Pogo Saturday on the BRP

[HaulinAshe]

Saturday was one of those extraordinary days. Not because I rode all day. Not because I didn’t get a single performance award or even pulled over! Not because the weather was a perfect balance of fog and sunshine with temps in the 60s, and certainly not because Mystique ’06 and I were using the BRP as a playground connector. Saturday was extraordinary because all that and more!

I left Hendersonville a bit late Saturday morning (08:00) because of heavy fog. As I approached the BRP you could see mounds of puffy clouds hanging along the mountain tops, with the surrounding valleys and mountainsides sunny clear with backlit Carolina Blue skies. All the connector roads running up/down the sides of the mountains were dry, cool and clear. Each one terminated at the top with some good fog on the BRP itself, just enough to deter the normal herds of weekend traffic.

It turned out to be a rare opportunity to bounce from side to side, off the BRP, down a mountain twisty, run a short connection, back up to the BRP, run a short connection, down the other side… you get the picture. I spent most of the day going from Asheville to Cherokee using the BRP as a scenic connector.

The views were so magnificent even I stopped to snap a series of photos at one overlook. Enjoy!

Oh... HERE"S something you don't ever see in NC!

 

[Solo]

Thanks for the photos. My garage is in Charlotte, so the Blue Ridge is my playground too! I'll be up there a couple of days this week exploring different roads. It may not be the Grand Tetons, but it is pretty grand. I'm primed to go after your post.

 

[HaulinAshe]

... and here's a few more pics from the Lake Logan area just south of the BRP and southwest of Asheville...

 

[wheatonFJR]

Wow.

You stopped for pictures!! :dribble: I'm shocked.

Thanks for the RR...glad you had a great day.

 

[canucklehead-biker]

Looks like a great day.

Gorgeous piece of country, great roads and a beautiful day... and people wonder why we ride :yahoo:

Thanks for sharing, really looking forward to running through that area next year on the way to CFR (rumored to be hosted by MEM in New Brunswick, but nothing official yet )

Griff

 

[DE OPPRESSO LIBER]

Wow, Jeff- you outdid yourself! Nice RR. How are the roads around the Dragon and east TN these days? Have they gotten all those landslides all cleared out yet?

 

[Panman]

Someday Jeff someday........................

 

[escapefjrtist]

Thanks for sharing, Jeff. Beautiful country back there!

--G

 

[Old Michael]

Beautiful. Can almost smell the grass.

 

[Patriot]

Wow, Jeff- you outdid yourself! Nice RR. How are the roads around the Dragon and east TN these days? Have they gotten all those landslides all cleared out yet?

I was there Aug 13-17 and all roads were open and good

Jeff and I did our best to hook up, but it was not to be

I would have enjoyed his company

 

[fastpappy]

Leaving for the Dragon 9/15. Hoping to get in some time on the BRP and Skyline Drive also. Anyone else going to be in the area at that time?? :huh:

 

[Bustanut joker]

So did ya see JWilly by chance?

I do miss that guy here..

:jester:

 

[DE OPPRESSO LIBER]

Leaving for the Dragon 9/15. Hoping to get in some time on the BRP and Skyline Drive also. Anyone else going to be in the area at that time?? :huh:

My wife and I will be traveling the BRP starting at the northern end by Charlottesville on saturday morning, hoping to make Sparta, NC. Then completing the BRP the next day. Will be doing the Dragon/Devils Triangle/Cherohala on Monday if she can endure it, then starting to head north to do the BRP in the opposite direction over the next two days.

 

[jhedges]

I'm thinking of doing the BRP around the end of September. Anybody know if the temps and weather would be feasible during that time?

 

[HaulinAshe]

There's a lot of questions to answer. I'll try...

JWilly will be riding again later this month. He's been a full time softball Dad lately.

The BRP has its own weather system that may, or may not have anything in common with the lower elevations. The southwestern section of the BRP, from Asheville to Cherokee, runs primarily along the eastern and southern side of the mountain ranges. That section's weather tends to mimick what's blowing in from the south and southeast.

North of Asheville the BRP runs more along the western edges and the weather tends to mimick what's blowing in from the northwest. When everything is calm, BRP weather is all about changes due to elevation.

The varying weather conditions of the BRP is one of the things that makes it such a joy to explore different sections.

IMO the old two-lane twisty roads that spur off the sides of the BRP are the stuff dreams are made of.

 

[HaulinAshe]

I'm thinking of doing the BRP around the end of September. Anybody know if the temps and weather would be feasible during that time?

Late September is a great time to ride the NC mountains. The BRP specifically will be a crap-shoot, with significant changes possible in a matter of hours. You must be prepared for all conditions from 80s hot to 40s cold, even light snow/ice that time of year at the highest elevations of the BRP.

The worst thing about the BRP in late September is all the damn leaf peepers. Traffic can be heavy and regularly stupid.