Bicycling the Blue Ridge Parkway and Skyline Drive
Sept 9, 2016 13:16:30 GMT -5
Post by rpcv on Sept 9, 2016 13:16:30 GMT -5
Warning: Long post ahead. My husband and I have been dabbling in bike touring for the past several years. We've done four supported tours and we rode the GAP Trail/C&O Towpath from Pittsburgh to Washington, DC two years ago, self-supported. At the end of last year, we started kicking around the idea of riding the entire length of the Blue Ridge Parkway (BRP) and Skyline Drive self-supported. After much training, this all came together for a two week trip in July.
We started out in Cherokee, North Carolina. The climbs in the southernmost part of the BRP are long. The first one was nearly 11 miles long and took us from 900 feet in elevation to over 5,000 feet. My husband said at one point that he couldn't figure out why he was so out of breath at one point and he finally realized it was because we were basically riding in Denver...it was just humid and green. Also, in case you were wondering: the sun at 6,000 feet in North Carolina is every bit as strong as the sun at 6,000 feet out west. We kept our mileage relatively low the first few days because of the big climbs. We also just wanted to be able to sightsee if we felt like it.
The long descent into Asheville was a ton of fun. Thirty miles of zipping down the mountain from Mt. Pisgah into town. Wheeeee! We spent the afternoon exploring downtown and eating. The next day we paid it all back and then some by climbing from Asheville all the way to the summit of Mount Mitchell. Much is made of the climb up to Mount Mitchell. It is a little steeper than most of the BRP, but even loaded with all our gear, it wasn't too bad. We camped up in the campground up there, which was pretty neat. After Mount Mitchell, our mileage started ticking up. The climbs got shorter, but were no less steep. It also happened that a heat wave started towards the end of our first week.
We took a day off and spent two nights in cabins about a mile from the Blue Ridge Music Center. If you have any interest in Bluegrass or mountain music, I highly recommend a trip. We went to a concert on Saturday night and then spent Sunday afternoon going through the museum. It is well worth a few hours of time. Back on the road, the toughest day for me was the day we rode from Meadows of Dan to Roanoke, Virginia. It was nearly 100 degrees and the rolling hills seemed to go on forever. It was also the longest day of our trip, at 66 miles. At the very end of the day, we had a ~5 mile climb up to the top of Mill Mountain, which we then had to descend to get into town. That meant we just had to climb back up it in the morning.
The central Virginia portion of the BRP was one of the nicest sections. I think, along with the area around Craggy Gardens and Mount Mitchell, it was my favorite. It is just really pretty with great views and very little traffic. There is one particular place where you get a wonderful view down the Tye River valley between the Priest and Three Ridges. Skyline Drive is a known quantity to us. We regularly ride the northern third of it. After the quiet of the BRP and the little campgrounds along it, Big Meadows seemed like a three-ring circus. Traffic was noticeably heavier and a little less patient, too. We finished at the Front Royal entrance to Shenandoah National Park two weeks after we started.
We did a mix of camping and hotels. I looked for places that were as close to the BRP as possible because many of the roads leading to the BRP are steeper than the parkway itself. My favorite hotel was the Balsam Mountain Inn in Balsam, North Carolina. It is a beautifully restored historic inn with a great restaurant. My least favorite was the hotel in Roanoke. Let's just say, if we had wanted performance enhancing drugs, we could probably have obtained them there. The night staff did appear to the the Roanoke Police Department, so that's a good thing....right?
All in all it went perfectly. I think we were all worried about how hard it would be to climb the big mountains in North Carolina with all of our gear. That went fine. It was a relief to finish the first big climb and realize that it was going to work. I carried about 30 pounds of gear and food plus water. My husband's setup was a little heavier. Our friends' were similar. We didn't any mechanical troubles, not even a flat tire.
Stats: 630 miles (includes side trips up Mt. Mitchell, down into Roanoke, and various other spots). almost 60,000 feet of climbing.
There are a few pictures below, but there are a lot more (and more details) on my blog:
Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four
The first tunnel going north on the Blue Ridge Parkway
My husband (front) and one of our friends grinding up a hill.
How can you not take a picture of this sign when you are on a long cycling tour...
My loaded bike at an overlook.
Sunset at Mount Mitchell
Flowers along the BRP near Mount Mitchell
Linn Cove Viaduct (in the background)
Brinegar Cabin
The Mayberry Trading Post. They had cold drinks and ice cream, which was awesome. The rest of their inventory appeared to have been stocked shortly after it opened and dusted only a year or two after that.
We beat this storm into Meadows of Dan by just a minute or two. We wound up waiting it out under the awning of a store there.
