The Gap that almost wasn’t...

[Doug]

Finally!

after reading all the magazines and Ride Reports, I was going to Deals Gap!

We loaded the truck Wednesday night and got ready to pull out Thursday morning for the long drive.

http://i3.tinypic.com/vxchua.jpg


At 1:00 pm, we pulled off the Interstate in Nowhere, Alabama to refuel the truck (and us).
Waiting in the left turn lane, about four cars back from the light with a Jeep stopped behind us in traffic,
we hear a loud crash.
No tires screeching, just BOOM.
I look in the rear view and said “What was that ?!?” I didn’t even get those words out of my mouth
before we felt the impact.
“I can’t believe it!” We got out of the truck to find my bumper folded up underneath my truck


http://i3.tinypic.com/vxci6p.jpg


and the Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited had tried to climb up onto the trailer with our bikes…


http://i3.tinypic.com/vxciok.jpg

http://i3.tinypic.com/vxciex.jpg

http://i3.tinypic.com/vxcivb.jpg


The sixteen year old kid had his license about two weeks
and had not even hit the brakes before slamming into the Jeep…


http://i3.tinypic.com/vxcj2x.jpg
http://i3.tinypic.com/vxcj9w.jpg


No one was hurt bad, it could have been a lot worse…
(At that moment, I actually thought about how glad I was we were trailering instead of riding)

After the Police and EMS left and the flat bed wreckers came to haul off the two totaled vehicles,
we carefully limped off the road, disconnected the trailer and set out to get a new bumper installed on the truck.
We ended up at a nearby Ford Dealership and explained we were 300 miles from home
and were in dire need of immediate repairs. They were great and helped us out right away.
They did not have a bumper kit in stock but did have a receiver hitch, so that’s what we had to do.

While we waited, we checked out this cool old touring car in their showroom…


http://i3.tinypic.com/vxckt0.jpg
http://i3.tinypic.com/vxcknd.jpg
http://i3.tinypic.com/vxclc5.jpg
http://i3.tinypic.com/vxclf9.jpg
http://i3.tinypic.com/vxclkn.jpg

In no time, they had removed the destroyed bumper and installed the hitch.
We asked about finding someone who could do some rough welding to piece the traier back together
and the service man told me to go get the trailer and come back and they would take care of it for me.
A quick detour to Walmart for the drop piece, hook the trailer back up and back to the dealership to weld some pieces back on.
Only 4.5 hours after the incident, we were back on the road. God is good! All the time!

I missed an intended turn somewhere and ended up in Knoxville wondering how that happened when we came upon 129 South.
So, we turned down toward Maryville.
Strangely enough, there was another truck trailering two red sportbikes behind us
so I pulled off at the overlook and snapped this pic.

http://i3.tinypic.com/vxclqh.jpg

Before I knew it,

I was driving the Dragon...

at Midnight...

under that full moon...

[Doug]

Early the next morning, I walked down to the Office to Check In and met a guy on a red 954.
Turns out he was driving the truck that was behind us at midnight.
They had just driven in from Indiana
and were camping in tents
and he was heading out to find some breakfast.

A few minutes later, a guy on a beautiful brand new red R1 took off toward the Dragon.

http://i3.tinypic.com/vxcm4g.jpg

1st gear... 2nd gear....... 3rd gear !!!!!! scraaaaape…… CRASH!
We ran up the hill to find he didn’t make the first turn and was down in the ravine.
He was conscience but not moving.

We talked with him and found out he was the other rider who trailered in at midnight with us.

We stayed until the ambulance got there and later we heard the AirMed chopper.
He had fairly severe injuries to both wrists/hands and possibly a concussion but nothing else major.
He was an experienced rider and had been to The Gap before; even ridden a VFR to California and back
and had never crashed before.
He was apologizing for crashing!
As a computer programmer, he was going to be out of commission for awhile. I was really sorry he had traveled all that way
and didn’t get ¼ mile up the road.

If you could have seen the tree and the trajectory of his flight and the boulders he missed on the way down,
I think you would agree that God is not finished with him down here just yet.






