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Post by Wahoo on Jun 29, 2010 22:38:38 GMT -5
Heading out on 7/1 for 8 or 9 days. Heading down to Harrisonburg, VA on Thurs, and will spend 2 days riding down the BRP ending up at Deals Gap on Sat evening. Will be using Deals Gap Resort as home base for the week as we head out on day rides all around the Smokys. ;D Should be back in OH by Sat. Weather forecast looks good, and I really need a road trip ! Taking the Wing this time....
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Post by Deleted on Jun 30, 2010 2:44:44 GMT -5
Nice trip! Have a great time.
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Post by x90rider on Jun 30, 2010 4:16:54 GMT -5
Sounds like a great trip, have fun.
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Post by xsyamahadg on Jun 30, 2010 7:28:18 GMT -5
Have a good trip, take photos !! ;D
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Post by Wahoo on Jul 9, 2010 13:53:49 GMT -5
Got home last night around 8 pm. Eight great days on the road. Except for the 95 degree heat on the slab ride up from Fancy Gap VA yesterday, the weather was just about perfect.
We left last Thursday a.m. and slabbed it to Morgantown WV, and then took 119 to 250 to 50 to 32 to 33 (I think I got the order right) to Harrisonburg VA. After a night at Motel 6, we headed south towards Waynesboro and the Blue Ridge Parkway.
Friday we rode the BRP down to Fancy Gap VA where we spent the night. Saturday we were joined by a third rider and headed south down the rest of the BRP (with side trips up Mt. Mitchell and dinner at the Inn at Mt. Pisquah) to Cherokee NC, and got to Deals Gap Resort around 9 pm on Sat.
Sunday was back and forth on the Cherahola Skyway, Monday over to Maggie Valley to see Wheels Through Time Museum (which is open once again), and Tuesday a group ride down Warwoman Road to Franklin and Highlands with stops at Bridal Veil Falls and a few other spots.
Took off solo from DGMR on Wednesday morning back over to Cherokee, and rode the BRP north up to Daughten Park area and stayed overnight at the lodge on the BRP. Thursday a.m. rode 40 miles up the parkway to Fancy Gap, and made the decision to slab it up I-77 rather than continuing up the BRP and Skyline Drive which I was going to do on Thursday before slabbing it home Friday from Front Royal. The heat on 77 was brutal (93-95 degrees) but stopping every 60-80 miles to re-hydrate helped a lot.
I've got a ton of photos but haven't had time to sort through them and resize then for photobucket yet. Will try to do that tonight and will post a link to the album.
I probably took over 100 pictures at Wheels Through Time alone. ;D
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Post by Deleted on Jul 9, 2010 16:35:35 GMT -5
Nice trip. Sounds like a great time. Looking forward to some of those pictures. I am not familiar with Wheels Through Time, what is that all about?
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Post by Wahoo on Jul 9, 2010 18:14:30 GMT -5
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Post by Wahoo on Jul 9, 2010 20:45:30 GMT -5
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Post by xsyamahadg on Jul 9, 2010 21:41:15 GMT -5
Excellent slide show Wahoo ! It looks like the trip of a life time. I saw some familiar scenery, the grist mill is one in particular. I'll take the time to give it a second look.
My dad was born and raised in the Smoky Mountains, I got kin down there.
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Post by x90rider on Jul 10, 2010 5:46:07 GMT -5
Great photos
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Post by Wahoo on Jul 10, 2010 9:38:48 GMT -5
I need to edit the slideshow. Seems some didn't post and others posted more than once. Whoops.
Too bad I couldn't get the camera out fast enough when a bear came running down the hillside in front of me north of Mt Pisqah on the BRP, slammed into the mini van in front of me going 45, spun the bear around along the side of the van, and then it took off down the hill on the other side of the road. Amazingly it did no damage to the van other than leaving a clump of fur near the wheel well.
If it had come down the hill 5 seconds later, it would have taken me out easily since it was a full grown black bear.
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Post by roadrunner on Jul 10, 2010 21:03:29 GMT -5
Wow Wahoo - you sure took a ton of photos! Saw many of them on our August trip last year... ;D Thanks for posting - loved them! Can't wait until out August BRP out of Boone, NC this year!
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Post by mschaffter on Jul 11, 2010 16:06:36 GMT -5
I am thinking of taking a trip to the BRP this fall. Any recommendations on where to stay, eat and how long it will take to ride it?
Thanks, Mike.
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Post by Wahoo on Jul 11, 2010 18:23:41 GMT -5
You can do easily the entire 469 miles in 2 days. We did, plus another 55 miles to Deals Gap the second day. If you're also going to ride Skyline drive, I'd allow 3 days. The parkway actually starts in Waynesboro VA, but we stayed overnight in Harrisonburg VA Thursday night after riding across the mountains in WV. We hit the BRP Friday morning and stopped overnight in Fancy Gap VA, to meet another rider Friday evening who came down I-77 from Cleveland. I would prefer to ride longer the first day and stay further down the parkway, but I didn't set the schedule this time. In Harrsionburg there's lots of motels off I-81. We got a deal at Motel 6. Great Mexican place next door too. Fancy Gap has a few motels... none anything to write home about, but served the purpose. There are several places along the BRP where you can stay on the Parkway overnight. Peaks of Otter @ MM 86 near Roanoke, Rocky Knob Cabins @ MM 174, Bluffs Lodge at Doughten Park @ mm 240 and Mt. Pisquah Inn @ MM 408. I stayed at the Bluffs one night on the way back last week. $95 + tax. No TV, phones or A/C, but even on a 90 degree day it cooled off enough overnight that the ceiling fan was all that was needed. There is a place to eat across the road but it closes at 7:30 p.m. Food was pretty good. We ate at Mt Pisquah on the way down. Excellent food at reasonable prices. Try the fresh trout if you're into fish. Great views too. The BRP website has a lot of info about hotels and food places nearby at various portions of the BRP. You also need to plan out fuel stops since there is no fuel available on the Parkway, but can be found within a few miles of many exits. I'm going back down in August with Mrs. Wahoo and 5 or 6 other couples. The NC section has better scenery, but the entire ride is great. Sorry.... didn't expect to type so much....
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Post by thundercloud on Jul 11, 2010 19:24:37 GMT -5
OK ,Wahoo you have got me wanting to go back! Lightning and I did BRP in the car ,a couple years ago I did Skyline on a Honda Shadow Spirit, now I want to do it on the Geezer Glide.
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