Waynesboro to Roanoke, Thursday, 30 August 2012, Day 87

Blue Ridge Parkway Waterfall

Today I start the infamous Blue Ridge Parkway ride I had decided I needed a sleep in and today was going to be a short day in the saddle. I sort of slept then I decided to get up and fettle with the bike as it was about time I adjusted the chain as it was getting a bit sloppy and as I am being forced to go at quite slow speeds for the next couple of days the chain needed adjusting. This took a while as the person who had tightened the bolt the last time this was done must have been a gorilla I was practically jumping up and down on the spanner with all my weight and the thing still would not loosen. Finally loosened the nut and adjusted the chain well I think it’s adjusted I never know how tight or how loose to do the chain so probably did not change it that much I am quite inept at these sort of things. Talking of inept and gorillas well you never guess what I found whilst fettling on bike. Remember a couple of weeks ago I noticed a bolt missing that held on the petrol tank and was not sure if it had worked itself loose or was just forgotten to be put back after the last service well the answer was it was omitted to be put back after the last service as I found it in the tray under the seat. Bad Show Aurora Motorcycles Seattle I take back some of the praises I gave you a month ago.

Blue Ridge Parkway VA

    

 

After sorting the bike out I took a shower as it was already hot and then hit the road at about 11am stopping at Subway for some breakfast before hitting the Blue Ridge Parkway. Nice day in the saddle very pretty and picturesque cooler up in the mountains than in the valleys heading for a place called Roanoke which is the one of the more populated areas around the parkway and I have a voucher for a motel there. Got there about 4pm ish and boy was it hot down out of the hills I checked in but could not be bothered to do much eventually I decided to head in town on the bike and I regretted this as soon as I started it was 7pm and it was still above 30 degrees centigrade to hot to do anything comfortably so change of plan supermarket for me dinner and back to the motel to veg in an ac room. Sounds easy but the GPS started playing up and I had no idea where I was or where there was a supermarket and god it was so damned hot.

Finally found a supermarket and on my way back to the motel I went and then I locked myself in the room with me dinner and I did not reappear till the following day spent all evening watching the goggle box which was a nice change as that was all I could be bothered to do that evening.

Roanoke to Asheville, Friday, 31 August 2012, Day 88

Blue Ridge Parkway

Day 2 on the Parkway well I had to find my way back on to it first. Crap breakfast at the motel first and then to the Parkway. I cross a bridge and see that the view is very pretty so do a U turn pull up and start taking photos. I look in my mirrors and what do I see. Red and blue lights unmarked police car ooops you just been nicked my son. Good morning officer (best English accent) license please sir? it is not looking good. I confused him with me being English and having Dutch license and after admitting that U turn was not such a good idea but I thought I could stop anywhere on the Parkway to take pictures seemingly not on bridges. He seemed to warm to me after a while he got all chatty telling me that 25 people had commited suicide of this bridge this year alone! I assured him I was not suicidal (Just a tad grumpy) and then he started talking about a paranormal show on the television that said that there was an entity wandering around below this bridge. By now I am guessing I am getting of with a warning as he handed the license back to me and is now  giving me the tourist low down on the Parkway. Next problem I had is how do I turn around and go in the direction I want to so he says just go of the bridge and do a U turn there which is also across a solid white line but that’s OK. Say Tata do another illegal U turn in front of him and head of into the distance. Whilst all this had being going on only one other car had passed so it not as if there was a lot of traffic that I was putting at risk but it was a fair cop I was wrong to do the U turn and stopping on bridge a bit naughty as well so I was lucky to get of with a warning so Thank You officer and you have a good day 🙂

Another excellent day in the saddle, which got better as the day went on. Speed limit today 45mph which is much better than yesterday 35mph and after my run in with the copper I stuck to it quite religiously for most of the day meaning I was not covering a lot of distance quickly but pleasant enough at these speeds load of corners and gorgeous vista and very little traffic. Later in the day it tried to rain on me and did very briefly but it stopped as quickly as it had started the roads where wet so it had been raining and this made the ride a bit more challenging as the road was a mixture of wet then dry and then wet again so not sure how hard to push it in the corners but jolly good fun none the less. Yesterday I decided to have a break in the afternoon high up it the hills, as it was cooler and just enjoy the scenery with a drink and a chocolate bar but problem with pretty places there is always something that spoils them and this time it was mosquitoes and black flies so that break was vey short lived. Tried again today and this was more successful and while enjoying the silence in the middle of nowhere (I jumped every time I heard a twig snap) I put the word hostel into my GPS which was now working again and it threw out a hostel 160 miles away but on the Parkway so I decided that was going to be my new destination further than I was planning to go today but doable it I got a move on however difficult when there is a 45mph speed limited and the scenery just keeps getting better and better with rain and rainbows thrown in for good measure. I reached the hostel at about 7.30pm ish and I was on the road pretty early this morning so long ride today yes they had a bunk for me so I was glad I pushed on through before it started to rain I was falling asleep at the wheel so I should have stopped much earlier but I am here now a short walk to the supermarket to get some tea and then back to the hostel and working on this again. Its is now 11.30pm and I am cross eyed so beddy byes methinks.

  

Asheville to Robbinsville, Saturday, 1 September 2012, Day 89

Old and New at Wheels through Time

Skyline Park was a nice ride

Blue Ridge Parkway first 300 miles a pleasant ride

Blue Ridge Parkway last 150 mile it just got better

(British Understatement)

  

A bloody good day in the saddle I did not too many miles today but they certainly where good ones. I stopped of at a great little museum called Wheels Through Time I was not sure what to expect but it turned out to be an excellent and a fascinating place. I have a confession to make that to be honest I am not a huge fan of Harley Davidson’s and this museum was all American motorcycles so I was expecting another Harley Davidson shop type experience fortunately it was nothing like this and I am going to revise the above statement as I actually do like Harley Davidson’s but only the old ones and this place certainly had a great collection of these. So I spent an enjoyable hour or so just hanging around this place https://www.facebook.com/wheelsthroughtime

      

      

      

I even got an honorable mention on their Facebook Space. The policeman I nearly got nicked by at the beginning of the Blue Ridge Parkway was certainly right about the last 80 odd miles being the best lovely scenery if I have not already mentioned this.

I made tracks to a place I had seen on the Horizon Hubb website where they was going to be a rally the following week and saw it was a motorcycle only resort with camping, cabins, hotels and what appealed to me was that they had a bunk house so I made tracks to there.

Great Ride

http://www.ironhorsenc.com and yes they had a place in the bunkhouse so in celebration I sign myself up for a steak dinner as well mmm lekker.

Motorcycles only lodgings

Interesting place on a little stream large area that was a restaurant and all the cliental all bikers. Pleasant evening round a campfire shooting the breeze with some southern folks passing the jam jar with moonshine in (yes I had a little sip as it would be rude not to so that is yet another month without a drink so not only is Philly dry but the county we are in is also dry so no booze for sale at the resort so everything brought in from the county down the road which I found very strange) Also this place had a large porch with loads of rocking chairs so spent some there trying to understand a conversation about fishing in a southern drawl so not much comprehension on what they are taking about I am not sure if was the topic or the accent I did not get so I hit the sack debating on whether or not  should I come back next week for the following rally http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/meetings/USAEast2012.php

But probably not as I am not one for doing U turn or coming back to places straight away I do like to keep rolling forward.