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

I agree with oomis suggestions 100%. Ride at a good pace and get alot of the mileage done in the first day. I did a similar trip in Oct 2011.

I suggest you start early and aim for Winchester, Virginia for the first day. It's about 20mins north of Front Royal and Skyline Drive. Also, in Winchester, there is a really affordable Best Western with Plenty of rooms, and they give you a voucher for the Perkins restaurant located in the lobby. (great b-fast!) Rooms were less than $70 USD.
Link to the BW:
http://maps.google.ca/maps?oe=utf-8&...&ved=0CKoBELYD

I stayed there twice! One enroute to BRP and once on the way back.

Leaving early in the AM, I topped up my 21 litre tank in Front Royal and hit Skyline drive in a ALOT of fog.

Riding hard and stopping only 3 times (1st to pee, 2nd to eat, 3rd for Fuel again) I just made it to Fancy Gap, VA before dusk.

The BRP is an incredible road and ALOT of fun but all warnings here should be considered.
-Dawn/Dusk rides brings out the animals.
-Fuel is NOT marked on the BRP so go on the website and print out the lists of Fuel stops by mile marker
-The BRP is difficult to do in a short amount of time.
-Don't skip any of the BRP. It's all amazing.

Good luck and have fun!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by honduhmatic

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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Oh Nonsense!

I rode to the Cabot trail and back on my old 1986 VF500. It was a 24 year old bike with about 50,000kms of neglected mileage and it was no problem.
http://imageshack.us/a/img848/4017/img0201vm.th.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img337/6898/img0200on.th.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img440/9225/img0199wy.th.jpg

If you're fiancee will be worried about you while you're away, get a Spot GPS tracker. My family loved it when I went out east. they followed me all the way from their computers.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by honduhmatic

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.

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There's an old saying "hope for the best but plan for the worst" and its really appropo for long distance travelling. When I had my accident in Vermont a few years ago, aside from my motorcycle insurance, I purchased separate travel insurance, had CAA plus and an emergency credit card. Being hauled off the side of a mountain road by ambulance isn't fun - but honestly, you can have an accident in Ontario just as easily as when you're touring - its just less expensive in terms of initial monetary outlay, and certainly a lot less complicated than being injured in a foreign country - but stuff happens. Telling your girlfriend you could get hurt on the Forks of the Credit just as easily as on the Dragon probably wouldn't help much.

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Originally Posted by BeastieGirl

Telling your girlfriend you could get hurt on the Forks of the Credit just as easily as on the Dragon probably wouldn't help much.

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This is a great point - but it's a point I won't make because I want to keep riding!!! (And it's fiancée, while we're tip-toeing around difficult subjects :p.)

Anyways guys, what's done is done and at least the house is peaceful. As I said, my fiancée loves riding 2-up and would be much more open to a trip together.

Thanks for the input everyone, and I look forward to putting it to use someday.

Blue Ridge parkway is amazing...some sections are just spectacular to see...but the speed limit is WAY too slow. I couldn't stand the slow limit and took side routes / interstates after 1/2 day on the Blue Ridge.

Don't forget the troopers targeteting speeders on the blue ridege

*shrug*

Long distance touring isn't everyone's cup of tea. I hope that you get to sip from this cup eventually.