Nova Scotia to Smoky Mountains

Hey!

I was able to convince my buddy Ben, with whom I had previously taken this 12,000 km epic trip to Texas , to take some time off in August and join me for another ride.  Ben can take about 10 days off, I can take about 14.  Neither of us have been on the legendary Tail of the Dragon, so we're trying to figure out if it's feasible, or if we'd better pick a destination that's a bit closer.  At this point I'm looking for input / suggestions and general words of wisdom from VFRD...

-My start point is Halifax, Nova Scotia; Ben's start point is Shawinigan, Qc.  We plan on meeting up somewhere south of the Canadian border (probably near Albany, NY);

-Which town would be a good start point to ride in the Smoky Mountains area?  Is it better / more fun to do the Smoky Mnt loop & Tail of the Dragon in a certain direction?   :huh:

-In all honesty, is it worth the trip?  In other words does traffic volume, chrome tractor convoys and speed enforcement take the fun out of it?   :goofy:

-We have no issues with "slabbing it" either on the way to or the way back to make good time (but preferably not both directions).  However given that he only has 10 days off and that it's roughly a 2,000 km ride from his place to the Smoky Mountains, I realize this could mean a lot of Interstate if we decide to go there;  

-Any other scenic/twisty/fun roads worth checking out slightly closer to our locations?  (I've already done the coast of Maine twice, so I'd like to try something new).

Thanks!

I think you only need look at the number of members from Canada and the northeatern US that come down every year for the TexasMac (not in Texas) ride to decide if it's worth it.  Some of those members even hail from your neck of the woods.  I think they generally commit about the same amount of time to the trip that you have available.

If you don't go do the 'tail of the dragon', well...you'll never be able to say you did it....

Last year I slabbed it on the 81 until Harrisonburg.  Jumped on the 33 north, crossed into the mountains and zig zagged my way through the mountains.  Finally hooked up to the 80 onto the Blue Ridge Parkway, then along the BRP pretty much until Franklin, NC.

Home of the TexasMac (only 1 month late!) we used it as a jump point all around the area, including the Dragon.

Honestly, the ride through the mountains (George Washington National Forest, Jefferson National, Cherokee National, Pisgah National) on the way to the BRP was the best part of the ride.  2 days of twisties each way, no cops, no traffic, it was fabulous.

Once in Franklin, be sure to ride the 28 both ways, great road.

Once we got to the Dragon, I quickly realized that it was similar to the roads I'd been on for the last 3 days.  It is a nice run, but there a SO MANY great roads along the Appalachian mountain range, that if you ride the back roads all the way there, you'll almost be dissappointed in the Dragon.

Somewhere I have the route from Harrisonburg to BRP mapped out in GPS.  If you need/want it PM me, let me know, I'll see if I can find it.

Good luck and good weather.

Brian

It is worth it even if you live on the moon.

[image: View Post]DDO-VFR, on 09 June 2011 - 07:18 PM, said:

If you don't go do the 'tail of the dragon', well...you'll never be able to say you did it....

Last year I slabbed it on the 81 until Harrisonburg.  Jumped on the 33 north, crossed into the mountains and zig zagged my way through the mountains.  Finally hooked up to the 80 onto the Blue Ridge Parkway, then along the BRP pretty much until Franklin, NC.

Home of the TexasMac (only 1 month late!) we used it as a jump point all around the area, including the Dragon.

Honestly, the ride through the mountains (George Washington National Forest, Jefferson National, Cherokee National, Pisgah National) on the way to the BRP was the best part of the ride.  2 days of twisties each way, no cops, no traffic, it was fabulous.

Once in Franklin, be sure to ride the 28 both ways, great road.

Once we got to the Dragon, I quickly realized that it was similar to the roads I'd been on for the last 3 days.  It is a nice run, but there a SO MANY great roads along the Appalachian mountain range, that if you ride the back roads all the way there, you'll almost be dissappointed in the Dragon.

Somewhere I have the route from Harrisonburg to BRP mapped out in GPS.  If you need/want it PM me, let me know, I'll see if I can find it.

Good luck and good weather.

Brian

Brian, thanks a lot for the info   :beer:

I'll check out that route on my maps and start planning.  Question:  How many days total was the round trip from the Montreal area?

[image: View Post]timmythecop, on 09 June 2011 - 07:51 PM, said:

It is worth it even if you live on the moon.

