As it turns out, I was there on Tuesday. I was working in the area so I figured I would swing by. Gave my car a 135K mile celebration. I didn't bring the bike...again
The place was packed, lots of slow riders and car traffic. Then to make matters worse I got a ticket on the Tennessee side...in my car - so lame. I had been following some really slow bikes (maybe 15mph?) and finally just pulled off to wait a while so I could put some space between us and carry some corner speed - then I got nabbed for 42 in a 30 by THP just as I was coming up on the bikes again. I guess I got lucky - if I hadn't been coming up behind the bikes I would have been going faster.
on the way up I was behind a guy that went off the right side of a tight left hand turn, rode through the culvert and up the rock wall about 8 feet, back down the wall and across the culvert again and out into the road. Straight across towards the Armco barrier on the oncoming side with the rear locked and sliding. When he was parallel to the barrier he unlocked the rear, rode back to the right side and kept riding like nothing happened.
At the overlook I stopped and told him that was the craziest save I had ever seen. He would have been the second to go down in front of me on Tuesday had he not had his miraculous save. Not a mark on him or his bike. After that I decided I would be better off outside the gap.
I video a lot of my passes, and this would have been a priceless video, but unfortunately I didn't have my camera set up and I didn't get it.
I did about 500 miles in and around the area before the sun went down. That's two gap trips in my car in less than 2 months, gonna wear the thing out.
Indylan - The first few times I went through there was in my '91 Escort GT - towing a '91 GSX-R 750 behind it - so early to mid 90's. I thought the speed limit was 55 at the time, but it could have been 45 - either way you were not likely to get a ticket. This was when Pete still owned the campground and had Saturday night trout/steak dinners up at the top of his property. There were some holiday weekends there that the place looked like a MASH camp with all the injuries.
Coming from Florida, even being an 'expert' roadracer, I had never experienced anything like it. Still haven't. down here you can go a hundred miles without a turn.
That Escort was one durable car that went through [censored] and back.
