Ride Report: Blue Ridge Parkway, Oct 9-11, 2010 - Page 3

Trip · 10-12-2010, 10:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bonesaw

Where was the first camp site at?

you asked me this last night and I sent it to you. We camped at Montebello Campground the first night and Doughton Park the second.

Trip · 10-12-2010, 11:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bonesaw

I return to camp and know that I have to sleep well tonight, so I take a couple Benadryl and wash it down with a beer. We talk some more, and are interrupted by a dog running through our camp site. This is shortly followed by a somewhat distant female voice saying “I swear, your only job was to was to watch her! You can’t even do that right! Go find her!”

A man appears shortly and I say, “Your dog is down there,” pointing in the general direction of the dog’s path. Later, the same man asks if we have any extra “fire starters.” I tell him that we used pine needles, which are abundant all around our campsites. He replies with “Well, good God, I’m not a woodsman!” I am instantly disappointed with his manliness. We later see, what I presume to be, his son spraying some kind of flammable aerosol on their fire and saying “I GOT IT STARTED!” Way to go kid.

After this excitement, I go to bed. I toss and turn all night, and my face is cold throughout the night. I may have gotten 6 hours of sleep, but I am constantly woken up by the campsite noises. I wake up the next morning with back pain and a headache.

I got to add that the woodsman decided to have a conversation with his wife and two people who showed up at like 1am so loud the entire campsite heard them. They were literally 3 feet from my tent when they did this too. The two women in the group had the most annoying laughs. After about 2 mins of this, some redneck somewhere far away in the campground yells out "WHAT PART OF IT'S QUIET TIME DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND!" Fred didn't tell us til the next morning, but you sign something saying you will be quiet after like 10 or 11 when you check in. Well they spend 5 minutes debating if he is talking to them in hushed voices and then proceed with their conversation about bullshit. After about 15 minutes of this I am getting pissed and about to yell something at them when the same redneck makes sure they understand his point by yelling at them again. They thank god decide to go to bed. About 3am, someone lost a dog that was going ape shit and it ran by my tent and they chased them through the campground yelling "shhhhhh!" At about 4 am, some kid decided it would be a good time to start screaming and it took awhile to shut the little bastard up. At about 5-6, some people started waking up, so I didn't get much sleep. I am a light sleeper.

The second night was worse though, it was really windy that night and we slept under trees. The leaves/acorns were falling all night and a big branch landed right on top my tent and scared the ever living shit out of me.

Switch · 10-12-2010, 11:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trip

you asked me this last night and I sent it to you. We camped at Montebello Campground the first night and Doughton Park the second.

I feel like garbage today. Sorry.

the chi · 10-12-2010, 11:21 AM

Looks like a great time.

Mr Lefty · 10-12-2010, 11:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trip

I got to add that the woodsman decided to have a conversation with his wife and two people who showed up at like 1am so loud the entire campsite heard them. They were literally 3 feet from my tent when they did this too. The two women in the group had the most annoying laughs. After about 2 mins of this, some redneck somewhere far away in the campground yells out "WHAT PART OF IT'S QUIET TIME DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND!" Fred didn't tell us til the next morning, but you sign something saying you will be quiet after like 10 or 11 when you check in. Well they spend 5 minutes debating if he is talking to them in hushed voices and then proceed with their conversation about bullshit. After about 15 minutes of this I am getting pissed and about to yell something at them when the same redneck makes sure they understand his point by yelling at them again. They thank god decide to go to bed. About 3am, someone lost a dog that was going ape shit and it ran by my tent and they chased them through the campground yelling "shhhhhh!" At about 4 am, some kid decided it would be a good time to start screaming and it took awhile to shut the little bastard up. At about 5-6, some people started waking up, so I didn't get much sleep. I am a light sleeper.

The second night was worse though, it was really windy that night and we slept under trees. The leaves/acorns were falling all night and a big branch landed right on top my tent and scared the ever living shit out of me.

this is EXACTLY why I like primitive camping in random locations not at camp grounds... when I want sleep... I want SLEEP!

though KOA's are very good about keeping people quiet

Trip · 10-12-2010, 11:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bonesaw

You guys that rode it might wanna check this out:

http://brpfoundation.org/end-to-end/

That's awesome, submitted my application.

ontwo · 10-12-2010, 11:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trip

I got to add that the woodsman decided to have a conversation with his wife and two people who showed up at like 1am so loud the entire campsite heard them. They were literally 3 feet from my tent when they did this too. The two women in the group had the most annoying laughs. After about 2 mins of this, some redneck somewhere far away in the campground yells out "WHAT PART OF IT'S QUIET TIME DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND!" Fred didn't tell us til the next morning, but you sign something saying you will be quiet after like 10 or 11 when you check in. Well they spend 5 minutes debating if he is talking to them in hushed voices and then proceed with their conversation about bullshit. After about 15 minutes of this I am getting pissed and about to yell something at them when the same redneck makes sure they understand his point by yelling at them again. They thank god decide to go to bed. About 3am, someone lost a dog that was going ape shit and it ran by my tent and they chased them through the campground yelling "shhhhhh!" At about 4 am, some kid decided it would be a good time to start screaming and it took awhile to shut the little bastard up. At about 5-6, some people started waking up, so I didn't get much sleep. I am a light sleeper.

