In 2006 I made a roughly 7,000 mile solo ride from Dallas to ride the Cabot Trail in Nova Scotia along with Prince Edward Island and the Vermont Rally on the way home. Turned out to be a great trip. Since it was my first ride going east, I tried to take in all the great roads and places discussed here like the Cherohala Skyway, Deals Gap/Dragon, Blue Ridge Parkway on my way north.
Anyhow somewhere north of Ashville, NC there was a detour and I ended up getting off of the Blue Ridge and on to Hwy 421 that day and then spending the night just north of Roanoke in the town of Troutville.
That evening I end up talking with a local Ducati rider and his wife in a parking lot at dinner because he was admiring my 1150RT. In discussing my plans to ride the north end of the Blue Ridge Parkway through Shenandoah National Park the next morning , he tells me of all the roads in that area including the Blue Ridge, if it was him, he would take Hwy 220 going north. The guy was so adamant about it and telling me it's a local club favorite that I decide take his advice.
It's a road I had never heard mentioned before or after that evening yet turned out to be one of the most memorable rides the whole trip. It's got an excellent surface, tons of sweepers, very pretty scenery, elevation changes including some mild passes plus it's a very long run. I started in Troutville just north of Roanoke and followed it to a place called Seneca Rocks. Kind of cool, though not sure what the significance was. Along the way I passed this golf resort called the Homestead which was incredible. After, I ended up riding it through Cumberland, MD and from there I made my way to Huntingdon,PA for the night.
I would highly recommend this route to anyone riding to the rally from the Northeast as it's a real good north/south run with no traffic. Hwy 220 is a winner.
I'll include a few pics to get some flavor.
[IMG]http://gallery.me.com/rpscott2/100312/DSC00804_1/web.jpg?ver=12441757350001[/IMG]
Here is Seneca rock whatever the heck that is
Taken north of Seneca Rocks
Here's that golf resort. Looked incredable!
Anyhow somewhere north of Ashville, NC there was a detour and I ended up getting off of the Blue Ridge and on to Hwy 421 that day and then spending the night just north of Roanoke in the town of Troutville.
That evening I end up talking with a local Ducati rider and his wife in a parking lot at dinner because he was admiring my 1150RT. In discussing my plans to ride the north end of the Blue Ridge Parkway through Shenandoah National Park the next morning , he tells me of all the roads in that area including the Blue Ridge, if it was him, he would take Hwy 220 going north. The guy was so adamant about it and telling me it's a local club favorite that I decide take his advice.
It's a road I had never heard mentioned before or after that evening yet turned out to be one of the most memorable rides the whole trip. It's got an excellent surface, tons of sweepers, very pretty scenery, elevation changes including some mild passes plus it's a very long run. I started in Troutville just north of Roanoke and followed it to a place called Seneca Rocks. Kind of cool, though not sure what the significance was. Along the way I passed this golf resort called the Homestead which was incredible. After, I ended up riding it through Cumberland, MD and from there I made my way to Huntingdon,PA for the night.
I would highly recommend this route to anyone riding to the rally from the Northeast as it's a real good north/south run with no traffic. Hwy 220 is a winner.
I'll include a few pics to get some flavor.
[IMG]http://gallery.me.com/rpscott2/100312/DSC00804_1/web.jpg?ver=12441757350001[/IMG]
Here is Seneca rock whatever the heck that is
Taken north of Seneca Rocks
Here's that golf resort. Looked incredable!
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