Blue Ridge Parkway

[BusaBob]

Sweet-Twistie-Goodness!!!!! I can't wait to hit up this section of road before hitting the 'Gap this summer.

Blue Ridge

[Brian P]

Very nice scenic road; just be mindful of the park rangers because that's Federal property ... Speed limit is 45 mph and those guys don't mess around.

A lot of the roads that cross the Blue Ridge are also really good. Some have lots of traffic ... others have almost none. The whole area is really nice.

[BusaBob]

Very nice scenic road; just be mindful of the park rangers because that's Federal property ... Speed limit is 45 mph and those guys don't mess around.

A lot of the roads that cross the Blue Ridge are also really good. Some have lots of traffic ... others have almost none. The whole area is really nice.

completely agree on the "other roads"...however, didn't notice much ranger activity on the BRP last summer. Saw rangers on the Skyway though, but that runs through Shenendoah National Park.



the highway patrol in North Carolina are "very forgiving" of tourists. I hear the Tennessee State Police are a different matter, though

[Brian P]

Skyway i.e. Skyline Drive? That's the north extension of the Blue Ridge in Virginia. Last time I was there, the speed limit in that section was an even more intolerable 35 mph, although some of the motor homes have trouble with that (and there can be a lot of them - too close to major population centers)

Or do you mean the Cherohala Skyway? That's another good one. Almost zero traffic, ridiculous speed limit on the Tenn side (30 mph) that no one follows. Cop presence varies. Saw them a couple years back, but the cop just waved to us ... we weren't doing anything *really* stupid (but not exactly 30 mph, either). It's not always like that, though.

[chiller]

the blue ridge is a nice scenic ride to get down to the gap ... I prefer doing it on the weekday if possible since the weekends is full of trailer, motorhome traffic ... weekdays alot less people there...

[g4getmoney]

"The Blue Ridge Parkway is a National Parkway and All-American Road in the United States, noted for its scenic beauty. It runs for 469 miles (755 km), " - Wikipedia

How do you gas up on a sport bike for 755km?

Was thinking of doing Deals Gap / BRP with just a backup with change of clothes, no other weight like a harley rider.

I'm assuming there are no gas stations or anything at the BRP.

Input?

(bashing = skull bashing)

[g4getmoney]

Like This???

Wholy crap!!! At least you got the left lane jks jks

Skyway i.e. Skyline Drive? That's the north extension of the Blue Ridge in Virginia. Last time I was there, the speed limit in that section was an even more intolerable 35 mph, although some of the motor homes have trouble with that (and there can be a lot of them - too close to major population centers)

Or do you mean the Cherohala Skyway? That's another good one. Almost zero traffic, ridiculous speed limit on the Tenn side (30 mph) that no one follows. Cop presence varies. Saw them a couple years back, but the cop just waved to us ... we weren't doing anything *really* stupid (but not exactly 30 mph, either). It's not always like that, though.

[woobie]

I'm assuming there are no gas stations or anything at the BRP.

Input?

(bashing = skull bashing)

You just get off and hit a town every few hundred kms. I'm sure you could google map it and search for gas stations that way ahead of time, or a CAA route planner if you have a membership.

[g4getmoney]

true, was jsut looking up the road on Google Earth, and I dont see many towns around the area, guess I'll have to do some careful planning.

My bike gets around 260km before I get a light, ensuring another 30'ish or so.

You just get off and hit a town every few hundred kms. I'm sure you could google map it and search for gas stations that way ahead of time, or a CAA route planner if you have a membership.

[meme]

Blue Ridge + heavy fog = 100% pucker factor!

Plan your time wisely. It's absolutely stunning, but not so much when you can't see though the soup.

[Brian P]

Can get cold in places due to the high altitude, too. I have an on-board video that I took on the Cherohala in fog and rain on my CBR125, which was getting pushed down to 70 km/h in places due to steep uphill + high altitude, but that was okay, because I didn't really want to go much faster anyhow ...

[chiller]

i'm not ripping it but here's some footage in case some of these guys haven't seen the blue ridge before ... i think i shot this back last may 2008 when riding down south

[g4getmoney]

Sweeeeeeeeeeeet!!!!

Good post man, much respect!

It doesn't look as twisty as I thought but then again google earth doesn't show it as such either. Scenic though, looks like fun.

What kind of camera you using?

You going again this summer?

i'm not ripping it but here's some footage in case some of these guys haven't seen the blue ridge before ... i think i shot this back last may 2008 when riding down south

[chiller]

Sweeeeeeeeeeeet!!!!

Good post man, much respect!

It doesn't look as twisty as I thought but then again google earth doesn't show it as such either. Scenic though, looks like fun.

What kind of camera you using?

You going again this summer?

its not THAT twisty ... its more good flow ... gentle curves, no surprises, most are constant radius curves ... but it is scenic ... camera was a canon point and shoot, i didn't use my vid cam, my vid cam i shot the 13 mins at the gap and it was like 800 megs or something ...

yes i hit blue ridge, or 'south' roads at least once a year ...

[4badboyz]

the faster you go the twistier she gets jus watch out for popo.

[gcrouse]

the faster you go the twistier she gets jus watch out for popo.

Bingo

[weeblette]

the blue ridge is an awesome ride and does get better as you head south i have been ticketed by the rangers but usually dont see them too much... it does get twisty enough that i dragged pegs on my FJR and i was riding with others on sportbikes with less forgiving fuel tanks and never had fuel problems,you will just have to leave the BRP for a few miles to find a small town, if you plan you will have no problems...also we always took 2 days to ride it and a good little town about halfway down is is called Sparta http://www.alleghanyinn.com/index.php

[patronftw]

... a good little town about halfway down is is called Sparta http://www.alleghanyinn.com/index.php

[BusaBob]

true, was jsut looking up the road on Google Earth, and I dont see many towns around the area, guess I'll have to do some careful planning.

My bike gets around 260km before I get a light, ensuring another 30'ish or so.

you don't have to plan that hard. The BRP has regular branches off to local roads like any expressway. it doesn't hurt to have a GPS with gas stations programmed in, though.

one thing we found out on our trip down was that the BRP and Skyline Drive are so twistie and scenic, that they do take awhile to ride. It felt like we should have been covering more distance on the map than we actually were, even though we were travelling...um...quickly.

Another thing too is that all that twistie goodness can get a little mind-numbingly exhausting. You need to take breaks regularly. And there are plenty look-outs along the way to take in the vistas.

[BusaBob]

Sweeeeeeeeeeeet!!!!
Good post man, much respect!
It doesn't look as twisty as I thought but then again google earth doesn't show it as such either. Scenic though, looks like fun.

It's very scenic. Some parts are twistier than others. Some parts run through forests, others hug the side of a mountain. There are occassional steep inclines too. The other huge plus is no cross traffic or stop signs/lights

And as the other posters have noted, it will feel a lot twistier the faster you go.