What a great experience!  After riding the Blue Ridge Parkway solo last year, I advertised the May 2005 ride in Adventure Cycling and set up a web page for the trip.  I wondered how it would be to ride with people that I only had met through email, but it couldn't have worked out better.  We were all prepared for the ride and got along well together - in fact we had a blast!.  We ended up riding about 525 miles in 8 days, had two days (and one night) of rain, and had few mechanical problems (Anthony had two flat tires on the same day).  The pictures below tell the real story.

Day 1 (Saturday, May 14) – Hardees in Cherokee, NC. We met at Hardees in Cherokee on Saturday morning at 7am and got started by about 8am.  Pictured from left to right are:  Anthony (Chattanooga, TN), Trina (just riding for the first day), Tod (Chapel Hill, NC), Jim (Suffolk, VA), Dean (Bar Harbor, ME), AJ (Cherokee, NC), and Paul (Virginia Beach, VA).	Day 1 (Saturday, May 14) – Milepost 469 – start of the Blue Ridge Parkway in Cherokee, NC. We paused for a photo at MP469 where the Blue Ridge Parkway starts in Cherokee.  We planned to cycle all the way to MP0 in Waynesboro, VA in 8 days.	Day 1 (Saturday, May 14) – Milepost 431 - Richland Balsam, NC. This was our toughest day with over 9600 feet of climbing (much of it in the rain).  We finally reached Richland Balsam, the highest point on the Blue Ridge Parkway at 6053 feet.  We biked from 8:00 am until 8:00 pm and finally made it to the Mt. Pisgah Campground.  We ate dinner at the nearby Mt. Pisgah Inn, but then had to set up camp in the dark and in the rain!
Day 2 (Sunday, May 15) – Milepost 404 -  Fork Mountain Tunnel Day 2 started out with a wonderful 20 mile downhill from Mt. Pisgah to Asheville.  We sometimes hit speeds of 40 mph on the downhills.  The parkway has 27 tunnels and we went through 9 tunnels in a 10-mile stretch in this section.  The tunnels are not lit and it is easy to get a bit disoriented when you go through them.  We used lights so that the cars would see us.	Day 2 (Sunday, May 15) – Milepost 342 – Black Mountains Overlook The views are incredible on the Blue Ridge Parkway.  Most of our first two days were above 4000 feet and the mountains appear to be quite desolate and rugged.	Day 2 (Sunday, May 15) – Part of 47 mile detour around Mt. Mitchell It rained on our first two days of the ride and we found this coin laundry in Black Mountain, NC.  We stripped off our wet clothes and ate lunch in the laundry while we dried everything.  Dean was especially pleased to find the laundry as his tent leaked and his sleeping bag was wet after the first night camping at the Mt. Pisgah Campground.
Day 2 (Sunday, May 15) – Part of 47 mile detour around Mt. Mitchell Two sections of the Blue Ridge Parkway were closed during our trip due to huge amounts of rain (up to 30 inches) that were dumped on the parkway by Hurricane Frances in September 2004 causing numerous rockslides.  We had a 47 mile detour, part of which was on a dirt road (pictured above).  The detour finished with a very steep 5-mile climb up Rt. 80 back onto the parkway.	Day 2 (Sunday, May 15) – Milepost 339 - Crabtree Meadows Campground We didn’t make it into the Crabtree Meadows Campground until about 7:30 pm after a long 84 mile ride.  The temperature dropped to 40° F that night so we were quite cold in camp.  We carried light tents and sleeping bags like you might use for backpacking.  We also carried small backpacking stoves to heat water to cook dehydrated meals (which are remarkably good).  Unfortunately, the National Park Service campgrounds on the parkway have very little in terms of accommodations – just a nice bathroom with cold water.  Trying to clean up at a sink with ice cold water after a day of riding is a challenge!	Day 3 (Monday, May 16) – Milepost 306 – Grandfather Mountain Overlook Day 3 featured our second and final detour.  The 19 mile detour wasn’t too bad except for the last 4 miles back up to the Blue Ridge Parkway on a steep, twisting, narrow road with lots of dump truck traffic!  We survived the climb and looked forward to seeing Grandfather Mountain (pictured above).  This was our shortest day (60 miles) and we hoped to go up onto the privately-owned mountain for a break from riding.
Day 3 (Monday, May 16) – Milepost 305 – Grandfather Mountain Grandfather Mountain is just off the Blue Ridge Parkway and is privately owned.  It costs $14.00 to go up on the mountain, which features a mile-high swinging bridge (Dean and I pictured on the bridge above), a visitor center, zoo, restaurant, hiking trails, and more.  The 2-mile road up to the bridge is very steep and they don’t allow hikers or cyclists on the road.  We had to pay for entry and then hitch a ride!  The 360 degree view from the top of Grandfather Mountain is spectacular!	Day 4 (Tuesday, May 17) – Milepost 292 – Sonny’ Restaurant in Blowing Rock, NC Jim (front right) was exhausted after three long days and decided to call it quits.  He called his wife to come and pick him up.  We decided to give him a “farewell breakfast” and we went to Sonny’s Restaurant in Blowing Rock, NC (celebrating its 50th year).  We were sad to see him leave, but understood as we were pretty worn out, too.  Pictured clockwise are AJ (with the hat), Tod, Dean, Paul, and Jim.	Day 4 (Tuesday, May 17) – Milepost 244 – Doughton Park, NC AJ rides past some of the carved out rock walls along the Blue Ridge Parkway as we approached Doughton Park.  This is one of my favorite sections as the views are breathtaking.
