When we were there I was checking out the campgrounds/staging area on the NC side of 129 closer to Fontana. Got to talk to many of the sportbike riders. Although it IS technically a public road, both professional and novice racers trailer their race bikes from all over the USA and Canada to compete. Negotiating the cruisers, autos and foolish campers are part of the risk associated with the road. You can buy detailed maps of the road with info like suggested lean angles, and there are markings painted on the roadway to identify specific dangers etc. I had a link to a website I visited about 2 yrs ago, they avg. about 1,100 cycle accidents per year. About 300 of them are serious. There were over 100,000 accident pics posted on this website! Of course, you would see 10 or more of the same gruesome accident from various angles. Those metric sportbikes are not my bag. I've ridden them and I compare them to a "one-trick pony". Fun for a few minutes, they handle just so unbelievably. Other than competition, as useless as tits on a bull elephant.
