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Route Suggestions: Ottawa ON -- Johnson City TN

marcopolo

Active member
I will be riding with my wife (two-up) to Johnson City the Rally. WeÔÇÖve already booked lodging, but IÔÇÖd love to hear any route suggestions you might have for any leg of our leisurely journey from Ottawa, Ontario. I'd especially appreciate suggestions as to which parts of Skyline Drive/Blue Ridge Parkway would make sense.

HereÔÇÖs our itinerary:

Day 1: Ottawa, Ontario to Skaneateles, NY (210 miles).
Day 2: Skaneateles to Gettysburg, PA. (288 miles).
Day 3: Gettysburg.
Day 4: Gettysburg to Roanoke, VA (264 miles).
Day 5: Roanoke to Johnson City, TN (172 miles).
Days 6/7/8: MOA Rally.
Day 9: Johnson City to Lewisburg, WV (200 miles).
Day 10: Lewisburg to Somerset, PA (242 miles).
Day 11: Somerset to Wellsboro, PA (225 miles).
Day 12: Wellsboro to Windham, NY (233 miles).
Day 13: Windham to Saratoga Springs, NY (135 miles).
Day 14: Saratoga Springs.
Day 15: Saratoga to Ottawa (240 miles).
 
Bear in mind that the BRP is frequently fogged in and if you ride it coming down and miss the views , you can try again on the way back. Ride the whole thing...
 

Mark, Sounds like you have a great route planned. My wife and I were married in Skaneateles two years ago by the lake in the gazebo by the town judge, in the middle of a nine day motorcycle trip. The Sherwood Inn has good food. From there we went down through Watkins Glen and into Wellsboro. When we checked in to our motel there the clerk handed us a small bag of rags to wash the bike off with. Very biker friendly. Nice town and make sure you have breakfast at the old school diner downtown.

Perhaps we'll run into one another in TN. Although not BMW riders (mine: '07 Triumph Tiger; hers: '07 Ducati Monster) We enjoyed ourselves so much in Wyoming last year that we thought we'd do it again. We picked up a buddy in Boulder, CO (BMW guy) and went to Gillette. What a great bunch of folks the BMW crowd was.

Herb
 

My wife and I were married in Skaneateles two years ago by the lake in the gazebo by the town judge, in the middle of a nine day motorcycle trip. The Sherwood Inn has good food. Herb

Now there's dedicated bikers, getting married on a ride. We love Skaneateles too and I certainly know the gazebo you're talking about. We're also staying at the Sherwood Inn the night we're there.
 
Try this on for size. But keep in mind I HATE the super slab, but like small roads.

Highlights 125 s of Shamokin, in Pa. One of the best in Pa.
Rt 58 Volney to Damascus Va
421 from Mt City to Holston Valley

MAP
 
I "discovered" Skaneateles about twenty+ years ago when a buddy and I were returning from a car show on long island. He in his TR-4 and me in my Spitfire. Decided to take all backroads home to Michigan. Made it as far as the Sherwood.

Since my wife and I had both been through the traditional ceremonys the first time around, this time we decided to get married our way. Called the town clerk who told me it would cost $40 and she even gave me the judges cell number. So i called him turns out he was a long time rider who was retiring but would be glad to marry us. And get this, he rides a Hyabusa! We shipped our wedding clothes along ahead of us and stayed at the little boutique hotel the Sherwood owns just around the corner.

If you want our paths to cross in TN, just drop me a private message and we'll swap info. Herb
 
I'd especially appreciate suggestions as to which parts of Skyline Drive/Blue Ridge Parkway would make sense.

On your way down you might consider picking up the BRPW at Roanoke and running it to Asheville, NC. This would make for a long day though, with the last 60 miles being a run on I-26 from Asheville to the rally.

A shorter alternate would be to drop north off the Parkway at NC 226, heading through Spruce Pine and then onto Bakersville. At Bakersville take NC 261 over Roan Mountain where it becomes TN 143.

As you come down off Roan you will catch US 19E to the west and then TN 173 and over to I-26, just to the south of Johnson City. This will be a bit tougher ride than your original 172 mile route (I'm guessing close to 300 miles), but it will show you some splendid roads.

On your return, if you are running US 219 from Lewisburg to Pennsylvania, you have chosen an excellent stretch of road.
 
Try this on for size. But keep in mind I HATE the super slab, but like small roads.

Highlights 125 s of Shamokin, in Pa. One of the best in Pa.
Rt 58 Volney to Damascus Va
421 from Mt City to Holston Valley

MAP


Thanks for the suggestions; I've plugged them into Mapsource for uploading to my GPS.
 
I'd especially appreciate suggestions as to which parts of Skyline Drive/Blue Ridge Parkway would make sense.

On your way down you might consider picking up the BRPW at Roanoke and running it to Asheville, NC. This would make for a long day though, with the last 60 miles being a run on I-26 from Asheville to the rally.

A shorter alternate would be to drop north off the Parkway at NC 226, heading through Spruce Pine and then onto Bakersville. At Bakersville take NC 261 over Roan Mountain where it becomes TN 143.

As you come down off Roan you will catch US 19E to the west and then TN 173 and over to I-26, just to the south of Johnson City. This will be a bit tougher ride than your original 172 mile route (I'm guessing close to 300 miles), but it will show you some splendid roads.

On your return, if you are running US 219 from Lewisburg to Pennsylvania, you have chosen an excellent stretch of road.

Steve, thanks for your suggestions too. We have indeed selected US 219 from Lewisburg so glad to hear we guessed well on that one. I'll be checking the other routes south that you mentioned in more detail.
 
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