:laughing6-hehe:   I had to ask, Timmy.  Some roads get so popular and crowded that it's no fun...but I'm glad to hear that it's not the case with this particular road.

[image: View Post]DDO-VFR, on 09 June 2011 - 07:18 PM, said:

If you don't go do the 'tail of the dragon', well...you'll never be able to say you did it....

Last year I slabbed it on the 81 until Harrisonburg.  Jumped on the 33 north, crossed into the mountains and zig zagged my way through the mountains.  Finally hooked up to the 80 onto the Blue Ridge Parkway, then along the BRP pretty much until Franklin, NC.

Home of the TexasMac (only 1 month late!) we used it as a jump point all around the area, including the Dragon.

Honestly, the ride through the mountains (George Washington National Forest, Jefferson National, Cherokee National, Pisgah National) on the way to the BRP was the best part of the ride.  2 days of twisties each way, no cops, no traffic, it was fabulous.

Once in Franklin, be sure to ride the 28 both ways, great road.

Once we got to the Dragon, I quickly realized that it was similar to the roads I'd been on for the last 3 days.  It is a nice run, but there a SO MANY great roads along the Appalachian mountain range, that if you ride the back roads all the way there, you'll almost be dissappointed in the Dragon.

Somewhere I have the route from Harrisonburg to BRP mapped out in GPS.  If you need/want it PM me, let me know, I'll see if I can find it.

Good luck and good weather.

Brian
:+1:

I did these roads 3-4 years ago.  Harrisonburg is the ideal point to leave the slab.

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned the Cherahola.  Even nicer than the Dragon if you like wide open sweepers.

Glenn

I believe about 2 1/2 days to the beginning of the BRP from Saint John. slabbing it mostly, I95, I84 across Mass to Wilkes-Barre, Penn. area, down I81 to the Front Royal area to begin the BRP. 3-4 days there plus heading back towards home, then 3 days or so back home. We've done this a couple of times. I81 is a major North-South truck route. Trying to stay up with traffic in the rain there is a bit stressful. I would try to meet your buddy in Scranton, Penn at the junction of I84 and I81.

Definitely, ask your brethren, I have some great video of him rippin the "DRAGON"



Still can not transfer to him because of email conflicts.

[image: View Post]rdguy, on 10 June 2011 - 07:53 AM, said:

[image: View Post]DDO-VFR, on 09 June 2011 - 07:18 PM, said:

If you don't go do the 'tail of the dragon', well...you'll never be able to say you did it....

Last year I slabbed it on the 81 until Harrisonburg.  Jumped on the 33 north, crossed into the mountains and zig zagged my way through the mountains.  Finally hooked up to the 80 onto the Blue Ridge Parkway, then along the BRP pretty much until Franklin, NC.

Home of the TexasMac (only 1 month late!) we used it as a jump point all around the area, including the Dragon.

Honestly, the ride through the mountains (George Washington National Forest, Jefferson National, Cherokee National, Pisgah National) on the way to the BRP was the best part of the ride.  2 days of twisties each way, no cops, no traffic, it was fabulous.

Once in Franklin, be sure to ride the 28 both ways, great road.

Once we got to the Dragon, I quickly realized that it was similar to the roads I'd been on for the last 3 days.  It is a nice run, but there a SO MANY great roads along the Appalachian mountain range, that if you ride the back roads all the way there, you'll almost be dissappointed in the Dragon.

Somewhere I have the route from Harrisonburg to BRP mapped out in GPS.  If you need/want it PM me, let me know, I'll see if I can find it.

Good luck and good weather.

Brian
:+1:

I did these roads 3-4 years ago.  Harrisonburg is the ideal point to leave the slab.

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned the Cherahola.  Even nicer than the Dragon if you like wide open sweepers.

Glenn

I think y'all are selling yourselves short on your route. I'd recommend you get off I-81 before Harrisonburg and go east a few miles on I-66. Then hop onto the northern end of the Skyline Drive and ride it all the way through the Shenandoah National Park. By getting off I-81 in Harrisonburg and taking Hwy 33 you're missing about 2/3 of the 105 mile long Skyline Drive. Skyline Drive turns into the BRP when it crosses I-64. FYI the speed limit on the Skyline Drive is 35 mph the whole way unlike the BRP which is mostly 45 mph.