Well, here’s proof that we had finally made it…


http://i3.tinypic.com/vxcm7d.jpg
http://i3.tinypic.com/vxcmep.jpg
http://i3.tinypic.com/vxd6q1.jpg

After a couple of runs on the Dragon, I was starting to ease up on the pucker factor and enjoy myself.

I noticed a woman with long hair on the pull off right past Killboy who looked like she was waiting and watching for someone.
A few turns down the road, I noticed her again...
as she blew by me on the inside on the sweetest sounding RC51.

OK, I wasn’t the fastest guy out there but I was having just as much fun as anybody else...

and I was improving my “Pace”
http://www.rocketmadness.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10654&highlight=pace

[Doug]

Met some Yankee Buell brothers from Badweb…

http://i3.tinypic.com/vxd6y1.jpg
http://i3.tinypic.com/vxd74x.jpg



And another Bueller who had just bought this beautiful Triumph Daytona

http://i3.tinypic.com/vxd7h1.jpg



Following in the tracks of some of the RM Ride Reports, we came across this familiar scene…

http://i3.tinypic.com/vxd7r9.jpg



At the General Store

http://i3.tinypic.com/vxd7kh.jpg



The Cherohola Skyway was awesome

http://i3.tinypic.com/vxddvq.jpg



The next day, we ventured out to Bridal Veil Falls…

http://i3.tinypic.com/vxd82h.jpg


Only it was impassable now…

http://i3.tinypic.com/vxd8ap.jpg


We saw a club of Vets go by and even a T-Rex.



This group of MR2’s showed up and that first one was a beauty

http://i3.tinypic.com/vxd8ib.jpg


Notice the Turbo Boost dial on the top right…

http://i3.tinypic.com/vxd9w3.jpg



Some vintage bikes…

http://i3.tinypic.com/vxda2g.jpg
http://i3.tinypic.com/vxda9g.jpg
http://i3.tinypic.com/vxdaht.jpg



Some modern bikes…

http://i3.tinypic.com/vxdann.jpg
http://i3.tinypic.com/vxdats.jpg



This CBR from Canada dyno’d 106 HP at the rear wheel…

http://i3.tinypic.com/vxdb2r.jpg



Even choppers love The Gap…

http://i3.tinypic.com/vxdaxd.jpg
http://i3.tinypic.com/vxdb8w.jpg



OK, one last run before dark…

http://i3.tinypic.com/vxdbbb.jpg



Easter Sunday morning was beautiful…

http://i3.tinypic.com/vxdbhg.jpg




We hooked up for the long drive home

http://i3.tinypic.com/vxclxf.jpg



Can you hear that?

http://i3.tinypic.com/vxcm4g.jpg


It's calling...


I can’t wait to go back!

[scooterhose]

Doug "Disaster" Coles...jaw Drop Remind me to never go riding with or around you!

Man I think I would have turned around andToilet that trip.Way to hang in there.

[JayD]

Awesome place huh Doug ;)
Great report and excellent pix

[Juice]

Damn Doug, you have got me jonesin.
32 days and counting...... I hear that place will
touch your soul. Nice Job Doug. Awesome pictures.

[Rocky]

Yep, that place possesses magical powers. Not only will it touch your soul you will carry it around with you for the rest of your days. The dragon is a landmark to riders from around the world. The most intense stretch of hwy in the United States.

[Save-the-Manatee]

Great report Doug.

Thats why they call it adventure riding.Cool12

[yankeegirl]

That was a wicked awesome story! Cool pics too!

[Flying Low]

great ride report Doug. and most of all, kudos on your preseverance. seeing these pictures took me back to one of my favorite vacations. i'm glad you all had a good time, and most of all, had a safe trip. did you get yourself the obligatory "dragon" sticker?

[Doug]

LOL, yeah;
after that sense of accomplishment,
"The Dragon" is the only sticker on my bike...

http://i3.tinypic.com/vxom8l.jpg

and one for each helmet...

http://i3.tinypic.com/vxomet.jpg

:)

[K2]

Good job on the report! The suspense of what would happen next was well done! Popcorn2

You're a dedicated rider that let NOTHING stand in the way of your Dragon ride. Cool12

[nickatnite]

I was last there in 1990 and definitely want to go back!!!!