Day 4 (Tuesday, May 17) – Milepost 243 – Doughton Park, NC Paul takes a break on the stone walls that line much of the Blue Ridge Parkway.  It is great to see spots like this where the road we had just cycled is visible in the distance.	Day 5 (Wednesday, May 18) – Milepost 241 – Bluff’s Coffee Shop - Doughton Park, NC We carried much of our food on the trip, but ate out perhaps ¼ of the time, especially when nice local places were available.  We started Day 5 by backtracking 2 steep miles from the Doughton Park Campground to Bluff’s Coffee Shop.  They have a great breakfast and are known for their dishes of homemade black cherry jam that they put on the tables with biscuits.	Day 5 (Wednesday, May 18) Milepost 220? We saw lots of wildlife along the Parkway as well as domesticated animals.  We stopped to see these horses, which included two foals.
Day 5 (Wednesday, May 18) – Milepost 218 – NC/VA border After cycling for 4 ½ days, we crossed into Virginia.  Dean and Paul (pictured) were riding together, with Tod and AJ not far behind.  Tod and AJ proved to be very strong cyclists and they would often give Dean and Paul a “head start” in the morning and then catch up with us by lunchtime!  Tod has cycled across the country three times and has been a tour leader for Adventure Cycling in many locations, including Colorado and Nova Scotia.  AJ recently graduated from college and has been part of NCAA mountain bike teams.	Day 6 (Thursday, May 19) – Milepost 177 – Poor Farmer’s Market – Meadows of Dan, VA We began Day 6 with a tour of Meadows of Dan, VA.  Country stores like this are fun to visit and we would often stock up on fresh fruit and other items.	Day 6 (Thursday, May 19) – MP 177 - 120 May is a beautiful time to visit the Blue Ridge Parkway.  In the lower elevations (<3000 ft) many trees and flowers were in bloom.  We especially liked the flame azaleas (top left) and the rhododendron (top right) that were in abundance in Virginia.  There were many wildflowers as well, including the trillium shown (lower left).
Day 6 (Thursday, May 19) – Milepost 176 – Mabry Mill Mabry Mill is a great place to visit on the Blue Ridge Parkway.  It features a restored grist mill, displays of farm buildings and tools, and a restaurant/gift shop.  We stopped here for breakfast and enjoyed their great pancakes.	Day 6 (Thursday, May 19) There were always lots of interesting things to see on the Blue Ridge Parkway, such as the cemetery with odd rock walls, the gypsy moth trap, and the shop shown above.	Day 7 (Friday, May 20) – Milepost 96 We had a lot of rain on the 6th night and the forecast was for rain all day on Day 7.  The skies looked very stormy, but we were delighted that we didn’t run into any rain.  The photo above was taken as we made the climb up to Peaks of Otter.
Day 7 (Friday, May 20) – Milepost 86 – Peaks of Otter A favorite spot to visit on the Blue Ridge Parkway is Peaks of Otter.  They have a lodge and a restaurant which overlooks the lake shown above with Sharptop Mountain towering in the background.  We were only there a few minutes when the fog started to cover the mountain.	Day 7 (Friday, May 20) We were treated to an incredible display of nature on this trip.  I especially liked the fire salamanders that liked to go on the road after it rained.  The millipedes (?) shown were always in abundance crossing the parkway.  Turkey vultures were also in abundance, majestically soaring above the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains.  Sometimes we would see their shadows cross the road in front of our bikes - wow!	Day 7 (Friday, May 20) – Milepost 76 – Old Apple Orchard We left Peaks of Otter and climbed for another 9 miles up to Old Apple Orchard.  At 3950 feet, it is the highest point on the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia.  The fog grew thicker as we reached the top.  When we left Old Apple Orchard we had a 13 mile downhill to the James River, where the parkway has its lowest point (600 ft).  The first 3 miles of the downhill were a little treacherous in the fog.
Day 7 (Friday, May 20)    We saw lots of deer although it was rare to get this close for a photograph.	Day 8 (Saturday, May 21) – Milepost 29 Lunch at Whetstone Ridge.  There used to be a restaurant here, but it has closed.  There are still restrooms, water, and picnic tables, so it was a great place for lunch.  We ate incredible amounts of food on this trip!  We would probably consume 5000 calories daily as we would bike an average of about 65 miles/day, which included an average of 6000 feet of climbs.	Day 8 (Saturday, May 21) – Milepost 20 Dean races downhill at about 35 mph along a scenic downhill between MP24 and MP18.
Day 8 (Saturday, May 21) – Milepost 10.7 – Raven’s Roost We made the tough climb up to Raven’s Roost (3200 ft) and enjoyed the view.  We only had 10.7 miles to go.  It had been a great trip, but we were looking forward to MilePost 0.	Day 8 (Saturday, May 21) – Milepost 10.7 – Raven’s Roost Tod makes a phone call while resting at Raven’s Roost.  Cell phone coverage wasn’t too good on the Blue Ridge Parkway, but we used the phones whenever we could.	Day 8 (Saturday, May 21) – Milepost 10.7 – Raven’s Roost AJ enjoys the view from Raven’s Roost.
Day 8 (Saturday, May 21) – Milepost 10.7 – Raven’s Roost Dean walks out on the rocks where rock climbers are often seen.	Day 8 (Saturday, May 21) – Milepost 10.7 – Raven’s Roost   There was a wedding taking place at this scenic spot when we arrived!	Day 8 (Saturday, May 21) – Milepost 0 – Rockfish Gap We did it!  525 miles and 48,000 feet of climbing in 8 days.  We felt great about the accomplishment and celebrated with a victory dinner in Waynesboro.

Daily Schedule (starting and stopping points, campgrounds, miles per day, # feet climbed per day, etc.)