I did the opposite ride from you, headed from the Smokies to Nova Scotia a few years ago on the old Wing, we slabbed it from here to Albany, NY, the took back roads from there to the coast and up into Canada, St. Johns then Nova Scotia, The ride through Vermont and New Hampshire was great, Maine was OK.  We had crappy weather, rained every day for two weeks, but still a good trip.  Ran into a couple of guys from NY who spent 5 days down here and never ventured more than 100 miles from Asheville and said they had a great time, so I think it would be worth it.  Slab it and get on Skyline Drive and the Blue Ridge, if you get pressed for time, slab it back and take the CAT from Maine back to Nova Scotia.

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HIt the Blood Mountain Loop in North Georga. Trace and others Im sure could get you all the route numbers of the loop. By far my favorite ride during Tmac this year.

Heading down that way myself in a week. Would love it if the blood mountain loop could make itself known to me.....

Have a great trip.

The roads in the Southest U.S. are some of best you'll ever find so you should definately make it happen.  For anyone who finds themselves headed toward North GA hit me up and we'll hit some mind bending twists and grab a burger for lunch.  If you have chicken strips on your tires please do not reply LOL!!

Rollin

Hey, It is definetly worth the trip, I have been to the TMAC twice, Franklin is a good center for several runs, check the TMAC post for the ride routes. The 28 is a great road, not as busy as the Dragon, Cherohala and Blood Mountain all good runs.
I took 3 days to go to Franklin, first through Calis to Hartford, CT then 84 accross and down to Allentown 81 to Front Royal. Second the Skyway which was slower and a lot of patrols, then BRP to Roanoke, VA. 3rd day BRP to Franklin, BRP was faster and less patrols (LEO's).
On the way back I took an extra day and went up through VT and NH back the #2 to Bangor and home. Nice roads through the White Mountains but not as twistie as the Smokies.
PM me and we could meet in Fall River or Elmsdale Tim's, I can go over the routes I took.

Pat

I've been going down to Deals Gap almost every July  since 05. I started in 2005 with katanaplanet before it tanked, then in 06 with katriders.com and other than 2007 when I couldn't get the week off I've gone back every summer.  

The roads and scenery are amazing, the people are friendly, And every year I'm depressed for a week or two on how bad our roads up here suck :(. Last year I road home halfway (or so) up the blue ridge parkway, what a blast. Miles of scenic mountainside twisty roads. Hopefully this year I can plan it better and do the entire parkway and maybe skyline drive too.  If you go down there don't just ride the dragon and head home, there's ton's of amazing roads down in the area that are less traveled and less technical than the dragon. My Favorite is the Cherohala Skyway by far but there are many many other ones.

The Dragon can get busy but it's not bad during the week, the weekend is a zoo though. If you check tailofthedragon.com I think they even list what groups will be in the area each week.

[image: View Post]francois_payen, on 10 June 2011 - 05:49 AM, said:

Brian, thanks a lot for the info   :beer:

I'll check out that route on my maps and start planning.  Question:  How many days total was the round trip from the Montreal area?

It's ~1200km from my place to Harrisonburg (pure slab), so that would be about 1 1/2 days.  Though we took 2 days because we went down through the Adirondack park on highway 30 most of the way then jumped on to I88 until I81, then on to Harrisonburg.

As some have noted I didn't mention Skyline, because it is too slow and highly patrolled, and they charge you an entrance fee to boot.

The Cherohala is fine, but each time we took it, we ended up driving too fast (curves and not as tight) in order to keep the adrenalin rush going.  That was the beauty of the back roads.  They aren't laid out for 'rapid transit' so they zigzag like crazy.  You have to be at ease with flicking the bike from side to side, pretty much for the whole day.

BTW, when did you plan on leaving (you might have mentioned earlier but I'm too lazy to re-read the thread)?  My brother and I are planning to swing out into that area again, this time spending more time further north and see what the Daniel Boone National Forest and area has to offer.

Just in passing, nobody has mentioned Joe Brown Hwy.  If you get down there try it out.  A decent 100km run. This is the kind of stuff we do once down there, as well as the obigatory Dragon's Tail and Rt 28.  Just do the 'popular' routes weekdays only.

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Brian

The roads down there are definitely worth it - I was down there last fall and it is on the plans during this trip again.  One thing to consider is to take the Blue Ridge Parkway.  Beautiful!  I rode part of it last year and it is on my plans for the ride this year.  (Should be there in a couple of days).

