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Blue Ridge Parkway

4K views 19 replies 10 participants last post by  WillzLT 
#1 ·
Great day on Parkway in western NC. 58-60 degrees above 5500’ !
 

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#2 ·
Rode it from 421 south to Little Switzerland... mixed bag. Moderate traffic, isolated but soaking rain and worst of all gravel. Not sure why they are doing it but DOT appears to have spread loose gravel for miles. Traffic kicked up the associated dust and it coated everything.... parked cars, vegitation, bikes ...and me. Temps were nice though.
 
#3 ·
Unfortunately, this has turned out to be a hit & miss riding year for myself and fellow riding partners. I have mentioned it in another thread (or two), how we have encountered various health issues, and for me, I had begun to question my confidence in my abilities to keep my bike upright in my own yard?:crying: Add to my personal woes, my friends were encountering health issues, and conflicts of schedule with their "personal managers," (AKA wives:wink:)

If those were not enough convenient excuses...add a few weeks of horrible heat and frequent thunderstorms.:frown:

Finally...this past Wednesday, my best friend and I met up on the "Cherokee Foothills Scenic Highway." We have reached the point in our lives where we are privileged to schedule our riding times when most people are not on the road. We rode our RT's to https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct...hristas.com/&usg=AOvVaw0bo0vavxCkam2kgZG3rZZg

Christa's is just off the Parkway and a fun welcoming place for food, conversation and a "Pit stop," regardless of whether you are on two wheels, afoot, or arrive in a cage. According to google maps, it is an 87 mile ride from my driveway. Thanks to a little creative motorcycle "short-cuts," we managed to stretch the ride to approx 100mi.:wink: Up the hill from Marion, NC on hwy 221 we encountered a couple of loaded down 18wheelers chugging up the mountain with their four-ways flashing to let us know we had become participants in an impromptu parade. In my younger days I would have been impatient, but now that I'm a GEEZER...I think of it as divine intervention to keep me from over-driving the curves and killing myself.:surprise:

For those experienced bike riders familiar with this area, you know that the Parkway offers a pleasant ride, but that there are other alternative roads much more challenging. In fact, you need to know your limitations as a rider and your machine before attempting some of these roads. It is one thing to encounter a parkway construction zone where fresh gravel, or resurfacing is being applied, but another thing entirely when you find your self rounding a hairpin curve to find the pavement ends and you are suddenly on a steep washboard rock strewn rutted path and the curves continue as you climb. In this region, there are roads like this that actually have official state highway numbers (Highway 90 between Globe, Mortimer, and Collettsville), and you wouldn't want to find yourself trying to negotiate such a highway on your Luxury Touring Indian, RT, LT, Goldwing, or Harley Road king. (At least...not me!)


Anyway, very little of our ride was on the Parkway, but we had a blast. During the trip we had a conversation (Scala 9 radios) about how blessed we are to be riding at our age. We parted company within about 40-50 miles to reach our homes. I was having such a great time that I had failed to pay much attention to my fuel gauge. Blissfully enjoying my chosen "off the beaten path" semi challenging return route, I was suddenly alerted with this bright yellow triangle on my instrument panel punctuated with an exclamation point in the center:surprise:... Then, the gas pump symbol started to blinking next to my gas gauge. Unlike my old bike, this RT has a gas gauge, but no "reserve" valve. I'm ashamed to admit this, but I have not read the owners manual thoroughly enough to know how much gas is left once the warning light comes on?

Fortunately, I was only about 8 miles from a store that sells Premium Non-Ethanol gas. That few miles was the most anxious part of the ride. As it turns out, there was no need to worry, and I made it to the pump with fuel to spare. After filling up, the remaining 20 miles was just as enjoyable as the first mile ridden earlier that morning.:wave
 
#4 ·
Very nice pic!

Thanks,
Jer
 
#5 ·
Not only a "nice" pic...but a great example of why these peaks are known as the "Smokey Mountains." The BMW in the foreground is a bonus. In my overly wordy prior post, I forgot to mention that you would have to work very hard to find a few nicer weather days this time of year to ride this area.:smile:
 
#6 ·
We are surely blessed to have chosen this area for our retirement years. Wife and I are orig from SW WV, but this western area of NC really spoke to us during vacation visits years ago. My RT likes it too ! 😜
 
#9 ·
This virus is going to be with us for a while. If you're going to do it, might as well go get it done. Take some masks and enjoy the trip. We were riding part of the BRP in early June. There is a Trading Post along the Parkway, near the Wilkesboro's. We stopped, thinking it likely wouldn't be open, but it was. The staff said it was their first day being open again.
 
