Tweet
So I went for my solo ride up NC80 to Burnsville and back around. Route was to be:
I-85 to US321 to NC27 to NC182 to NC226 to US70 to NC80 to US19E to NC197 to US74A to US64 to US74 and then home to Charlotte.
From the moment I set rubber into Marion, the ride was cursed. I arrived at the intersection of US70 west and NC80 north to see this:
I had no sooner ridden up NC80 a mile or so and it began to rain -- only enough to wet the road. Then it stopped. NC80 was a bust.
Oh well, I thought, I will still have some fun on NC197. I got to NC197 and found it to be an awesome road. It went through a valley next to a small river for several miles then it turned up hill. At this turn was the second of the day's omens: two deer in the right ditch. I slowed hard and managed to spook them into going back into the woods. Whew.
As I was enjoying the myriads of curves and switchbacks NC197 was offering me, I was wondering to myself why I had never heard any riders speaking of this road. It was really, really fun. A bit of gravel here and there but fun nonetheless. Then I found out why:
At the top of the ridge, the road turned to gravel. I checked my mapping software but it didn't show as gravel. There was a man parked in a pulloff at the top of the hill. I asked him how far it would be gravel, since it was 15 miles back to Burnsville to reroute. He told me it was 4 or 5 miles of gravel and that they'd just scraped it so it was in real good shape.
I decided to take the dirt road. "Real good shape" for a pick-up is a different situation from "real good shape for a bike." Being that the road had just been scraped, there was a lot of loose gravel on top of the hardpack. This made my average speed for the 4 or 5 miles around 10MPH. Nonetheless, I made it back to pavement:
Once back on asphalt, I was getting a bit annoyed at the fact that there were all these obstacles being thrown at my attempt to have some fun on the curves. I made it back to Asheville where I got a late lunch and fuel and set out for Hickory Nut Gap. It appeared on the radar that the storms had blown away for the time-being and I was looking forward to a nice run though the Gap to conclude all but the ride home.
The roads leading to the HNG were dry and the sun was out!
Hooray! I arrived at the bottom of the switchbacks only to find the pavement in the turns all the way through to the bottom still wet. ARRRRRGHHHH!!!
I decided to head north on NC9. I thought maybe by the time I got to the twisty parts, the roads would be dried out there. The turns on NC9 were indeed dry but strewn with enough gravel to diminish my confidence. It was ho-hum but not bad.
I arrived at Black Mountain still not satisfied and frustrated. I HAD to have more curvy roads and carving. I decided to head for the Parkway and go north, back to NC80 and then home down NC226.
Traffic on the Parkway was minimal and the pavement was dry. I was really cruising through and throwing a knee out on the sweepers. I had been frustrated all day so I decided to get high. Really high:
"A" was my elevation at the entrance to Mount Mitchell State Park.
"B" is what I now wish I'd done while I was ahead.
Take a long look, folks. She'll never look that good again. :cwm10:
I jumped back on and continued north, having fun and zipping along. I entered a downhill, right hand turn pretty hot. I was hanging off to the inside and had my knee out (I don't have pucks, mind you). The turn began to decrease in radius and remained a blind corner. I leaned up to and then past my comfort zone. I did what everyone knows they aren't supposed to do. I mistrusted my machine and applied a bit of front brake. Oh shit (pardon the French but that was a direct quote), here we go!!
The bike did what it was supposed to do given that input -- it stood up. Crap! This, in turn sent me to the outside of the corner. I was headed to the opposite shoulder and fast. I righted the bike and grabbed all the brake I could while I was still on pavement. Then.....I exited the highway surface and entered the grass:
Now everyone knows grass doesn't make for very good friction. I was riding on what equated to snot and headed for the downside of the mountain. I got to the point where it was almost too late to bail and I laid it down to the right side and bailed. I slid in the grass, landing on my hip and right side then rolled a bit, coming to rest on my stomach with my toes over the edge. "A" shows the divot I made. You can see it in some of the other shots to see the relation in my resting spot and the edge of the hill:
The bike came to rest on its right side about 1.5 to 2 feet from the edge of the mountain. I picked the bike up and put it on its centerstand where it stopped, so it is actually a half foot or so back from where it stopped. The arrow represents the angle of the hill and the line represents where the hill dropped off:
Here are the remaining shots I took:
This one the camera is as close to level as I can get it beside the bike. Basically showing the path I would have taken if I "had ridden it out."
Damage report!!
-The Hindle is bent.
-Top fairing cracked next to the instrument cluster.
-Side is scratched up a bit. A lot of it I think will come out with rubbing compound.
Katana's are tough little bikes, even if it did only fall and slide in grass.
-My hip is banged up pretty badly but nothing major and my right hand is sore but ONLY sore. Nothing broken, nothing even rashed up. GEAR GEAR GEAR GEAR GEAR!!. ALWAYS wear it.
I got the bike started again and set off for home. I took NC80 and was determined to not let this mishap spook me. I know exactly what I did wrong and now know that given the same circumstance, I know better. I railed through on NC80 and slabbed the rest of the way home. Bike runs fine, thank my lucky stars and Heaven.
Well, there you have it. A report I wish I didn't have to make. I am both unlucky and lucky at the same time.
*Disclaimer: the author of this post didn't actually "get high." He feels marijuana use is silly. He was speaking in metaphors referring to the high elevation.
