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Convinced the group of 22 we were riding with to stop here (none of them had heard of it--I had visited with both Dale and Matt a few times over the years) and the group consented to give it a half hour....three hours later and we had to literally peel ourselves away... so much to see and experience.
Then you might as well ride on over to Leeds, AL (east of Birmingham) to see the Barber Motorsports Museum. About the opposite of Wheels as most of the scooters at Barbers are restored. About 1,000 bikes of all makes and a bunch of Lotus race cars. Plan on 3-4 hrs. So much to see, so little time.
Hey davedyna......sorry about not chiming in on this. I really appreciate all the great advise from everybody. We just got 12+ inches of snow on Tuesday here in NE Wisconsin....damn. But...a little over three months, we'll be out on the road again. Have a safe band happy new year
QUOTE=davedyna;14644343]I guess the original OP has not been back, haven't seen anything more from him. Picked up some nice tidbits from a number of folks posting though so thanks all!!
We rode BRP and SLD in late June. Had fantastic weather, almost too warm in the afternoon ( 90*).
I can't say that we had much traffic, and this was Thursday thru Sunday.
Watch your speed, the mounties were all over the place when we were there.
Didn't bother us because we weren't in a hurry so the 35 & 45 mph limits were
ok.
The speed limits of 35 & 45 mph weren't a problem as we weren't in a hurry.
There were quite a few cops around but none showed any interest in us.
Last edited by Deucedog; Dec 30, 2015 at 10:08 PM.
Took that same ride last year from Wisconsin. May can be very iffy. We left over Fathers day weekend - 3rd week in June. crowds were not too bad and the weather is MUCH better, although Hurricane Bill had other plans for our ride to get to VA.
When you get into NC, check out all roads that leave the parkway. Most are worth riding, especially the old highways. Those of us who live here ride them all the time and never tire of them. Most are just as fun as the dragon, IMO.
No worries Joe on the response. Enjoy the new year!! We don't have that much snow here in NH but just got our first couple of below zero nights and we have about 4" on the ground where I live. Personally, I don't ride until some of the salt washes off the road in spring which could be anywhere from late march to mid april. Gives me time to detail the bikes and plan routes and add HD (high dollar) parts :-)
Joe, I have ridden the Skyline Dr. and BRP, always in early fall right after Labor Day. The kids are back in school and motel rates get a little cheaper. The Pisgah Inn on the south end of the BPR is a nice place to stay. Its a state (I think) run motel and restaurant right on the best (highest) part of the BRP. The Inn has a back porch with rocking chairs for each room. Always a lot of bikes there. If your gonna stay near the Smoky Mt. NP for a couple days their is, American Ride Maps with all the good roads in that area. I also stayed in Gatlinburg, right at the North entrance of the NP, good restaurants, a little touristy but nice. I stayed at Parkside Cabin Rentals a few blocks from downtown, KIng size bed and whirlpool for around $90. Great riding all over that area, enjoy! Also a lot of little white tailed deer all along the shoulder of both the Skyline and BPR, I counted 28 one day, so keep an eye (or two) peeled...lol. Best ribs Ive ever had at Fat Buddies in Waynesville N.C.
Last edited by Moto Mike; Jan 7, 2016 at 03:58 PM.
Reason: added
Just figured I'd throw this out there; but if the OP or anyone else wants to go on a ride on the Blue Ridge Parkway in spring or summer and are ok with having someone along I'd gladly go. I've only done part of it and it'd be nice to do the whole thing. By the way I'm in Northern VA.
Great Trip! I rode Skyline Drive and the BRP over Memorial Day weekend in 2015. We rode up from Knoxville to Front Royal on Friday and then rode south from Saturday thru Monday. We had nice sunny weather all trip although a jacket was required the entire time. As others have noted, they both are at elevation and the temps there do run 10 degrees colder or so. Skyline Drive was a little painful, we hit it on a Saturday of a long weekend and Rolling Thunder was that weekend. It took us almost 7 hours to do 135 miles because of traffic. It also costs $20 to ride Skyline. I would probably skip it next time around but if you are traveling to do the BRP you should do Skyline once. BRP picks up where Skyline ends. Go to their website http://www.blueridgeparkway.org/index.php to help plan the trip. There is a good directory to download here: http://www.blueridgeparkway.org/v.php?pg=73 They may even be a way to request a copy on the site. I picked up a directory and carried it on the trip. They also have an app for a smart phone but I have not used it.
As others have said, there is no gas and very little food or lodging right on the BRP. So, it is best to plan out where you want to eat lunch and then start the day with a full tank, gas up at lunch and then you will be good to go for the day. If you don't plan and decide to wing it you may spend a lot of time trying to find something because a lot of the BRP exits have nothing around them. We stayed at Front Royal, Roanoke, Asheville and then finished the next day and road back to Knoxville. Those are all around 300 mile days and our first day was 450. If you ride north to south you may want to plan for some time around Maggie Valley, the Cherohala Skyway, the Dragon, Great Smoky Mtn Nat'l Park, Gatlinburg, etc. The riding down there is unbelievable. Ride safe.
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