videos!).  No thanks, so retyped; tail of the dragon, full run.  And found this video recorded by a MINI owner doing it.  Some parts were edited out due to slow traffic, but no accidents and idiots are shown.  However, it does give you  an idea that it is a road that you must pay attention to at all times.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPjR-Tf8xdc

[NormSky]

So no texting? 

[Treeman]

You might as well not drive as that can occur anywhere.

 

[elff]

The video started on Hellbender.
When he passes the store as he turns right at the stop sign, that is the beginning of the Tail

[Yogi]

Nice vid, ChopTop!   

Was that a parked cop that he passed at 2:16?   

Thanks for sharing!