well, then... this sounds like *my* kind of road!Originally Posted by pffog
if i can go to the RA rally, i think i'll give it a try. thanks!
well, then... this sounds like *my* kind of road!
if i can go to the RA rally, i think i'll give it a try. thanks!
Burkes Garden is a must-visit, very cool little pocket of Virginia. The road south to Sharon Springs is Rt. 622/623 and it is indeed gravel, narrow with steep switchbacks and frequent deep ruts and exposed rocks, not the road to take on a K12LT but would be lots of fun on a GS!
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Route 11 South of Roanoke through Elliston, Dublin, Pulaski, down to Wytheville is a very nice ride. Beautiful scenery with sweeping curves instead of the tight twisties. Have a great ride.
I was planning to go well out of my way from WI to pick up the BRP at Buena Vista and ride it down to Cherokee-
I have never taken the BRP and heard great things. Is it really slow all the way? I couldn't stand cruising at less than 60 mph for more than 1/2 hour.
Yellow GS : Micatech Pilots, Pelican 1560, CalSci, Cee Bailey winglets, Pivot Pegs, PIAA, Touratech bits, Rox Risers, Eastern Beaver, Tourance,
You then might want to either limit your time on the BRP to a half hour (or hire a good traffic lawyerI couldn't stand cruising at less than 60 mph for more than 1/2 hour)
Yikes! It was described to me as an endless 2-lane paradise. Now I know what he meant by endless.
What is the speed limit on the BRP?
Yellow GS : Micatech Pilots, Pelican 1560, CalSci, Cee Bailey winglets, Pivot Pegs, PIAA, Touratech bits, Rox Risers, Eastern Beaver, Tourance,
45. you can get away with 9 over. tickets are paid to the US Marshall.
the real hassle is passing. the double yellow goes on f-o-r-e-v-e-r and most people just can't find the clue to use one of the 50 gajillion turnouts to pull over and let you pass. the people "saving lives" are the absolute worst. (however, it is possible sometimes to pass by *using* the turnouts... damhikt!)
on the weekdays, *usually* not a problem.
on weekends, fuggeddaboutit!
We rode it Monday from US276 up to ashville on the way to JC. Left Blue Ridge M/Cycle Campground at 7:30AM. Climbed the 7 miles up to the BRP and it was AWESOME!! Nice and cool, bright sunny morning, no traffic, 50 mph all the way to Ashville...but it was Monday morning!
As Visian says...weekends...forget it!
Vance Harrelson
MOA Ambassador/ Director
09 Rally Chair (Retired)
R1200GSA - G450X - G650GS Sertao
Hello Ted I'm orginizing a groupe of riders from our club who want to ride down together to the National. We will cross the border at Buffalo NY take Hwy 219 south. I like your route plan from Harrisonburg to Gray.
However I would ride the #219 to huttonsville WV take Hwy 250 through the Monongahela National Forest to Dowell WV and hook up to your route on Hwy #678 .
Some of our club members are on Rt's 2 up, I expect your route is all paved roads?
would this be correct? Please advise
Thanks,
Cliff McEwen
Here is how I would do it - you can break off in Saltville to 81 if you are running short in time
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I'll be leaving the Woodbrige VA area Tuesday morning after breakfast (whenever that is) and plan to try some of the route suggestions listed here.
I'll plan to camp a few hours northeast of the rally so I can arrive early afternoon on Wednesday.
Any suggestings for camping near I81, Rt. 42 or Ian's route?
Charlie
If you come down Rt. 42, there is camping at Big Falls Road on the New River.
http://www.newriverjunction.com/ At the intersection of Rt. 42 and Rt. 460 (Newport, VA, north of Blacksburg, VA) Go straight on Spruce Run Road, SR 605 At the end of SR 605, turn Left on SR 625 Part of 625 is gravel. It passes a campground on the gravel part. New River Junction is across the Montgomery County line where the road turns back to paved surface. I haven't camped there, but spent many fun afternoons on the river.
If you go down I81 or US 11, check out Claytor Lake State Park.
http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state_parks/cla.shtml
From this area, you will be about 2 1/2 hrs or so to Johnson City, TN
Have fun and safe riding.
Rt. 91 is an awesome backroad, but it is pretty degraded in the higher elevations with a single lane pave and hard-pack making up the rest of the road. You can always skip it by taking a left on (great road in its own right!) Rt. 16 in Frog Level and joining up Rt. 42 about 10 miles earlier than if you were to take Rt. 91. The entire length of Rt. 91 is covered by Google Street View (drag the little yellow guy at the top of the scale to the road and you can see the actual road) so you can "preview" it and see if you want to take it.I expect your route is all paved roads?
Go to GoogleMaps and go to this section of West Virginia. Look to the left for the little yellow "Street View" guy:
Click on him and drag him to the road you want to see:
Here you can see the road approach to the ridge lines - it is a bit narrow in this part but in good shape and lots of fun.
Here in this part you are up in the views at the top of the peak - it is single-lane somewhat degraded pavement with hard-pack sides, but still a lot of fun.
I was last through here a few years ago and my Delorme notes are that is is winding with great views and lots of "oldness" to the countryside. If you are riding fast and making miles, think about taking Rt. 16.
How much time are you allowing for that?
I was down in WV a few weeks ago and from Harrisonburg back to Danbury, CT was
7+ hours on the slab.
Thank you.
Those both look good.
Last edited by Visian; 07-07-2009 at 12:10 PM. Reason: cleanup formatting
Charlie
I plan on a 600 mile day. leaving at 6:00am should be there by 7:00pm. I did 9 New England states last Sunday, 660 miles about 2/3rds slab and was done in 15 hours.
Brian
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