The area I am staying in (phillips hwy, jacksonville) didn't seem all that safe. I decide that I probably didn't want to leave the bike outside after sunset... So me and the ninja are safely tucked in for the night. Always ask for a ground floor room.
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Not the greatest of neighborhoods
Posted June 9 2009, 10:51pm via flickr.com.
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Day 6
What is with places that do breakfast near where I am staying not being open... Once again the place I scouted before wasn't open when it was supposed to be. Checked in tonight to a place with breakfast to avoid that problem.
The last section of the blue ridge parkway was even better then the first 300 miles. Reached the +5000 elevation mark, and broke through the fog. Jumped off the parkway at asheville for lunch. Made a beeline to Deal's Gap to ride the Tail of the Dragon. Probably the craziest road to drive in all the US. I think what makes it so different is first, the extremely high number of turns in such quick succession, and second that the roads have a crazy camber to them. For a waterloo reference, its like if you took that one turn at Hawksville and repeated it +300 times in a row in the span of only 11 miles, on the side of mountain, through a forest. It was very much what I imagine riding on the tail of a real dragon would be like. Or kinda like doing a waterslide or rollercoaster on a motorcycle. Its also a fairly narrow road, with zero shoulder. The church nearby welcomes "dragon-slayers" which looked funny on a church sign.
I definitely didn't set any records, but I rode through a couple times and really enjoyed it. I bet local riders who know the place well can fly through the turns, but since you can't see more then one turn at a time I had to take pretty slow. It was about a 2 hour detour from my direction travel but totally worth it. Tomorrow its back towards the coast.
Posted June 8 2009, 11:54pm via BlackBerry email.
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Rode The Dragon.
Drove the tail of the dragon at Deal's Gap today... A couple of times. It is something like 310 turns in 11 miles. They call it a motorcycle resort, and the near by hamlet is probably pretty well supported by it.
Posted June 8 2009, 9:27pm via flickr.com.
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Day 6
What is with places that do breakfast near where I am staying not being open... Once again the place I scouted before wasn't open when it was supposed to be. Checked in tonight to a place with breakfast to avoid that problem.
The last section of the blue ridge parkway was even better then the first 300 miles. Reached the +5000 elevation mark, and broke through the fog. Jumped off the parkway at asheville for lunch. Made a beeline to Deal's Gap to ride the Tail of the Dragon. Probably the craziest road to drive in all the US. I think what makes it so different is first, the extremely high number of turns in such quick succession, and second that the roads have a crazy camber to them. For a waterloo reference, its like if you took that one turn at Hawksville and repeated it +300 times in a row in the span of only 11 miles, on the side of mountain, through a forest. It was very much what I imagine riding on the tail of a real dragon would be like. Or kinda like doing a waterslide or rollercoaster on a motorcycle. Its also a fairly narrow road, with zero shoulder. The church nearby welcomes "dragon-slayers" which looked funny on a church sign.
I definitely didn't set any records, but I rode through a couple times and really enjoyed it. I bet local riders who know the place well can fly through the turns, but since you can't see more then one turn at a time I had to take pretty slow. It was about a 2 hour detour from my direction travel but totally worth it. Tomorrow its back towards the coast.
Posted June 8 2009, 4:54pm via BlackBerry email.
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Haven't had good cell coverage the last couple days in the mountain.
Posted June 8 2009, 1:18pm via twitter.com.
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Cruising at 5000 feet
Not sure what the highest point on the blue ridge parkway is, but was up past 5000 ft this morning.
Posted June 8 2009, 1:17pm via flickr.com.
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I was attacked!
A vicious bee/hornet... or wasp, not sure which, savagely attacked me. It squeezed in at highway speed through the 10mm gap between my jacket cuff and my gloves. Stung me 6 times before I was able to pull over and rip my jacket off. (Yesterday)
Posted June 8 2009, 1:12pm via flickr.com.
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Those Germans know how to travel
Meant to post this yesterday. Meet a german couple who have been traveling for a whole year. They have visited almost all the states and most of the provinces. Said they were on the way up to halifax to ship there bikes home.
Posted June 8 2009, 1:09pm via flickr.com.
