Blue Ridge Parkway and Diamondback Loop
The Blue Ridge Parkway is America's longest linear park and runs for 469 miles through 29 Virginia and North Carolina counties, mostly along the Blue Ridge, a major mountain chain that is part of the Appalachian Mountains. Our ride starts from the south end of the Parkway at mile marker 469 just north of Cherokee, NC and takes us to Little Switzerland at mile marker 334 which is only 135 miles of the Parkway but offers some of the most scenic and highest points along the whole Parkway. The Parkway, while not a "National Park", it has been the most visited unit of the National Park System every year (except for 1949). There is NO fee to ride the Parkway system. Speed limits are typically 45 mph or less and strictly enforced. This is more of a scenic ride through rolling hills, valleys, and tunnels, although it can still offer some danger if your eyes drift off of the road too long.
Be aware that that as the Parkway nears some Cities residents may tend to use the Parkway during to commute to work so expect more traffic near Asheville, NC.
In Little Switzerland we head south along NC Highway 226A, known to motorcyclist enthusiasts as the Diamondback. NC 226A descends from 3475 elevation at Little Switzerland to 1390 elevation at US 221. These 11 miles are packed with great twisties. The first 5 miles are the steepest and tightest. Make sure you have good brakes and use your gearing on this downhill ride. There are no guard rails and the drop-offs are steep and deep with only the forest to stop you in many places. This is no place to ride fast or alone. The pavement has recently been resurfaced! Watch out for gravel and dust on turns around driveway entrances to the highway.
The 4 miles of US 221 South is a 4-lane highway that will get us to the next part of this loop. A short 2 mile jaunt on Toms Creek Road (US Hwy 70) brings us to NC 80, also known as Buck Creek Road. From here, at an elevation of 1300 feet, NC 80 climbs 10 miles back up to the spine of the Blue Ridge Parkway at 3350 feet. NC 80, known by motorcyclists as either the Devil's Whip or Devil's Staircase, follows the winding path of Buck Creek. There are some good twisties in the lower section, but there are also residences, trailer parks, and camping on both sides. Not a good place to go too fast. The speed limit here is 45 mph.
7 miles up the road it takes an abrupt left turn at Singecat Branch and there are no more residences. This corner is known as School bus turn-around. The last 3 miles to the BRP get steeper and twistier. Unlike 226A there are guard rails everywhere. These might keep you from going off the mountain but they can do serious damage to a body. Pavement is good.
There is one bitchen switchback just before the BRP. Be ready for this one and remember to use brake, clutch, and throttle to control your bike on the steep uphill 180 degree turn.
At the BRP intersection we continue our journey northward by staying on NC 80 to Micaville where we head west on US Hwy 19E. We then get on some back roads (Prices Creek Road, Paint Fork Road, and Beach Glen Road) to give us a more scenic motorcycle route if we wish to avoid some of US Hwy 19 traffic. Please note that NC State Patrol typically heavily patrol the interstates for speeders and if you're going to get a speeding ticket on this trip it will mostly likely happen on an Interstate in North Carolina.
In Asheville we head west on I-40 and then drop down to US Hwy 19 to take us back to Cherokee, NC.
(If we have enough time and are game for a bit more adventure we could also take a more scenic and challenging route for part of the way back... In Burnsville, just west of Micaville we could head south along Hwy 197 and travel through the Pisgah National Forest and eventually hit up with I-26 just north of Asheville. The one caveat is that there are 4 miles of gravel road to encounter along this route)
Blue Ridge Parkway and Diamondback Loop: 275 miles 7 hours saddle time