Weekend Ride to Blue Ride Parkway (Pics)
 

Departed NYC Sat 4/8 towards the entrance of the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia. Was a bit cold that morning, around 37 degree around 6pm when we departed. Had a 3 hr pit stop at Susquehanna Harley Davidson in PA for my 1k on my new RGU. Finally got to our destination around 4pm. Left for enough time for a short hike. We climbed up the Hump Backed Rocks. Highly recommend but make sure you are can handle a strenuous hike. It's mostly up hill. That night we stayed in a hotel in Waynesboro, VA. Slept in a little that morning and did about an hour ride on the Blue Ridge Parkway. After about an hour we hoped onto I-81 to check out the Mile High Swinging Bridge and Crabtree Falls. Stayed in Ashville, NC that night and departed that following morning (Monday) for NYC. The ride home totaled a little over 700 miles and did that in about 13 hours with stops. Logged a little over 1500 miles in the three days.


Take aways:

1) What a magical three day trip this was. Blue Ridge Parkway was everything I wanted and much much more. I highly recommend taking the trip to check it out. It's truly magical. Even I-81 was very very nice.

2) I'm fairly new on taking longer trips like this on a motorcycle. I'm finding it a bit overwhelming on how to properly dress. That first early morning when we left it was almost freezing and by the time we got to out destination it was 75 degrees. I might look into some HD convertible clothes.

3) The 700 miles day on the way home was a bit much. Doable but my butt was a little tired by the time we made it home. I don't know if it's worth upgrading the seat on my bike to a Hammock. But 700 I imagine is tough even with a nice seat like that.

4) Thankful I wore a full faced helmet. I usually ride with a half when I'm local. We were pretty beat when we got back, prob a lot more beat if we wore halves.

5) Was riding 2-up the entire time. Could have used some extra luggage space even with my tour pak. Looking into Nelson Rigs GW-1200 or one of T-bags. Not sure which company yet.

Here are some photos :)


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that is one of my dreams is to ride the BRP before departing this world.

you could pass for Eric Church in this pic....





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Excellent! Here in the Raleigh NC area the BRP is just 2 hours North. I plan to make an overnight trip later this Spring. Great pics!

Man that's a Helluva way to break in a new bike! Great pics. Looks like a blast.

I love it up there, some of the views are magical. I try to get up there at least once a year.

It looks like you had a blast!. That is some beautiful country that you rode though.

I ride the BRP and many nicer local rides on a regular basis. The leaves are just as of this week starting to turn green. As far as riding gear, decent leather along with chaps would have done you just fine. At some point you were not too far from Fox Creek Leather in Independence Va. Too bad you could not have waited another week as the forecast is to be a bit nicer going forward. Glad you got to enjoy some of Gods greatest blessings!!!

Certainly is a beautiful ride this time of year. I usually pick it up in Luray VA and ride it down to Standardsville and come back through Gordonsville and Orange VA and stop at Waugh HD for a bit. Its a good days ride for us.

rk classic

Excellent pictures.

Great pictures. We are planning a ride the entire length of the Blue Ridge Parkway late this summer Fortunately, I only live 3 hours away from the mountains of east Tennessee.

By the way... I used to struggle with dressing for weather too - especially when there are wild swings from low to high temp. I highly recommend going with heated gear. I only wear a heated jacket, as I find leather chaps keep my lower half warm enough and are not too hot until it hits the mid 70s. Gerbing jackets are the best I've worn. They are light, and can easily go underneath a leather jacket. As it warms up, I turn the heat off and open the vents in the leather jacket. It works well for me.

I ride year round being in SW Virginia. That means a few days in the teens. I don't have any heated gear but I hear it is wonderful. I don't wear leather very often as I find its range to be very limited. A modern style textile jacket will typically have more feature that allow for a shift in temps with many huge vents not to mention the protection you get from armor. Plus it will often be waterproof as well. There are obviously some leather jackets with more versatility as well but struggle to keep up with textile.


Its all about your core. Vests, heated or not can do wonders while keeping your arms less bulky and free to move. then you can shuck off layers as needed. If you keep your core warm than your feet and hands will be much better off as well.


Sometimes all it takes is blocking a little wind. Wearing rain pants can make a massive difference. for this reason as well as others I like two piece suits. Plus when my jacket is waterproof I only need the pants and can just zip my vents closed.


Riding boots, real riding boots, can be expensive. But they are awesome. especially so when you have long days in the saddle. Mine are a little higher so they in themselves do quite a bit for warmth and surprisingly aren't that hot even in 100 degree weather. Plus, they are truly waterproof.


My first real trip was down and through Central America. Talk about taking too much crap. I think you will find in time you will have enough space in those bags. For long trips skivvies and wool socks as well as the right kind of t-shirts can be washed out in the sink...though the wife may not agree;) I wouldn't need half of what I took back then, now.


looks like you had a great introduction to traveling by bike. You will get it dialed in like clockwork!

Great ride. Good for you! Hopefully you did a little of the fantastic roads once you finished the Blue Ridge Pkwy.

Great pix. I love to ride the BRP and Skyline Drive. I don't get up there as much as I used to.

And I want to ride the PCH before I go...lol.

OP: Great pics! I live an hour from the Parkway and have never been, which I need to rectify that at some point. That bridge pic had me saying "no way"...scared of heights.

Took that trip last summer and it's a great one.

Things I've learned:
Wear or bring a full face helmet. Always carry rain gear.
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Those cargo net bungies are awesome. If you dress in layers you can strip at quick pull offs and tuck whatever is no longer needed under them without having to repack.

