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Blue Ridge Parkway to the gap


Killer_kaw

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3 minutes ago, Killer_kaw said:

Thinking of leaving Monday and running the length of the Blue Ridge Parkway Monday and Tuesday. Just because I’ve never done it.  Who has done it?  What should I know?

It's a beautiful ride, but it gets repetitive after a bit. Same old scenery. Avoid rush hour on it, traffic can suck. Should be clear of tourists bit expect pockets of slow movers.

I would not haul ass on it. Tickets on it are super expensive. Plan your gas stops, you have to hop off to do it. A GPS with gas stations is helpful so you can find them.

Edited by Tonik
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I've done it both ways a couple times if you stick to no more than a 10 over pace you can have a good time and not draw attention. There's rumors they did some tar and chipping in sections of Virginia. Check out the Blue Ridge Parkway website for road conditions and I believe there's a map that tells you the gas exits. The I-77 area is about the halfway mark. Plenty of hotels in the area I always stay at the Knights Inn in Galax because it's really inexpensive. Not top-of-the-line accommodations but clean and inexpensive.

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I’ve only been on a little piece of it at the southern end. I think it’s 45mph the whole way. Found the fuel map. Shouldn’t be an issue the Vaquero seems like it’ll do over 200 miles on a tank easy at that pace.  Thinking 250 all the way to the northern end of BRP then 100-200 miles of the parkway on Monday. 

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Run the BRP many times. I only seen a few cops/ rangers. I have had a couple of them flash their lights at me to slow down. The traffic isn’t usually too bad during the week. We are going to jump on it Wednesday morning around Galax and run it to the end in Cherokee. The lower half is the best part. Lots of short tunnels.

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Every two years I ride the BRP south with the wife and her spyder. I would skip skyline drive,. save it for a short trip. 219 is a nice route down thru WV. to 250 will take you to the north enterance. The lodges are great places to eat and stay. Also hit little Switzerland, NC. Great place to stay/eat is (the little Switzerland inn) On top of the mountain. If you get tired of the parkway and need a break jump off and stay in Floyd, VA. Hotel Floyd has live bluegrass playing on the grounds and Dogtown Roadhouse has live classic rock and great food. If you need to make time 221 south will get you out of Floyd and moving. Back on the parkway south Tuggles Gap Rest/hotel is great also.If you make it down to the 58 intersection you have the (Meadows of Dan) Campground if you are into tent camping. Good Luck and enjoy.

 

 

Edited by B-Mac
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1 hour ago, Tonik said:

It's a beautiful ride, but it gets repetitive after a bit.

This was my feeling after a couple hours on it. I rode it for a good distance my first trip to the gap. The reduced speed of 45mph didn’t bother me on the parkway. It was almost another world up there. I enjoyed it and I hope you do as well. I was typically 5 over maybe 10 at times. 

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47 minutes ago, max power said:

 Would like to take the wife for a ride up there if it’s not too far from where we’re staying 

Not terribly far you just have to go through the GSMNP to get there. 

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I rode the BRP last year with my wife for a hundred miles or so, then took 421 back North and spent the night in Bristol. 

While I had a ton of warning about LEO presence, I didn’t see any during my time on it. And yes, the speed limit is low. But I stayed at comfortable speeds of 10-15 over, and got lucky to not have haf any trouble. I’ll tell you though, that pavement and those curves just beg you to take them faster.

Its a beautiful road. And mid-week, traffic wasn’t bad. But just the threat of a ticket kind of tempered my enthusiasm. Still worth the ride though. 

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