[RED]

Great Pics Big Bro!! Awesome the way you set up the pics & the story!!

You're always so thankful for everything & u never let the bad distract u from being able to see the good!
Makes me realize how lucky I am that u r so thankful for me & that I, of all ppl, u have chosen to make the sister u never had.......................... & least we forget, never letting the bad things about me distract u from seeing the good things about me!!
Hee, u know I HAD to throw that in there, yet, true!!

I'm glad y'all had a good time, u deserved it & I'm glad that there were good things that happened which outweighed the mishaps!!

I see many more Deal's Gap trips in ur future!! (& bring Nick, since it's been 16yrs since he last went)!!

Oh & love the dragon stickers on your bike & helmet, they look great!!

[Pentabilly]

One amazing story, thanks for sharing. And at least the jeep didn't get any further and damage the bikes!

[BladeRunner]

When the going gets tough , the tough get going ! (adversity ) I'm glad U made the trip ok ! I went in 1999 and it is alot of fun. Doug the poor guy that crashed, did somebody buy him a t-shirt.

[Shakey75]

Wow! What a trip! Glad y'all were able to make it.

I'm thinking of taking a run up there in the next few months just to check it out.

[Doug]

Thanks everyone, really, for all the kind words…
And hey, nobody talks bad about my little sister, not even her! No No
Got it !?! ;)
Good :)




One amazing story, thanks for sharing. And at least the jeep didn't get any further and damage the bikes!

Well, actually, both bikes did get minor damage…
Ouch…

http://i3.tinypic.com/w1wpdk.jpg



… the poor guy that crashed, did somebody buy him a t-shirt.

I guess maybe his traveling buddy might have bought him one of the new “Tree Of Shame” t-shirts;
with a brightly multi-colored caricature of the tree and a Dragon slumped down on the ground under it, eating broken bike parts;
with a caption that reads “Sometimes the Dragon Wins!”



Oh, and Scooterhose; we almost did flush that trip…

While standing in the middle of the road, surveying all the damage
including two totally demolished vehicles,
fluids running down the road,
pieces of plastic stuff all over the place
and the welds on the trailer ramp/tailgate sheared off…
I remember telling my wife on the cell phone while the other traffic weaved all around us “… our trip is over.”


Warning: Flash-back in progress...

When I was a pre-teen, my uncle brought me and my little brother along on a boating trip with his kids.
We were all piled up in that old second hand Lincoln Continental, pulling an old V-hull walk-through windshield boat
with a 60 hp Johnson outboard, all 4 windows down going 90mph down those two-lane roads in northern Louisiana
and the Counrty-Western music blaring out of the 8-track tape player.
When we finally arrived at the boat landing and were pulling around to back into the launch,
somebody accidentally backed into my uncle’s boat trailer.
His countenance changed dramatically, his face got beet red and all us kids learned some new words that day (not nice ones).
A heated “discussion” ensued between the drivers and we were slingin’ gravel and fish-tailing all over the place on the way out of there.
None of us kids ever even got out of the car. The trip was over and the ride home was miserable (to say the least).
So, that’s the way I was taught (indirectly) to handle a situation like that. Needless to say, I had to re-learn that lesson
so I wouldn’t pass on that legacy to other children when I became an adult.

It’s just like Story #38 (on page 82) “Surviving A Wreck” that I had just read about in “Racing Fuel For The Spirit” ;
written by our own “Ole Racer”…
see http://www.dualsportridersoflouisiana.com/forums/showthread.php?t=637&highlight=fuel

and after a little cooling off and conversation with our Heavenly Father, I was reminded of Romans 8:28...

We are assured and know that [God being a partner in their labor] all things work together and are [fitting into a plan] for good to and for those who love God and are called according to [His] design and purpose.

I Believe.

:)

[Doug]

http://www.longlewis.com/

Long-Lewis Ford,
2551 John Hawkins Pkwy.
Hoover, AL 35244

Dear Mr. Dwight Burrell,

I came to your facility for service quite by accident, literally.

