From Asheville, NC to Winston-Salem, NC

Select a Ride Report from this list. April 11: Ramona, CA to Phoenix, AZ April 12: A Day in Phoenix April 13: Phoenix, AZ to Tucson, AZ April 14: Tucson, AZ to Las Cruces, NM April 15: Las Cruces, NM to Carlsbad, NM April 16: Carlsbad, NM to Midland, TX April 17: Rain Delay in Midland, TX April 18: Midland TX to Austin TX via the Hill Country April 19: Austin TX to Houston April 20: Houston TX to New Orleans, LA April 21: A Day in New Orleans April 22: New Orleans, LA to Pensacola, FL April 23: Pensacola, FL to Tallahassee, FL April 24: Tallahassee, FL to Orlando, FL April 25-26: Too Dazed in Orlando April 27: Orlando to Miami Beach April 28: Miami Beach to Key West April 29-30: Wasted Away in Key West Addenda and Errata May 2: Key West, FL to Fort Lauderdale, FL May 3: Fort Lauderdale, FL to Melbourne, FL May 4: Melbourne, FL to Jacksonville, FL May 5: Jacksonville, FL to Savannah, GA May 6: Savannah, GA to Atlanta, GA May 7: A Day in Atlanta, GA May 8: Atlanta, GA to Asheville, NC May 9: Asheville, NC to Winston-Salem, NC

Select a Travel Leg to review my plans for that day. Leg 01: Ramona, CA to Kingman, AZ Leg 02: Kingman, AZ to Phoenix, AZ Leg 03: Phoenix, AZ to Tucson, AZ Leg 04: Tucson, AZ to Las Cruces, NM Leg 05: Las Cruces, NM to Sanderson, TX Leg 06: Sanderson, TX to Austin, TX Leg 07: Austin, TX to Houston, TX Leg 08: Houston, TX to Galveston, TX Leg 09: Galveston, TX to New Orleans, LA Leg 10: New Orleans, LA to Pensacola, FL Leg 11: Pensacola, FL to Tampa, FL Leg 12: Tampa, FL to Miami Beach, FL Leg 13: Miami Beach, FL to Key West, FL Leg 14: Key West, FL to Cocoa Beach, FL Leg 15: Cocoa Beach, FL to Orlando, FL Leg 16: Orlando, FL to Jacksonville Beach, FL Leg 17: Jacksonville Beach, FL to Savannah, GA Leg 18: Savannah, GA to Atlanta, GA Leg 19: Atlanta, GA to Knoxville, TN Leg 20: Knoxville, TN to Lexington, VA Leg 21: Lexington, VA to Washington, DC Leg 22: Washington, DC to Baltimore, MD Leg 23: Baltimore, MD to White Plains, NY Leg 24: White Plains, NY to Boston, MA Leg 25: Boston, MA to Bath, ME Leg 26: Bath, ME to Quebec, QU Leg 27: Quebec, QU to Montreal, QU Leg 28: Montreal, QU to Toronto, ON Leg 29: Toronto, ON to Cleveland, OH Leg 30: Cleveland, OH to Fort Wayne, ON Leg 31: Fort Wayne, IN to Chicago, IL Leg 32: Chicago, IL to Springfield, IL Leg 33: Springfield, IL to Saint Louis, MO Leg 34: Saint Louis, MO to Joplin, MO Leg 35: Joplin, MO to Oklahoma City, OK Leg 36: Oklahoma City, OK to Dodge City, KS Leg 37: Dodge City, KS to North Platte, NE Leg 38: North Platte, NE to Pierre, SD Leg 39: Pierre, SD to Underwood, ND Leg 40: Underwood, ND to Beach ND Leg 41: Beach, ND to Lewiston, MT Leg 42: Lewiston, MT to Great Falls, MT Leg 43: Great Falls, MT to Missoula, MT Leg 44: Missoula, MT to Kalispel, MT Leg 45: Kalispel, MT to St. Regis, MT Leg 46: St. Regis, MT to Spokane, WA Leg 47: Spokane, WA to Pateros, WA Leg 48: Pateros, WA to Seattle, WA Leg 49: Seattle, WA to Portland, OR Leg 50: Portland, OR to Grants Pass, OR Leg 51: Grants Pass, OR to Eureka, CA Leg 52: Eureka, CA to San Francisco, CA Leg 53: San Francisco, CA to Sparks, NV Leg 54: Sparks, NV to Fresno, CA Leg 55: Fresno, CA to Ramona, CA

