Is Route 211 Becoming the New Dragon?

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Is Route 211 Becoming the New Dragon?

Is route 211 becoming another Tail of the Dragon? Based on what I’ve observed and reports from fellow riders the section of 211 that crosses over the Blue Ridge Mountains is quickly becoming just that. This trend has caused me some concern, as it should all of us that enjoy that stretch of road.

There can be no doubt that it is a fun ride and a challenging one, with spectacular views as you climb or descend it. The change of temperature and sun glinting off the wet rocks as you roll through the inside corners, only to be exchanged in the next moment with views of the valley spread out below on the outside turns as the mountain drops away, is pure exhilaration on a bike.

If you catch it when there is little or no traffic it can be a very enjoyable ride. Until recently I didn’t have to worry about some over confident rider charging up from behind and zipping past me. Passing so close I could feel the wind of his machine or smell the adrenalin charged sweat as he went shooting past. Unfortunately that is no longer always true. In fact, I was recently passed in my own lane! Now understand that I’m a greedy bastard when it comes to roadway, and whatever section of lane I’m in, is all mine, period. So trying to share that piece of roadway with me is one sure way to get my attention. While getting my attention may not have been that rider’s intention, gain it they certainly did, mixed in with a few choice words best kept in private!

More and more I am hearing stories of the increasing incidents of riders exceeding their skill level along that section of route 211 in the local forums I am on. I have also been seeing patrol cars more often along 211 during the past year. That tells me as well that there is definitely a growing problem along that stretch of road, and it is affecting not just my enjoyment of riding it, but my personal safety as well. While I personally couldn’t care less if other riders want to try to ride hell-bent into the next life at an early age, leave me out of your plans, please. I happen to like living and am in no rush to depart for whatever awaits me at the end of the final highway on my last ride.

On top of any safety concerns is the simple fact that the behavior of any rider affects how the general public perceives us as a group. Back in the 60’s and 70’s the public’s view of motorcyclists was nothing short of animosity and fear, thanks in large part to the “Biker” movies thrust upon us by Hollywood. Even then we were not all a bunch of motorcycling hoodlums looking to rape and pillage and drink our guts out, yet we were often portrayed as such in the media. It was no more true back then than it is now and I’m glad to see that perception has changed as more and more Americans take to the road on two wheels. The increase in the number of women riders alone testifies to the changing attitude toward riding, its image is becoming more acceptable and less of a “Wild Ones” biker stereotype.

Now, however, with the advent of the sports bike craze I worry about how it will affect the public’s view. Will the old image be replaced with a new image of motorcyclists who risk not only their own safety but that of others for a few thrills? Lets all hope not, we have made too much progress to let a small minority or riders ruin the emerging image of responsible motoring. Please don’t get me wrong, I am not saying that all, or even most, sports bike riders are maniacs, only that by their very nature, sports bikes can increase the potential of a rider going beyond their limits that can have disastrous results.

That raises another important question: do we need machines that produce the kind of power that they are capable of? No, not really. Should we blame the makers? Again I’d have to say, not really, but those are subjects best left to another article. What about motorcycle dealers? Well, certainly they should consider to whom they are selling and at the very least make some effort to encourage new riders to take the MSF courses as well as promote safe riding to any perspective buyer. Keep in mind though they are, after all, in the business of selling bikes not educating the public on motorcycle safety issues. Again while they may be an easy target, holding them to blame solves nothing. Finally, what about motorcycle licensing and testing? Is it keeping on par with the increase in power and handling of this new breed of machine? With the advent of the MSF courses turning out more proficient riders we’ve made quite a few strides in the right direction. In my view, anything is better than the almost brain-dead VA state riding test. Consider though, is a weekend really enough time to become truly proficient, especially considering the speed and handling modern machines are capable of? Not hardly, proficient riding is a skill that is ever on-going, or should be anyway. If you think you’ve mastered all aspects of riding, then you’ve just taken a giant step backward and you need to give yourself a good hard slap in the face and rethink the issue!