I'm sure you already figured it out but pack heavy items in the saddlebags, medium weight in the tour-pak and if you get a bag for the luggage rack, a change of gloves, sweat shirt light jacket and anything readily accessible, the tour pak bag will add weight up high so keep that in mind. We enjoyed the BRP even with the misty rains.

FYI-
The "Dragon" will be closed to traffic from April 17th- April 29th. Due to utilities placement activities. The roadway will be closed in numerous places.
It will be open for 30 mins, then closed for 30 mins, over and over, until the work is done.

Quite a 3 day event, good write up accompanied by the pics. As for the riding gear, you'll figure it out.

Wow awsome thanks for sharing those pics😊

Thanks everyone for the kind words and advice.

I'm already planning another trip to Blue Ridge because it was really that nice.

As far as gear, as many of you suggested, I think it's best not to get hung up about it and just ride and figure things out as they come. I tend to get caught up shopping online and researching different gear but that's not important. It's more about the ride and experience. That said I did order The Nelson-Rigg GWR1200 as I ride mostly 2up and we need some extra room. Also got The Nelson Rigg motorcycle cover that shrinks down, and Nelson Rigg rain boot covers. Nothing major.

Great Pics!! We have a plan this summer to do Skyline Drive and the BRP. I used to do this trip every year with a group of guys but I moved up to NY for a few years. Now that I'm back in NC we planned a reunion for this year. Can't wait.

We left from NEPA on Sunday 9/11/16 and took 81 to Waynesboro, we then jumped on the BRP and rode to Roanoke the first day. Over the next 5 days, we rode the rest of the BRP, visited Mt Mitchell, Devils Whip, Moonshiner 28, Fontana Dam and the Cherohala Skyway. On the return trip we took Skyline Drive north from Waynesboro. In total we did about 1900 miles over 6 days. The difference in temp from the mountains to the valleys can be more than 30 degrees, so it's a good idea to have a variety of clothing available. Can't wait to make it back, wish it was closer to home...

Great write up.
And thanks for sharing. It's rides like this that pretty much sum up our love for motorcycles.

Wow awesome ride. You have a lot here that I missed. Will be heading back there when I few a few more days to kill. So much to do there, I would seriously considering moving it that part if I had the chance.

Having grown up in the area where the BRP crosses over into North Carolina, I always try to read posts about riding down that way- for a few minutes I am transported both in time and miles from today in Texas back to southwest Virginia 40 years ago. I've been from coast to coast over the years, and I am not sure if it is just sentimentality or not, but in my mind, there is no riding in the US like that found in the Mid-Atlantic states. Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and West Virginia all have more than their fair share of beautiful scenery, friendly people, and the best rural roads n America.

I totally agree. Which is why I keep my butt planted in Tennessee. That and the fact that there are no state income taxes. :icon_nut:

yea my limit is about 550 per day, a hammock seat will help though. Nice Pic's and nice ride!

Not to brag, but I love living 7 miles from an entrance to the parkway!

Thanks for all that. I'm in the foothills.

Wow very nice!

I love the BRP too! I wish I lived closer.....A LOT closer. A few pics from my trip.
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Nice write-up and pics. I have ridden parts of the area (Skyline Drive, southern Virginia into Tennessee) and it is beautiful.

I am fairly new to motorcycling but have taken a few longer trips, and ran into the same issue with temps. My last trip temps ranged from mid-20s to upper 70s/low 80s in the same day. What worked well for me is a combination of layers and heated gear.

Base layer of Freeze-Out (from Cycle Gear) or Cold Gear top and bottoms.
Jeans and long-sleeve T-shirt, +/- thin hoodie
Heated jacket liner (Hot-wired from Cycle Gear)
Tourmaster Jacket (Air intake 4) and overpants.
The overpants liner is waterproof so no need for additional rain pants
Gerbing heated gloves + leather gloves + mesh gloves
Frog Toggs rain jacket and HD overboots for wet weather
3/4 or modular helmet

I use it sometimes traveling to and from my Mothers house on health checks etc.
There was an editorial submitted to the local paper recently from a lady stating motorbikes should be banned from the Parkway.
Her argument was the excessive noise takes away from other people's ability to enjoy a positive experience.

And also not to brag --- I live 14 mi from the other end ( north , Front Royal Va ) And it's great to be close:icon_moped:

Now that's some funny shit there...lmfao. Apparently she needs to take a ride on a nice bagger on a cool sunny day to change her mind.

She plugs her car in, I'm sure...

A far left lib for sure she is
BLACK BIKES MATTER -- and mine HAS the right to speak out LOUD :icon_moped:

Great pics!! Thank you for sharing. I'm hoping some day to ride the Parkway. It looks beautiful.

Great pix. The BRP is a great ride, we've done it twice. it's one of those roads we could ride every single year and never get tired of it, plus the area is great too. That area can be tough for clothing planning. As you found out, you need to be ready for anything from near freezing to hot.

Here's what we do for luggage space on trips :

Right saddle bag : dedicated to rain gear, small tool kit, and small tire kit.
left saddle bag : we use one of the saddle bag luggage to store spare clothes. Every couple of days, we swap out clean clothes with dirty clothes to the tour pak bag.
Tour pak : the junk trunk (phones, wallet, purse, sunscreen, etc), leather jackets, hats, etc.
Tour Pak rack : I got one of the HD expandable bags and we use this as an overnight bag. We keep clean clothes, bathroom items, etc in here and we take it in the hotel each night. it has everything we need each night. we swap out dirty clothes with clean clothes from the left saddle bag.

This has worked for us on several trips so far. Our longest trip has been a week. We have a decent system now and everything is easily accessible.

This is the bag I have :
http://www.harley-davidson.com/store...sible-rack-bag