Ending Mileage:

	Actual	As Planned
Day of Travel	Wednesday May 9, 2001	Wednesday May 9, 2001
Departing From	Asheville, NC	Knoxville, TN
Destination	Winston-Salem, NC	Lexington, VA
Distance (in miles)	240	302
Distance (in kilometers)	386	486
Departure Time	9:45 AM
Arrival Time	4:50 PM
Total Travel Time	7 hours 5 minutes	5 hours 4 minutes
Average Speed (in mph)	34 mph average	60 mph average
Average Speed (in kph)	55 kph average	96 kph average

RETURN TO TOP OF PAGE

 

Today's ride is all about the Blue Ridge Parkway. I had some trouble getting out of Asheville and onto the Blue Ridge Parkway, but the road is so nice that all my complaints are forgotten. The setting is awesome. The road winds along the ridge of these mountains. There are frequent turnouts. I stop at about every third one. Some of the views are mundane most are breathtaking. The road is two lane and fairly twisty. There is a posted 45 mile per hour speed limit and it would be hard to drive much faster. Why would you want to? Taking your time here is the point. It is very cold this morning and the clouds are low. In fact, for an extended section I am above 5,000 feet. The clouds fill the valley below. At this altitude, the plants have yet to bloom or bud out. There are Catawba Rhododendron, Rhododendron Catawbiense (because common names are so unreliable) lining some stretches of the highway. In a few weeks, with these plants in full bloom, the roadside will be lit up with bright flowers. It will be stunning. At one turn out, I have a nice conversation with a couple from Dumfries Scotland. They have been driving around the Carolinas for the past two weeks having a great time. They seem surprised that I know where Dumfries is located. I see many of motorcyclists on this road. Only one Harley, a couple of BMWs and many Gold Wings. I'm shocked to see a bright blue Gold Wing, two-up riders and towing a trailer. Yikes! There are also a number of bicyclists. Not casual cyclists but those crazy people (like Gayle) with panniers on every conceivable mounting point. All in all, the bicyclists and motorcyclists come close to outnumbering the motorists. What a great day to be here, the traffic is light so you don't have to worry about grabbing a turnout at the last minute and getting back onto the Parkway is very easy. I duck off the highway at Little Switzerland for some gas. Then back onto the Parkway for some riding. The Parkway is made for leisurely travel. I'm having a good time but I decide I need to make some progress towards Washington. I've covered a little over 100 miles on the Parkway and know that it is a place to be revisited. The ride down to Morganton on NC 181 includes a steep descent. I forgot how high up I was on the Parkway. Lots of nice sweeping turns on an excellent four lane road. Its fun to push the bike through the corners much harder than usual. Luckily I get stuck behind a truck just in time for the state trooper waiting behind the barn. Yesterday, I mentioned that I would go to the Biltmore Estate. Well I did go to the entrance. The admission fee is a stunning $32.00 and requires two or three hours. I decide my budget can't handle another large admission charge and I'm not sure I really have the time, so I decide that I will skip this today. You can visit the Biltmore Estate website by clicking here.

Depart Asheville on Interstate 240 heading east.

Enter Blue Ridge Parkway at intersection with I-240. Head north.

At intersection with North Carolina 181, turn onto NC181 heading south.

At Morganton, enter Interstate 40 heading east.

Arrive Winston-Salem