The BRP just north of Roanoke in the early morning.
Peaks of Otter in the distance.
The James River
The Tye River Valley (center) between Three Ridges (left) and the Priest (right).
A rainbow after a thunderstorm at Big Meadows Campground in Shenandoah.
We started out in Cherokee, North Carolina. The climbs in the southernmost part of the BRP are long. The first one was nearly 11 miles long and took us from 900 feet in elevation to over 5,000 feet. My husband said at one point that he couldn't figure out why he was so out of breath at one point and he finally realized it was because we were basically riding in Denver...it was just humid and green. Also, in case you were wondering: the sun at 6,000 feet in North Carolina is every bit as strong as the sun at 6,000 feet out west. We kept our mileage relatively low the first few days because of the big climbs. We also just wanted to be able to sightsee if we felt like it.
The long descent into Asheville was a ton of fun. Thirty miles of zipping down the mountain from Mt. Pisgah into town. Wheeeee! We spent the afternoon exploring downtown and eating. The next day we paid it all back and then some by climbing from Asheville all the way to the summit of Mount Mitchell. Much is made of the climb up to Mount Mitchell. It is a little steeper than most of the BRP, but even loaded with all our gear, it wasn't too bad. We camped up in the campground up there, which was pretty neat. After Mount Mitchell, our mileage started ticking up. The climbs got shorter, but were no less steep. It also happened that a heat wave started towards the end of our first week.
We took a day off and spent two nights in cabins about a mile from the Blue Ridge Music Center. If you have any interest in Bluegrass or mountain music, I highly recommend a trip. We went to a concert on Saturday night and then spent Sunday afternoon going through the museum. It is well worth a few hours of time. Back on the road, the toughest day for me was the day we rode from Meadows of Dan to Roanoke, Virginia. It was nearly 100 degrees and the rolling hills seemed to go on forever. It was also the longest day of our trip, at 66 miles. At the very end of the day, we had a ~5 mile climb up to the top of Mill Mountain, which we then had to descend to get into town. That meant we just had to climb back up it in the morning.
The central Virginia portion of the BRP was one of the nicest sections. I think, along with the area around Craggy Gardens and Mount Mitchell, it was my favorite. It is just really pretty with great views and very little traffic. There is one particular place where you get a wonderful view down the Tye River valley between the Priest and Three Ridges. Skyline Drive is a known quantity to us. We regularly ride the northern third of it. After the quiet of the BRP and the little campgrounds along it, Big Meadows seemed like a three-ring circus. Traffic was noticeably heavier and a little less patient, too. We finished at the Front Royal entrance to Shenandoah National Park two weeks after we started.
We did a mix of camping and hotels. I looked for places that were as close to the BRP as possible because many of the roads leading to the BRP are steeper than the parkway itself. My favorite hotel was the Balsam Mountain Inn in Balsam, North Carolina. It is a beautifully restored historic inn with a great restaurant. My least favorite was the hotel in Roanoke. Let's just say, if we had wanted performance enhancing drugs, we could probably have obtained them there. The night staff did appear to the the Roanoke Police Department, so that's a good thing....right?
All in all it went perfectly. I think we were all worried about how hard it would be to climb the big mountains in North Carolina with all of our gear. That went fine. It was a relief to finish the first big climb and realize that it was going to work. I carried about 30 pounds of gear and food plus water. My husband's setup was a little heavier. Our friends' were similar. We didn't any mechanical troubles, not even a flat tire.
Stats: 630 miles (includes side trips up Mt. Mitchell, down into Roanoke, and various other spots). almost 60,000 feet of climbing.
There are a few pictures below, but there are a lot more (and more details) on my blog:
Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four
The first tunnel going north on the Blue Ridge Parkway
My husband (front) and one of our friends grinding up a hill.
How can you not take a picture of this sign when you are on a long cycling tour...
My loaded bike at an overlook.
Sunset at Mount Mitchell
Flowers along the BRP near Mount Mitchell
Linn Cove Viaduct (in the background)
Brinegar Cabin
The Mayberry Trading Post. They had cold drinks and ice cream, which was awesome. The rest of their inventory appeared to have been stocked shortly after it opened and dusted only a year or two after that.
We beat this storm into Meadows of Dan by just a minute or two. We wound up waiting it out under the awning of a store there.
The BRP just north of Roanoke in the early morning.
Peaks of Otter in the distance.
The James River
The Tye River Valley (center) between Three Ridges (left) and the Priest (right).
A rainbow after a thunderstorm at Big Meadows Campground in Shenandoah.
