Happy Fourth of July to all!
Since I have the day off I have added a few roads to my favorite roads section. I added a few roads in Tennessee and Kentucky and made a change to the safety rating I give to Deals Gap.
The situation this year at Deals Gap is getting pretty bad. I don’t like the way things are becoming down there and I think if things don’t change soon it may never get any better. I hear a lot of people blame a lot of different things for why it is so bad. Some blame the slow cruisers, some blame the fast sport bikes. Many point their fingers at the Gold Wing riders or the automobiles. Some blame the police and some blame the businesses that profit from the tourists. Some blame tourists in general.
I blame everyone. I see cruiser riders do stupid things. I see sport bikes do stupid things. I see Gold Wings do stupid things. I see cars do stupid things. I see locals do stupid things. I see tourists do stupid things. Some times I do stupid things. None of the photographers or businesses cause us to do stupid things. The only reason the police are there is because we are doing stupid things.
One of the best things about Deals Gap was that all the people who were usually there were really dedicated motorcycle riders. Now it seems like most of the people who visit are “bike night” folks. Now I really don’t have any problem with the “bike night” crowd, but I just think they don’t know how to behave on a real ride. I think they mostly are good folks and I am glad they are there and I think they want to do the right thing but they just don’t know what the right thing is.
Now I am no expert, but I am going to give my opinion about what the “right thing” is. Feel free to email me and tell me that I am stupid and my ideas are stupid. Maybe there is something I forgot to include, or maybe there is something I am saying that is wrong. I don’t like the way things are headed down there and I don’t want to be part of the problem, I would like to be part of the solution.