Skyline dr, BRP and tail of the dragon TIME??

[Hotrodwing]

Hi guys this was probably asked before but Iam planing on coming down from northeast pa sometime in may.  I have never been futher then rt 30 off of Skyline so i need to know,  how long will it take me to enjoy both skyline and the BRP on the way down to the dragon plus run the dragon a few times.  I was thinking 5 days down and 1 day back straight up 81.  Is this too slow?  to fast?  Plus any place not to miss or stay at.  My riding bud is coming along and he rides pretty good no as fast as Joe and the gang but better than your avg harley rider.

[Smokinjoe-VRCCDS#0005]

The Blue Ridge Parkway can be done in two days easy with several stops ( 469 miles ).Get one of the little brochures at one of the stops it will show all the mile marker's that have gas , food , lodging ...Takes about a hour to get from Cherokee,NC ( mm#469 )  to Deal's Gap. Stay at The Phillips Motel in Robbinsville, NC its 18 miles from Deals Gap ( if you drink bring it with you as Robbinsville is DRY ) .A large group of us will be in Lenior, NC on saturday 5-26 not far off the BRP.

[..]

http://www.hulu.com/browse/network?src=topnav

http://www.ncnatural.com/Parkway/MilebyMile.html

http://www.virtualblueridge.com/parkway_tour/overlooks/00011.asp

http://www.virtualblueridge.com/

http://www.virginia.org/Listings/HistoricSites/MabryMill/

http://www.nps.gov/blri/planyourvisit/camping-on-the-blue-ridge-parkway.htm

If you like BBQ here's a good gas/lunch stop

http://www.thegalaxsmokehouse.com/menu.pdf

[Oss]

stayed at Maggie Valley for four nites this summer with the VOAi and had a great time and met
a bunch of nice folks, most of whom are vrcc also

It was a good staging place for rides thru hellbender, deals gap, cherahola and other sweet
 roads

I rode alone and took a bit over 12 hrs to get home to Ossining NY from Maggie Valley  I took 40 to 81


went 26 to 40 from 81 on the way down  Made the mistake of taking 19 from 26 dont do that
  The BRP is NOT a direct route but is much cooler than 81 for sure

If I had the extra 2 days the BRP would have been nice but I didnt have the time to spare

If you want to ride cherahola/dragon Joe's recommendation is a good one

[3fan4life]

When riding the BRP I find that if I am stopping at the overlooks that an average of 25 mph is reasonable.

For a moderately paced route that allows you to regularly take in the sights, I would suggest the following:

Allow 1 Full day to ride the entire Skyline Drive (105 miles @ 35 mph) and the BRP to Roanoke, VA (apx 120 miles).

Then a Second full day to travel the BRP from Roanoke, VA to Asheville, NC (apx 220 miles).

And a third day to travel the BRP from Asheville, NC to Cherokee, NC (apx 100 miles) and then to the Dragon.

A single day is more than enough time to ride the Dragon and to explore the surrounding area.


This itinerary allows you to stop and take in a lot of the sights and maintain a comfortable pace.

If you should find yourself inclined to take any side trips you could easily find yourself arriving at your destination after dark (something that I often do).  


A single day to return up I-81 is do able but it makes for a long day.

I can't remember how long it takes to get from the Dragon to the beginning of I-81 in TN. I'm thinking about 2 to 2 1/2 hours.

There are apx 70 miles of I-81 in TN and Apx 300 miles of I-81 in VA.      



Give me a shout when you decide to ride the Skyline Drive and the VA section of the BRP.

If I'm not working I'll be glad to hook up and share some wind with you.  



    

[Hotrodwing]

Thanks guys for all the info. not sure exactly when in may still up in the air but I will be there.   I really wanted to ride with you guys in WV again this year but my daughter graduation is at the same time. Oh well  perhaps next year.    I was think of riding till I found places to stay along the way, a bit risky but this way i am not set to any schedule.  What do you think?

[R J]

All my travels around the good old US of A, (200K+ miles) I have never made a Motel/Hotel reservation.     Only once I had to sleep on a table at a city park.   About 2:00 AM that morning, the county Mountie, offered to let me sleep in the jail with door wide open.    My daughter, 12 years old at the time didn't want to do that, so we got on the bike and rode till daylight, then I found a room and we slept all day and all the next night.

Daughter told her mom when we got home that this cop told us we could sleep in the jail and that she was afraid that he'd lock the door and we wouldn't be able to get out.     

Every once in awhile I ask her about that ordeal, she said she was really afraid we were going to jail and have to appear before a Judge.

[Ice]

The last time we rode to Joe's FCR, we rode the Skyline as well as the BRP all the way to Cherokee, it took us two days from Winchester VA. We rode at a leisurly pace, with the occasional twist of the throttle  but did try  to maintain the posted speed limits on the Skyline due to the heavy patrolling of the Rangers, never saw a one on the BRP though. 2-3 for Skyline and BRP is reasonable.