Fall Trip 2019 II

"...its about the journey, not the destination..."

Beautiful view from an overlook on the BRP. You have to pick and choose; you can't stop at every one!

     The ride from Roanoke VA to Brevard NC consists of 292 miles on the Blue Ridge Parkway, stopping for lunch and gas at Boone NC (mm 290), then continuing down to the Pisgah Inn (mm 408) where we would meet Curtis' brother Gary. An entire day on the BRP. Heaven!

Another overlook with mountains going off to the horizon. 

     Following my habit of getting up and out in two hours, and since we had a 300 plus mile day, it was "...up at 6, out by 8..."  We had breakfast at an IHOP restaurant on the way from the motel to the BRP. On the BRP by 7:45 we cruised south, running at 55-60 MPH with little traffic. As we rode south there was less and less traffic, but it was a little heavier than usual. As we would find out, due to our taking the trip a couple of weeks later than usual people were coming to the BRP to see the fall foliage. There were places, particularly in the Asheville area, where the road is at its highest elevations, that the trees were starting to change. Beautiful time of year on the BRP!

Gary and Curtis enjoying a libation as we wait for our table at the Pisgah Inn.

     The ride was uneventful, but GREAT! The BMW'S are a joy in the "twisties." As large as they look they are extremely easy to lean into turns, and hold the line well. The brakes are tremendous, the steering is very light. I generally like to stop around 10am and 3pm at an overlook and enjoy the view. With that being said we were both anxious to get to the Pisgah Inn and meet up with Gary. The plan was to meet Gary there, have dinner, and then ride down off of the BRP to Brevard and on to the cabin we'd rented. Arriving around 6pm Curtis and I put our names in for a table, got a couple of drinks and sat down in some Adirondack chairs to wait for our table. Gary arrived about 10 minutes later.

Beautiful blue sky, puffy white clouds, rolling mountains; the view never gets old!

      After a delicious dinner we rode about 4 miles further south to the exit for US 276 (mm 412). This is a VERY twisty road with very faded lines on the road. The saving grace is there are reflectors you can follow. It is safe to say you travel this stretch of road down off the BRP at a much more moderate pace at night than you would in the daytime. US 276 merges with US 64 into Brevard, then continues south towards the South Carolina border. We had never stayed in this cabin before, and it was down US 276 almost to the SC border. The cabin itself was great, but the road back to it was 4 miles of poorly maintained dirt road, no street lights, many curves and dips, sometimes narrower than my driveway. Needless to say we wouldn't be running back and forth from the cabin and Brevard several time a day! We all made it to the cabin safely, unpacked, and settled in for the night.

Curtis looking a little the worse for wear at the Mexican Restaurant in Roanoke VA. While Gary's hair always looks neat, Curtis does not enjoy that genetic trait!

     Mother Nature can throw a monkey wrench into your plans, and often does. In this case Curtis had to be home Sunday night to work on Monday. We met Gary and got into the cabin Thursday night. Heavy rain was forecast Sunday, so Curtis had to cut his trip short. He decided to leave Saturday for the 8 hour highway trip back to his home in Chantilly VA. Riding all day long in sometimes heavy rain is no fun, and can be dangerous. Gary and Curtis went hiking Friday, and Saturday morning, then Curtis left for home around 3pm. After Curtis left Gary and I went for a really nice ride along a series of back roads, crossing the BRP several times. We had dinner that night, and the rain hit during the night. It was supposed to end by mid morning Sunday. We'll see!

Another overlook, this one on a back road that I was on Friday as I wandered around south of Brevard. Great place to sit and read for a while.