Ride Report: Blue Ridge Parkway, Oct 9-11, 2010

[Mr Lefty]

thats a lot of writing... moar pitchers

[Switch]

i paint pictures with words

[derf]

I wrote this for KLR650.net

I ran the BRP this past weekend with some buddies from TN. I superslabbed it to the begining of the BRP to get a campsite, they came up 81 from knoxville to meet me saturday night, the plan was to camp both nights, ride 1/2 down the parkway into NC, and split up this morning, with them finishing the ride south to Deals Gap and follow 129 home, and me taking 81, 64, and 95 back up to MD.

I showed at the campsite a few hours before them so after setting up camp and finding myself with a tent taht was in really bad shape (should have checked that) I ran out to grab a 12 pack of beer and a new tent. i was told walmart was just a few minutes up the road, a few minutes turned into an hour in each direction, but there were some cool tight twisties that lead to it, and some great views.



I show up and they are there, set up and fire started



The next morning we made some great bacon, and used the same pot to cook the eggs, which wound up tasting like bacon



Every few miles on the BRP is a scenic overlook, we didnt stop at too many of them, but some were just too cool to pass up



Eventually we came to a sign for the Natural Bridge which was supposed to be some big draw that has billboards plastering 81 both directions. Yeh it turned out to be a big mistake, although the cowboy riding the velociraptor out front almost made it worth the detour (me and Kyle, the board we know each other from is pretty childish and it carries over to real life)



Getting back to the BRP took us through an 8 mile single track two way dirt road with switchbacks up the mountain. The GS and the KLR had no problem, but the FZ1 really wasn't meant for it.





Continued down the BRP at a pretty good clip, pretty much maintaining a 60mph average except for some heavy patches of cars which we blew past at each opportunity. The GS and FZ1 had no problem powering past 5 or 6 cars but I really had to plan my passes with the seriously underpowered thumper, times like that I wish I was on my CBR. Thank god for headset communications, the term for passing is now shitville MAN! I watched a squirel try and kill itself with the GS, it ran right up to the back wheel, stopped then made a mad dash in front of the FZ1, neither of them stopped or swerved which must have really spooked the squirel pretty bad because we didnt see another one the rest of the trip.

Stopped for gas and an ass break after 100 miles. VA really has some dumpy places, in the 15 minutes we were there a dozen or so folks bought a case of naddy ice, the nastiest beer ever




Stopped and set up camp at Doughton Park, which i don't recommend, no showers or hot water, and expensive wood, other than that, its a normal primitive camp ground. There is a campground 8 miles down the road that has facilities and $5 for all the wood you can carry, which is enough to load down 2 bikes. They also sell beer there, and mustard.





FIRE!



Just need to watch out for those axe wielding KLR riders who are jealous of the passing power of the GS. Damn you BMW!!!



Woke up the next morning, skipped breakfast after the previous morning escapades and some big miles we all needed to do. Rode to the next overlook where we split up.





and trip humping my bike again



After they split away from em I shot back up the BRP into VA, took a good picture of myself with the bike at an overlook, and one at the NC/VA to add to my state line photo collection.







After that I just shot on the highway and bought some bad gas that almost left me stranded on the side of the road, changed out the spark plug and rebuilt the petcock on the side of the road before I realized the gas was a very thick shade of brown. Dumped the fuel and filled up with some fresh stuff and the bike ran fine for the next 130 miles until I rolled back into my garage.

[Switch]

I wouldn't say the FZ1 had a problem on the gravel road road... just the tires.

[derf]

Originally Posted by Bonesaw

I wouldn't say the FZ1 had a problem on the gravel road road... just the tires.

Agreed

[Mr Lefty]

Originally Posted by Bonesaw

i paint pictures with words

yes you do...

[101lifts2]

Nice writeups...looks like you boys had fun.

Derf...u is a tad hanzy. lol

[marko138]

Originally Posted by Bonesaw

Day 1, from my point of view:


As with all good trips, my ride started with planning. I had already made a checklist on Wednesday and packed everything I needed. This was new to me, as I typically just go off the top of my head. Friday is when I got the consumables. Eggs, Dry Ice, Bread. Hannah came home that night from college. She knew I was leaving the next day, so she wasn’t too disappointed when I went to bed early that night.

7:15am, Saturday, Oct 9th. My phone is making the most annoying sound I could find in the presets for the alarm. I roll out of bed and take what will be my last shower for the next three days. I feed my two dogs, Bowser and Holly, and pack my cooler on my bike. I packed everything else the night before.

I kiss the fiancé goodbye and head out on the road. Just a few miles up the interstate and I’m at Nick’s house. I make the usual loud entrance, which is quickly stopped by Nick telling me to, “Shut the hell up,” as Andrea is still asleep. In the garage, we finish the packing. Nick pulls out his headsets and asks if I have a lighter outlet on my bike. Of course, I don’t. He considers not bringing them now, but in the end we figure “what the hell, might as well.” Thank God for that. Those headsets were a lifesaver.

