Tail of the Dragon vs. The Cherohala Skyway - No Contest!

Motorcyclists love curvy roads. So obviously we love mountains, because they’re full of curvy roads. The Alps, the Rockies, the Andes, the Himalayas…all amazing places to ride.

For those of you not in the know, the Tail of the Dragon, or US 129, is an iconic road in the Smoky Mountains, stretching from North Carolina to Tennessee, much revered by sports car and motorcycle enthusiasts as a Must Do.

318 curves in 11 miles.

Switchbacks and blind corners under a canopy of forest…it’s a beautiful road.

There are some You Tube videos of a few truly fast riders dragging knees and crossing centre lines, doing so in relative safety because the road was closed for their use. Cool.

But having ridden the Tail multiple times as a regular rider, I have to say: “Meh”.

The road is often crowded, and heavily policed, ensuring that the parade of V twins continues to plod along at the glacial speed limit of 30 mph. To be fair, there are a few cruiser riders that really hustle their bikes along, but they are in the minority. The road carries quite a bit of truck and car traffic also.

The joy of riding a curvy road is to lean a bike over and feel the thrill of Getting It Right. But there just isn’t much opportunity to do that on the Dragon.

The Cherohala Skyway - now that’s a road.

Running from Robbinsville, North Carolina to Tellico Plains, Tennessee, the Skyway runs 41 miles, up to 5400 feet of elevation, through the Cherokee and Nantahala National Forests, hence “Chero…Hala”. There are no hotels, restaurants, or even gas stations along the road, so it tends to be deserted, which is just what I like.

The long, sweeping corners running up and down the mountains can span more than 270 degrees: you set the bike into a lean, and you look into the corner, over your shoulder, and you hold, and hold, and hold, for what feels like an eternity, until finally the road straightens and you get on the throttle and stand the bike up again. Then another corner comes up, just the same, and another, and another.

They say it takes 90 minutes to ride the length of the Skyway, but we’ve definitely done it in less time…by the end of the ride, you’re spent. It’s a hard workout, but a satisfying one.

There are plenty of roads around North Carolina and Tennessee that are more fun to ride than the Dragon. But the Dragon is the one that gets all the attention. I was going to write about those other roads, but maybe it’s better that fewer people know…

What is ATGATT? And why is Ryan F9 so wrong about body armour?!

ATGATT is an acronym that stands for: All The Gear, All The Time.

As you saw from my previous blog, and from this picture, it’s the gear that saved me in my crash.

Having had 2 crashes in 32 years, both having knocked me out cold, I am thankful that it’s my habit to buy good gear and to wear it, particularly to wear a good helmet. My preferred brand is Shoei - handmade in Japan, these helmets are a good fit for Asian heads, and in both crashes, the helmets sacrificed themselves to save my aging brain.

A proper pair of motorcycle gloves, with armored knuckles and padded palms, kept the skin on my fingers despite sliding into a ditch at 80km/h. Same goes for my jacket and pants, keeping the skin where it should be - on my dad bod and not on the pavement.

I’m a former ER doctor, and practicing sports medicine physician. I have seen the fallout from motorcycle crashes up close.

There is no doubt that helmets save lives. There are some naysayers that go on about how helmets have not been proven to stop concussions. Right. But they do stop penetrating head trauma, skull fractures and having your jaw ripped off when face-planting into gravel. Just saying.

Concussions are the consequence of rapid deceleration of the brain inside the skull. Your brain floats around in a bath of cerebrospinal fluid, so when you suddenly decelerate your skull, your brain lags behind and then crashes into the inside wall of your cranium. A helmet can’t stop that deceleration. Concussions happen regardless. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t wear a helmet.

And this is where Ryan F9 goes so wrong.

He says that body armour doesn’t stop fractures, so you shouldn’t wear it. He quotes Dr. Liz de Rome’s study from 2011, which you can read for your self here: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21819816/. In it, she does indicate that the use of body armour does not reduce fractures.

But Dr. deRome’s study concludes: “Motorcyclists were significantly less likely to be admitted to hospital if they crashed wearing motorcycle jackets (RR=0.79, 95% CI: 0.69-0.91), pants (RR=0.49, 95% CI: 0.25-0.94), or gloves (RR=0.41, 95% CI: 0.26-0.66). When garments included fitted body armour there was a significantly reduced risk of injury to the upper body (RR=0.77, 95% CI: 0.66-0.89), hands and wrists (RR=0.55, 95% CI: 0.38-0.81), legs (RR=0.60, 95% CI: 0.40-0.90), feet and ankles (RR=0.54, 95% CI: 0.35-0.83).”

