Suggestions for stops/detours

[Parrothead]

I am in the planning stage of a ride from central Florida up to Maryland. I am looking at making the trip in the early part of May, so the weather will be pretty good .
I was thinking about taking a more inland route, maybe following the blue ridge montains up to Va
Any suggestions on places of interest along the route?

[Craigs1800Redretro]

gotta ride the tail of the dragon!!!
Robbinsville, NC

[dezzy7]

All of the blue ridge will be pretty enough, just plan your ride so you can take advantage of all the siteseeing along the way. It'll be a beautifull ride but take cold weather clothing because it wil be cool/cold once you hit the high altitudes. plan several days you're gonna love the ride.

[devil]

Take the Blue Ridge to Skyline Drive in Va. Then cut accross to Maryland

[VTProf]

Heya Parrothead,

Sounds like a great trip. I live in Blacksburg, VA about 30 miles from the BRP and am planning a reverse journey. Blacksburg to Orlando and back ... in less than 36 hours! hehe

I grew up in North Georgia and have traveled the roads between here and there a lot. Here's some things to consider. First, I'd slab it to Macon, GA and then jump on US 441. A super fun overnight spot might be Athens, GA. Lot's of great food and music available because of the U. of GA.

I'd stick with US 441 up into NC. Then, you have to make choices. I'd probably ride through Cherokee to Gatlinburg, TN. The Great Smokey Mountains National Park is a real delight!

From Gatlinburg I'd probably swing over to Bristol, TN for the night. From Bristol I'd make my way to Damascus, VA and ride US 58 through Grayson County to Volney, VA. That's a stretch of road that makes the Dragon look like a cartoon. Make sure to take the short detour to see Whitetop Mountain. It's a critical landmark in folk/country music history.

From Volney you can jump on the Blue Ridge Parkway. This route let's you avoid the section of the BRP that's closed near Mount Mitchell but still see most of the really great scenery. Remember the speed limit on the BRP is 45 and the NPS Rangers can write you a ticket for up to $500 at their discretion. Also, there is no fuel service on the BRP so plan carefully.

Roanoke, VA is a nice place to spend the night. Personally, I'd leave the BRP at Roanoke and take US 460 over to Lynchburg to US 29. This is the famous Seminole Trail (an east coast US 66) and is a delightful road. You can make some great sightseeing stops like (1) the real Walton's Mountain and (2) Jefferson's Montecello.

Depending on which part of Maryland you're visiting you can either head "left" off US 29 and visit Winchester, VA (and Patsy Cline's grave) and Harper's Ferry, WV or turn "right" and slide through DC into Maryland.

OK, that's more than 2 cents worth. Be happy to help you and meet you for a portion of your ride through this area. Send me a PM or email if you like.

Jim

PS: I have a Parrothead license plate!

[fotodan]

[quote="VTProf"]Heya Parrothead,

Sounds like a great trip. I live in Blacksburg, VA about 30 miles from the BRP and am planning a reverse journey. Blacksburg to Orlando and back ... in less than 36 hours! hehe





Hey Jim,
When you planning this trip?? I am wanting to do the IBS ride for certs myself. I have it at 660 miles one way. Doesnt that mean the trip for IBS would have to be done in under 24 hours??? Enlighten me on this, if its for a cert for you, I would be very interesting about this trip. I was thinking about heading to Springfeild Mo. and back for a cert, but going south would be much better ride, no snow or ice to worry about.

Dan

[VTProf]

Heya Fotodan!

Well, here's what I've planned. Want to do a IBA cert "double-header" getting the Saddlesore and Bun Burner on the same trip.

It's a bit rough on the milage estimates but gives a good look at the route. Basically, it's get south as fast as we can. Of course, we'd have to have relatively good weather over the region to pull this off.

