Ups and Downs on the Blue Ridge Parkway

Southernmost entrance of the parkway, starting at mile 469 (elev. 2200’).

Between the bad weather, failed bike parts, closed campgrounds and non-stop elevation change, the Blue Ridge Parkway proved to be one wild ride. After 9 days, 469 miles and almost 50,000 feet in elevation change, I have cycled the whole length of the Blue Ridge Parkway... every mile of it... with a 50lb BOB trailer in tow. I rode South to North, from Cherokee and Great Smoky Mountain National Park, to Rockfish Gap at the southern end of Shenandoah National Park... from mile marker 469 down to 0.

The stunning beauty of the Parkway did not come without plenty of challenge. The first day out from Cherokee I climbed almost 10,000 feet up. And within the next 2 days I would cover over 1/3 of the parkway's total elevation change.

Down the road, after talking to some other cyclists, I found out I would have to deal with a closed section of the parkway about twenty miles from Asheville, NC. Apparently rain had washed out a large section of the road and it was closed to all traffic.

I found myself in a dilema. Either bypass the section of parkway using a longer alternate route and not ride the whole length of the famous parkway, or ride through the closed section of road and risk a hefty fine. This ended up working itself out thanks to some good advice from an Elephant customer in the area. Thanks Luke!

I had been warned of potential weather on the parkway prior to riding it, and after experiencing two perfect days of weather on the Blue Ridge, things changed real fast. A big rain storm swept in overnight and on the third day of riding I found myself cold, wet and miserable. After riding and camping through the seemingly non-stop rain and fog for only three days I broke down and payed for a motel room in Blowing Rock, NC... the first motel room I have paid for while on the road since January.

A couple days after the rain had passed I found myself covering miles quick, rejuvenated, happy to be on the road once again, looking at maybe an 80 mile day on the parkway... my derailleur had other plans. At mile 210 of the parkway, I found myself being brought to a dead stop by the loud nasty sound of twisted metal and crunchy spokes. It turned out, as I looked down at my rear wheel scared to see what had gone wrong, that my derailleur had pretty much self-destructed. After some initial discouragement and a good laugh at my luck, I began to think hard...having already come thousands of miles the thumb was just not an option in getting to where I wanted or needed to go. In the end I decided to take off the derailleur, shorten my chain(using the packed chain breaker I had previously not touched the entire trip) converting my bike into a single speed for the time being. The plan was to ride the next hundred miles to Roanoke, Virginia with one gear.

As things tend to work themselves out on the road, a cyclist named Gail Josey came riding up as I was working on my bike. Long story short, Gail gave me directions to her house right up the road and offered me a ride to the nearest bike shop. Gail and her husband Bob drove me into Mt. Airy, NC where I was able to get a new derailleur and some quick bike maintenance done. In addition to driving me the twenty miles into town for a bike repair I was treated to a big buffet dinner, a shower, a spot to camp in the backyard, a big breakfast in the morning and some sandwiches and snacks for the road.

Looking back on my ride over the Blue Ridge Parkway I could not be happier with the 9 days. Some highlights included: (possibly) being one of the only cyclists to ride a 10 mile stretch of the parkway with a single gear and 50 pound BOB trailer, riding to the top of the highest peak east of the Mississippi (Mt. Mitchell) in rain and fog, meeting and receiving help from some of the nicest people ever... so grateful for the road magic, covering 85 miles in a day, meeting Tim Pegram along the side of the road, staying in a dry motel room while the rain came down relentlessly outside, getting hundreds of world class views of the Appalachians, and lastly, riding the final couple downhill miles of the parkway to mile marker 0 at Rockfish Gap.

Day 1, climb #2 (elev. 5500’).

Highest point on the Blue Ridge Parkway (elev. 6053’).

Climbing out of Asheville, NC. Nearing the summit, 3 hours and 18 miles later.

Spent an evening at the top of Craggy Pinnacles overlook, watching the rain move in.

Obstacles.

At the highest point east of the Mississippi with nothing but fog in sight.

2 of the 26 tunnels along the parkway.

Fog, rain, and climbing.

Starting the morning with a short break in the storm.

Day 5... rain. The famous Lynn Cove Viaduct in the distance.

Lots of fog, some rain.

Walking into this warm dry room after 3 days of rain was awesome.

Stopping for a roadside history lesson, one of many along the parkway.

Riding through the “Plateau Region” of the parkway.

Watching the rain from a distance is better than riding through it.

Followed these signs for 469 miles, pretty straight-forward.

Entering Virginia, crossing over the well-marked state line.

Rear-deraillur in shambles... fortunatly no serious damage was done to the wheel.

Temporary single-speed conversion.

Backyard camping in Fancy Gap, VA after an eventful day. Thank you Gail!!

Ex-Park Ranger, Tim Pegram walking the length of the Blue Ridge Parkway for the second time. Check out his book chronicling his first 469 mile walk in 2003. Glad to have met this guy.