| Author | Message | ||
     Deadduck |
My original plan was to take a four day trip around the Appalachians leaving out Wednesday and coming home Sunday. Due to the weather that had crashed down on the southeast, I decided to wait a day to see what the next blast of thunderstorms were going to do. I got up early anticipating the ride and checked the weather...cloudy with a chance of rain for the day, then clearing for the weekend...perfect. I had loaded the bike down the night before so I could just warm her up and go,, and that' exactly what I did. I hadn't been out on a ride like this since I was single, some 12 to 15 years ago, but I was confident that everything would work out perfect. My plan was simple, go north on the eastern side of the mountains to Virginia, running the Blue Ridge Parkway along the way. By 6:30 A.M. I was on the road, the sun was just starting to brighten the cloudy skies overhead and slowly burning the fog off the ground. The first leg of the trip was mostly slab until I could get up into the foothills past Clayton Ga., and then I was off on my no slab adventure. Around 8:00 A.M. I was approaching my 2 lane destination, the clouds grew darker and threatened to poor on me by spitting out just enough rain to clean the bugs off my helmet shield. After a short stop in Clayton for fuel and breakfast I set out on my journey. My destination for the day was to make it to the Meadows of Dan in southern Virginia where I planned on camping at a motorcycle resort. So off the 4 lane I got my first glimpse of the beauty that was soon to come as I headed to Highland N.Carolina. Simply breathtaking is the only way I can describe the first overlook I came up to  The clouds were low in the valley, signs of rain off in the distance, but still beautiful. Along this stretch of road, delivery trucks, dumptrucks, and all sorts of other traffic were in a hurry to make it to their destinations in Highlands. Out of Highlands I took Hwy. 64, the road was under construction and the pavement was really rough, not the most enjoyable road to be on, but at least I wasn't at work. Traveling northward I was greeted by large trucks flying around blind corners toward me, so needless to say, I hugged the white line for most of the trip up to Brevard. Going through the little college town of Brevard, I decided to re-evaluate my route and fill up the gas tank. On the map I noticed a small national park road that would take me over to the BRP, and I figured I'd take my chances up there rather than deal with all the traffic on the main roads. Hwy 276 north gave me an opportunity to see what a book I read was describing about the serenity of the park roads that N.Carolina had to offer. 276 starts off in the valley and gently winds along the river for about 5 miles, then you come to the first pull off. On the right side of the road was a waterfall coming off a cliff face of about 40 feet. The truck that was in front of me was kind enough to pull over at this point where I took the opportunity to start my winding journey to the top of the mountain. After the waterfall, the corners start to tighten up pretty good allowing me to enjoy the Firebolt for what it was intended for...curves. Nearing the top the road starts to twist into a series of switchbacks and hairpins free of gravel and good asphalt, my first chance to really lean the new Corsa III's into the sidewalls. At the top of the mountain you come up on a overpass built of arched stone, carefully cut and placed to support the road above, the Blue Ridge Parkway. This stretch of road had absolutely no vehicles on it, it was just me and the road for about 40 miles heading toward Asheville.   | ||
| Buell78758 |
Dude, great ride and post. Congrats on your first big ride in so many years, feels great right? I rode to GA for March Badness, first big road ride for me in 10 years. Was a great trip, but that road in NC you were on looks incredible. Ride on! Christian |