We depart Lenoir City and make our way through Knoxville. We ride down I-40 for a while, then we hit I-81. Our headsets are filled with meaningless banter, windnoise, and typical “guy talk.” We recollect old high school relationships and tomfoolery. We talk trash about every car we see, and try to freak out our fellow interstate travelers. The range on the FZ1 is nowhere near the GS’; only 120 miles for me on the interstate, so we stop. I don’t remember the first place we stopped, but, I do remember the second.

I really had to do number 2, so I run inside and start my business. Not 2 minutes later, some random country song comes on the radio. This doesn’t surprise me, as we are in rural Virginia. What does surprise me, however, is that the man in the stall next to me starts singing along. I tell Nick about this over Google Talk, and he tells me to join in. I would have, except I don’t listen to country.

We carry on, down the road, and eventually end up at the BRP. Sometime between where we turned off and where we needed to turn on the BRP, our headsets cut out. If you’ve ever ridden behind Nick, you know he doesn’t use turn signals, nor does he come to a slow stop. It is abrupt and without warning. Our trip was almost cut short before it began because of this. Thankfully I was able to brake without washing out the front-end (thank you Trackdays!).

We get on the BRP and take the mandatory pictures of us standing at the “Start of the Blue Ridge Parkway” sign. After this, we hop on our bikes and head down the road to the first campsite. About 10 minutes in, we start seeing what the BRP is all about: the amazing views. We pull off the road to check it out at Raven’s Roost. We walk out to the precipice in full gear, amongst the other tourist. We drew some looks, but most of the attention was focused on the view. We notice there are climbers here as well, and joke about cutting their support lines.

We carry on after the pictures. 20 something miles later, we stop, finally, at Montebello Campground: mile marker 27 on the BRP. We arrive at the site and find that Fred is nowhere to be found. The only trace of him is a decrepit tent, hastily put together, with the wrong length poles.

Nick sets up his tent and we ride our bikes to the local store. The store is definitely interesting. It has the feel of a General Store of days gone by. We get some firewood, marshmallows, and bug spray. Nick requested I get him chocolate, so I obliged since he was sharing his tent with me. The cashiers were a team of a sweet older lady with gray hair in a denim vest and a younger woman, mid-30’s, with a long blonde braid and a plaid button-up shirt. Neither of them seemed to fit in with the landscape. Perhaps transplants from another life, just trying to “get away from it all.”

We get back to the campsite and start our fire for dinner. Fred meets us, finally, and shows up with a 12-pack of Yuengling and a 3-man tent. We decide, after much argument, that I will share the tent with Fred as his tent is bigger than Nick’s. We change out of our riding gear and start dinner: Chili Dogs. We filled the Dutch oven with water and cooking oil, threw the Hebrew National hot dogs in, and put the lid on. Nick opened the chili can and set it on the grate above our fire. 10 minutes later we were feasting on the best chilidogs I’ve had in my life.

After dinner, Nick took a shower. Fred and I shot the shit and roasted marshmallows. After Nick got back, I decided to take a shower. When I got in, I was alone. After I finished my shower, which was more of just a rinse since I had no soap or shampoo, I hear this voice , “Are you done?!” I think it’s Fred and I respond “yeah.” The raspy voice then questions “Is there any hot water?” I now know it isn’t Fred and become very short. I respond with a simple, “Yes.” The stranger replies: “Oh good, cause I’ve been in these places where there is no hot water!” I do not reply.

I grab my towel, dry off, and put on my clothes in the stall. I walk over to the mirror to dry my hair and make it somewhat presentable. The stranger walks out of the stall from taking a dump, wearing no pants, no shoes, only a t-shirt, and walks right into the shower. I found this strange, to say the least.

I return to camp and know that I have to sleep well tonight, so I take a couple Benadryl and wash it down with a beer. We talk some more, and are interrupted by a dog running through our camp site. This is shortly followed by a somewhat distant female voice saying “I swear, your only job was to was to watch her! You can’t even do that right! Go find her!”

A man appears shortly and I say, “Your dog is down there,” pointing in the general direction of the dog’s path. Later, the same man asks if we have any extra “fire starters.” I tell him that we used pine needles, which are abundant all around our campsites. He replies with “Well, good God, I’m not a woodsman!” I am instantly disappointed with his manliness. We later see, what I presume to be, his son spraying some kind of flammable aerosol on their fire and saying “I GOT IT STARTED!” Way to go kid.

After this excitement, I go to bed. I toss and turn all night, and my face is cold throughout the night. I may have gotten 6 hours of sleep, but I am constantly woken up by the campsite noises. I wake up the next morning with back pain and a headache.

[ontwo]

Looks like a good time.

[Switch]

You guys that rode it might wanna check this out:

http://brpfoundation.org/end-to-end/