Follow up on all the wonderful and much appreciated comments!

To all who posted a comment and followed my latest bicycle adventure, I want to thank you so very much! I also want to apologize for not responding to the comments as they were posted. For some reason I was not receiving notifications on my Android device and only found the comments after getting on my laptop this morning. It's probably a very good chance that there was operator error involved in this:)!

But I did want to let everyone know how much I appreciate and enjoyed reading the comments this morning. It means so much to know that family and friends care and are interested in what's going on in your life. Some of our paths may not cross again while others I will probably see today. To all, I am thankful and better for knowing you. 

Durell

Greenville SC

durellkayaks@yahoo.com

Day 12 / milepost 408 to 469/ 61 miles 10 hrs 45 min riding time

The Parkway Milepost markers start at zero and go to 469. As you can see from the miles done yesterday, we completed our journey. I'm finishing the blog about this adventure as I'm sitting at home in Greenville with my wife after a great breakfast with plenty of hot coffee and a dry place to sit. Charlie has just headed back to Peachtree City Georgia. My buddy and I had another great adventure together. I'm thankful that we were both able to experience all that is encompassed on a trip like this. We were able to slow down meet great people along our way. We saw some amazing beauty both on the grand and small scales. We had great days and maybe a day that was less than great( heavy traffic)  The weather provided a mix of warm sunny days, cool evenings and some of the hardest rain and dense fog that I believe I have ridden in. The Parkway provides very few flat stretches of road. You are either going up or going down most of your day. The physical challenge of this type of tour is fairly tough but extremely rewarding. Charlie and I were both very thankful that we we're able to complete this ride. I always enjoy keeping a blog/journal of my travels. It helps me to look back and remember. I hope people reading this have enjoyed hearing about the journey, seeing the beautiful scenery and have been inspired to get out and explore!

The next Adventure awaits. 

Durell

Pics from yesterday:

We were on the road by 7:00 a.m.

I only turned my front lights on when I heard cars coming or going through tunnels. The back was lit up like a fire truck all the time

yesterday's ride had two tough climbs and we did a total of 61 mi

We started at Mount Pisgah on the top map and ended at the southern terminus on the bottom map

The sky cleared for a couple of hours

After you've been on the bike for almost 11 hours, a sign like this means fast downhill and puts a smile on your face

End of the trip. My phone died so I will have to add Charlie's picture here as soon as he sends it. 

Day 11 / milepost 382 to 408

Tunnels, climbing and great weather was the theme of the day. We came through nine tunnels today ranging from a little over 200 ft long to a little over 1,300 ft long. These tunnels have changed a little bit in their design over the previous tunnels. For some reason they started using cement walls instead of just carving them out of the rock. It's fun riding through the tunnels when you have them to yourself. They're pitch black, always a cool breeze blowing through them and usually water dripping from the walls that sounds really neat. On the other hand, when you ride through them while being passed by 15 extremely loud Harley-Davidsons it is total sensory overload :). 

 Again today we did a little bit of climbing. I think I've mentioned the climbing before :). We climbed a little over 3,700 ft from the French broad River to Mount Pisgah. We're camping in Mount Pisgah campground tonight. If you get a chance to visit this area, the campground is the best on the parkway! It's also the only one with showers. If camping's not your thing, Mount Pisgah Inn is just north of here and has gorgeous views. Here is a link to the Inn webcam. Pretty awesome views. 

https://www.pisgahinn.com/live-video-camera/

Pics of the day:

The French broad

climbing out of Asheville

snapshot of elevation gain today

view from Pisgah

campsite for the night

Last but not least. Answer to the age-old question!! Do bears poop in the woods? Yes and also on the path to the bathhouse!!

Day 10 / Mile 340 to 382

I cannot imagine a better way to experience the Blue Ridge Parkway than by a touring bicycle. An unloaded bicycle would be the next best thing but you tend to go faster without the heavy loads. Today's average speed for the 40 miles was 7.5 miles an hour. That's a little deceiving because most of the day was spent at just over 3 miles an hour. At that speed you notice a lot of things around you. You notice the smells and all the sounds around you. You get to see the fog rolling over the gaps and feel the coolness when you ride through. I saw a couple of turkey today a deer and a shrew sitting at the edge of the road scratching his ear just like a dog. I bet no one else going down the parkway today can say that! It was neat to think about the elevation we were riding at today. Everything east of the Mississippi was lower than where we were riding. Toward the end of our ride today was where we got to let the bikes just roll. Coming into Asheville was about 10 mi of thrilling downhill. Pretty constant 25 to 35 mph range going down.   Charlie's friend David Lee met us today at milepost 382. He brought us some Mexican food that was fantastic. After we ate lunch, we decided Asheville would be a good place to stay tonight. So we loaded our bikes in the back of David's truck and he took us to the nearest hotel. We will ride back to where we left the parkway tomorrow and continue our ride. 

