Riding the Blue Ridge Parkway

Along with my brother Tom and friend Dan Waite, I recently spent 5 days riding the Blue Ridge Parkway from its northern start in Waynesboro, VA to it terminus in Cherokee, NC. Starting on Monday, September 21 and ending on Friday September 25, we spent 30 hours and 39 minutes completing the 470 miles and 48,000+ feet of climbing.

To say it was a hilly ride would be a great understatement. I really don't recall more than 5-6 miles of truly flat road the entire way. While riding through Virginia for the first two days, the climbs ranged from short uphills and slight rollers to a 13 mile climb rising than several thousand feet. The sections through Virginia seemed to stay roughly between 2000' and 3800' but also dipped to the lowest point on the parkway at 650'. The landscape was divided between maple forests and rolling farmland. The vistas were filled with scattered mountains that stood among fields and pastures well below the parkway that traveresed the crest of the Blue Ridge.

Once in North Carolina, the landscape changed to almost exclusively that typical of the southern mountains. This included the complete range of forests from maple to beech to oak to fir/spruce. The elevations also increased with many of the gaps now not dropping below 3000' while the road frequently hit 5000' and finally peaked at 6053'. The days had multiple climbs of 5 to 8 miles and elevation gains of 1500' to 2500'. Highlights included Mt. Mitchel, Craggy Mountain, The Black Mountains, Balsam Mountains, Looking Glass Rock, Mt. Pisgah, and Richland Balsam Mountain. There were also many tunnels, all without lights, that made for an interesting riding experience, especially at high speeds.

The Blue Ridge Parkway is a part of our National Park system. The road is two lanes and the speed limit is 35-45 mph. There are no stop signs or traffic lights its entire length. It is lightly traveled in most areas but around Roanoke and Asheville it is used by locals to access other roads. Still, traffic was light.

Food and accomodations are easlily found near the start in Waynesboro and finish at Cherokee. In between, Roanoke and Asheville offer big city amenities. The many miles between require careful planning in that there are no billboards along the way announcing stores or shops or hotels. There are guide books and maps available.

I'd have to say that the Blue Ridge Parkway is one of the great riding experiences in our part of the country. Whether you ride the entire length ot just spend a day on it, you should make it part of your 2010 riding calendar.