Unfortunately I don't have any notes from the rest of the trip. So, off the top of my head...
We left Robbinsville at the earliest we could stand and made the quick trip up to Cherokee and the start of the Blue Ridge Parkway. We had some amusing GPS disagreements along the way, but we followed our noses for the most part.
Woo-hoo, a sticker!
When we stopped for pictures at the southern entrance of the BRP Peter's bike was flashing a tire pressure warning light. We checked his pressures with a couple different gauges and everything looked spot on. Must be a sensor issue.
The start of a great day
I'd never done the southern part of the BRP before, only from around Bristol north. Jim and Peter had never done any of it, so I knew they were in for a treat. A perfect weather day, with 450+ miles of curvy non-commercial road lay ahead of us. We were hoping to be able to finish the whole thing in one day, but could bail out earlier if we ran out of day. Jim and I both had to be back to NJ around dinnertime Saturday, so that was determining our schedule. We knew that most of tomorrow would be boring slab, so we wanted to maximize the pleasant ride today.
The Parkway did not disappoint. Mile after mile of smooth curves passed by under our wheels. There was very little traffic, and pretty much zero LEO presence. Dave and I switched bike at one overlook - this would be his first time on a lightweight "sporty" bike. I let him lead, and I followed right behind on his BMW R1150RT. I thought from his slower speed that he wasn't enjoying the bike, but learned later that he couldn't see the speedo and was concerned about speeding. I had no such problems reading the gauges on the RT as you very much sit "in" the bike, plus he has a big Garmin GPS mounted high showing the speed. I think Dave was relieved to return to his bike when we switched back.
Early morning on the BRP
Peter riding the BRP
Dang branch!
I missed the overlook for the highest point on the Parkway and had to double back. There was a large group of BMW GS riders there, some with very tricked out bikes. The riders were all hanging around the "highest point" sign, so we killed some time waiting for our photo op.
Some serious headlights
Highest elevation the Multi has seen. So far.
I switched bikes with Peter for the next segment, and right away felt very comfortable on the KGT. I'd ridden a K1200GT on a demo at Americade a while back, and a K1300GT demo at Cross-Country last year. There was really nothing I didn't like about the KGT, apart from the price. It's comfortable, handles very well for a big bike, has every creature comfort known to man, and it's very, very fast. You could do a lot worse than choosing a KGT as the perfect bike for this kind of trip - twisty days mixed in with some high-mileage slab to get there.
Peter enjoyed his time on the Multi, thought the handling was very immediate and direct.
Hazy, hot day
We weren't going to be able to do the whole BRP, as there was a detour around a rockslide near Asheville. We exited the parkway and spent an hour or so skirting something like a 10-mile closure. The first road wasn't bad, nice and curvy through a forest, but too much traffic to be really interesting. The other 2/3 of the detour was on pretty dull, flat roads. But the worst thing about exiting the BRP was the heat. There's an improbably large temperature difference between riding on the BRP and riding in the valleys. We stopped for lunch at another "home cooking" place and had pretty decent sandwiches served by a waitress with "man hands". By the time we hit the road again it was sweltering. The Parkway entrance was only a couple miles from the lunch stop, and literally the minute you swung the bike off the ramp onto the Parkway the temperature seemed to drop 10 degrees. A few minutes later you completely forgot how hot it had been, you were just back in the groove, swaying back and forth in the seemingly infinite curves the parkway has on offer.
Photo op / overlook / DIY restroom break
Just north of the Linn Cove Viaduct. I had zoomed ahead to get the classic picture of the viaduct itself, but could not find a good viewpoint.
Basin Cove Overlook
As the day slipped away, it was obvious we wouldn't be able to finish the Parkway before dark. Some button pushing on the GPS showed we could most likely make Roanoke, VA by around 8 - which would mean another very late dinner after getting settled at a hotel. Since this would be our last day as a group, Jim and I decided to cut the day short and set our sights on the area around Fancy Gap and Hillsville. There seemed to be no shortage of hotels - and restaurants with liquor licenses.
We pulled in to the Super8 in Hillsville around 7, and got a good deal on multiple rooms. Mine turned out to be in the basement, but otherwise OK.
Most of those 2507 miles were quite fine
The nearest decent place for food was the Blue Agave Steakhouse, about a mile away. Since we knew drinks would be involved, we walked on the shoulder of the 50mph 4-lane keeping a close eye on the cars zooming past us.
Anything for a good dinner
Fortunately our walk was not in vain, as the Blue Agave turned out to be quite excellent. Our dinner was enhanced by our waitresses, who had a great sense of humor and really took care of us. She gave us just the right amount of a hard time - for example she wouldn't tell me what the salad dressing was until I tried it. "You're a picky eater eh? If I tell you what's in it then you won't eat it, but you'd like it and then never know. Eat it." Didn't hurt that she was cute as well.
We had a lot of laughs over dinner, and ended up staying until closing. We survived our walk back to the hotel, and set our alarms for an early departure in the morning. Jim and I would be slabbing back to NJ, while Dave and Peter would finish off the Parkway and then head back to NY and Ontario.