Mile Instruction
0.0 Depart Blacksburg on US-460 Bus [S Main St] (South-East)
8.7 Take Ramp (RIGHT) onto I-81
41.5 At exit 81, take Ramp (RIGHT) onto I-77
74.5 Entering North Carolina
180.1 Entering South Carolina
270.9 Take Ramp (LEFT) onto I-26
323.7 At exit 169A, take Ramp (RIGHT) onto I-95
410.0 Entering Georgia
522.2 Entering Florida
643.1 At exit 260B, take Ramp (RIGHT) onto I-4
703.3 *Toll road* Take Ramp onto Florida's Tpke
745.4 Take Ramp onto I-75
897.0 Entering Georgia
1053.8 At exit 156, take Ramp (LEFT) onto I-475 [SR-408] OVER NIGHT HERE
1069.2 Take Ramp onto I-75 [SR-401]
1142.6 Keep LEFT onto I-85 [SR-403]
1237.3 Entering South Carolina
1343.5 Entering North Carolina
1381.6 Take Ramp (LEFT) onto I-77 [US-21]
1474.3 Entering Virginia
1506.2 At exit 32, take Ramp (RIGHT) onto I-81 [US-11]
1538.6 At exit 118, turn RIGHT onto Ramp
1544.8 Keep STRAIGHT onto US-460
1547.8 Arrive Blacksburg


SUMMARY
Driving distance: 1547.8 miles
Driving time: 25 hours, 51 minutes
Cost: $91.05

[Sgt Rock]

HEY VTProf,
"Makes the Dragon look like a cartoon"? Are you kidding?
That I'd love to see.

[VTProf]

Not kidding one bit, Sgt Rock. Grew up in GA riding the dragon and other less commercialized treks. There are several roads in SW Virginia that are just stunning.

Fire up your map program and take a look at SR 16 between Tazewell, VA and Marion, VA. It's the dragon on steriods. But, not a single place to spend the night, buy gas, or shop for motorcycle accessories along the 30 mile stretch.

Zip on down sometime and we'll show you around.

[Sgt Rock]

That sounds like a plan, my two wheeled friend.

We're kicking around a group ride for the end of May, thinking about routing south out of central IN to Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge, take the rookies through the Dragon to Ashville, up the BRP, and on towards DC for Rolling Thunder weekend.

Not looking for an Iron butt, just a nice few days on the road with friends.

Which map program do you use? I have mapquest but it's only point A to point B at a time and it doesn't give you routing options.

[VTProf]

Sounds great. I'd recommend that you folks ride I-64 across Kentucky and WV (make sure you fuel-up in Charleston before getting on the toll section of I-64; $6 tolls now, btw). I-64 in WV may be one of the most enjoyable interstate runs on the east coast. Lots of sweepers.

Look at overnighting in either Beckley, WV (if you want to see the New River Gorge NP) or, if you want to get down to riding twisties, in Princeton, WV or Bluefield, WV. Day two could then be spent riding SR 16 and US 58 on your way to the BRP and then down to Asheville for night two.

Day three could include a visit to Cherokee, NC (and the casinos) on your way to Dragon Land. Try to find someplace to spend the night on the west side of the Smokey Mt. NP. Marysville should be cheaper than Pigeon Forge.

On your way home consider a detour over to Cumberland Gap NP. There's a really nice local steakhouse in Middlesboro, KY on the western side of the Cumberland Gap. Can't remember the name right now though. US 25E in Tenn offer some great curves and very scenic views on your way. Then you can just stay on US 25E to Corbin KY and hope on I-75 back to Hoosier Land.

OK, that's probably TMI but I thought I'd give you some ideas to chew on during the cold, gray days of an Indiana winter (IU alum here, hehe).

I use two map programs. I purchased Microsoft's Streets and Trips for about $30. Then, got a copy of Garmin's software with my GPS.

Safe travels! Let me know if you'd like an escort through SW Virginia.

[Sgt Rock]

NEVER to much info Prof. Thanks for the ideas, I forwarded them to the the road cap and he said "cool", he has "Streets & Trips" so we will be able to get a look at the route.

Thinking is we may shoot for the dragon and the gorge (although I'd REALLY like to see SR 16, he thinks the dragon might be enough for the less experienced riders.

I've got a copy of your e-mail handy and will give you a shout when we head your way.

Rock

[VTProf]

Hey Sgt Rock,

You got me thinking about organizing a nice ride. Maybe a one day 300+ mile journey along some our Virginia's best valley and mountain byways.

We could visit Moutain Lake Hotel (where they filmed Dirty Dancin'), Big Walker Moutain (where the local "freedom fighter" repelled the forces of northern aggression about a 150 years ago), take a short ride on the curves of SR 16, visit Mt. Rodgers (highest point in VA), take on the twisties on US 58 in Grayson County, visit the birthplace of Stephen Austin (the father of Texas), and even have time for a ride on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Any weekend in late April or late May would work. Hotel rooms are in short supply in this area on first 2 weekends in May.

Let me know what you Hoosiers think!