Best scenic route from NYC to Chattanooga, TN

Hello!

I'm planning a trip on my R90/6 from NYC to see friends in Chattanooga later this month. Most of my riding has been north and west of the city; any notions about great routes south through PA, MD, WV, VA, and the Smokies would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks for your learned suggestions!

Best regards,
Dean

If you don’t mind mountain scenery and a sedate pace, you could cover about 600 miles of that route on Skyline Drive and the Blue Ridge Parkway, from Front Royal VA down to around Ashville NC.

Did the blue ridge on the way to. last year's rally and I highly recommend it!

I did a little detour on my way to Lebanon, TN to ride route 129 the Tail of the Dragon and the Cherohala Skyway. If you do 129 I highly recommend early in the am to avoid the crowds.

Likely due to it being a cheaper way to resurface roads, but the National Park Service has been using the "chip seal" method along parts of the Blue Ridge Parkway. This method involves using cement to fill the larger "chuck holes" and then taking a hot oily tar to coat the asphalt. Then gravel (fine rocks) are dumped on the oil on the road. As vehicles drive along the surface the rocks are gradually pressed into the asphalt. Some time afterwards a road sweeper is to come along and remove the remaining loose gravel that particularly collects in the curves and along the edge of the road. After a while the road is ok again.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chipseal

But soon after the treatment one can expect for bits of oily tar to collect on the bike and get many rock chips on the body work, windshield, and frame. The road can be unpredictable and/or slippery where loose gravel exists.

This is a very poor way of resurfacing a road frequented by motorcycles. The NPS knows this as they have gotten many complaints. Electronic signs have been posted at various locations along the BRP warning that the road may be unsuitable for motorcycles and bikes.

There are many excellent roads in the proximity of the Blue Ridge Parkway. Consult a detailed map or bring your updated GPS along. Unfortunately the NPS doesn't fully show on their real time map the locations where active chip sealing is ongoing. They do show closure due to fallen trees and other reasons (e.g., Covid-19). Within the past few weeks I found the section from Tuggles Gap to Meadows of Dan (mile marker 165 to MM177) to be ok, but from Meadows of Dan to Fancy Gap (MM177 to MM199) was awful. The situation is changing.

https://www.nps.gov/maps/full.html?mapId=e212fcb5-4ff9-4787-bbe4-3d40cc0d0daa#12/36.7825/-80.1171

Some status and other BRP related info can also be found below -

https://www.blueridgeparkway.org/

https://www.facebook.com/blueridgeparkwayassociation

robsryder said:

Likely due to it being a cheaper way to resurface roads, but the National Park Service has been using the "chip seal" method along parts of the Blue Ridge Parkway. This method involves using cement to fill the larger "chuck holes" and then taking a hot oily tar to coat the asphalt. Then gravel (fine rocks) are dumped on the oil on the road. As vehicles drive along the surface the rocks are gradually pressed into the asphalt. Some time afterwards a road sweeper is to come along and remove the remaining loose gravel that particularly collects in the curves and along the edge of the road. After a while the road is ok again.

Click to expand...

When done properly, after the aggregate is spread it is rolled repeatedly with a heavy road roller/compactor. Then loose rock is swept, all within 24 to 48 hours. This is not to say that shortcuts aren't taken to make the process cheaper.

Thanks, all, for your suggestions and analysis! Much appreciated...