A Journey on the Blue Ridge Parkway and Beyond - Motorcycle-Journal Forums

KenBandit · 06-14-2009, 09:54 AM

A couple of months ago, my wife Robin and I started talking about our upcoming 20th wedding anniversary and how we'd like to celebrate it. I mentioned how nice it would be to get away for a week on a motorcycle, and that the Blue Ridge Parkway would be a nice tour this time of year. She agreed. We planned. We created routes together. We sent requests to the BRP tourism department for brochures, did lots of reading on sites to see, and places to stay. And last Saturday morning we left on a 2,500 adventure on the GL1800.

Day 1: Rochester NY (home) to Strasburg, VA, 400 miles. Strasburg is around the corner from the north end of the Shenandoah National Park. We spent the night at a Fairfield Inn and left early the next morning with adrenalin surging in aniticipation of our adventure through the mountains.

Day 2: Strasburg, VA to Laurel Springs, NC, 350 miles. Our day started by paying a small toll to enter the Shenandoah National Park. We would be riding through the park from north to south. You ride through the park on Skyline Drive, a 105 mile non-stop, 35 MPH, scenic wonderland where commercial vehicles are prohibited. Within 5 miles of the beginnning of our ride, we encountered a black bear just sitting in the middle of the road. I slowed, not having a clue what the reaction of a black bear would be to a motorcycle. He sat up and lumbered off to the side of the road, where he just sat and watched us slowly ride by. Five miles into the ride and we were already in awe. The rest of the ride on Skyline Drive was amazing. No stop signs, so signal lights, no 18-wheelers, just 105 miles of amazzing scenery, great twists of techincal road, and plenty of overlooks to stop and admire the beauty.

We stopped in Waynesboro, VA for lunch, and filled up the tank. Skyline Drive ends near Waynesboro and becomes the Blue Ridge Parkway. The rest of the day was a day of riding bliss on the BRP, admiring the scenery, sharing time with one another, and loving life. That night we stayed at the Station's Inn, a motorcycle resort in Laurel Springs, NC, just east of Boone, NC.

Day 3: Laurel Springs, NC to Cherokee, NC, 250 miles. The entire Blue Ridge Parkway is an awesome motorcycle ride. But the southern end from Asheville, NC to Cherokee, NC (where the BRP ends) is particularly gorgeous. The elevation changes are frequent, the ride is filled with hundreds of fun switchbacks, hairpins, and vast sweepers. The southern end is a journey through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. We rode to the summit of Mount Mitchell, the highest point east of the Mississippi. At an elevation of 6,578 feet above sea level, it has breathtaking views of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Not long after that picture, we had our first and only experience with bad weather. Although we were prepared for it with rain gear, the downpour and low cloud cover at that elevation made riding a challenge. Visibility was about 20 feet and we putted along at about 15-20 MPH for a couple of hours until it cleared. The southern end of the parkway is also filled with many tunnels that add to the charm and challenge of the parkway. We arrived in Cherokee, NC at dinner time and were immediately smitten with the town. With over a thousand riding miles under our belts in 3 days, we decided to stay in Cherokee for a couple of nights so we could do some shopping, get some extra rest and prepare for the thrill of a lifetime the next day!

Day 4: Cherokee, NC to Robbinsville, NC to Tapoco NC and Deals Gap, 175 miles. We hadn't planned to ride the Tail of the Dragon, but we wanted to ride to Robbinsville and, well, the allure of Deal's Gap was more than I could stand. Before we knew it, we were riding the Dragon and its 318 curves in 11 miles. Since it was during the weeek, traffic was very light and we had a blast. Robin had some anxiety on a few parts of the Dragon, and Ken had a blast scraping the pegs of the big Goldwing and reaching its maximum lean angle!

That was enough excitement for one day for Robin and we rode back to our room in Cherokee. That night we dined at the Cherokee Harrah's Casino and had a great meal.

Day 5: Cherokee, NC to Boone, NC, 250 miles. Since we rode the southern most end of the Parkway on the way down in the rain and couldn't see anything, we decided to ride it again up to Boone, NC so we could see the sites and admire the views from some of the dozens of scenic overlooks. One of the challenges of riding the Blue Ridge Parkway is that there are so many incredible scenic overlooks that you need to be judicious in choosing the ones to stop at, or you will not ride many miles. But one of the best stops we made was at Grandfather Mountain, home of amazing wildlife (bears, deer, otters, cougars, and blad eagles), and the famous Mile High Swinging Bridge. This foot bridge is 5,280 feet up in the air. It scared the pants off of Robin (she has a fear of heights) but she did it! And then she bought a t-shirt at the gift shop that says "I Made it Across the Mile High Swinging Bridge on Grandfather Mountain"!

We arrived in Boone, NC around dinner time, checked into our hotel and had the most amazing meal of the entire trip at the Peddler Steak House. If you are ever in Boone, NC and like beef, I highly recommend this outstanding restaurant.

Day 6: Boone, NC, 150 miles. Boone is a charming little town with lots of neat shops and we decided to stay an extra night in Boone and see some sights. While we were there, Robin noticed a billboard for Scream Time Zip Lines. We decided that would be a fun way to spend the afternoon and were soon on private property riding a series of 8 zip lines ranging in length from 400' to 2000'. What a blast! Screaming through the air at 50 MPH racing over pastures filled with cows from hilltop to hilltop was a total blast. Highly recommended for adrenalin junkies!

Boone is also home to the oldest general store in the country, the MAST General Store. We just had to stop and check the place out. It's a big 2-story store that sells everything from penny candy to Carhart overalls. Really cool place! We bought some rock candy and a couple of souvenirs and headed back to Boone for dinner and good night's rest, knowing that the next day would be a long ride toward home.

Day 7: Boone, NC to Selinsgrove, PA, 500 miles. Robin and I are friends with a mexican restaurant (Casa Sanchez) owner in Selinsgrove, PA. On many occasions he offered to treat us to a meal if we were ever in the area. Well, as it turns out, his restaurant is attached to a hotel and he treated us to a marvelous mexican meal and put us up for the night too! With a long day in the saddle, a warm meal and a couple of margaritas in our bellies, we thanked our gracious host and then walked to our room and collapsed in bed!

Day 8: Selinsgrove, PA to Rochester, NY, 225 miles. I woke up at 7AM, checked the forecast and discovered that the area was expecting severe thunderstorms, with wind gusts of 50 MPH and possible hail later in the morning. Needless to say, we packed up and headed out pretty quick. The final leg of our journey was not a long one, but it seemed to take forever as we rode our way up Route 15 to Route 390 and into Rochester.

It was an amazing ride, a fun adventure, and a great time for 1:1 with my amazing wife. Robin absolutely loves touring on the Goldwing and is already thinking about a week-long tour next year. In the meantime, we'll do a few long weekends this Summer to Lake Placid, ride the Adirondack region, head east and take the ferry over Lake Champlain to explore New Hampshire, Vermont, and Maine.

But it's going to be hard to top the Blue Ridge Parkway. For riders, this is an amazing road, an incredible journey, and one that I highly recommend everyone do at least once in their lifetime. You will never regret it, and will remember it for the rest of your life.

Cheers!