There is a lot of blogworthy stuff going on these days, so I’ll make this quick.

The next day we woke up.

It was cold, but clear.

We rode to the Blue Ridge Parkway, where it was colder and not so clear. I stopped in the Visitors Center to get a Passport Stamp, and the ranger actually laughed at me when I told her we were going to ride the Parkway.

It didn’t take long to find out why she was laughing.

We rode 75 miles with visibility often as low as twenty feet. In misty clouds that mercilessly pelted us with drizzle, rain, and other forms of liquid hatred, making helmet visors steamy films of uselessness. We had to stop a few times to, as Denis put it, “unpucker.”

At times I couldn’t see anything but the yellow line on the road.

The temperature at the summit was 36 degrees. There the rain mixed with sleet. Piles of old, unmelted snow lined the sides of the road. My heated vest, which had been intermittent the whole ride, died for good at that point.

It was one of the best days of riding I can remember.

Author: frenchy

One Response to “Tennessee Ride – The End”

1. Mitch says:

   March 30, 2008 at 7:27 AM

   Very cool, I climbed a mountain in Yellowstone on a day like this and had a great time! No view, but it was very mistical. 🙂
   Thanks for sharing the photos, it’s fun to live vicariously through you and your adventures.
   – Mitch

   Reply