Tiered motorcycle licensing has been the standard in Europe and seems to work well, and they have a lot more riders than we do. Yes, yes, yes, I can already hear the protests from the (younger) audience members proclaiming their innocence with cries of “We’re not responsible for the fact that sports bikes are so fast” or “Hey! Just because you old farts already have your license doesn’t give you the right to make us have to start out on some Tin Lizzy scooter before we can get something really fast and slick looking”! Well, the truth is that a lot of us “old farts” started riding on machines considerably smaller and less powerful than what is out there today, so that pretty much takes care of that argument.

Looking over any of the studies on motorcycle safety and accident reports and its quite clear that those most likely to have an accident and suffer injury or death are those new to riding. Now take a machine capable of going 160 plus miles an hour and add to that the exuberance of youth. Mix in the immortality of youth (as they perceive it), and you’ve cooked up an especially dangerous concoction. And sadly too, it is the youthful rider that is most likely to be attracted to these new road warriors. Machines that are specifically marketed to the younger rider without concern as to the skill of the prospective buyer. The very group, in fact, that is most likely to go down on ANY machine.

So what does all this have to do with Route 211 where it crosses Skyline Drive? Well that just happens to be one of the places I travel often and have seen the greatest evidence that many riders are simply not to par with the capabilities of their machine. Because it has a number of challenging turns both going up and coming back down, it is the type of road the sports bike rider is likely to be attracted to.

Having been riding for 40 some years and having owned at least one super-bike, I understand all too well what climbing aboard some sleek monster machine is like. The smooth hum of power, the forward leaning position of low bars and rear set pegs that urge you on to test the limits. I know all too well the temptation that comes with the lightness and agility of that style machine. A machine built for speed that leads you to edge with each gear change and twist of throttle as you race along, leaning with ever increasing nerve into the turns. Pushing the limits a little harder with each run up and back down on that perfect stretch of twisting pavement as you experience the increasing adrenalin rush with each new scar left on the road surface.

Then suddenly, without warning, reality returns and you realize too late that you’ve let yourself get caught up in the thrill and you’ve pushed yourself beyond the limits of the road and your skills. As you round the next curve with foot pegs scraping pavement, there, lying directly in your line, is some chunk of old rubber from a deteriorated retread. Or perhaps, some slick section of oil from a poorly maintained automobile, or worse yet, a deer, spooked by the noise of the machine, jumps across the road. Another instant and the thrill and ecstasy of pushing the limits turns into the horror of screeching tires, followed by a sickening sense of sliding on hot asphalt in slow motion as rider and machine part company in those moments after the collision with the deer or roadway that occurred with an impact almost impossible to imagine.

Now those moments of excitement are replaced with the horror of new movement that neither machine nor man was designed for. Moments of watching the world spin madly about, or even worse, the image of a wall of solid rock or dark shaft of tree trunk rushing forward to meet you. Maybe you’ll be lucky and come to a stop without further impact and the events will leave you lying quietly as the pain slowly begins to register and you once more become aware of your immediate surrounding. Moments and movements that hopefully, once over, you’ll be able to walk away from, or, at least, survive.

If you are lucky enough to be able to escape the horror of the last few moments without serious injury, the worst is yet to come. For there, tangled in amongst the trees and rocks or scattered along the roadway is your once beautiful new machine, most likely not even fully paid for, lying in a twisted heap of broken parts and shattered plastic. Seeing what was once shiny chrome and gleaming, painted body parts, strewn about the road and hillside is enough to bring you to your knees once more, assuming they aren’t already shaking so bad you can barely stand. Not a pretty picture, but all too real, all too many times, as evidenced by the half hidden debris that has begun to appear along the road side on 211.

So next time you feel the urge to run those roads faster than your skills are attuned to or than your angels can fly, ask yourself this one simple question: Is it worth the risk?

When you have reached the point where you’re able to say “No”, then you can truly claim, you’ve Conquered the Dragon.

Thanks for visiting VirginiaWind.