Unbelievable!!!

Road Closures

And I am/was planning to go down there the end of April!

FOOK!!!

I did not see a reason stated, did you?

I think you'll be fine by end of April.;)

They are trying to limit the entry points into that area of North Carolina due to the Corona 19 outbreak.

Complete bullshit!

I guess we'll see if they have this sorted in the next month.

I am staying in Blairsville, Georgia and while there are still great roads in that area we always plan a loop incorporating the Cherohala.

I'm sorta leaning toward crossing state lines should be prohibited everywhere except for trucking and mail and such. It's going to put a cramp in everyone's style but I'll bet the reason we have surpassed China's Corona cases is because we are allowed to travel. Of course, China might be lying about the number of cases they had.

One of my issues with the travel restriction is; Where will it end?

It starts at the State's border, next thing you know it is county border restriction then city border restriction, then a neighborhood restriction, etc...

I typically don't get into Gov't vs. Citizen rights and the debates about them. However, in this case I believe the Gov't has overstepped it's rights.

You want me to pull over and have my temp taken before allowing me entry then fine. I'll chalk that up to being concerned about the pandemic. But to FORBID to let me ride or drive and BLAME it on the pandemic is bullshit!

Here is a quote from this article: https://cherohala.com/history/

"After 100 million dollars and thirty-four years, the Cherohala Skyway was official opened in October 1996. At that time the US Forest service estimated that five million cars a year would use the new road. This figure, which calculates to 10 cars a minute year-round, was extremely unrealistic. The actual figure today is more like an average fifty cars and a hundred motorcycles a day."

You also have to figure that many of those users are locals to the area.

Personally, I believe it is a way for the State, County, etc... to prevent motorcyclists from riding that road as long as they can.

That's all I got!!!

Anyone here(besides me)ever ridden that area before?

Thoughts???

Furthermore, they are also closing Hwy 129/28 at Deals Gap (The Dragon)

Taken from his article: Closures

The Graham County Emergency Planning Committee met today at 12:00 noon via conference call. These are the decisions that were made today:

1.Cherohala Skyway NC 143 at the Graham County line will close at 5:00 pm on Friday, March 27, 2020. This closure will be a barricaded closure with no checkpoint. The Tennessee DOT is working cooperatively with Graham County and has the Tennessee side marked for the road closure to advise all traffic coming through Tellico Plains and on the Skyway, of the closure.

2. We will advise of the final date and timing of the closure of Hwy. 129 and NC 28 at Deal's Gap, NC 28 at Tsali, and US 129N at Topton as soon as more information becomes available. We are working out details with local and State officials on final timing.

If this isn't specifically targeting motorcyclists then I don't know what is???

That just seems ridiculous to me. Until if/when there's an order that people cannot leave their house, roads should remain open.

As always, "We're from the government, and we're here to help."

Spoke with the GM of the Deals Gap Resort.

Yes, only the Tennessee (northern) section of 129 is open.

Furthermore, should you elect to go south from Deals Gap (either on 28 or 129) you will be stopped at the Graham county border and turned around.

THE ENTIRE COUNTY IS CLOSED TO UNESSENTIAL TRAFFIC!

I also spoke with the owner of the San Ran motel located in Robbinsville who confirmed what the GM of Deals Gap Store stated.

Also, ONLY the Tennessee section of the Cherohala is open. There is a checkpoint at the TN/NC state line and only residents/land owners and workers in North Carolina are allowed through.

CRAZY!

BTW

The Deals Gap store is open and you can purchase food from the grill but it is carryout only.

glad this part is over. at least for now. just got back from the dragon. Great time. Put Michilen power gp's on my zx14r. God in heaven those tires are sticky and it makes the bike so much more flickable.

Dont know how much in the way of mileage Im gonna get but its like velcro on the road. Even wet is still really good

use2busa You got that big girl laid all the way over!