[Kip]

I'm riding to Vero Beach, FL from central OH. I don't want to jump on the interstate and bansi down, I'd rather take my time and enjoy the ride. :mrgreen:

Any suggestions on a route to take? Places I must go see, or roads I must ride? I've read all kinds of stuff, but I'd like to hear it from someone that has ridden these places.

I don't care if it takes a few days to get there and I probably won't bring the same route home.

I would like to ride through the mountains and stay away from touristy areas.

Thanks,
Kip

 

[kitesurfer]

head for Meadows of dan virgina. camp there at willville motorcycle campground, 1//2 miles off the blue ridge parkway. ride the parkway down past asheville to hwy 276. exit and ride north DOWN the mountain to blue ridge motorcycle campground. the next day, get back on the parkway and ride it to cherokee. from there go to deals gap if you need a t shirt and dragon sticker. or run cherohala...from that area is hwy 28 that runs all the way into south carolina before it runs out of twisties. off of 28 is war woman road (in south carolina). take warwoman and run into clayton ga. from clayton head to helen. in that area is blood mountain, wolf pen gap, richard russell...lot of other good georgia mountain roads. once it gets flat head down the interstate 75 at 80 pplus or 95 south coming from nc or sc. there is absolutely nothing to see between the mountains and key west. it's all flat, straight, and hot!

 

[Kip]

Thanks Kitesurfer, that sounds like an awesome route! I'm finally getting pumped up now. I hope my ass holds up. lol

Kip

 

[Scott E. Bonds]

Thats a great route...Im keeping it for my fall ride to FL.

Its out of the way, but the Natchez Parkway back would be a nice change and you could still add the smokies back in on the return by cutting across TN.

 

[Stromin'Nroman]

Here are some suggestions I made from other threads:



You could spend a few days in Asheville and do "spur" rides each day:

Hot Springs, Mt. Mitchell and environs, Lake Lure and environs.

This way you can spend your days riding with no luggage instead of travelling with full cases and spending otherwise rideable hours packing, checking out, checking in and unpacking, etc.

I could give you a bunch of entertaining routes in the area. Of course. payment for this service can be made in "pints" next May at the Wedge Brewery or Asheville Pizza and Brew or Jack of the Wood or even Barley's.

You could buy yourself a DeLorme Gazetteer for NC and just pick out the squiggliest route. The only downside is the gazetteer isn't real good at indicating where the paved roads become unpaved.


Cheers,

Norm

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Maybe you could blast down I-85 to the SC border and pick up Hwy 11 to North on 130* which becomes 281* at the NC State Line, Take a right onto Charlie's Creek / Camp Pinhook Road* to North on 215* to the Blue Ridge Parkway.

On the way you can see some waterfalls and numerous great overlooks on the way. If you leave early enough, you should be able to catch a late lunch / early supper at the Pisgah Inn near Asheville. Head down the Parkway to Hwy 151* and find your way to Asheville for the night with the highest brewer per capita number of any city in the USA.

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To further the praises of this delightfull little slice of road, I remembered I had this brief video:

YouTube - 151BTDpulloff.avi

The thing is, there are dozens of roads like this in the region (in West Virginia, too). If you like this kind of riding, you can spend a week kissing your mirror. If you want a "journey" the coastal/mountain loop sounds great.


Edit: Watching the video again, I am reminded to warn visitors to the mountains:
"Mind the centerline." I've seen too many close calls when folks come up for a ride. Including my best friend trading paint with a pickup pulling a camper on the way to the Dragon.

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PM me, if I have time when you're here, maybe I can take you on a two-wheeled sightseeing tour.

PS, there's a non-interstate route from Greenville, SC (downtown is woth a visit) via Greenwood, SC, Strom Thurmond Dam, West of Augusta, GA, Wrens, GA, Alma, GA (speedtrap) and Waycross, GA. Also, A1A along the coast on Amelia Island, with a ferry into Jax, continuing with a detour at Daytona is a nice ride.

 

[viper522]

My only recommendation is that you don't come down in summer. It's stoopid hot and somehow both dry AND humid simultaneously. It rains everyday somewhere except where it's expected.

 

[pinkman]

It won't be technically demanding, but there are parts of 1A south of Jacksonville/St. Augustine that are quite pleasant to ride for the views along the beach and ocean. Riding in the morning is the key to surviving the heat. Sunrise is the best. If you're into history, Fort Matanzas is interesting. The history of Fort Matanzas in St. Augustine

If you time it right you might see the last Space Shuttle launch or see another rocket go up: NASA - NASA's Shuttle and Rocket Launch Schedule

Kitesurfer can probably recommend where to start on 1A and where to get off the road.

 

[Stromin'Nroman]

It won't be technically demanding, but there are parts of 1A south of Jacksonville/St. Augustine that are quite pleasant to ride for the views along the beach and ocean.

St. Augustine Beach is nice place to take a nap.

 

[GeoBiker]

If you come into GA from the NE (N. Carolina), take GA-15 and pretty much stick to it until you get to FL. A decent road, easy to follow and light traffic except for a few cities, including Athens; which is worthy of a stop if you have time.

If you come into GA from the NW (Chattanooga area), take GA-1 at least as far south as Pine Mtn. If you have time, GA 190 across Pine Mtn. to Warm Springs is really a hoot, and surprising for that part of the State. From there, plan your route to head a little east through Buena Vista via GA-41 (to avoid Columbus). After that, it pretty much depends on how soon you want to head towards the east coast and which cities you want to hit or avoid.. It is all pine trees (SE GA) or peanut farms (SW GA).

 

[Foglifter]

I use GPS and take an Atlas. Set the gps to avoid Highways, Gravel Roads and Toll Roads. Pick Waypoints from the Atlas for each days leg. Check the gps for POI's once in awhile, like when you fuel or take a break. For me it's a great way to explore and see the geography you never experiance from Interstate's. Pretty random but, I think I've seen some cool places that probably only locals know about

 

[Kip]

Thank you all for your route and POI suggestions! I've combined a few different ones to use. I got my Alaska Leather sheepskin in the mail, I hope it does the trick :yikes: