Riding the Blue Ridge

The last weekend in July the wife and I decided to get out of town, so we tied the camping gear to the Trumpet and headed for the Virginia side of the Blue Ridge Parkway. If you’ve never ridden the Blue Ridge, I highly recommend it.

In southern Virginia the Parkway winds through mountains, forests, and farms. As you travel north you begin to see more of the mountain vistas and twisty roads that are common to the North Carolina side. On the Blue Ridge there are no stop signs, little traffic, and no commercial advertising to mare the natural beauty. There are also no signs to tell you where to find gas. This shouldn't be a problem for cars, but if you're on a bike you may want to pre-plan your stops. The employees at the many attractions along the way can direct you to the nearest gas station.

At the north end of the Parkway is Skyline Drive, which winds through the Shenandoah National Park. There is a $10 entrance fee for bikes ($15 for cars), but the worst part about the Skyline is the 35 mph speed limit. The views are great. Melissa enjoys the view at one of the many overlooks (picture at right). Deer are plentiful and somewhat tame, which probably accounts for the painfully slow speed limit. This deer (pictured left) was just a few yards from our campsite. One good thing about the Skyline is that gas is available at reasonable prices. Each gas station also has a restaurant, campground, gift shop, and camp store. Camping is $15 or $20, depending on which campground you choose. There is a lodge and some cabins, but they are a bit pricey. We stayed in the tent.

Some of Virginia’s attractions are the Natural Bridge near Glasgow (pictured at left), the D-Day memorial near Bedford (pictured below right), and the Luray Caverns in Luray, VA. Mount Airy, NC (the boyhood home of Andy Griffith) is a good place to stop for the night. There are plenty of restaurants and motels, and the ride down 691 from Orchard Gap will bring a smile to the face of even the most jaded Dragon rider. (FYI - The infamous "Dragon" is 11 miles with 318 curves on Hwy. 129 leading up to Deal's Gap, NC.)

If you plan to ride (or drive) the whole Blue Ridge and Skyline, plus see a few sites along the way, give yourself about five or six days.