Ok, that’s a lot of stats for those who are not math geeks:

RR = relative risk - the difference in risk by doing something vs not doing something (eg, wearing gear vs not wearing gear)

95% CI = 95% confidence interval - the relative risk outlined might change depending on various factors, but it will fall within this range 95% of the time

So this means that you’ll get admitted to hospital:

21% less often if you wear a motorcycle jacket

51% less often if you wear motorcycle pants

59% less often if you wear motorcycycle gloves

If you wear clothing fitted with body armour, you’ll have:

23% fewer upper body injuries

45% fewer hand and wrist injuries

40% fewer leg injuries

46% fewer ankle and foot injuries

So here’s the problem with Ryan’s analysis. He is only picking one outcome - fractures. But are fractures the only injury we’re trying to prevent? Is it not clear that wearing proper clothing, and in fact wearing body armour, reduces injuries, as per the study that he quotes?

Those of us who ascribe to this philosophy will never be seen riding a motorcycle in shorts, a t-shirt and flip flops. I always wear an armored jacket, armored or Kevlar pants, proper motorcycle boots, and, of course, a helmet. Not a plastic pudding bowl that resembles a helmet, but a proper helmet.

Of course, you’re free to do whatever you want, within the parameters of the law. But don’t be fooled by someone who’s tweaking the stats and selectively omitting data. I am an F9 subscriber, and I love Ryan’s content, most of the time. Just not this time.

80 km/h + 2 deer = 1 broken wrist + 1 concussion

It was a conspiracy.

At 9:30am, on a bright, sunny morning in August of 2024 I was riding along one of my favourite 2 lane rural roads just north of Toronto. I was doing the speed limit, officer, honestly. I was, in fact, doing the speed limit, because this section of road quickly drops down to 40 km/h as it enters a small town, and there is occasionally one of Ontario’s Finest waiting, radar gun in hand, to catch exuberant Southerners out for a pleasant morning sojourn.

This road has a narrow gravel shoulder, then a 6 foot ditch which leads into the forest. A friend whose cottage is in the area said: “It’s not a ditch, it’s a ravine!” The scrubby growth at the top of the ditch is about 2 feet high, so effectively you can’t see anything deep in the ditch until you’re right on top of it.

Unbeknownst to me, the Odocoileus virginianus Society for the Hitting of Ignorant Triumph riders (O-SHIT) had met the evening prior and decided to ambush me, making an example of me for other riders.

I have been riding for many years, and have seen many deer crossing the road, but most often one spots the deer way up ahead on the shoulder or on the road itself, giving one time to slow or stop. But Deer # 1 leapt out of the ditch, right into my path. I grabbed a fistful of brake, and started to steer right, hoping it would continue to move to my left, in the direction it was heading. I was almost on top of it when it’s co-conspirator, Deer #2, dealt the coup-de-grace.

At this point in my story, most everyone asks: “But were the deer ok?”

Yes (he says begrudgingly).

I was riding my Triumph Speed Twin 1200, a standard, sit-like-you’re-on-a-dining-room-chair kind of bike. So my head was about level with the deer’s spine.

I had the choice to hit Deer #2 head-on, likely snapping my neck, or to go into the ditch, taking my chances. To the ditch!!

As Jeremy Clarkson from Top Gear once said: “It’s not speeding that kills. It’s the sudden stopping.”

I awoke in the ditch, around 20 minutes later, with my bike to my left, my helmet off, and my phone in my hand, thinking: “Well, this is odd…”

I had apparently called my wife. A good friend who works as a Staff Sargeant in our local police force said that most people, in an emergency, will phone their spouse or another loved one first before calling the police. Guilty as charged.

I called her back, then called CAA, who called the police, who told me to head to collision reporting, after which I was driven 2 hours to my house, with my bike on a flatbed.

By the time I got home, my right wrist was about the size of a tennis ball. I had an x-ray that night, saw the surgeon the next morning, was operated on the following week, and was back on a motorcycle 8 weeks later.

I have vowed to begin deer hunting.

Is motorcycling expensive? What’s the price of sanity?

Moto GP bikes go for around $3 million apiece! A lot more than I’ve spent on bikes over my lifetime.

