Big, short-notice trip - to NC via PA, Blue Ridge Parkway and Tail of the dragon

Hi guys,

Planning my first big trip. I quit my job and have a week or so to burn from April 30 - May 4th. I've always wanted to do a motorbike trip - I'm getting married later this year, and had initially planned to do the East Coast and Gaspé. However, this is when my week off came up and I figured the East could be pretty cold.

Anyways, my plan is:

Day 1: After my last day at work, cross the border near Buffalo and get as far south as I can. Thinking I'll spend the night in Ellicottville or Bradford PA?

Day 2: SR44 and HWY 15 through PA, and then take sideroads to get to Skyline Trail and the Blue Ridge Parkway. Call it a day maybe at Roanoke?;

Day 3: Drive south to Chapel Hill, hope to get there for noon?

Day 4: Hang w/ fam in Chapel Hill;

Day 5: Leave Chapel Hill, drive N to VA, take the BRP over to Asheville or a little farther;

Day 6: Ride the Dragon and roads around there;

Days 7 and 8: Ride home, straight north. I could slab it, or take sideroads - we'll see how I'm doing. Probably stop once I get to Ohio?

The bike is a Suzuki Bandit 600 with an upgraded seat, a better windscreen, a Throttle Rocker and hard luggage. I have lowered Buell footpegs in the mail, hoping they get in before the ride - as well as carb parts! I'll have to get a rainsuit before the trip as well.

I'm definitely open to suggestions - any ideas?

I'm thinking my Day 2 seems long-ish - if I can do it, I might have to treat myself to a motel with a hot tub that night. My longest day so far is 700 kms and I was sore at the end, but functional.

If anyone's around BRP or the Dragon while I'll be (Wed May 2nd?), would be up for hanging out. Also, would enjoy suggestions for places to stay and things to see.

Day 2 is way off, especially if you're taking the BRP the whole way. Speed limits are low on that road, and even if you are really cooking, your chances of doing more than 500 kms on that twisty piece of heaven are pretty slim.

Having ridden the entire BRP / Skyline drive 3 times now, let me give you some advice. Enjoy the road. I'm not telling you to do the speed limit - that's your own business, and frankly there are sections of that road that are too good to do at the low speed limit on that road, but it's such an amazing road that it's best to make the most of it. If you're looking to make time, take the interstate. I'm doing a very similar run (my 4th time) about a week after you. I've always found that it's best to just haul *** to get to Front Royal, where Skyline Drive starts. Don't waste your time on backroads in PA - they're nice, but if your goal is the BRP, then make some choices.

Don't ride at dawn on the BRP, and don't ride at dusk. There are lots of animals on the road, and the road tends to be very foggy, especialy this time of year. It will be cold - remember, it runs the crest of a mountain range. It will be wet. There will be tons of places for you to pull off and soak in the view. Bring a camera.

My two suggestions for you - Wheels Through Time museum in Maggie Valley (check their website for their hours, they're closed a couple of days a week) and Grandfather Mountain in NC.

It's going to be an awesome ride for you - I don't think there's anywhere else quite like the BRP in North America.

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Originally Posted by honduhmatic

Hi guys,
I'm thinking my Day 2 seems long-ish

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You can always see how it goes - if you need to make up a little time, you can skip Skyline Drive - its slow, slow, slow 35 mph. I'm not a fan - you will get miles and miles of same thing on the Blue Ridge for the northern half - at 45 mph (can cheat a little up, but not much - aside from being patrolled, there's wildlife everywhere) and won't cost you ten bucks. However, that's just me.

Do you have heated gloves or grips? Once you get further south should be fine, but the Skyline and northern part of the Blue Ridge can still be mighty cold in April/May - especially in the mornings. We froze our tails off in August in some of the higher elevations.

You can't really go wrong once you are there - I really liked the Cherahola and there was another route I just can't remember the name of - we kind of meandered around, aside from doing the Dragon - I'll have to look on my map when I get home.

Two days back on the interstates is easily doable.

The Port Motel in Port Allegheny (near Bradford)...cheap first stop.

Thanks for the advice!

I have heated overgrips so check!

Thinking about it, I think you're right (oomis) on Day 2. Also, I have taken 219 through PA (on a failed ski trip to Blue Knob) and it's not a bad piece of road. I can probably cut some time that way. PA isn't too far or at all out of the question for a future weekend.

hundu I did this trip last year in July.
but I'm pretty lazy and haven't typed it out.
if you want to hook up sometime at a Tims I can fill your head with info.

Listen to the advice about dusk and dawn (was never up early enough for dawn). I've never seen so many deer on the roads as I did on the BRP at dusk! I foolishly thought that I could do the BRP in a day of hard riding. I wasnt even close! OH, and I was speeding like a demon! On large sections I was in the 80mph band ( was in a hurry to get home and the roads are begging you to ride faster). Beginning and ends of the BRP are swarming with rangers and its a good idea to slow down anytime you're close to a larger city.
Not sure if its a common thing or not but fuel consumption is something to think about. My friends bike drank fuel like crazy. Totally screwed him up for the first part as we almost ran out of fuel twice. Could be altitude or temps, as some newer bikes run richer when its colder. PLAN YOU FUEL STOPS. There are no gas stations on the BRP. We got off at one point and had to ride another 15 miles to the gas station. Not fun with your fuel light on.
If you can time it right, the little Switzerland hotel is awesome and in a good spot. Stay overnight and run the diamondback in the morning!

