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!

Day 3 / mile 86 to 112

Today's ride was completely different then yesterday's. We started off in clear weather and remain that way the entire day. We dropped about 2,000 ft in elevation also. This wasn't a total downhill run but more of a drop 600ft climb 300ft kind of day. We had to get off the parkway at mile 112 due to the closure of the road. Tonight we treated ourselves to a SpringHill suite. It's awesome!! Charlie says this is his form of stealth camping. From here we've mapped a route to get us back on to the parkway at about mile marker 135. In case I haven't mentioned it before the Blue Ridge Parkway has mile markers the entire length from mile 0 to 470. It looks like the next several nights we'll be back to camping. Charlie has made me promise that our stealth camping locations will be better from here on out! After you see the pictures of his bug bites you'll see why! Another day of kind people along our route. I reached the top of one climb today and there was a woman with a fresh gallon of water and a large cup of ice waiting on me. She said, hey Durell,  Charlie told us you were coming and this is for you.  Even though these days have been very challenging physically the rewards far outweigh the difficulties. Looking forward to what's coming down the road tomorrow. 

Some pics from today's ride:

Peaks of otter campground where we stayed last night

Interesting history of the area and view of the valley

a small milestone, mile marker 100

these were the kind ladies waiting on me with ice and water

For some reason the red bugs really liked Charlie. 

tonight's campsite! Thank you Marriott

Day 2 / mile 43 to 86

I won't be able to post this blonde till in the morning. We're camping at peaks of the otter campground tonight and no cell service here. 

It was a great day of riding for me and Charlie. We started off today in light rain which changed to a very hot sunny day and then change back to hard cold rain by the end of the day. Today's focus was on the 25 Mile climb we had ahead of us. We were on the bikes for about 9 hours today. The scenery is gorgeous here. Even though I have to admit portions of today I never looked past my front tire. By around the 65 mile marker I was just trying to keep the pedals moving. The summit of the climb was that mile 76. I didn't see Charlie today once we left James River. His bike has a little bit higher gearing and he climbs faster than I do. 

Several people offering water today and any assistance that we may have needed. I was glad that I brought my water filter. I was able to refill bottles wherever I found a good water source. 

It's nice to have a real campsite tonight. No showers but they do have sinks, toilets and bear boxes. 

Pics for today:

Starting out the morning ride

Our first tunnel

James River

Overlook where you can see the road we came from and the valley

Picture of the James river valley in the background

Starting into the fog just before the heavy rain. I wasn't able to take a picture during the hardest part of the rain but it was really cool and welcome

Day one of BRP / mile 0 to 43

 We are finally on the road. Got kind of a late start this morning due to the heavy rains in the area. Started heading south at about 9:45. The rain turned to heavy fog and missed that actually felt pretty good to ride in. I'm not exactly sure how many feet we climbed today but it seemed like a lot and the real climbing starts tomorrow. Already, one of the best parts about bicycle touring began today. People showing random acts of kindness to complete strangers. 

Charlie and I met a man named Freddy who works on one of the road crews here on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Super nice guy, he gave us a couple of bottles of water and wished us luck. That happened to us a couple of times today. 

We made it to about mile 43 today. 

We had a great supper with Chili Mac and Gatorade.  I was actually able to get a pretty good bath tonight which felt great.  While we're eating tonight two trucks with bear dogs came by. They could smell us because they sounded off when they went by. They came by three more times with the dogs sounding off every time. Finally they stopped. So much for our first night of stealth camping. We started flashing the lights so they would know that it was not bears but us. Fortunately they didn't let the dogs out and the rest of the night has been quiet.

 James River is coming up tomorrow and we go from the lowest point of the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia to the highest point tomorrow. Nice and cool here tonight with a light fog and breeze. Below our some pics from today. 

*Charlie and I at the start Miles zero

*Third picture is one of the pretty farms next to the parkway

*There's an old railroad that was used to transport timber out of the forest built in 1910

*Our home for night one

*Our friend Freddy