I-85 to US321 to NC27 to NC182 to NC226 to US70 to NC80 to US19E to NC197 to US74A to US64 to US74 and then home to Charlotte.
From the moment I set rubber into Marion, the ride was cursed. I arrived at the intersection of US70 west and NC80 north to see this:
I had no sooner ridden up NC80 a mile or so and it began to rain -- only enough to wet the road. Then it stopped. NC80 was a bust.
Oh well, I thought, I will still have some fun on NC197. I got to NC197 and found it to be an awesome road. It went through a valley next to a small river for several miles then it turned up hill. At this turn was the second of the day's omens: two deer in the right ditch. I slowed hard and managed to spook them into going back into the woods. Whew.
As I was enjoying the myriads of curves and switchbacks NC197 was offering me, I was wondering to myself why I had never heard any riders speaking of this road. It was really, really fun. A bit of gravel here and there but fun nonetheless. Then I found out why:
At the top of the ridge, the road turned to gravel. I checked my mapping software but it didn't show as gravel. There was a man parked in a pulloff at the top of the hill. I asked him how far it would be gravel, since it was 15 miles back to Burnsville to reroute. He told me it was 4 or 5 miles of gravel and that they'd just scraped it so it was in real good shape.
I decided to take the dirt road. "Real good shape" for a pick-up is a different situation from "real good shape for a bike." Being that the road had just been scraped, there was a lot of loose gravel on top of the hardpack. This made my average speed for the 4 or 5 miles around 10MPH. Nonetheless, I made it back to pavement:
Once back on asphalt, I was getting a bit annoyed at the fact that there were all these obstacles being thrown at my attempt to have some fun on the curves. I made it back to Asheville where I got a late lunch and fuel and set out for Hickory Nut Gap. It appeared on the radar that the storms had blown away for the time-being and I was looking forward to a nice run though the Gap to conclude all but the ride home.
The roads leading to the HNG were dry and the sun was out!
Hooray! I arrived at the bottom of the switchbacks only to find the pavement in the turns all the way through to the bottom still wet. ARRRRRGHHHH!!!
I decided to head north on NC9. I thought maybe by the time I got to the twisty parts, the roads would be dried out there. The turns on NC9 were indeed dry but strewn with enough gravel to diminish my confidence. It was ho-hum but not bad.
I arrived at Black Mountain still not satisfied and frustrated. I HAD to have more curvy roads and carving. I decided to head for the Parkway and go north, back to NC80 and then home down NC226.
Traffic on the Parkway was minimal and the pavement was dry. I was really cruising through and throwing a knee out on the sweepers. I had been frustrated all day so I decided to get high. Really high:
"A" was my elevation at the entrance to Mount Mitchell State Park.
"B" is what I now wish I'd done while I was ahead.
Take a long look, folks. She'll never look that good again. :cwm10:
I jumped back on and continued north, having fun and zipping along. I entered a downhill, right hand turn pretty hot. I was hanging off to the inside and had my knee out (I don't have pucks, mind you). The turn began to decrease in radius and remained a blind corner. I leaned up to and then past my comfort zone. I did what everyone knows they aren't supposed to do. I mistrusted my machine and applied a bit of front brake. Oh shit (pardon the French but that was a direct quote), here we go!!
The bike did what it was supposed to do given that input -- it stood up. Crap! This, in turn sent me to the outside of the corner. I was headed to the opposite shoulder and fast. I righted the bike and grabbed all the brake I could while I was still on pavement. Then.....I exited the highway surface and entered the grass:
Now everyone knows grass doesn't make for very good friction. I was riding on what equated to snot and headed for the downside of the mountain. I got to the point where it was almost too late to bail and I laid it down to the right side and bailed. I slid in the grass, landing on my hip and right side then rolled a bit, coming to rest on my stomach with my toes over the edge. "A" shows the divot I made. You can see it in some of the other shots to see the relation in my resting spot and the edge of the hill:
The bike came to rest on its right side about 1.5 to 2 feet from the edge of the mountain. I picked the bike up and put it on its centerstand where it stopped, so it is actually a half foot or so back from where it stopped. The arrow represents the angle of the hill and the line represents where the hill dropped off:
Here are the remaining shots I took:
This one the camera is as close to level as I can get it beside the bike. Basically showing the path I would have taken if I "had ridden it out."
Damage report!!
-The Hindle is bent.
-Top fairing cracked next to the instrument cluster.
-Side is scratched up a bit. A lot of it I think will come out with rubbing compound.
Katana's are tough little bikes, even if it did only fall and slide in grass.
-My hip is banged up pretty badly but nothing major and my right hand is sore but ONLY sore. Nothing broken, nothing even rashed up. GEAR GEAR GEAR GEAR GEAR!!. ALWAYS wear it.
I got the bike started again and set off for home. I took NC80 and was determined to not let this mishap spook me. I know exactly what I did wrong and now know that given the same circumstance, I know better. I railed through on NC80 and slabbed the rest of the way home. Bike runs fine, thank my lucky stars and Heaven.
Well, there you have it. A report I wish I didn't have to make. I am both unlucky and lucky at the same time.
*Disclaimer: the author of this post didn't actually "get high." He feels marijuana use is silly. He was speaking in metaphors referring to the high elevation.
Comment