Pics for today:

Coming up to Mount Mitchell

one of the many tunnels today

Day 9 /milepost 324 to 340

As you can see from the milage it was a short day for us. We decided that with the rain and fog that going up and over Mt Mitchell would have to wait till tomorrow. We're staying at a picnic area tonight just north of there. 

We went through our first tunnels in NC today, Little Switzerland Tunnel and Wonderland Tunnel. I turn on both headlights and taillights going through those. It's fun when you have the tunnels to yourself! 

The weather went from a mist to sun and then to a full-blown downpour and fog. It makes for a great adventure. 

Pics of day:

Little Switzerland tunnel

more incredible views with sun and clouds

Our home for the night

Glad to have the rain gear

Day 8/ milepost 292 to 324

Today was an unbelievable day of riding on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Everything came together, the weather, the traffic, the views, the climbs and the thrilling downhills. Charlie and I didn't see each other today once we left Blowing Rock. We had planned on meeting at our stopping point tonight from the beginning. We are the great private campground off the parkway with hot showers. Tomorrow night we'll be back to stealth camping somewhere around Mount Mitchell. Hopefully on the other side of Mount Mitchell. Leaving from here we will gain just a little over 3,000 ft in elevation tomorrow and we will start going through some of the 26 tunnels on the remainder of the Parkway. 

Pics of the day:

Grandfather Mountain with the Lynn cove viaduct in the background  

Riding across the viaduct was an amazing experience. 

dinner time

Day 7 / Mile post 239 to 292

Today's ride started out about this perfect as you could get. When we had to do quite a few miles today so we got an early start. On the bikes by 8: 00am and off the bikes, 52 miles later at 6:00pm. The traffic and the hills after our lunch break did a complete 180 from the mornings quiet start. The traffic probably equaled some of the heaviest that I've written in on a tour. We're staying in Boone North Carolina tonight and have a shorter ride to our campsite tomorrow. 

Pics of the day:

Beautiful start of the morning

old grave site

Charlie leading the way

Day 6 / milepost 199 to 239

We reached two milestones today!

We crossed over into North Carolina and went just past the halfway point before stopping tonight. We might actually make this! 

The weather is cooled off and it has been a wonderful day on the parkway. If I stop to take pictures at every beautiful spot we would probably not make 5 miles a day.

 Charlie and I both agree that the campsites just keep getting better and tonight we were invited to pitch our tents in the field of some of the great people we met today. It backs up to the NP campground we were going to stay at. One of their neighbors brought us watermelon to enjoy. It was wonderful?

Pics of the day:

Crossing into North Carolina

The first visitor center built on the parkway in 1937

lunch stop for today

eating watermelon supplied by our friends at our campsite

our dinner tonight in the deserted national park campground which backs up to where we're camping. 

Day 4/5 Roanoke to Fancy Gap milepost 199

Leaving Roanoke yesterday left little doubt that we were not riding on the parkway anymore. The traffic was very heavy but manageable. we were supposed to take a 29 mi detour to get us back on the parkway but Charlie and I found a quicker route. The Parkway crosses over one of the roads we were taking for the detour and we decided to make the climb up to the parkway and get back on the closed section. We unloaded the bikes and made a couple of trips up and down with gear. It was definitely worth the effort because once we got to the parkway we had it all to ourselves. 

 Yesterday was a great day for riding and stealth camping. Charlie said it was a great improvement over our first attempt on night one! It was! Beautiful picnic spot, open restrooms and a shelter to pitch our tents under. 

Today we did about 45 miles of modest climbs. One thing you learn quickly about the Blue Ridge Parkway, everyday you're going to climb. We met a lot of nice people today. A few cyclists who were out for day rides. One couple we talked to today were nice enough to take some pictures of Charlie and I and send them to us. Thanks Deb!

We also had a wonderful treat today when my daughter and son-in-law stopped by on their motorcycle trip. Caley and TJ brought us some much needed Gatorade and stayed with us for a while at the KOA campground tonight. It took them one day to do what we did in 5. 

Here's some pics from the last couple of days:

Me and Charlie making the climb to the parkway yesterday

beautiful views on the clothes section of the parkway

I have a water filter so I'm stopping at any place that looks possible and filling up. This was a great little spring house on the side of the road. 

There's so many picture opportunities. 

Me and Caley

This is the picnic area we camped in last night. You can't get much better than this!