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Day 5
Stayed at colony motel near Waynesboro, Virginia over night. AVOID staying there. Just about everything was broken in the place. Not all that clean either. At least it had a secure location for the bike since it was out of town. Cool layout though, with 50s architecture. Drove into the small town for breakfast. Place I scouted the night before was still not open by quarter past 8, despite sign saying it opened at 8. Went to Krogers instead and got 3 apples, a banana, some drinks and a sandwich.
I back tracked north up skyline dr for 50 miles then doubled back. Had lots of spots to stop and admire the view. In hindsight, I probably didn't need to do that, since the drive south on the parkway offered pretty much the same view. If you were camping though it would be a good place to visit. Oh well, I was in the neighborhood.
After I drove south on the Blue Ridge Parkway. If you own a motorcycle, you MUST do this! Covered 300 miles on the parkway so far and still have a little more to cover :) It winds up, down and all around through the appalachian mountains. You change elevation by like +/-2000 ft. It runs the ridge line of the peaks and has amazing views over the edge. When you're in the wooded sections you forget you are so high up, then you come around a corner and see down the mountain again. Basically played on the mountains all day, only leaving the parkway for gas and food. Around sunset, started looking for a motel and drove into nearest town of Blowing Rock. Cannot afford blowing rock. Drove out of Blowing Rock. Historic and fancy. Next town was Linville, staying at the Pixie Inn. Super cheap, clean and friendly. They even offered towels if I wanted to wipe down the bike... Guessing lots of riders come through and use the bath towels for that. Look forward to tomorrow.
Aside: North Carolinians(?) sound like they speak really fast.
Posted June 7 2009, 10:46pm via BlackBerry email.
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Day 4
The holiday inn express I stayed at last night was quite nice and worth the extra 50 bucks after a wet and cold day of riding. Had a good breakfest and then headed out. It cost $12 in tolls to get from wilmington to washington dc. Parked the bike underground below the ronald reagan building near "the mall". Had to show photo id and have bike searched (not very thoroughly) just to park. Same routine to go into any of the buildings.
Walked from the monument to the capitol building and then back down the other side, stopping at all the buildings along the way. Was quite along walk. American history museum was kinda boring. Wish I had more time to view the national gallery, but didn't want to stay over night in DC. The hirshorn gallery is worth a visit. Not sure what the newseum was, but didn't have time to check it out. Air and space museum planes seemed alittle to fake. Drove past the white house too. I think I got the gist of the DC tourist experience. Took very few photos.
Tomorrow I will spend the day driving up skyline dr and back, then down the blue ridge parkway. Then maybe do the tail of the dragon and call it a day. It was an absolute beautiful drive into the small town I am staying in. The sun was setting right in front of i-64 west and looked huge. People were literally taking photos threw the windshields with their phones and the like.
Posted June 6 2009, 10:41pm via BlackBerry email.
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National air and space museum has planes hanging everywhere, and cool space suits.
Posted June 6 2009, 3:33pm via twitter.com.
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Hirshorn museum, nice to see all the modern art sculptures. Had some cool acryllic boxes shipped via fedex then displaying the breaks.
Posted June 6 2009, 2:49pm via twitter.com.
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Freer gallery of art. Impressive collection for mostly one dude to have acquired.
Posted June 6 2009, 2:21pm via twitter.com.
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Smithsonian institute was just meh.
Posted June 6 2009, 1:20pm via twitter.com.
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BlackBerry got little wet too, enter key sticking. Day 3 summary sent itself while typing. Will let device dry out over night. Have spare.
Posted June 5 2009, 9:34pm via twitter.com.
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Day 3
Lots of rain today. Turns out my waterproof jacket liner has vents for breathability... W
Posted June 5 2009, 9:30pm via BlackBerry email.
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Stopped riding early today. Its wet and so am I. Staying at a holiday inn express instead of motel so I can dry my gear using the heaters.
Posted June 5 2009, 3:56pm via twitter.com.
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Forecast for today: Rain.
Glad I crossed into NJ last night, what took me ten minutes then takes 45 minutes now according to traffic on tv.
What I didn't realize checking in last night was the railway runs right behind this motel and it woke me up a couple times.
Wearing all my gear today with rain liners in, but will likely still not cover much ground.
Posted June 5 2009, 9:14am via BlackBerry email.