After a hot morning shower I turned the TV on and found some local news channel. There was much talk about tornadoes hitting the Carolinas and some pretty messed-up images as well. Finally, I understood why there were so many signs of flooding in Virginia. As luck has it, however, the weather forecast looked rather good for the next few days. I figured I should enjoy it while it lasts, and so I got all my gear back on the bike, ate a small breakfast, and hit the road.
One of the reasons why I choose Super 8, was its proximity to the starting point of my ride. Within five minutes I was at the entrance to the Shenandoah National Park. The morning sun was slowly burning the fog and clouds away, and it looked like a great day ahead. The weather was just right, 54 degrees and not too humid.
As I proceeded on to Skyline Drive, I passed a closed ranger’s station. Before my trip, I read a lot of warnings about rangers being rather ‘ticket-happy’ when it comes to speeding, but since the station was closed, I figured there wouldn’t be many rangers on the Drive itself either. Still, for the first few miles I stayed near the 35mph speed limit.
The Drive was deserted and I had the road to myself for quite a few miles. There were plenty of pull-offs on the side of the road with some amazing views. Unfortunately, a camera cannot capture views the same way the human eye can.
One thing to watch out for was the number of squirrels on the road. Instead of running away as I approached them, they would just sit there and look at me, or licked the road. I have never seen a squirrel do that, but there must be some reason behind their strange behavior. Well, once I had gotten used to distinguishing their gray fur against the gray pavement, I stopped braking and started swerving around them.
Skyline Drive is a beautiful road, but can quickly become boring and monotonous, mainly due to the 35mph speed limit. The curves and twists are plentiful, but none sharp or steep enough to pose any risk at driving above the posted speed limit.
Still, I was taking it easy for the first few miles, stopping here and there, and looking around. Then, on a double yellow lane, I came behind a pickup with government plates. The driver just waved me to pass him, and so I did. The same thing happened with the second pickup I came across a couple of miles down the road. Well, if the government people don’t care, why not go a little faster? For the rest of the Skyline I stayed between 45-55, which made the ride that much more enjoyable. Except for some construction zones where they were fixing the stone walls alongside the road, there was hardly any traffic.
When I stopped at a lodge/gift shop along the Drive to send some postcards to the kids, I discovered that I like Virginia.
Last summer, I installed a pair of deer warnings on my front fender. Since then, I have not come across a single deer while riding. This was not the case on Skyline Drive, as I encountered over ten deer just standing by the side of the road, unaffected by my device, just staring blankly at me going past them. So, either the deer in Virginia are used to the traffic, or the deer warnings are a scam.
The rest of the Drive was uneventful, but filled with great views.
One thing that was very different from the North, was the use of ‘Pilot Vehicles’ in construction zones. Instead of just letting the traffic go one way and then the next, there were pickup trucks with “Pilot Vehicle, follow me” signs that would turn around at each block and guide the traffic through the areas affected by construction. Personally, I didn’t see the need for this as all the construction was on the sides of the road, and there was no debris on the pavement. Perhaps, after years of riding on frost-heaved roads with potholes large enough to swallow the front-end of the bike, I became numb.
I was expecting to pay my $10 fee for using the Skyline Drive upon exiting, but that station was also closed. So, after crossing some traffic, I climbed a small hill to the Blue Ridge parkway visitor center, got a map of the parkway, ate a snack, and hit the road again. So far, all the people I interacted with were very friendly and polite, in a genuine way.
When researching the BRP, I developed this notion that the parkway would be built on a lot of support columns on the mountainsides. I guess this is because there are a lot of pictures on the parkway featuring the handful of these that there are. The parkway, however, looks much like many of the typical New England countryside roads. There are still some great views – in fact, many times more spectacular than the views of Skyline Drive. The speed limit on the parkway is 45mph, and while I tried continuing my previous pace for most of the day, there were sections where 45 would be just plain stupid dangerous. Compared to Skyline Drive, the BRP is more winding and with tighter curves. I was really enjoying the ride.
Halfway through the day, I arrived near Roanoke, VA and decided to take a lunch break. I got off the parkway and headed to town. Nine years ago when we were moving out of Boston, we considered Roanoke, and I’m glad we did not do it. Not that the city itself is bad, but after living in NH for nine years, just arriving in any city is enough to give you a headache and to appreciate the simplicity of the life back home. Traffic, lights, noise, pollution, people…no thank you. I’d rather stay in the woods.
I bailed out of Roanoke shortly after I finished eating, and continued south on the BRP.
Except for a handful of cars, I had the parkway pretty much to myself. Somewhere near mile 170 I came across a ranger parked by the side of the road, which was the only law enforcement I encountered all day. I had no intention to bother him and he did not bother me. The only other rider I met along the way was a guy from DC riding his 1200GS to North Carolina (another ADV nonetheless). We chatted for a few minutes, and then I bailed. If you are reading this, it was nice meeting you.
My initial plan was to camp at Willvile Bike Camp in Meadows of Dan. It was around four o’clock when I reached my destination for the day, but I did not feel like staying there. I had a good ride that day, the weather was super fine, and the sun was still high up in the sky. Yeah, I can’t forget to mention the euphoria I felt all day. To heck with it, I’ll keep going. I thought to myself. And while this decision led to an inconvenience later on, looking back at the entire trip it was the right decision. Had I not make time that day, I would have gotten stuck in bad weather later.
So, after the mandatory photo op at Mabry Mill (from the Mid-Appalachia exhibit side), I kept riding south.
Towards the evening, I was getting low on gas, so I punched in “gas” on my GPS, which then led me to a town called Galax, VA. I stopped at a gas station, pumped, and went inside to get a Red Bull. The fellow at the station was very nice, and we talked for a bit. Then, when I went out, I couldn’t find my ignition key. Before rummaging through my tankbag, I had a smoke and looked over the map. Suddenly, the guy from the station comes out. “Hey foreigner,” he says, “have you lost a key?” He’s holding my key in his hand. I take it, thank him, and say something like, “Oh God, I wondered where I put it.” He turns and points his finger at me. “Do not take the Lord’s name in vain!” he says very seriously. Okay, alone in a small town in the middle of nowhere, I explain I didn’t mean any disrespect. He then tells me that it would be good for me to stick around and visit some church in West Jefferson both to enjoy the frescoes and to raise my spirit. I thank him, get on the bike, and get the hell out of there.
This is where my GPS failed me for the first time. Instead of routing me back to the BRP, I somehow ended up on the interstate. Oh crap. By the time I realized that there was no way to get back on the parkway before dark, I saw signs for Winston-Salem or for Statesville. A quick glance at the map, and I merged towards Statesville, got off the highway at the first hotel, and called it a day. So, this is the inconvenience I spoke of earlier. Instead of being on the BRP, I ended up in Red Roof Inn near the highway. Well, life goes on. I got a room with parking right in front of it, unloaded my gear, and had a shower. After dinner, I lubed my chain, checked my tires, and called devo2002 (a fellow ADVer making a similar trip). Like I, he started on Skyline and, coincidentally, was spending the night in Asheville, which is only an hour or so away from where I was. We agreed to meet on BRP the next morning and ride a few hours together.
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| Combined total day 1 and 2 |
By the end of the day my left shoulder started to ache a little, and the old torn rotator cuff was acting up. But, it wasn’t anything Tiger Balm couldn’t take care off. Overall, it was a good day’s worth of riding.
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