I haven't noticed a post with suggestions on how to drive the Dragon. If I missed it, I guess it's worth repeating given the large number of Minis and other vehicles sharing the road MOTD weekend. By no means am I an expert driver, but I have been to the dragon numerous times and have seen many incidents.

1. Be Smart
Drive within your abilities, within your cars capabilities and within your comfort and knowledge of the Dragon. My guess is that 99% of the accidents on the Dragon are a result of pushing the envelope in one (or more) of the above categories. Hopefully you have an idea of the first two, but proceed with caution on getting to know the Dragon. I've spoke with locals who have run the Dragon almost every week for years and still say they don't know road - it's a tricky stretch of highway.

2. Don't be an idiot
Stay on your side of the road OR don't cross the yellow line! You'd think this goes without saying, but attendees from last years MOTD will beg to differ. There's going to be over 400 minis MOTD weekend. Add to that numerous sport bikes and other tourists and there's bound to be another vehicle approaching in the opposite lane. So be careful to stay on your side of the road.

3. Be Courteous
There's going to be others that can safely run the Dragon faster that you, sport bikes or otherwise. There are numerous gravel "pull offs" on both sides of the road - be nice and safely pull off and let the faster traffic by. On the same token, if you get stuck behind a slower vehicle that is not being courteous (or can't like RV's and Semis) the worst thing to do is tailgate. Pull off and give yourself a little breathing room.

See y'all in a few weeks

 

Here is a copy from my Dragon website, which is a tweeked version from Tail of the Dragon.com

Ride the Dragon at your skill level - don't try to push it or keep up with faster riders

STAY IN YOUR LANE, There are videos available for sale that show
riders cutting the corners and taking chances that might appear "fun"
while sitting in your easy chair. BEWARE!. this style of riding 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".
Ride Florida if you like to straighten out the curves.

Do NOT sight see. The Dragon is to ride, 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 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 can avoid.

We have seen deer, bear, turkeys, and wild boar on the roadway. Be ready to brake and slow.

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 half of your lane, slow down, and wave them around. It is much safer to give a faster rider half of your lane than to try to outrun him. NEVER stay left trying to keep him from passing. NEVER pull off the road onto a gravel/low shoulder. It may be illegal to pass on the Dragon, but I'll let a faster rider get around me to protect my safe zone.

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

Ride the Dragon many times before trying to challenge it. Then you still need to respect it.

DO NOT LAY ON THE BRAKES if you see danger ahead. You are much
better off to trust your tires and lay into the corner than to hit your
brakes hard. Some 90% of the accidents on the Dragon are due to speed and then over-braking.

Stay between the double yellow and the white line. Do not dive over the double yellow or cut inside the white line in corners.

DO NOT be spooked by other riders. 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 unless that is the only out you have.

Trucks are very slow and have a hard time taking the Dragons tight turns. Watch for signals from drivers comings 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 riding 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". 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 car 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.

Remember that it takes a while to heat your tires up. We have seen too many bikers go down right after they start.

DO NOT over-use your brakes. Use your gears and DOWNSHIFT. A good Dragon rider 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 about you abilities

· Inattentiveness

 

Remember, if you are one of those frequent yellow line crossers, someone is going to get a photo of it and they are going to post it on the internet and people from all over the world are going to say mean thing about you.

You don't want that now, do you?

 

The new saying for the dragon. "If you hit yellow, you need to mellow. If you hit white, that's alright."

 

Be careful of some of those gravel pull-offs as a few of them have a big drop off

 

That's good, I like

 

True dat & you don't need to be a frequent crosser to get caught. Killboy & others often catch pics of line crossers on one of the few curves where line crossing appears safe.

 

Crossing the yellow is never acceptable It's just bad form

 

True dat.

 

Every year no shortage of threads telling people how to drive the dragon; every year no shortage of folks ignoring the advice.

Perhaps self preservation is more important?

 

It can never be overstated: when driving the Dragon, you MUST stay in your lane.

Take it easy the first time, as you adjust to the twists and turns. I always aim for a flowing run. When I get into "the zone," it feels like I am schussing...just flowing from turn to turn without testing the limits of my skills.

Everyone drive smart and have fun!

 

I'm not sure what things are like on the Dragon, but up here our mountain roads are frequented by bicyclists - so crossing the white line is a bad idea too.

 

You guys should also check out a site that a bunch of us Dragon "regulars" frequent, Killboy.com. You guys please remember, the most important thing up there is maintaining your lane.

I'll also give you a few hand signs to look for. If you see some one pat the top of their head or spin their index finger in the air it means a Law Enforcement Offical is just ahead. They may also show you their entire palm in a up and down motion, and that means slow down.

There will be a ton of cars up there that weekend and I would be surprised to see you be able to make any "decent" runs all the way through the dragon.

If you do manage to get pulled over, be honest. They know why we are there. Just respect others around you and dont get too crazy. I managed to meet Johnny Law on my last trip up, he let me go with a verbal warning.

Stay Safe!

 

If you pull over, be careful in returning to the pavement. The gravel and debris along the roadsides gets deposited on the pavement making for dangerous conditions especially in turns. If a motorcyclist hits this debris even in a mild turn, his ride can slide out from under him (or her) with some potentially nasty consequences. Killboy and his friends are often sweeping debris from the road that gets put there by people clipping the shoulder. Oversize vehicles are notorius for clipping corners and tracking junk onto the road. Dont try to pull off to let someone by if there is not room to do so and no clear line of site. It will encourage them to pass you using the other lane. This also can track gravel onto the road surface. By the same token, dont 'push' someone to force them to let you by in this manner for the same reasons.

Luckily, our huge group has (mostly) a reputation among local enthusiasts and the constabulary as one that is pretty safe and sane. There have been a couple minor incidents through the years, but nothing that has given our people a black eye. Let's try to keep it that way.