Guest headjoog Posted June 24, 2008 Share Posted June 24, 2008 Top of the Blue Ridge Parkway I just spent a great 4 days in East TN and West NC riding the Blue Ridge Parkway, "the Snake", and rescuing a Ducati. The complete set of pictures and write up is located on Flickr here: East TN and West NC Trip Summary If you click on the "Slideshow" icon in the upper right, you can view the pictures as a slideshow. You can also click on the picture to see comments I made along the trip. Some highlights of the trip include: 1) 4 days and about 1,200 miles of pure riding enjoyment (except for getting caught in Pigeon Forge on the way home!). 2) Rescued a Ducati Hypermotard that had gone off one of the curves of US-421 (aka "The Snake"). Fortunately no one was injured - just a bruised ego. 3) Learned how to build a sidecar out of a 55 gallon drum. 4) Learned just how bad traffic can be in Pigeon Forge, TN in the summer. It was a fantastic time camping and riding. Be aware that there is a lot of construction going on in the area. The Blue Ridge Parkway has at least two detours, but with some advice and planning you can find some great roads. Also, there is some construction at the bottom of the Cherohala Skyway with sand, tar, and gravel. It wasn't too bad - but it could get worse. US-321 out of Blowing Rock, NC looks like a nuclear wasteland. This road is scheduled to be closed at times, so be sure you check ahead. But this didn't stop us from finding some super roads. Hope you enjoy the pictures, Headjoog Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 24, 2008 Share Posted June 24, 2008 Great pictures! Where exactly is the snake? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer BrittC Posted June 24, 2008 Member Contributer Share Posted June 24, 2008 Great trip! I camped in the Smokies a few years ago and ever since I am planning on exploring those amazing roads on the bike one of these days. I'll skip Pigeon Forge though.... I couldn't get out of there fast enough! :biggrin: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baileyrock Posted June 24, 2008 Share Posted June 24, 2008 Sounds like a great trip, hard to find a bad road in that area. :rolleyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer skuuter Posted June 24, 2008 Member Contributer Share Posted June 24, 2008 By chance were you sitting at an overlook somewhere between the Brevard and Maggie Valley Exits Saturday ??? My Wife (Green Kawasaki Ninja) and I (Red-White-Blue VFR) were going toward Brevard on the Blue Ridge Parkway and saw a bike practically like yours parked.......... :rolleyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 24, 2008 Share Posted June 24, 2008 Thanks everyone - hope you find the info useful. "The Snake" is actually US-421 around the Bristol area. We took off through Boone, NC, then through Mountain City, TN to US-421 into Shady Valley. Shady Valley, TN is really at a couple of crossroads coming out the mountains. Here's a link to the store we stopped at: Shady Valley Country Store Here's a Google Map of the area too: Google Map of Shady Valley US-421 from Mountain City to Shady Valley is a blast. Stop and take a break at the store (they are cycle friendly!) then head on over towards Bristol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 24, 2008 Share Posted June 24, 2008 By chance were you sitting at an overlook somewhere between the Brevard and Maggie Valley Exits Saturday ??? My Wife (Green Kawasaki Ninja) and I (Red-White-Blue VFR) were going toward Brevard on the Blue Ridge Parkway and saw a bike practically like yours parked.......... :rolleyes: Hey Skuuter - It's possible, as I was up there Saturday on the return trip. Probably would have been between 11 - 1, I guess? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer skuuter Posted June 24, 2008 Member Contributer Share Posted June 24, 2008 By chance were you sitting at an overlook somewhere between the Brevard and Maggie Valley Exits Saturday ??? My Wife (Green Kawasaki Ninja) and I (Red-White-Blue VFR) were going toward Brevard on the Blue Ridge Parkway and saw a bike practically like yours parked.......... :goofy: Hey Skuuter - It's possible, as I was up there Saturday on the return trip. Probably would have been between 11 - 1, I guess? Yes it would.......we saw you, and I waved....started to turn around and come back, but we were running a little behind schedule............... :rolleyes: Wish I had now......maybe see you in the future............ :dry: We were also passed by a 6th Gen (Red) at the rear of a group on the way back, and met a VFR in Maryville Friday.......... :idea3: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forum CEO HispanicSlammer Posted June 29, 2008 Forum CEO Share Posted June 29, 2008 Man is that a bowling ball or somthing in that sidebag? The way it is sagging. Next time your on the Blue Ridge Parkway and you see a RWB Viffer or a couple of little Kawi's pin it and get the heck out of there! :fing02: Unless you want 50 pictures of yourself plastered all over vfrd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 29, 2008 Share Posted June 29, 2008 +1 on the Pigeon Forge traffic, especially on weekends. You want to stear clear of there for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer wrestler Posted July 7, 2008 Member Contributer Share Posted July 7, 2008 Top of the Blue Ridge Parkway I just spent a great 4 days in East TN and West NC riding the Blue Ridge Parkway, "the Snake", and rescuing a Ducati. The complete set of pictures and write up is located on Flickr here: East TN and West NC Trip Summary If you click on the "Slideshow" icon in the upper right, you can view the pictures as a slideshow. You can also click on the picture to see comments I made along the trip. Some highlights of the trip include: 1) 4 days and about 1,200 miles of pure riding enjoyment (except for getting caught in Pigeon Forge on the way home!). 2) Rescued a Ducati Hypermotard that had gone off one of the curves of US-421 (aka "The Snake"). Fortunately no one was injured - just a bruised ego. 3) Learned how to build a sidecar out of a 55 gallon drum. 4) Learned just how bad traffic can be in Pigeon Forge, TN in the summer. It was a fantastic time camping and riding. Be aware that there is a lot of construction going on in the area. The Blue Ridge Parkway has at least two detours, but with some advice and planning you can find some great roads. Also, there is some construction at the bottom of the Cherohala Skyway with sand, tar, and gravel. It wasn't too bad - but it could get worse. US-321 out of Blowing Rock, NC looks like a nuclear wasteland. This road is scheduled to be closed at times, so be sure you check ahead. But this didn't stop us from finding some super roads. Hope you enjoy the pictures, Headjoog Hey Headjoog, Thanks for the late birthday present(June 24) great pics. Got to go up there on the bike. Been to Maggie Valley many times to snowboard. This is a view of the area I never have had. Well done. Wrestler Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 7, 2008 Share Posted July 7, 2008 Great pics. Enjoyed viewing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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