The second night was worse though, it was really windy that night and we slept under trees. The leaves/acorns were falling all night and a big branch landed right on top my tent and scared the ever living shit out of me.

Quote:

Originally Posted by eBBs15

this is EXACTLY why I like primitive camping in random locations not at camp grounds... when I want sleep... I want SLEEP!

though KOA's are very good about keeping people quiet

I fucking hate campgrounds. After a miserable night at one near the Ocoee, I swore I would never do that again. It was almost the exact same as Trip's version. Only mine had drunken college kids complete with fights and all

Trip · 10-13-2010, 11:13 AM

Here is my report:

I made a plan to do the BRP over the Columbus Day Holiday weekend and camp along the way. All 469 miles from Waynesboro, VA to Cherokee, NC. I needed to do this as a test trip for my 2011 California Adventure. I enlisted two friends to come along with me. One would ride with me from Knoxville and do the whole trip and another from Maryland would meet us at the first campground and ride halfway with us and then go home.

Me and Kyle left from Lenoir City early on 10-9 and traveled up Interstate 75 to 81. We had to make a bunch more stops than needed for me because the FZ1 Kyle was riding was far more limited in range. Here is us stopped in Wytheville, VA because the FZ1 needed gas and it's rider had to poop.

All that Virginia interstate riding was terrible, luckily we were using the Sena SMX 10 headsets that I purchased and had a good time entertaining ourselves with the usual male banter and berating cagers we passed. We finally made it to I-64 and into Waynesboro and finally the start of our real trip, the BRP.

As you can see I was super excited to be here.

It started out with some sweepers and it was much more enjoyable than the stupid interstate, we had a good time making fun of a lot of the signs along the way, the BRP has some hilarious names for places and signs for our immature brains. We got our first real treat of scenery and ravens roost not far from the start. So we stopped and got a few "oh pretty pics."

Don't want to fall off of it. It might hurt.

Well we get back on the bikes and make our way to MM 27 and down the road to Montebello Campground where we will spend the first night.

Yes, it is that full and yes it was loud all night.

It was nice to be under trees instead of being in a hotel though.

We decided to hold a rave for all the rednecks.

It was a loud night though. We had our neighbors start having a domestic dispute with the woman yelling at the man and then the man telling us it's always his fault. They were a lot of fun. He didn't know how to start a campfire and so he asked us and we told him to use pine needles and twigs as kindling and he promptly told us "he is not a woodsman." They also started having a long conversation at 1AM, 3 feet from my tent. Luckily a fellow redneck somewhere in the campground screamed at them a few times telling them "WHAT PART OF QUIET TIME DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND!" til they went to sleep. They lost their dog at 3AM and chased it through my tent area too. They were great people. There was also kids screaming for no reason all night. I do not recommend this campground. Only positive I got to say is I got a hot shower this night, because the food sure did suck.

Yeah, we made eggs in the same dutch oven we burnt some bacon in. They look nasty, but weren't too bad.

We took off out of that redneck nightmare early on 10-10 and were treated to this view not far down the BRP.

It all started blending together after awhile though.

We saw a sign for the natural bridge (we were bombarded with this all the way up interstate 81) and thought we would check it out. There was a nice twisty asphalt road to the natural bridge, so it wasn't too bad of a detour. We found this guy waiting on us when we got there, he looked like he meant business.

We didn't go to the natural bridge, it cost money and we were not interested after seeing the prices and the line to get in.

On the way back to the brp, I tried to take a different route to get back on, but it led right into a gravel road. It was a great little surprise find that was twisty and fun.

Kyle on the FZ1 with PP 2CTs was not amused.

We got back on the BRP and it sort of leveled out and was kinda boring Virgina roads and we didn't really stop much or see anything great in this lower section of Virginia. So I don't really have pics of it. Eventually the FZ1 needed gas again, so we made a little pitstop in Floyd, VA.

We stopped in the dumpy section, apparently there was a much nicer part if we would of kept going a little bit as we found out on the way back to the BRP.

Trip · 10-13-2010, 11:13 AM

Eventually we made it into North Carolina and at our stop for the night, Doughton Park.

We camped under some trees, which ended up being stupid because leaves, acorns, massive branches fell on my tent the entire night and I was once again forced to go without much sleep.

It was nice and secluded at night though, we scanvenged for brush.

Note: don't bring jealous KLR riders with you, as this one tried to attack me on this night.

This campsite was really awesome though, only thing they didn't have that I missed was a shower. I tried to take a shower in the sink of the restroom, but the only other dude in the campsite decided to walk into the bathroom as I was almost naked. It was awkward. My friends saw him coming and knew what I was doing, but thought it would be more hilarious if they let him find me naked instead of warning me. Great friends...