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Originally Posted by atss2006

PLAN YOU FUEL STOPS.

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Or do what I did for maximum peace of mind: Bring a full spare 3.78L tank on your kit with you. My GPS software informs me that there are tons of fuel stations just a short ride off the BRP, which that tank can more than happily get you to from even the most remote part of the BRP.

This route is similar to my ride to Memphis years ago. Took me a total of 7 days. Weird thing about BLP is that although it's beautiful with no lights or commercial traffic, riding on it all day can get fatiguing. And those long, unlit tunnels are scary, no visual reference so you're relying on your inner ear for balance. It's a strange feeling.

I'm pretty lucky, the Bandit has a gas gauge and a 20L tank, and it's a sipper (~5L / 100 km). I can usually put on 300 kms before tapping into reserve - maybe even a little farther if I'm doing 45 mph consistently. Still, I won't have a GPS so I'll make sure I fuel up whenever I leave a major centre.

Thanks for the heads up also about riding after dusk and before dawn. And the Little Switzerland hotel looks sweet!

I have actually revised my route down, and my start time on Friday (noon) to make Days 1 and 2 a bit more reasonable. I'm thinking I'll take HWY 219 down through PA, and try to make it to south PA or even MD on the Friday night. Have eyed up a hotel in northern MD that has a hot tub...


Always appreciate the advice.

I aim for Breezewood PA as a first nighter. Nothing but motels and greasy spoons but only a few hours from the Skyline. As said the Skyline and BRP can get boring but the roads running off it are more fun.

I don't understand why you'd want to stop for the night at Ellicottville or Bradford. Your desired 500 daily target would get you as far south as Altoona PA. This would put you only 3 hours north of Front Royal VA. for your second day.

First of all, I'm pumped that carb replacement parts came in today! High fives to parts that will help my bike complete the trip...

I was thinking I'd stop at Ellicottville or Bradford for Night 1 just because I was going to have to work until 4PM the first day. As it sits, I negotiated an 11AM exit interview, so I could be on the road right after noon :). With that start, and some luck with the border crossing, hoping to get at least midway through PA before nightfall.

You may find some useful links to maps (Skyline, BRP, Deals, Cherohala etc - print them out) and other stuff here.


I went to CAA beforehand and (as a member) received all the maps (for free) that I needed of every state I was travelling through. These helped me out many times over.

Cheers and ride safe.

I stayed at the DeSoto Motel in Bradford, PA once. Nice place.

Hi guys,

Sorry to be one of 'those guys', but after a very frank discussion with my future spouse (where some of the risks, illogical aspect, ... were highlighted), this trip has been deferred. I'm going to do some day trips around Ontario with my week between jobs instead.

My fiancee actually really likes the sport (thinks bikes are 'hot' :p) really enjoys 2-up riding. Unfortunately, the Bandit isn't comfortable for 2-up riding days on end and she is in school the week off. When I can afford a suitable touring bike, and book some time, we look forward to using the suggestions from this thread together and checking out Blue Ridge and Tail of the Dragon!

Kiley, I owe you coffee sometime - thanks for meeting me, was very nice of you to share your experience and great to meet you.

some of the risks, illogical aspect,......



What is illogical about any of it?
What risks?
Just asking. Seriously.

With the wacky weather we've been having this year, I'm not sure I'd want to do this trip quite this early anyway (at least without trailering the bike if that was an option). I mean snow in West Virginia yesterday - really??

I don't know if the op has a 600 or 1250 - I've toured on the back of a Bandit 1250 with my ex b/f - its where I fell in love with riding. My ex changed from the stock seat to a Corbin seat which was more oriented for 2up riding and that helped - for his new g/f he added a back rest which also helped somewhat (she's still terrified of riding, but she gets brownie points for trying). So modifiying the bike might be all that's needed for the g/f to ride in comfort. Its not as comfy being a passenger as being in front - that much I can swear to.

Hey love conquers all - once my ex dumped the bike with me on the back and when he asked me if I was okay - I swore up and down I was fine, lets keep riding. Wasn't until we got home and he saw me scraped and black and blue on one leg he knew I had lied - cuz I was afraid he'd turn around and go home if I admitted I was hurting a little :-)

My fiancee is worried about whether I'll be stranded, wrecked, whether I'll crash, get lost, etc. She knows I'm safe but she cares a lot, so she's worried. It's frustrating but I understand.

I have the Bandit 600. It's not that it lacks power, but the suspension is super-soft and we're both a bit sore when we spend lots of time 2-up. Going to Tobermory and back in a day made us both sore - her especailly. Also, the suspension's soft enough 2-up that I wouldn't want to use side cases and really load the bike up. We day trip with it and that's good enough for us.

We're getting off-topic, but I'm beginning to think that I'd be a good fit for a bike like an ST1100 or a BMW R_RT. We'll see.

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Originally Posted by Ikan

some of the risks, illogical aspect,......



What is illogical about any of it?
What risks?
Just asking. Seriously.

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Seems fairly obvious that a lot can go wrong on a semi-long trip like this. Be it a flat tire, engine failure, electrical and many other problems not easily solved at the roadside.

You can crash and have to catch a cab or bus back. You can often times be in remote locations where a nearby bikeshop isn't always an easy find or may not be open when you need it due to shorter operating hours on a wknd!

Def. get medical insurance if you are planning a trip to the US, as any uncovered medical expenses can cost you enough to lose your house or go into serious debt. Worth the small fee to avert a potential financial disaster.

Important to consider potential negative circumstances related to long haul travel..