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#10 ·
Yep, think covid will be around long after we leave this place.....

What I'm kinda waiting on/hoping for is that the new cases slow down, I want the odds to be in my favor.....Also It's ben stifling hot recently, it's no fun riding a scooter when it's 105 heat index....Got some rooms reserved for 1st week of Oct.

Found this which might help some if they are planning a trip to other states
 
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#12 ·
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#14 ·
I wish that I had more time on my last trip, and I would have also gone up the National Park! Looked very attractive on the map.
 
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#15 ·
BRP - Part 1 of 2

Back in 2016, I rode by new '16 RT on a 58 riding-day trip around the country from Seattle, trying to avoid large cities and taking secondary roads wherever possible and practical. One of my goals was to ride the entire length of the Skyline, Blue Ridge Parkway, and Smokey Mountains, & TOTD, which I did from north to south. Including excursions off the parkways, I took a whole week in the area including a "timeout" for 4 days to take in the Outer Banks before re-entering the BRP where I took off. What a wonderful experience that was.

Each day shown from Garmin NAV V GPS tracks imported back in Basecamp, rotating colors. Travel was in clockwise direction. (I ride the West frequently so quickly got to Utah and hit new states starting with Colorado.

World Ecoregion Map Rectangle Slope


OK, I'll stick to some parkway pictures.

Near the north entrance to the Shenandoah National Park and beginning of the Skyline Parkway.
Sky Cloud Plant Mountain Automotive tire


Day 1 of BRP - North Entrance
Tire Wheel Plant Fuel tank Automotive lighting


Day 1 of BRP - Mabry Mill
Water Plant Natural landscape Tree Fluvial landforms of streams


Day 2 of BRP - Typical Viewpoint Signage
Cloud Sky Plant Plant community Ecoregion


OK, detour off the BRP to see Kitty Hawk, NC and the Outer Banks via Ferry
Sky Plant Recreation Landscape Leisure


Sky Vehicle Motor vehicle Automotive tire Automotive lighting


Ferry #1
Water Sky Water resources Cloud Azure


Tire Vehicle Car Motor vehicle Wheel


Ferry #2 - Winding through the shallow sandbars - above and below waterline
Water Sky Naval architecture Horizon Waterway
 
#16 ·
BRP - Part 2 of 2

Day 3 on the BRP - Back on track after Myrtle Beach and Mayberry, NC

Day 3 on the BRP - Brinegar Cabin
Plant Building Wood Tree Cottage


Day 3 on the BRP - Hang Down Your Head Tom Dula
Cloud Sky Plant Natural environment Natural landscape


Day 3 on the BRP - Yup, saw a little rain
Cloud Sky Atmosphere Natural environment Natural landscape


Day 3 on the BRP - Mountain Ash?
Cloud Flower Plant Sky Mountain


Day 3 on the BRP - Looking Glass Rock
Sky Mountain Tree Plant Natural landscape


Day 3 on the BRP - Obligatory Picture of yours truly on the High Point by a friendly biker the day before my 68th birthday
Tire Wheel Sky Vehicle Fuel tank


By the end of the day I was in super gaudy Gatlinburg, TN having ridden through the Smokey Mountains.
 
#17 ·
I wish that I had stopped as much as you did!!! Somehow, I have the habit of not stopping, once I had gotten onboard my bike. I guess that I enjoy riding so much that I rarely want to dismount.

I am fairly sure that I will be transitioning from 2-wheels to a camper-van next year, and one of the reason is so that I can make much more frequent stops to "smell the roses"!
 
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#18 ·
I wish that I had stopped as much as you did!!!
Hey Pad, I'd been on the road for a month by then, and I was plenty ready to "smell the roses" a bit. Part of my planning included hundreds of possible stops put into the GPS. Some I did, and some I didn't. This was what my Basecamp and NAV V looked like for the BRP. Look at all those tiny camera icons.

Ecoregion Map World Atlas Line
 
#19 ·
Yeah, I do the same type of planning that you do, and in the case of the BRP, I pulled into many parking/viewing areas, only to roll by and kept going. Somehow, it just didn't seem like worthwhile stopping, and I guess that I was heavily depending on my 360° video camera to capture the scenery for later viewing anyway! :)

Same story this past June/July when I spent a month out west. Most likely will be the same again this year for another long trek west and south-west! It's just me and my habit!
 
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