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A little Blue Ridge Parkway trip down to the Dragon

1

1024JLC

Guest
My life long best friend an I decided that we needed a little get away, so we decided that we should make a run down the length of the Blue Ridge Parkway and then on to Deal's Gap. My buddy, Steve, lives in South Florida so he rode his bike from Ft. Lauderdale to Sanford, FL and boarded himself and his bike (04' R1150R) on the AutoTrain on Sunday afternoon. I live in Delaware, so I left early Monday morning and rode down to Lorton, VA to meet his train when it arrived. It is only about a 2-hour ride to Lorton from my house, but I was going to be doing I-95 south through Baltimore and DC morning traffic so I wanted to make sure I had ample time for any possible congestion. I left at 5:30 in the morning and with resonably light traffic (everything is relative) and a few construction zones, I was able to get to the AutoTrain station just before 8:00am.

The train was on time, arriving at 08:30, and Steve and his bike were off and ready to go by 09:00. We fuled up and struck out for Waynesboro, and the beginning of the BRP.

The weather was beautiful, and it seemed like we had the BRP all to ourselves; we did not approach another vehicle for at least the 1st 2 hours. We stopped at various overlooks and admired the view, but did not hang out longer than to stretch the legs and snap a photo or two. The first day ended in Roanoke.
 

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Heffner Gap Overlook
 

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Calling it a day in Roanoke.
 

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Day two on the BRP was mostly riding the Central Section and was a little less interesting IMO, but it did offer some photos ops; in particular, Mabry Mill which as I understand is the most photographed landmark on the BRP. I would have liked to been there about 1-hour eariler for better light, but you play the hand you have and this is what I ended up with for my photo.
 

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Day two ended in Ashville as there was a detour that put us on the slab from Blowing Rock to Ashville. We found a hotel, cleaned up and had a nice dinner at the local Outback. We picked-up a bottle of wine and after returing back to the hotel we opened it and stood outside our rooms, next to the bikes, and commenced to solve all political problems of the day. The next day arrived with an overcast sky and a little cooler temp., but the day cleared nicely as we continued or trip south on the BRP.
 

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East Fork Overlook
 

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your photo of the mill is superb! Looks like a Hallmark card. There is more coming......right??? thanks for posting.
 
By far, the Southern section of the BRP, from Ashville to Chreokee is the best part of the parkway (IMHO). Lots of gain (and loss) of elavation and significantly more twist and turns. We were just having way too much fun to stop and take pictures. When we got to the end of the BRP in Cherokee we stopped to stretch the legs and set the GPS for Deal's Gap. I guess it was just about an hour away, and we scooted by the village of Fontana Dam and then onto a super sweet road, Route 28, which offered a preview of what lay ahead at Deal's Gap. When we made our final turn on Route 28, where it merges with Route 129 we got our first look at the Deal's Gap gas station/gift shop/motel. We were surprised how many bikes were there on a Wednesday afternoon.
 

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Something for everyone at the Gap
 

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Watch your rearview mirrors for the Land Shark!
 

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Making our 1st run on the Dragon
 

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Putting the 04 R1150RT through the paces on the Dragon. I would like to try it again sometime without full side cases, top case and tank bag.
 

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By the way, there are all kinds of beautiful curves at Deap's Gap
 

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The trip was acomplished, and we had a blast. The weather was perfect and the bikes performed flawlessly.
 

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And last, but not least, we left Deal's Gap without making any contributions to the "Tree of Shame"!
 

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great report... you were down in my neck of the woods.

if you ever come down again, PM me for some excellent alternatives to the dragon... just as many curves, but no squids.

ian
 
great report... you were down in my neck of the woods.

if you ever come down again, PM me for some excellent alternatives to the dragon... just as many curves, but no squids.

ian

Thanks Ian, I will take you up on that offer next time I get down your way. Same goes for you should you find yourself in the Delaware/SE Pennsylvania area.

Rgds,
Jeff
 
Wonderful pictures and wonderful ride. Thanks for posting. A friend and I have been planning out a trip from Top to Bottom of the BRP and Skyline Drive. This certainly helps to push the desire.

I am curious, was there anything you wish you had stopped for/at and did not? In other words, what would you have done differently now in hind sight?
 
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