The elevation charts in Bicycling the Blue Ridge, 4th Edition, by Skinner, are a must.  An example from page 75 is shown above.  I have found them to be quite accurate and it is very helpful to know what lies ahead.  The Blue Ridge Parkway is seldom flat!  You are always going up or down.  It is important to prepare yourself mentally for the big climbs.  When I biked the BRP southbound, I biked from MP60 (Otter Creek Campground) to MP120 (Roanoke Mountain Campground) on Day 2.  You can see from the chart above that there is a major climb as the BRP hits its lowest point in VA near the James River (MP63.6) to its highest point in VA at Apple Orchard Mountain  (MP76.7).  The climbing tables from the National Park Service indicate that the BRP climbs 3305 ft from MP 63.0 to MP 76.7.   This is an average grade of  (3305 ft)/(13.7 mi)/(5280 ft/mi)*100% =  4.6%.  Whereas many long uphills have occasional level or downhill sections, this stretch of the BRP constantly goes up.  It takes me about 3-4 hours to make this climb (at 5 mph) including a few breaks.

I can't find the words to say enough good things about this book.  It is an outstanding book and is essential for a long trip on the BRP.  I photocopied (reduced) all pages showing elevation charts, maps, points of interest, etc.  The book also points out great places to visit, restaurants, motels, grocery stores, bike shops, and much more.  I used the first edition (1990) on my 2004 trip and found out that many things had changed (restaurants no longer existed, bike shops had moved, etc).  I recently purchased the 4th Edition (2004) pictured above and will use it this year.  The maps and elevation charts have changed a bit and are very nice.  This book is inexpensive and is available online (any search engine will easily find it) as well as in many bike shops and in shops along the BRP.