Skyline Drive and Blue Ridge Parkway

[MikeZ]

Planning a long weekend trip with my fiancee.  Plan to go from Baltimore to Roanoke in 1 day then Roanoke to Charlotte NC and hang there for 2 days then back to Roanoke then to Baltimore.
Anyone run the whole Skyline/ Blueridge trip between Baltimore and Roanoke?
Looks like the start at Front Royal and ends right before Roanoke.  Almost 8.5 hours according to google maps.
How realistic is that 2 up?  This will be by far our longest trip on 2 wheels.
Other option I was thinking is take Skyline Drive down then slab it down 81 from Waynesboro to Roanoke then hit Blue Ridge Pkwy on the way back from Roanoke to Baltimore then slab it once past Waynesboro. 
Also doing this on the Tiger.  Just doesn't seem possible on the Duc.
Any thoughts positive or negative about this half ass plan?

[Slide Panda]

Just be aware that your pace on those roads will be very very reasonable or you will get a ticket. They are parks land and patrolled by rangers in addition to the possible presence of local LEOs.

So keeping in mind it's a tour - it's really really pretty! As long as your comfortable 2-up for that long i don't see that being an issue. Just make sure your preload is adjusted for the extra mass. There's decent hills so the tail will compress a good bit on the bottom transitions.

You might want to figure in a night stop part way down.. it's a long way from balto - and sunrise in the mountains can be epic!

[MikeZ]

I'm more of a sunset guy then sunrise. 
I am anything but a morning person but thanks for the info.
I'll have too see how easy it is to adjust my suspension a bit.  The tiger mainly see's 2 up riding so probably best to set it for 2 up and just deal w/ it when alone

[Curmudgeon]

Hmmm... Have done the BRP end-to-end 5 times when my son was young..., but BIG. Always cut the Skyline because it's 35 MPH and VA-patrolled. The BRP is 45 MPH and US Park Service. Watch it from Waynesboro to Lynchburg. After that you can go faster. Rangers aren't too bad as long as you're not doing 80 MPH or crazy stuff. A buddy was booking it two weeks ago between Roanoke and Lynchburg. The local cops are looking for revenue when you get off the BRP for gas, so watch it.

We were on a K100RT and later a K100RS 16/ABS fully loaded. 400 miles was doable and 500 was getting painful. The BRP is 479 miles long BTW and ends near TN. When you have the time, base yourself in Asheville for a couple of days. IMO the best part of the BRP is from Boone, NC to Mt. Pisgah.

Two weeks ago would have been better. The kiddies are out of school now. Avoid Saturdays and Sundays or you'll think you're on a tree-lined NJ Turnpike.

Try taking backroads down to Waynesboro. There must be some decent ones west of DC. People here should know.

Which Tiger? My local Triumph mechanic (retired engineer who works on lots of Richmond area Triumphs) is a total Tiger nut. Too tall for me.

[MikeZ]

Thanks for the info.  Didn't realize skyline was that slow.
It's a 2010 Tiger 1050
Ashville is on the must visit list but will probably be next year.
If schools make much difference then I might push the trip to the beginning/ mid Sept.
I think we're going to try a 3-4 hour trip out west in 2 weeks just to see how that feels and see how possible 5-8 hours would be.

[Slide Panda]

Dusk and night = animals. So you might be a night person, but so are they. A shift of a couple hours to the early side isn't a bad plan when you're in 'the country'

[MikeZ]

I ride country roads all the time (North Baltimore and Harford Counties) and I'm pretty used to keeping a sharp eye out for animals but I'll probably keep most of the riding to full daylight hours.

[Curmudgeon]

Thanks for the info.  Didn't realize skyline was that slow.
It's a 2010 Tiger 1050
Ashville is on the must visit list but will probably be next year.
If schools make much difference then I might push the trip to the beginning/ mid Sept.
I think we're going to try a 3-4 hour trip out west in 2 weeks just to see how that feels and see how possible 5-8 hours would be.

Third week of May and third week of September are often prime for both the flowers and fall leaves but hard to time due to rain and drought. It's a different climate out there and at 2,000' - 3,000' those mountains catch a lot of rain which never makes it to my house ~ 60 miles east @ 200'. May is the best. For autumn leaves you still get the motorhomes even after the kiddies are back in school.

One advantage of being retired, I can jump when the weather is nice!  Yesterday was perfect and today is lovely warm, but a heat wave starts tomorrow for ~ 10 days. Good thing my TV works and I can watch F1 and the Tour de France instead!

Slide is right, especially in NC. Rare, but you can come around a turn and find a bear sitting in the middle of the road!

Some of the CAM guys recently discovered the roads of Nelson County. You might want to PM DRKWNG for the route they used. I know he was impressed. If you do that and pick a nice day, I'll meet you in Nellysford for a good lunch. http://www.ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=1506.msg1073228#msg1073228

If you still have some strength after that and are on the Tiger, you can pick up Rt. 56W south of the brewery and ride the severe twisties uphill onto the BRP and can ride it up to Waynesboro. Then you could head back from there on roads the CAM boys used. http://binged.it/OxdEYq

[MikeZ]

Retired must be nice.  I'm 40 so still have a few years left to work.

Thanks again for the info.  I'll will be using all of it when I figure out my routes

I'll let you know when I work out the plans and see if we can meet for lunch.  Always cool to meet new folks from around here

 

[Curmudgeon]

Retired would be nice if all my body parts worked!  Long story. I was in retail for 40 years before pulling the plug and was already toast. Yesterday's ride was better than today's.

Pick a nice day and give me some warning. I'll try to round up a few locals who can play hooky.

[ManaloEA]

I wouldn't mind a ride like this... but need some notice. My dad has been in the hospital for the past week, and I'm trying to keep my calendar clear in case I get "the phone call"... in which case, (no offense) I turn tail and head north.

btw Curmudgeon, I ordered the Ducati touring seat to see if it makes a difference. Maybe I can survive more than our warmup route.

[Curmudgeon]

btw Curmudgeon, I ordered the Ducati touring seat to see if it makes a difference. Maybe I can survive more than our warmup route.

Sorry to hear about your dad.

If you haven't already bought the touring seat, you really should try the Sargent. That you can always send back within 30 days if you don't like it. On a 696 you also get the tool, document canister which doesn't fit the 796/1100 due to the flapper. I tried the touring seat and found that it was taller and had more foam but was still "downhill" into the faux tank vs the Sargent. http://www.sargentcycle.com/ducws6961000.htm Either way, good luck! Even with my Sargent, ~ 300 miles is my limit and that's with a few breaks. That's geriatric-related of course.  BTW, the Sargent is taller than stock but lower than the DP touring seat.

[ManaloEA]

Thanks for your regards, Curmudgeon.

I figured I would order the DP touring seat first, and see how it felt. If it works, great. If it can be improved slightly to work, great. If not, I can return it and order the Sargeant. Since I saw yours, I kinda get an idea of what to expect. Hopefully USPS will not leave it on my doorstep in the rain this weekend.