Blue Ridge Parkway by Motorcycle

Often referred to as "America's Most Beautiful Highway", the Blue Ridge Parkway was a route I wanted to take on the Road Pickle tour.

Originally started construction in 1935 as part of the Works Progress Administration by Franklin D. Roosevelt, the Parkway was meant only to create construction jobs during the Great Depression.  It wasn't until 1987, another 52 years later, that the last section of the Parkway was finally completed.

The Blue Ridge Parkway is an actual national park unto itself, twisting and winding like a snake along the Appalachian Mountains some 469 miles, connecting two of America's greatest national parks, Great Smoky Mountains in the south and Shenandoah in the north.

Sash and I road the Parkway on two different days.

First, we jumped on at the southernmost end at the Great Smoky Mountains, but rode it only as far as Asheville, NC, a distance of 84 miles.  We stayed in Asheville for a few days, where Sash's old high school buddy Jack rode down to meet us.  Jack lives up by Wilkesboro, NC, and once we left Asheville, we would get back on the Parkway and take it up to Wilkesboro to stay at Jack's for a few days.

The Parkway has a speed limit of only 45mph, and according to Jack, park rangers remain pretty vigilant about hiding in the thicks and nabbing speeders.  The curves are sweeping, often doable at 45mph with a good deal of lean.  The road surface is clean, and for the most part is free of bumps, holes, and cracks.

It's largely smooth sailing on the Parkway for motorcycle riders, with dark shady tunnels of trees, beautiful vistas of the mountain ranges, and the occasional roadside waterfalls.

And as it turned out, a roadside waterfall that led to Jack crashing his bike...


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...Only about 10 miles into the Parkway north of Asheville, we found ourselves behind a couple of cars with one slow moving SUV in the front.  We had just come up to such a waterfall when that SUV decided to slam on the brakes in the middle of the road to get a photo.  The car behind it came to a screeching stop.  Jack hit the brakes on his Electra Glide, and fishtailed out of control when his tires hit a patch of wet asphalt.

Fortunately, Jack came out of it with only scrapes and bruises, and his bike suffered the same.  Unfortunately, none of the cars that screeched to a stop ahead of us stopped to help.  They all took off.

"You looked like a walrus that had fallen off a moving flat bed truck", I told Jack, recounting the way his body bounced and flopped on the Parkway.  He laughed, trying to imagine how that looked.

Another passenger vehicle had come by minutes later and pulled over to the side up ahead.  It was a rather tall old lady who stepped out.  She walked towards us and inquired if everything was alright.

"I actually only stopped to get a photo of the waterfall", she said. "I hope you don't mind!"

"Well thank you!" Jack told her.  "At least you did the right thing and pulled off the road first."

Minutes later, the Parkway was reduced to a single lane, as two police cars and several fire trucks had come over to check on Jack.  It turns out they weren't really here for him.  A few miles up the Parkway, a woman had shot herself in the head.  They were responding to that, when they saw Jack's bike laying down, and decided to stop.

"If anything, could you just give me a splint for my pinky finger?" Jack said to one of the firemen.  Jack had earlier reset his dislocated finger, but needed something to support it.

"Sorry" the fireman said.  "We don't have anything like that with us."

It turns out they were volunteer firemen, and didn't have the full emergency supplies.

So Sash was able to pull out a first aid kit we kept with us on Blackbird, and she managed to clean his road rash.

Meanwhile, I decided that I may as well get my own photograph of that waterfall.

We thought about continuing the ride up Blue Ridge Parkway to Wilkesboro, but there wasn't going to be any amenities along the way.  It would take about 3 hours to get there, and Jack's knee, hip, and hand was aching.

So, we opted to ride back to Asheville, and from there take the Interstate into Wilkesboro, cutting the ride down to 2 hours, just so he could get home sooner and nurse his aches and pains.

But just from the 90+ miles we rode the Parkway, Sash and I felt convinced it was indeed the most beautiful stretch of asphalt in the United States, and some of the best quality pavement at that for motorcycling.  It's not excessively twisty, though it does have its moments, but most of all its well suited for most experience levels.

More information about Blue Ridge Parkway:
http://www.nps.gov/blri/index.htm
http://www.blueridgeparkway.org/

The Blue Ridge Parkway, towards the southern end

At the Waterrock Knob Overlook, Blue Ridge Parkway

Sash loves the view from Waterrock Knob Overlook

Highway and Sash taking a short photo op

Sash and Jack following a couple vehicles along the Parkway

Some cool looking fungus on a log

Moss growing on trees along the Parkway

Jack suffered some road rash after low-siding his Harley on the Parkway

A couple of cops on their cell phones with Jack's bike in the foreground.

Sash tends to Jack's road rash

Jack with a new t-shirt on, all ready jump back on the bike.

North Carolina style barbecue is pulled pork, while Carolina style BBQ sauce is vinegar-based.

Sash on her Ninja 500R

Posted by Anonymous at 4:23 PM

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Labels: North Carolina

Location: Asheville, NC, USA