Elizabeth Skinner - Bicycling the Blue Ridge: A Guide to Skyline Drive and the Blue Ridge Parkway

Bicycling the Blue Ridge: A Guide to Skyline Drive and the Blue Ridge Parkway

Copyright 2020 Elizabeth Skinner and Charlie Skinner

30th anniversary edition 2020

All rights reserved

Printed in the United States of America

Published by Menasha Ridge Press

Distributed by Publishers Group West

Sixth edition, first printing

Front cover photo Christine Rucker

Back cover photo Jon Bilous/Shutterstock

Interior photos by Elizabeth and Charlie Skinner unless otherwise noted on page

Cover design and cartography by Scott McGrew

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Skinner, Elizabeth, 1961 author. | Skinner, Charlie, 1943 author.

Title: Bicycling the Blue Ridge : a guide to Skyline Drive and the Blue Ridge Parkway / Elizabeth and Charlie Skinner.

Description: 6th edition. | Birmingham, AL : Menasha Ridge Press, 2020.

Identifiers: LCCN 2019051429 (print) | LCCN 2019051430 (ebook) ISBN 9781634043038 (pbk.) | ISBN 9781634043045 (ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: Bicycle touringVirginiaSkyline DriveGuidebooks. Bicycle touringBlue Ridge Parkway (N.C. and Va.)Guidebooks. Skyline Drive (Va.)Guidebooks. | Blue Ridge Parkway (N.C. and Va.)Guidebooks.

Classification: LCC GV1045.5.V82 S626 2020 (print) | LCC GV1045.5.V82 (ebook) DDC 796.6309755dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019051429

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019051430

MENASHA RIDGE PRESS An imprint of AdventureKEEN 2204 First Ave. S., Ste. 102 Birmingham, AL 35233 800-443-7227, fax 205-326-1012

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All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, or by any means electronic, mechanical, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher, except for brief quotations used in reviews.

For Bonnie, Caroline, and Kat

In memory of Willis David Johnson, Anne Cornwall Johnson-Adams, and Rosamond Foltyn

Table of Contents

Heading toward photo by Christine Rucker

Acknowledgments

IN 2019 I CYCLED ALL 575 MILES OF SKYLINE DRIVE and the Blue Ridge Parkway. How amazing it is to experience the Blue Ridge Mountains by bicycle. Pedaling alongequal parts flying down descents and spinning up climbsimmersed in all of the lush beauty these mountains have to offer. This year I learned anew that the athleticism required to cycle this mountainous terrain is legitimate and no small feat. I used the southern end of the Parkway in early spring to train for the Assault on the Carolinas out of Brevard. In May, Charlie and I took on the Tour de Skyline Drivea two-day ride to cycle the 105-mile length of Skyline Drive one day and ride back the next.

Bicycling the Blue Ridge was originally intended as a guide to long-distance touring on Skyline Drive and the Blue Ridge Parkway. Cycling Skyline Drive and the Parkway end to end is definitely a bucket list item that I highly recommend. Whether you undertake an extended tour, an overnighter, or a day trip, these roads do not disappoint. One of the biggest surprises for me this year was receiving a message from two guys in Sweden who had come across the book, been inspired, and made a tour of the Parkway happen. They created an excellent documentary of their trip. How awesome.

It is hard to believe that this is the 30th anniversary of Bicycling the Blue Ridge. I still remember the day Charlie introduced me to the Blue Ridge Parkway. I was jumping-up-and-down thrilled. The Blue Ridge Mountains have always spoken to me more than any other place. They whisper, murmur, and hum with energy and timeless beauty. For me they are one of the thin places, as the Celts and Christians believedplaces so mystic that heaven and earth nearly touch, allowing a glimpse of the divine.

No book is created without the support of family and friends. This year started out with a major setback and I was off the bike for nine weeks. I am deeply grateful to Joe Hutchins, Ginny Norton, Pat Rimron, and the Piedmont Flyers for getting me back on the bikestronger and faster than ever. What an amazing cycling year it has been. Thank you to Scott Campbell, who has bicycle toured the Parkway more times than I have and offered several suggestions for the revision. Many thanks to Christine Rucker for excellent new photographs to energize this new edition. What a fun photo shoot with Alan Norman and the Hearts Racing Club. Thanks to the crew at Kens Bike ShopKen Putnam, Matt Canter, Robert Myrick, Bob Stack, Charlie Campbell, and Rick Bylsmafor keeping our bikes tuned up and ready to go. Thank you to Molly Merkle, my longtime liaison with Menasha Ridge Press, and Holly Cross, my editor this time around. As always, thank you to Charlie; our daughters, Caroline, Kat, and Bonnie; my sisters, Carole and Jenny; and longtime mentor and friend, Mary McAfee. Family and close friends know me best, and forgive and support my laser-focused passion for cycling and this project.

Heres to adventure wherever it takes you.

Happy cycling,

Elizabeth Libby Skinner

575 miles of amazing cycling

Preface

THERE IS NO RIBBON OF HIGHWAY more ideal for bicycling than Skyline Drive and the Blue Ridge Parkway. Something about the wild, inscrutable, lush green of the Blue Ridge has always called to me. If I couldnt be a bird floating on the thermal drafts high above the hardwood-and-fir jungle, then I could fly down descents on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Fast. On skinny rubber tires at 3545 miles per hour. Body and bike one with the road. My brand of risk and thrill seeking. Despite more than 35 years of exploration by bicycle, the Blue Ridge continues to amaze.

Now let us concede from the beginning: Skyline Drive and the Blue Ridge Parkway are never easy. You simply cannot be a passive cyclist on these roads. You work excruciatingly hard climbing its mountains, but the descents are more thrilling than your favorite roller-coaster ride. Theyre scarier, too, for the controls are all yours. All senses are alert. Body and machine meet rubber and pavement in a high-voltage connection.

Cycling on Skyline Drive and the Blue Ridge Parkway can be a humbling experience. The bicyclist who attempts these roads has definitely signed up for some tough mountain cycling. If the worst hill youve tackled is that bridge or overpass in your otherwise flat hometown, you are in for a big shock. We will address this matter of hill climbing later. First, a word about what motivated us to write this book.