We took off from Doughton on 10-11 and headed to Bluff Mountain overlook just 2 miles down the road.

It was worth the stop.

We said goodbye to Fred, the KLR rider, here as he had to make his way back to Maryland. Sucks he couldn't end to end it with us.

The rest of the day is kind of a blur. It was filled with lots of views and beautiful fall colors, here is a small collection of pics I took from that day.

I didn't any great shots of grandfather mountain or craggly gardens, but those were two of my favorite spots of the whole trip. We were being really time concious on this day, because we piddled around too much the day before and it took us a lot longer to do half of the BRP than we thought. So we limited our stops on this day to make sure we got home at a decent time. I really want to do the VA/NC border to Asheville section again, taking more time to stop and enjoy the view. This was the best section of the entire trip.

Here is my last shot of the trip. One of the many tunnels you pass through on the way into Cherokee.

It was disappointing to not find a "here ends the BRP" sign to take a final pic, but oh well.

We went into Cherokee to fill up our gas tanks and then made our way across 441 in the GSMNP and then on Little River Rd into Townsend and finally back 321 into Lenoir City. It was a great trip and I am glad to officially be a BRP end to ender. shitville MAN!

the chi · 10-14-2010, 08:58 AM

Whats scarier than just riding with Trip?

Riding with Trip while he's taking photos.

10-13-2010, 11:13 AM	#28
Trip Hold mah beer! Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: 80 Miles South of Moto Heaven Moto: 08 R1200GS Posts: 23,268	Here is my report: I made a plan to do the BRP over the Columbus Day Holiday weekend and camp along the way. All 469 miles from Waynesboro, VA to Cherokee, NC. I needed to do this as a test trip for my 2011 California Adventure. I enlisted two friends to come along with me. One would ride with me from Knoxville and do the whole trip and another from Maryland would meet us at the first campground and ride halfway with us and then go home. Me and Kyle left from Lenoir City early on 10-9 and traveled up Interstate 75 to 81. We had to make a bunch more stops than needed for me because the FZ1 Kyle was riding was far more limited in range. Here is us stopped in Wytheville, VA because the FZ1 needed gas and it's rider had to poop. All that Virginia interstate riding was terrible, luckily we were using the Sena SMX 10 headsets that I purchased and had a good time entertaining ourselves with the usual male banter and berating cagers we passed. We finally made it to I-64 and into Waynesboro and finally the start of our real trip, the BRP. As you can see I was super excited to be here. It started out with some sweepers and it was much more enjoyable than the stupid interstate, we had a good time making fun of a lot of the signs along the way, the BRP has some hilarious names for places and signs for our immature brains. We got our first real treat of scenery and ravens roost not far from the start. So we stopped and got a few "oh pretty pics." Don't want to fall off of it. It might hurt. Well we get back on the bikes and make our way to MM 27 and down the road to Montebello Campground where we will spend the first night. Yes, it is that full and yes it was loud all night. It was nice to be under trees instead of being in a hotel though. We decided to hold a rave for all the rednecks. It was a loud night though. We had our neighbors start having a domestic dispute with the woman yelling at the man and then the man telling us it's always his fault. They were a lot of fun. He didn't know how to start a campfire and so he asked us and we told him to use pine needles and twigs as kindling and he promptly told us "he is not a woodsman." They also started having a long conversation at 1AM, 3 feet from my tent. Luckily a fellow redneck somewhere in the campground screamed at them a few times telling them "WHAT PART OF QUIET TIME DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND!" til they went to sleep. They lost their dog at 3AM and chased it through my tent area too. They were great people. There was also kids screaming for no reason all night. I do not recommend this campground. Only positive I got to say is I got a hot shower this night, because the food sure did suck. Yeah, we made eggs in the same dutch oven we burnt some bacon in. They look nasty, but weren't too bad. We took off out of that redneck nightmare early on 10-10 and were treated to this view not far down the BRP. It all started blending together after awhile though. We saw a sign for the natural bridge (we were bombarded with this all the way up interstate 81) and thought we would check it out. There was a nice twisty asphalt road to the natural bridge, so it wasn't too bad of a detour. We found this guy waiting on us when we got there, he looked like he meant business. We didn't go to the natural bridge, it cost money and we were not interested after seeing the prices and the line to get in. On the way back to the brp, I tried to take a different route to get back on, but it led right into a gravel road. It was a great little surprise find that was twisty and fun. Kyle on the FZ1 with PP 2CTs was not amused. We got back on the BRP and it sort of leveled out and was kinda boring Virgina roads and we didn't really stop much or see anything great in this lower section of Virginia. So I don't really have pics of it. Eventually the FZ1 needed gas again, so we made a little pitstop in Floyd, VA. We stopped in the dumpy section, apparently there was a much nicer part if we would of kept going a little bit as we found out on the way back to the BRP.