Hey gang.

I am hoping to continue what has become a nearly annual tradition of a two-day ride down Virginia's Skyline Drive in the springtime.  This would be the third trip in 4 years, so I gess calling it annual would be cheating, lol.

For those who weren't around for the last two, here's how it usually goes.

We meet early in the morning at Winchester to start a ride down the drive headed south, stopping every 20-30 miles for pics and stretches.  Pace is moderate.  After about 50-100 miles or so we break for the day and camp, either on the AT at a backpacker shelter or at a tent site.  Then, we finish the ride by heading back the next day, jumping off and on the parkway to enjoy some of the awesome access roads.  Someday I would like to do a longer trip, but since I'm trying to defend my dissertation this summer, this won't be the year 

As a teaser, here are a few pics from the first two iterations:

SKYLINE 1.0 - 2004 - pinefield hut backpacking site











SKYLINE 2.0 - 2006  -  Big Meadows Campground (and the day 2 deluge)

 

50-100 miles per day? Seriously?

it usually takes us until 11 am or so to get moving, and skyline ain't exactly an expressway.

My fellow riders and I are all extremely wary of the wildlife and road conditions up there (both can be very dangerous), and we all want to live, so we don't pass on solids and we don't ride like we're racing for the cup.  Also, if that isn't enough to persuade, the rangers in the park have little else to do than enforce speed laws along the parkway. 

Basically, we don't ride like A-holes, which means that we cover about 20-25 miles per hour on average (including stops for photos, stretching, etc).

The first 50 miles or so are usually pretty congested and slow moving.  we spend alot of time chillin' and waiting for traffic to pass, etc.  After that we open it up a little more farther south.  Plus, the access roads up-and-down can easily each be a dozen miles of badass twisties, and I'm not factoring in for those.

Ohh, so the skyline is pretty twisty all the way down? How twisty is twisty?

Here's my analysis of the road:

Skyline drive itself is 100 miles of great motorcycling.  It straightens out only for exits, underpasses and waystations, which are rare.  The limit is 35 mph throughout the park, which is enforced by rangers with little else to do, so excessive speed isn't recommended (nor needed, IMO).  Taking the drive at 45mph or so is a pretty spirited pace in most parts.

The northern end of the drive is typically overrun with Northern-Virginians out to see the park, and traffic can be irritatingly dense on beautiful weekends.  The key is to get to the northern end early and head south, or to ride on a weekday.

The southern half of the drive is much more isolated, and traffic is much less dense.  The twisting continues all the way to the end, but the sweeping views seem to fall off a bit in this half (another reason it isn't so crowded).

The access roads are AWESOME.  Skyline ridge-runs through the park, and getting on/off means ascending/descending a mountain.  Park admission is good for 5 days, i believe, so you can exit and re-enter all you want (I highly recommend doing this). 

If you live in the area and have not gotten up to skyline, you simply must.  It's not like the dragon, though.  People actually use it for leisurely motoring, so leave your knee pucks at home 

im so in this year if i can get a pass for the weekend so that means at least 2 bikes.  i live in harrisonburg so it would be a great weekend with my dad and wife at home then ride hime at night to sleep.  do you think it would be a good pace for a begining rider cause my wife is just starting on her ninja 500.  what weekend are you looking at?  also, im pretty sure its only a day that ur allowed to move freely on and off skyline drive.

on the last trip park passes were good for 5 days 

We usually keep the pace very modest on account of the wildlife, traffic and inevitable road debris in certain locations.  Beginners would be welcome.  One of the cool things about Skyline is the many pulloffs where you can stop to wait for the stragglers, and there are no turns, so you can't get lost if you fall behind.

Right now I'm thinking April or May.  We had great luck with March on the first run back in 2003, but it can still be pretty winter-like up there in that month.  I suppose sometime next month I'll try to get a weekend picked out.

If dates work out ok I could do it, sounds like fun.   I can give a more solid reply once you get the weekend decided.