Crazy ride down 8% grade to buena vista budget inn. BK and subway. But how to get back up? Tomorrow is my last day to end of pkwy. G will pick up +my bday:)

Camped at peaks of otter dinner at lodge. Surprise thunderstorm overnight got wet so left brp in bedford now at a vn coffee shop great bkfast sunny now

Lunch @ taco bell 1mile off pkwy but worth it

Whoops! Wrong turn 5 mile detour round roanoke mtn. Back on brp north now

Back on brp after loop thru rnoke neighborhood

Very late start, beautiful day in roanoke. Going 4 e z day 2day

Checked in Quality inn roanoke after 80 miles today. Gr8 weather gr8 day!

L8 start butiful day!

No att cell reception on BRP today was wonderful dodging rain in fancy gap VA now


we asked a passing squirrel to take a picture of both of us..

Made it to blue ridge parkway! Got a late start


Steep climb but well rewarded when we first see a "sign"...














and then the Blue Ridge Parkway.. it's like a big bikepath!

My texts seem to be making it to my blog but not the pics. Hot shower sure felt good. Is it 2 early 4 bed?

Checked in red carpet inn Wilkesboro, the carpet is green

Lunch break - only 20 miles to Wilkesboro but waitress says its up a mountain! Doh!





Here we are entering wilkes county... where Wilkesboro is.

First stop 30.5 miles no rain til now its pouring!

Odometer reading

Bike odometer reads 1754 (That's after more than 10 years so not really that much)
Leaving shortly. Overcast, showers predicted but not actively raining right now, Tuesday morning. editing a post from last night.



Here we are with game faces on right before we hit the road... around 7:30 am... rush hour!

Leaving tues 7am

This is our brp mobile blog!

(I was testing my ability to post to this blog from my cellphone. It works! But I could only post text. The pictures taken by my phone would not post to the blog - so I am adding comments and photos later)

Ready to Go!

We are ready to leave early tomorrow morning... weather permitting. It rained a lot today, but showers were scattered and it is clear this evening. I don't mind a little rain if there is also some sunshine but I don't want to spend the entire day riding through showers. We made a route change. Rt 321 between Lenoir and Blowing Rock is not a good road for cycling, plus there is construction and even road closures. Also there are 2 closed sections on the Blue Ridge Parkway just north of Blowing Rock which will be a big pain on bikes. So, we are going to ride up rt 16 through Wilkesboro all the way to the BRP.

final stuff arrived

The last package arrived today with Justin's small panniers (they are really small) and my handlebar bag. Here is my bike with the bags.





Picked up some fresh batteries today and a couple of rain ponchos. I seem to have a slight problem with heels striking my panniers. I wonder if this is due to using a road bike instead of a touring bike. I think I can adjust the panniers back a touch to my heels clear them.

Today a bunch of stuff arrived in the mail. Still waiting for a set of small panniers for Justin and a handlebar bag for me. I changed the tires on my bike. The new ones are 700-25c but they don't look any bigger/wider than the 700-23c I took off. It was much easier changing my tires than changing Justin's last night. I got a new rear rack and tried to install it, but it was too small so I put the old one back on. Tried resting the panniers on the rack and bungied my sleeping bag on top. Mounted my headlight bracket and modified the tail light so it can attach to my seat bag. We will have to load up the bags and go for a test drive tomorrow or Sunday... or Monday.

Oh, and the other thing I did today was step on a 4 prong hoe wearing flip flops which pierced my left foot and sent me to urgent care for a tetanus shot. The doc also prescribed antibiotics. A little sore but it wasn't a real bad wound and I should be ok to ride on Tuesday. Just a real stupid thing.

Here is my bike

This is the bike I will ride. About 10 years old? Cannon r300 road bike. I have added a rear rack and will change to a slightly wider tire 700-25.

Starting with these bikes

Justin wants to ride my old Fuji s10s 12 speed. I bought this bike when I was living in Washington D.C. around 1977. I used this bike on my 30 day New England/Novia Scotia bike trip in June 1980.


I will ride my slightly more modern Cannon r300 road bike. I have already equipped it with a rear rack and small panniers. We are quickly acquiring some needed equipment, such as lights, handlebar bag, sleeping bag, tent, tires and tubes, a pump and water bottles. Not everything has arrived yet. We are thinking about leaving on the Tuesday after Memorial Day.

The Plan

Justin wanted to ride coast to coast by himself. I guess I talked him out of that one, and his backup plan was to ride from home in Huntersvile NC to our old home in Summit NJ. I thought it would be fun to head off in that direction by riding along the scenic Blue Ridge Parkway and invited myself along for part of the ride. So that is the plan!