After two days in brutal heat, I decided to stretch my day to Winchester, Virginia, in exchange for a night at a motel. Somewhat ironically, I arrived in town and watched a couple innings of a baseball game in a park that was full of possible camping spots. Nevertheless, off to Travelodge I went. I'm rationalizing it a bit...it's hot, I need a shower, I can wash my clothes, its safer....I guess these are all good reasons. Illegal camping by myself can be a scary proposition sometimes. I'll just enjoy my bed tonight and stop over thinking.
The real question is what to do about the Blue Ridge Parkway. I'm not quite there yet, but Skyline Drive is very similar and I would be on it tomorrow out of Front Royal. So the problem is that, when planning this whole trip, I picked my various destinations, but did almost no work on the actual route between them. So when I picked Asheville, I said "oh yeah, i'll take the Blue Ridge Parkway, it's pretty". So....it turns out that biking the parkway is a huge LOGISTICAL undertaking. Campsites are few and far between, and water and food are mostly unavailable, except at the camps. And with doing no homework before tonight, I'm only now finding out all this stuff. So, I was readily for the biking to be slow, but not for these particular challenges.
So the question is - what to do? Do I buy a map and a camelback and take my time and do it anyway? Do I do parts of it, especially stretches I'm interested in like Shenandoah and Mt. Mitchell? Or do I just say forget it, because this trip is about California, and not any one particular route?
I'm throwing this out there for advice from y'all (that's how they talk in these parts). Will I regret not doing it? Is it simply best left for a trip with a different goal (and a lighter bike)? You can do the entire parkway in about 8 days, maybe this can just become a one-week trip sometime in the future.
I just re-read this and I'm still not sure whether I'm trying to talk myself in or out of doing it.
Help me out with this mini crisis!
Give 'er!
ReplyDeleteYou're an engineer Dave. "KISS" (keep it simple stupid). We all want you back here safe!
ReplyDeleteI say don't push it with the water/camping situation. If you can manage to hit up the parkway in bits and pieces it's quite lovely, but don't feel hemmed in by your original plans -- adapt to your situation.
ReplyDeleteSkyline is gorgeous, the speed limit is crazy low, and there are tons of deer (well same could be said for Blue Ridge).
The trip IS about California, so don't sweat it if you have to be more fluid in your plans of getting there.
my general rule: always tell dave not to push it, because he pushes it enough himself.
ReplyDeletein this case, i think you should go for the parkway. you have plenty of space to pack extra food and water. you have plenty of time to get to ca and will regret not making the most of this trip. i think you should spend as much time on beautiful roads as you can. i think this trip should be about the trip and not about ca. any chance you can snag a water filter(should have given you mine) before you get to there? that would reduce your weight significnatly.
i also bet that it will take you far less than the predicted 8 days to get through there.
also, you have a phone and could ask for help if you absolutely needed it.
disclaimer: i have no idea how crazy the parkway is, or what skyline is like.
A little late but I agree with tim. If you just wanted to get to Cali you could have flown. Don't do anything dangerous but enjoy the trip and where you are now not where you want to be in a couple months.
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