Skyline Dr. and the Blue Ridge Parkway ride

Discussion in 'USA - South' started by FrankoQ, Jun 28, 2009.

  1. FrankoQ

    FrankoQ New Member

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    Well, I was finally able to take a couple of days for this ride.
    600 miles


    8:00 AM. The bike loaded and ready to go:
    [​IMG]

    10:00AM. Entering Front Royal:
    [​IMG]

    10:30ish. After getting gas and a snack, I reached the north entrance of Skyline dr.
    [​IMG]

    Sunny day and nice views.
    [​IMG]

    Really amazing views. I stopped so many times.
    [​IMG]

    I started on Thursday so the park was all mine.
    No traffic at all, only one speed trap. The V1 alerted me and saved me a ticket :wink:

    Nice backgrounds for pics...
    [​IMG]

    To be continued...
     
  2. FrankoQ

    FrankoQ New Member

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    Nope, not doing yoga. Just admiring the views...
    [​IMG]

    So the ride was fun.
    It got a little boring after a while.
    I only spotted one bear, a handful of deer, and one speed trap.

    I stopped for lunch around noon at the restaurant and was on my way around 1PM. I did a few more stops later and exited the park around 3PM.
    I detoured to Waynesboro for gas. That's where I ran into these guys...
    [​IMG]

    They were coming from the Dragon from a 5 day bike ride. They were a couple of hours from home.

    Around 3:30ish, I was at the entrance of the BRP.
    [​IMG]

    More stops to admire the views...
    [​IMG]

    The ride on the BRP was amazing. Nice turns and again, no one in front of behind me. The park to myself.
    By almost 6, I arrived at my destination.
    [​IMG]

    I had dinner at the restaurant and then proceeded to find me a spot to camp.
    [​IMG]

    To be continued...
     
    Last edited: Jun 28, 2009
  3. FrankoQ

    FrankoQ New Member

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    The tent is ready.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    The next day, I was up by 6AM. I went for a hike around the lake.

    [​IMG]

    Breakfast time!!!
    [​IMG]

    North or south?
    Decisions decisions. :confused:
    I was so tempted to keep going, but I had to come back on Friday.
    I went North. :frown:
    [​IMG]
     
  4. i_needit

    i_needit New Member

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    Very cool.
     
  5. FrankoQ

    FrankoQ New Member

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    I was on the road around 9AM.
    I had a lot of fun on the BRP.
    A lot more deer, 2 turkeys, 2 wild cats, one turtle.
    Around 11ish, I was exiting the BRP.
    I went back to Waynesboro and found this:
    [​IMG]

    I had a real breakfast and stopped for gas again.

    I got back on skyline dr and that's when I hit... I hit TRAFFIC :mad:
    Mental note: next time, start the trip on a Monday. Do not come here
    from Friday to Sunday.
    I enjoyed about 40 miles of the ride. The next 70 were not fun.
    I was held back by cars and other bikers. People were stopping on the road,
    people running across the drive on blind turns, etc.
    Also, I ran into 3 speed traps.
    I had to stop several times to see if that helped me find a clear road

    Also, there was a 50/50 chance of rain on Front Royal.
    weird because it was sunny all day.

    Anyway, I finally got out of the parkway, put more gas at Front Royal and kept going back home.
    66 was clean. No traffic. Once I got to the beltway...:mad: it was a parking lot.
    By the time I reached the MD state line, rain was imminent.
    I tried to find me shelter, but I got caught by a monsoon.
    The wind was so strong, I almost dropped the bike. Could not see a thing,
    and I was riding on a river. Finally, reached a gas station and parked to let the rain go.
    [​IMG]

    By 6ish, I was back home.
    I really enjoyed the little trip. I hope I can do it again in Fall.

    That's my report. :smile:
     
  6. snapondealer

    snapondealer New Member

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    Map
    Excellent photo recap. It brought back so many memories of one of my favorite all time rides, taken 25 yrs ago. Luckily I was on vacation and was able to to spend three days up there riding back and forth. I had a fully loaded CB900F that was heading with an ultimate destination of Ft Lauderdale to see the folks. I overextended my time away from work and with the threat of being fired I put in a 900 mile 26 hour trip back home. I was wet, cold and bleary eyed and only 2 hours late for work. I want to go back there soon!
     
  7. barleymashers

    barleymashers New Member

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    Nice recap. I did a pretty similar ride in early June, it was fantastic. Good weather for the first part of the trip, and Skyline drive was empty, even on a weekend with nice weather which I thought was odd. Got stuck in a lot of rain on the BRP, went to the top of Mount Mitchell where the temperature had dropped from a nice 75 to 46 degrees. I agree with you though, one overlook starts to look like all the rest so at times I did get bored.
     
  8. betarace

    betarace New Member

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    !

    I ride with some of those guys you ran into in waynesboro - Paul on the RWB and Treavor... nice dudes
     
  9. FrankoQ

    FrankoQ New Member

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    Nice group indeed. We chatted for a little while and they warned me
    about a hidden speed trap on the BRP.

    I think they were the only non Harley/metric/Gold Wing bikes I saw on the entire ride.

    I met 2 other riders (one on a Harley and the other on a Katana). They were coming from Texas
    and they were going to MD.

    Part of the fun of the trip was to meet other rides on the stops. :thumbsup:
     
  10. Jimtt

    Jimtt New Member

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    Great! I did that same drive last summer here is the link to some pics:

    [DLMURL="http://public.fotki.com/JimTT/the-blue-ridge-parkway/"]The Blue Ridge Parkway album | JimTT | Fotki.com[/DLMURL]

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jul 4, 2017
  11. KC-10 FE

    KC-10 FE New Member

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    To this day, the BRPW is in the top 5 of my favorite roads to ride. I think the Cherohala is a better road to ride, but the scenery & serenity the BRPW offers is second to none.

    KC-10 FE out...
    :plane: :usa2:
     
  12. jay956

    jay956 New Member

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    nice! i was just in front royal today
     
  13. l8rgyz

    l8rgyz New Member

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    Breakfast at the Peaks of Otter Lodge would have been so much better. Buttermilk pancakes, butter, warm syrup... guess you can tell I've done this.
     
  14. FrankoQ

    FrankoQ New Member

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    I thought about that but ended up hitting the road early and stopping in Waysboro for breakfast/lunch.
     
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