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From Duderick.com and then here on S2Ki, S2 RAW's been calling me out to take on this road. I went last night at about 12am to check it out. At the base of the drive it starts off narrow and after 5 mins into it I suddenly realized I had been on this road before but forgot the name of this sucker! So I'm negotiating this road in the M. I found myself having to settle on 2nd gear practically the whole duration of the drive. There were stretches where 3rd gear had to be explored but then you would have to shift back into 2nd. The drive, I must agree with Leo, is totally intense, 20mph sprints at most but after awhile it gets sorta tiring because all you're doing is sprinting then having to brake into a turn, shift, accelerate, brake, shift, for about 15 minutes more. To make the drive more challenging, you really need a WRX for the job because this road is pretty ripped up and bumpy. Oh did I mention there are patches of wetness in the areas where the road is shadowed by trees? The road is totally raw, like someone just poured cement and left it there. The edges, shoulders, offer no guard rail and as I'm coasting through this I notice there's nothing but rocks and more rocks. If I had to choose a trail with this type of turning and brake mashing, I'd rather go up to Big Sur where you're literally driving between giant Redwoods and the road there is paved so nice you feel confident driving even with 4 mix matched tires. Back to King Mountain Drive, you definitely cannot go at this in th daytime. Nightime offers a bit more security as you can see if there's on coming traffic. Also this is not a road to go with 30+ cars. That's all from me now Woot!
Try Old La Honda for even more of the same, close to Kings. I wish they would sometimes close this road just for people to play. I'm sure there'd be plenty of cars having to get winched out from the trees on the exposed dowslope
I've done this in the daytime in the early morning on weekdays. Early morning on weekends is a problem because of cylists (myself being one of them). When I first got the SC I went up and down Kings and nearly did a 180 the first time the blower spooled up in a turn! These are truly fun roads.
Originally Posted by wantone,Oct 13 2004, 09:56 AM
1) I found myself having to settle on 2nd gear practically the whole duration of the drive.
2) I must agree with Leo, is totally intense,The road is totally raw,
3)you definitely cannot go at this in th daytime. Nightime offers a bit more security as you can see if there's on coming traffic.
Also this is not a road to go with 30+ cars. That's all from me now Woot!
Great write up EV. I agree with you for the most part but I have 3 comments to your statements.
1) I use second gear almost the whole time. I'm usually in the middle of my rpm range, but at times, I found myself self to be too low in 2nd gear (on the 10 mph turns) It seems like a 4.77 or 4.57 gear set would make this road a PERFECT 2nd gear road.
2) It is Raw
3)I disagree here. I've been there many times on both days and nights. Days is by far better. Yes on coming traffic won't be as visible due to head lights not being on, but trying to take this coarse at night is just way too dangerous. It takes almost ALL the visibility of seeing what kind of curve is coming up ahead. Knowing what type angle turn and what the speed limit of the turn is extremely crucial when going down this road.
I've found late afternoon 5:00-6:00 p.m. to be the idle time. Hardly any traffic (maybe 3 cars tops) and no bikers (due to that being sundown time). It leaves all the visibility and eliminates almost all traffic. Not to mention that Kings mountain road is not a road frequently used but other drivers such as HWY 35 and 84 to begin with.
Also, something about going in the late afternoon puts such a good mood out. Must be the soft orange sky as the sun goes down over the mountains during the peaceful drive.
I was actually up there last night, around sundown. It's definately more challenging at night to drive that road, but you can see headlights from on coming traffic so thats nice. I prefer it in the day tho. But also during sundown the sky is so pink and is really pretty.....bad pic but I had to take one last night cuz it was so pretty....
If you think Kings mountain is bad try Tunitus which is its extension on the other side of 35 to 1. I have lived in the bay area 68 years and only driven those roads once, I have ridden them many times on my bike however.
Andy
10-13-2004, 09:56 AM
Wantone's Impression: King's Mountain Road Dr.
Kidding!
oh that sucks it came out bad.....stupid camera phone!