Around 1:00 pm on Thursday April 13th (Easter Weekend), I was traveling from my home in Baton Rouge, LA to Deal’s Gap, NC (near Knoxville, TN) and exited the interstate in Bessemmer, AL to get gas and lunch. There I was the third vehicle in a crash where the first two were total losses. Fortunately, no one was seriously injured.

I was towing a trailer with my Buell motorcycle and my buddy’s Harley-Davidson but my bumper was destroyed prohibiting the towing capabilities of my truck. The trailer suffered serious damage to the rear but the tongue was only slightly damaged. After prying the truck and trailer apart, we were forced to leave it and seek immediate repairs to the truck.

We were directed to your facility by the kindness of strangers where we had the good fortune of meeting Mr. Chris Jones. He was friendly and professional and so was Melvin. They repaired my truck in record time, even assisting us in minor repairs to the trailer, just to get us back on the road, for which we are sincerely grateful.

Without the “extra-mile” efforts of your co-workers, we would have been in dire straights due to the Holiday weekend.

“Good Service” is a rare commodity these days and I hope you can appreciate the folks working there with you at Long-Lewis Ford.

I am letting everyone I know that Alabama’s largest Ford Store in Hoover, AL does indeed exhibit the kind of service that would make our grandfathers proud!

Best regards,

[scootertrash]

I think that was a very well deserved letter. Customer service is quickly becoming a thing of the past.




http://www.longlewis.com/

Long-Lewis Ford,
2551 John Hawkins Pkwy.
Hoover, AL 35244

Dear Mr. Dwight Burrell,

I came to your facility for service quite by accident, literally.

Around 1:00 pm on Thursday April 13th (Easter Weekend), I was traveling from my home in Baton Rouge, LA to Deal’s Gap, NC (near Knoxville, TN) and exited the interstate in Bessemmer, AL to get gas and lunch. There I was the third vehicle in a crash where the first two were total losses. Fortunately, no one was seriously injured.

I was towing a trailer with my Buell motorcycle and my buddy’s Harley-Davidson but my bumper was destroyed prohibiting the towing capabilities of my truck. The trailer suffered serious damage to the rear but the tongue was only slightly damaged. After prying the truck and trailer apart, we were forced to leave it and seek immediate repairs to the truck.

We were directed to your facility by the kindness of strangers where we had the good fortune of meeting Mr. Chris Jones. He was friendly and professional and so was Melvin. They repaired my truck in record time, even assisting us in minor repairs to the trailer, just to get us back on the road, for which we are sincerely grateful.

Without the “extra-mile” efforts of your co-workers, we would have been in dire straights due to the Holiday weekend.

“Good Service” is a rare commodity these days and I hope you can appreciate the folks working there with you at Long-Lewis Ford.

I am letting everyone I know that Alabama’s largest Ford Store in Hoover, AL does indeed exhibit the kind of service that would make our grandfathers proud!

Best regards,

[JayD]

Atta boy Doug

[Flying Low]

kudos on taking the time to do that Doug. indeed, great service is a thing of the past. but remembering to say "thank you" for the great service is even more rare.

[Doug]

www.Killboy.com rocks!

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y168/s2tbolt/Killboy/02955.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y168/s2tbolt/Killboy/02956.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y168/s2tbolt/Killboy/05186.jpg

[Juice]

I will say hello to him for you in 17 days!!!!!!!!!!

[JayD]

Git 'em Dougie!!!!!!

[m.r.vmax]

Great pics Doug, glad you made it back, speaking of which how is that neck pain you have??? HMMMM..... I can tell you too have been bitten by the Dragon. That is a sacred place.

[Doug]

Cool, it was really nice meeting you guys too, we too had a blast. And lets not (forget), the Canadians were the first on that wheelie hill accident scene....lol


To our neighbors from "the frozen nawth"...

http://i3.tinypic.com/zjxn9t.jpg

We will never forget

the young man
on the silver gixxer

that sped up wheelie hill
on that cold Good Friday morning

to help a brother gone down...





See ya in Heaven Bobby.


In memory of Bobby Blanchard (http://www.dealsgap.com/forum/showthread.php?t=117)