There are many ways for a Yankee to get to Daytona Bike Week and I've sampled just about all of them. I've put my bike in a trailer, on a trailer, in the bed of a pick up and I've even gone without a bike and flown to Florida. A few times I've even ridden my motorcycle end to end which given the unpredictability of the weather has always made me feel lucky to make a run up and down the I-95 corridor unfrozen.
Up until a few days prior to departure my plan was to put the bike in the sprinter and head to a friend's place in Charlotte, North Carolina. It's an easy ride to Jacksonville and as an added bonus there is a pretty nice way to avoid the slab. It's still pretty flat and straight but the scenery is better. This always works well as Charlotte is far enough south that one can be confident of not freezing and far enough west that at least part of the trip can be free of I-95.
As I continued to watch the weather I decided I could forget about the truck and ride the bike. As an added bonus a few years ago on the return I worked out a way to include some of the Blue Ridge Parkway into the ride; I figured I could do the same on the way south.
Tuesday morning I pointed my new to me 2015 BMW R1200RT south. This was the first time I had actually ridden the bike. I purchased it from a gentleman in Florida who rode it 1100 miles before deciding due to back issues it was time to stop riding. I purchased the bike to set it up for LD Rallies and while all sort of wonderful things are still to be installed at the least I had my lighting all set up. I had enough confidence and in my shop (tech gave it a test ride when it arrived) to go for it.
My riding partner for the day was fellow Iron Butt Rally vet and Minuteman 1000 staff member Robert St. George. We met at my house and due to a traffic delay decided to meet our third traveler in Front Royal, our target for the first day. My plan had been slab to Front Royal followed by Skyline Drive to a hotel in Waynesboro; between creative routing and trying to meet up we made it to Front Royal.
Front Royal to Waynesboro
The Skyline Drive is one of those iconic roads that everyone should ride at least once. It's very pretty, has great curves, way too many deer and to top it off it's a Federal Road posted at 35 mph. But everyone should ride it once.
As wonderful as the Skyline is my plans for the day did not include spending the first three hours on a road posted for 35 with a natural rhythm of 20 faster patrolled by park rangers who have no humor and love to write big tickets. I had no real plan for the day but with the mountains stretched out in front of me I planned a departure of 04:00 which was another reason to stay off Skyline. Instead I chose SR 55 west out of Riverton to 678 south to 675 to 615 to Luray Caverns. From there it was more back roads to Elkton where I picked up the Skyline to its southern end in Afton. A wonderful route that was an hour faster. As an aside the bike has the best lighting of any bike I've owned. Amazing light color, intensity and reach from two sets of Clearwater LED lights and special mounts. The bike will be described in detail in a future post.
Afton to Fancy Gap
Blue Ridge Parkway at its finest. A fantastic ride on a beautiful day. Great pavement and no traffic. Virtually the same road as the Skyline but posted at 45mph. Still Federal but on this road the difference between 35mph and 45mph is huge. Sadly I forgot some parts required to charge my phone at home so I made a slight detour to the BMW dealer in Roanoke to a Powerlet socket. Nice store and a very friendly and helpful parts guy. Fancy Gap has a nice spot for a meal and it is perfectly located as the jumping on (or off) point on the Blue Ridge if you need to get to Florida on slab. At this point I could have been in Jacksonville for a late dinner but I was riding a new to me RT so I decided to continue south.
Fancy Gap, NC to Newport TN.
On the way to Fancy Gap I was contemplating my options. The weather was fantastic, I was really enjoying my new bike and I had no reason to be in Jacksonville before dinner Thursday; affording me over 36 hours to play. Why not work in Deal's Gap? I did some calculations and determined I could get to the closest hotel town near the Gap by dark. This meant leaving the Parkway for a more direct (and higher posted speeds) route. Still twisty, fun and fast but Johnson City was an inconvenience.
I got to the hotel just as it got dark and enjoyed a cheap sandwich from the fabulous "hotel bar."
Newport, TN to Jacksonville, FL
Day three. I never planned a day three for this ride nor had I ever imagined that the weather would be such that I would be considering riding the Dragon on the way to Bike Week, but here I was starting day three heading to Deals. I planned my departure to arrive at Wellsville at sunrise which was a fine ride. Looking back I could have worked in Foothills Parkway but at the time I was focused on the Dragon and being in Jacksonville for happy hour.
The Gap at sunrise is wonderful; I rode it at a comfortable pace with little worry of slow cruisers or hyper squids harshing my mellow. Even then one must be on their toes in the Gap. Sure enough at the first turn I found a jeep with two serious flats and no occupants. Flashers were blinking bright so it had not bee there for long but the occupant(s) were nowhere to be found.
A little further down the road and the skid marks tell the tale. Looks like the 318th turn on the 11th mile did this one in.
Note added illumination from fog/driving lights 15 minutes after sunrise.
Finally one can't pass the Tree of Shame without a photo, especially if nobody's around.
From the Gap I went south on 28 through Fontana Village while singing "Bad Boys, Bad Boys whatchya gonna do when they come for you." This is a song near and dear to many BMW riders hearts as we got to hear it played from a helicopter when the local sheriff confused a BMW rally with a Clam Jam and spent the weekend harassing Doctors and Lawyers. Sheriff is gone and put enough of a spike in his career from this and other events that he committed suicide a few years later. Bad Boys, Bad boys...
28 is a great road and while the Dragon gets the attention there are many roads that are equally technical without the infamy (or craziness). From 28 I picked up 23 to Hollywood. At this point I have Jax on my mind; we have tentative plans to meet up and head out to a fish camp for dinner and I want to be there. I used the GPS to find somewhat direct roads and much to my surprise I find myself on Route 1, aka the Boston Post Road. I didn't expect this and with just under 200 miles to go it isn't what I want.
My ride was saved when a rider I passed earlier came up and asked me if I was heading to Daytona. I said yes and asked how we was getting there. "Back roads through GA" was the answer and considering he was riding a Yamaha FZ1 I figured he would have good taste in back roads. I followed him and sure enough he bailed on RT1 in a mile so I followed him onto SR 17. When we got far enough away from RT1 that the GPS no longer included it in a recalculation I gave my new friend a wave, passed and went on my merry way.
From there I continued south. Not knowing the back road approaches to Jacksonville along with timing having me arriving near rush hour led me to decide to join 95 in Townsend, GA, I was (and still am) pretty amazed that I was able to avoid 95 from Hartford, Ct to 58 miles north of Florida and I still made it in time for dinner at Clark's Fish Camp.
NEXT
The Return Leg.