[image: View Post]VFR-SPORT, on 10 June 2011 - 09:21 AM, said:

I believe about 2 1/2 days to the beginning of the BRP from Saint John. slabbing it mostly, I95, I84 across Mass to Wilkes-Barre, Penn. area, down I81 to the Front Royal area to begin the BRP. 3-4 days there plus heading back towards home, then 3 days or so back home. We've done this a couple of times. I81 is a major North-South truck route. Trying to stay up with traffic in the rain there is a bit stressful. I would try to meet your buddy in Scranton, Penn at the junction of I84 and I81.

I guess Scranton is indeed less of a detour for me.  Thanks for the suggestion, Brian.

[image: View Post]SamW, on 10 June 2011 - 04:48 PM, said:

I did the opposite ride from you, headed from the Smokies to Nova Scotia a few years ago on the old Wing, we slabbed it from here to Albany, NY, the took back roads from there to the coast and up into Canada, St. Johns then Nova Scotia, The ride through Vermont and New Hampshire was great, Maine was OK.  We had crappy weather, rained every day for two weeks, but still a good trip.  Ran into a couple of guys from NY who spent 5 days down here and never ventured more than 100 miles from Asheville and said they had a great time, so I think it would be worth it.  Slab it and get on Skyline Drive and the Blue Ridge, if you get pressed for time, slab it back and take the CAT from Maine back to Nova Scotia.

Nice 'wing you have there!  Sadly the CAT ferry between Maine and Nova Scotia is not in operation anymore...not profitable enough, apparently.  So now I need to slab through Nova Scotia AND New Brunswick whenever I go to the States.   :pissed:

[image: View Post]Coastie, on 10 June 2011 - 05:21 PM, said:

HIt the Blood Mountain Loop in North Georga. Trace and others Im sure could get you all the route numbers of the loop. By far my favorite ride during Tmac this year.

Is the loop you're referring to the one in the general vicinity of Dahlonega / Suches?  

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[image: View Post]DDO-VFR, on 12 June 2011 - 09:21 AM, said:

BTW, when did you plan on leaving (you might have mentioned earlier but I'm too lazy to re-read the thread)?  My brother and I are planning to swing out into that area again, this time spending more time further north and see what the Daniel Boone National Forest and area has to offer.

Just in passing, nobody has mentioned Joe Brown Hwy.  If you get down there try it out.  A decent 100km run. This is the kind of stuff we do once down there, as well as the obigatory Dragon's Tail and Rt 28.  Just do the 'popular' routes weekdays only.

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Brian

Well, up until Friday, the plan was for me to leave on 30 July and be back in Halifax for 12 August...however, I spoke with my buddy and he had forgotten that there's a wedding he has to attend during that time frame, so right now he's unsure if he'll be able to go in August.   :pissed:   He's supposed to get back to me this week with a yay or nay.  The alternate date is late September, which is OK I guess aside from the fact that we'll have less daylight and significantly colder temperatures when we're closer to home.  

[image: View Post]Olive, on 12 June 2011 - 11:45 AM, said:

The roads down there are definitely worth it - I was down there last fall and it is on the plans during this trip again.  One thing to consider is to take the Blue Ridge Parkway.  Beautiful!  I rode part of it last year and it is on my plans for the ride this year.  (Should be there in a couple of days).

I have ridden a short part of the BRP and Skyline drive before (from Front Royal to Roanoke), and it was amazing.  I really like the idea of getting off the Interstate in Harrisonburg and riding the BRP all the way to Franklin!  I figure the whole trip would be roughly about 6,000 km for me, slightly less for my buddy.

"Nice 'wing you have there! Sadly the CAT ferry between Maine and Nova Scotia is not in operation anymore...not profitable enough, apparently. So now I need to slab through Nova Scotia AND New Brunswick whenever I go to the States."

Thanks!  Did they really?  That just suxes, it saved us, we spent an extra few days in Sydney trying to get good weather for the Cabot Trail, which we did (hence no rain in the photo), so we were pressed for time to get back.

My favorite part of the BRP is from just north of Asheville to the end/begining in Cherokee, that is where you get into the tunnels and higher peaks.  It is good around Roanoke, but gets into rolling farm land from there down to Mount Mitchell.  I think it would be a good ride, and it can be made in a day if you need to.  I did a ride from Atlanta, up to the Parkway near Franklin, then up to Lynchburg, VA in a day, and then back in the rain a few days later.

If you end up being near Boone/Blowing Rock towards the end of a day, let me know, I can swing over (1.5 hours) and show you some good routes, I don't get to ride the NC side of the mountains as much as I used to, so it will be a good excuse.