You may have seen my last blog, with a picture of my short-lived collection of 6 bikes, and said: “Well, yes, it appears motorcycling IS expensive.”

But, of course, the sane amongst those in the motorcycling world may have only one bike. And, in a city like Toronto, this may actually be a money saving venture. “How?” you may ask. Allow me to explain…

A typical 500cc motorcycle may cost around $6000 to purchase used, a few hundred dollars per year in annual maintenance, and $1000 or more per year to insure, depending on your age, accredited rider training, driving record, geographic location, etc.

In Toronto, parking a motorcycle downtown, in any city parking spot that is metered, is still currently FREE. When I worked in the financial district, parking was $42/day in my building, though I usually parked 2 blocks away for $17/day. Parking my motorcycle on that same street was free, saving me around $2500 every year.

Most small bikes use gas at a rate of about 4L/100km. That’s better than a Prius. And a whole lot more fun. So if I were to have driven a typical car the 15 000 kms per year that I average on motorcycles, using 10L/100km, I would have burned an additional 900L of gas, at a cost of approximately $1.50/L, or $1450. (Sorry for all the math.)

Bikes hardly lose value. If purchased used, and sold before a complete mechanical overhaul is needed, bikes retain a signficant amount of their value. A $6000 bike may become a $3000 bike after 10 years!

I calculated that in 32 years of motorcycle ownership, having had more than one bike at a time, buying and selling all the bikes I’ve ever owned, I have lost a grand total of…

$31 573

Less than $1000 per year.

Less than the average new car depreciates over its first 3 years.

Less than half the cost of a Starbucks latte every day for 32 years.

So, the truth is that motorcycling can be relatively affordable. And, yes, I know that public transit is even more affordable. But, tell me, when was the last time you were super excited to be riding the bus?

Like my motto says: “Paying for my sanity one tank at a time”.

The price for my sanity, all told, is pretty cheap.

How many motorcycles is too many?

Ok, yes, there’s clearly a problem here.

I know many pundits have written on this topic before, my favourite being Peter Egan. In 1997, Peter concluded you need 5 bikes: 1. A sportbike; 2. A sport-touring bike; 3. A dirt bike; 4. A great big hog; and 5. An Old Crock.

I would humbly suggest that, for those 50-somethings like myself, with the chronic aches and pains that accompany age, and the lack of mechanical skills someone like Peter has, the new list might look more like this:

1. A sporty standard - a bit more upright, but with enough peg clearance to lean over and still scare yourself sometimes.

2. A sport touring bike - I used to have a Ninja 1000 SX. Fast, great in turns, integrated luggage to hold enough for a long trip, and comfortable. As I called it: “The Old Guy’s Sportbike.”

3. An ADV bike - I’m not much one for riding single track in the forest, but it’s great to have a bike that is capable in the twisties and on long highway hauls, but with the added advantage of not having to turn around when a gravel road presents itself.

4. Cruiser? Not for me. They tend to be slow, not great in the handling department, and frankly uncomfortable, with their hands-feet-forward, back-too-curved-and-weight-on-the-tailbone design. I had a Vstar 1100, and rode it less than 4000kms in 10 years. (Then I bought a Bandit 1250 and rode 15 000kms in 12 months!) But for those who like these bikes, more power to you.

5. A modern-ish cafe racer - old enough looking to fit the bill, but doesn’t require weekly wrenching. I’d rather ride than wrench. Though on this bike, that’s only for 2 hours at a time. Damn clip-ons!

Again, as Peter said, sometimes you wind up with a few bikes in one category, and that’s when the trouble starts.

From left to right in the picture: Vstrom 1050 XT, Versys 1000 LT SE+, Tiger 900 GT, Thruxton 1200R, Z900RS and Scrambler 900.

I realize that most people have neither the means nor the time to curate a large collection of motorcycles. I happened to be “between sales”, as I like to call it. And, frankly, motorcycles are not that expensive as hobbies go. This entire stable of bikes was purchased for less than what a new 7 seater SUV would cost, or perhaps one year of college in the US. And would either of those 2 things be nearly as fun? (Well, college can be fun…)

My collection of bikes was really only together for a month or so. Within weeks of this picture, 4 were sold, leaving only the Thruxton (#5) and the Tiger (#2). Months later I added a Speed Twin 1200 (#1), so I’ve got 3 categories covered. Perhaps this means I’m done adding to the collection.

But I’ve had that Ninja 1000 SX, and the new one looks so awesome…