The best non-interstate route was through on the Blue Ridge Parkway which goes all through the Jefferson National Forest along the ridge.  Driving up to the ridge it became so foggy that going 15-25 mph was the only safe way to wind through the turns and in and out of the hollows.

Rock Point - Blue Ridge Parkway

The after about 40 minutes I rounded a few corners with the sun lifting the fog and came to a corner of the road where it was perfectly sunny and overlooked a blanket of cloud punctuated by a few distant mountain -tops.  It felt like it does when you descend in an airplane – brilliantly sunny with surreal white puffy clouds.

I was inspired to record a video – alas it turned out not to be the best part of the parkway but I was entertained to be duct-taping my camera to my GPS mount and driving around – I suspect the lens was covered in mist.

Self-timed in front of the valley

Following that, I stopped to get another picture and ditched my bike. It was painful but more so for my pride than the minor cuts.  I realized I was desperately trying to pick it up before a car drove by and saw my idiotic manoeuvre.

After about 2.5 hours on the parkway (it is 469 miles (755 km)  I headed for the interstates to try to get to the hostel in Asheville sometime shortly after dark – arriving in daylight was by then impossible.   It turned out to be a dark,  cold and unsafe. The new GPS kept saying it wasn’t connected and showing the “Shutdown in 30 seconds” message, necessitating me pressing a button to keep it on on battery power – a right-hand steering, left-hand crossed over the right pushing buttons on a tiny screen on a vibrating motorbike in the mist.  Also the highways in NC have a 70 mph limit so with multiple trucks, drizzle, and the drive going over ominously named Black Mountain, I has quite happy to arrive at the hostel sometime before 8pm.

I also recorded this video but I’m not sure what I’m babbling about.



KPICASA_GALLERY(BlueRidgeParkwayVAAndNC#Gv1sRgCIDQ9N-Bt_-snAE)

Alexander House Charlottesville, VA

Charlottesville seems like a habitable place, I’ve seen people walking the streets and riding bikes for the first time on my trip – a dot of blue in a sea of red politically.  I found a nice place to stay called Alexander House, a house run by a collective of six owners with a distinctly hippy atmosphere.  There are only two others staying here and I have it too myself for the afternoon – it’s $40 for a dorm bed and recommendable.

Bank Windows Downtown

Indeed, after walking through the Bedford neighbourhood and through the center

Paramount Theatre - Pedestrian Street

Charlottesville seems like a charming place.  After Denny’s, McDonalds, Chili’s, Subway, Papa Johns, Long John Silvers, KFC, Burger King it’s been a surprise to see Tapas, Sushi and other signifiers of urban yuppiedom.  The Blue Moon Diner – was off the main pedestrian mall near the state run liquor store (the LCBO looks good in comparison) – and was a cool place to sit and watch the locals chat with each other.

Charlottesville Transit Station

Alexander House	Bedford Monticello Neighbourhood	Bedford Monticello Neighbourhood	Transit Station
Pedestrian Street	Theatre – Pedestrian Street	National Bank of Charlottesville – Pedestrian Street	Blue Moon Diner

Old Ridge Road Over to HarrisonBurg

I woke up late on account of the beer consumed with my new found friends in Altoona, PA and headed, still without my English-accented female GPS copilot, generally towards Charlottesville, Virginia.  My plan was to avoid the interstates and try to drive though the mountains as much as possible.   So after ordering a replacement GPS to be shipped to the hostel I’ll be staying at in Charleston, South Carolina I drove down to Keyser, Maryland and stopped at the ubiquitous Walmart there.

With a new Garmin Nuvi GPS I am back under the stern ministrations of the same GPS dominatrix – she is omnipotent, everywhere simultaneously, and poly-amorous apparently as she speaks to anyone with $99 USD.

I ended up taking a rather crazy and rewarding windy road up and over a high ridge

somewhere near the Lost River, MD which took about an hour but was deserted save for three pickup trucks and a few farm houses.  Without nerve to hide the bike and camp on the mountain somewhere I’ve ended up in Harrisonburg, Virginia in a motel for the night.

Near Keyser, MD	Near Keyser, MD	Helmet	HWY 50, VA
HWY 50, VA	Old Mountain Road, near Lost River, VA	Old Mountain Road, near Lost River, Old Mountain Road, near Lost River, VA	Old Mountain
Old Mountain