Leakey to Vanderpool 337 Accident..

[pschramm]

I was out riding the sisters this afternoon and saw bunch of troppers and a particular gnarled sport bike.. Blue Suzuki I think; about 10 miles from the end of the route heading toward Vanderpool from Leakey.. The portion where the road cuts thru the rock near one of the peaks..

Looked like the rider had taken it straight into the rock wall which is cut out..

Hopefully it was not as bad as it appeared to me.. Wondering if anyone had heard anything?

patrick

[iratollah]

The locals say that riders from Houston and Dallas come there to crash their bikes. We met one couple that lives off that stretch and they said shortly after they bought their place there that they decided to learn emergency first aid because of all the bike crashes they came across.

These pics are from a number of years ago. This crash happened about 120 seconds after I gave my friend 20 good reasons to slow down. He wasn't interested in what I had to say.

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2004-9/835311/ZGQMR-BadMax.jpg

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2004-9/835311/BJUQD-NapTime.jpg

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2004-9/835311/WVIGX-FanClub.jpg

He spent a week in the hospital in Kerrville, but never lost his sense of humor. When the EMTs asked him if he had a doctor in Kerrville, he told them, "Yes, Dr. Dover. Dr. Ben Dover." They were trying to look up the name.

My ride back to Del Rio that night from the hospital in Kerrvile was the very worst ride of my life. (That day was also the very worst ride in my friend's life too, he's lucky to be alive and lucky he didn't go flying over the guard rail.) First weekend of deer season, not prepared for the cold after dark, and about 70 miles farther than I expected.

Nothing like a hard crash to ruin a group ride. I never, ever said to my friend, "I told you so."

[pschramm]

I know the corner.. I've seen lots of accidents there; It's an amazing stretch of road. Living in Austin; I've been fortunate enough to spend lots of time out in the area.. I'm glad your buddy keep his sense of humor; I hope he gained to sense to ride within his limits.. The bike I saw this afternoon was just a mess.. Since that part of the road is fairly straight.. I imagined the wreck happened at a high speed; didn't look good

[Keith]

Part of what makes the Twisted Sisters exciting is the challenge they impose on ones ability to control the bike. To ride them successfully is a "high" unto itself. However, to do so with wanton disregard for the danger is fools play. And to do so at high rates of speed is simply insane. I hope for the best to the rider who went down.

[JR]

Keith is right... that road is a "high" in deed. I once, on an 86 GL1200Aspencade made the run from the Rio Frio crossing just outside Leaky to the left turn to the store at Vanderpool in 15 minutes... First class DARN FOOL STUNT.... I was much younger, stronger, more agile, and a much better rider than I am now as age creeps upon me inexorably.

Those things aside, riding that road like I rode it that day can only be called a very FOOLISH STUNT... It's only about 12 miles thru there on 337, but it's 12 miles of TORTURED TERRAIN which can be a joyful ride or a DEATH TRAP.

JR
Lake Livingston

[Desert Skies]

Hope the rider is OK.

First time I ever saw that particular curve in iratollah's post, we met an ambulance coming up the hill and when we got to the curve, saw a mangled HD trike. There was a fellow siting on the bank in the rocks that looked scraped up but looked OK. Since they weren't running lights, guess they weren't hauling anybody off.

If you look, you will see a lot of single skid marks on the curves out there and some that lead right up to the guard rails or rocks. Lot of first timers out there get surprised by some of the curves.

[Greenzee]

If it's the same turn, I believe there is a cross about 50 feet up the turn from there with many bike parts sprinkled on it. We sprinkled some on it Sept. '06 when our friends went down two-up... and caught the whole thing on video. :trust:

[iratollah]

We came back one year later and found some of my friend's bike parts still on the ground under the guard rail.

He was doing about 50mph when he realized that he was coming into the 90deg left hander. In this pic, you can see where his bike gouged out part of the pavement as it bounced off the guard rail. I don't believe in laying the bike down, but he realized that if he didn't that he was going over the rail. We found one of his gloves and his tank bag about 50 feet down the cliff. (He was wearing handball gloves, they fasten on impossibly tight yet one flew off in the impact!) Over the rail would have been the end.

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2004-9/835311/RRDUJ-TheScene.jpg

You can see from the fluids where the bike came to a rest. My friend was laying unconscious on the yellow line doing his best imitation of an armadillo. I almost ran him over when I came through the turn (I couldn't believe that he dropped me so fast on the V-Max and decided to catch up). I started crying when I saw him because I didn't think he was alive. We dragged the bike out of the road to where it is in the picture. (When you're waiting one hour for the ambulance to show, what the heck, may as well take some pictures. Can't exactly pass the time relaxing with a reefer and a beer.)

In this pic you may notice the unusual angles in my friend's arm. Today he has a metal plate there. Visiting him in the hospital the next day, one half of his body was black and blue. If he wasn't wearing a helmet...

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2004-9/835311/FBEEY-ScenicOverlook.jpg

The moral of this story is that the day you think you have mastered your motorcycle is probably the day you should park it and never get on it again. Spirited riding demands more than just knowing your bike, knowing the road and knowing your limits.

[Greenzee]

Looks like the same place doesn't it? Notice the slide marks of our friends bike, headed straight for the cross!! They were pretty messed up! That's the bike being hauled away. :eek2:

[Manfred]

I've made a mental note to ride the sisters one day in the next year. How would ya'll say these roads stack up against the Dragon or the Cherohala Skyway, regarding the technical challenge?

[P-Ratt]

I've ridden them once or twice I guess. Nice roads. But I would almost rather stop at every vista point and then some to just stare at the scenery.

[Steep]

I've made a mental note to ride the sisters one day in the next year. How would ya'll say these roads stack up against the Dragon or the Cherohala Skyway, regarding the technical challenge?

To me the sisters are much more difficult. Nothing is consistent. Each curve has its own character, the pavement is less consistent, much of the ride is blind, there are cattleguards, roadkill and rock debris.

On the oherhand the Skyway and dragon have much smoother pavement, wider lanes, more consistent curves and more traffic. All in all, I'll take the sisters over the Skyway and Dragon any day.

Steep

[bushwhacker]

I've made a mental note to ride the sisters one day in the next year. How would ya'll say these roads stack up against the Dragon or the Cherohala Skyway, regarding the technical challenge?

Not as intense. You do not have 11 miles of hard technical curves. Maybe a mile or two here and a mile or two there with much less challenging areas in between.

In addition to 335, 336, and 337 I also recommend you ride 16 between Bandera and Kerrville and 39 between 27 and 83 and while you are on 39 take a little detour up 1340 and visit Stonehenge.

16 has some great high speed sweepers and then some tight areas over a Texas Mountain (read hill). The one curve right at the top crests a blind hill then takes an 80 degree left into a hard right and will definately keep you on your toes.