I95 vs. Skyline Drive

[justbob]

If you're heading south on the east coast of the U.S., say, from NY to FLA, my advice is to add an extra day or two to the trip, and head west from DC on I66 to make it to Skyline Drive. You won't be doing 90, but some of the nicest, twistiest, most scenic road in the world will be yours for the taking.

No trucks. No convenience stores. No lights. No nothing but a ridge-running road going down the Shanendoah Valley. For an MC, it doesn't get any better than this--fun driving and photo ops, espcially in Autumn, as trees begin to turn. This is the weekend if the weather is good.

So, take an extra day or two or three on that trip to FLA, and do what MINIs do best....

[Paul]

Have you taken any photos to share?

[CooperS4us]

Quote: Originally Posted by justbob

If you're heading south on the east coast of the U.S., say, from NY to FLA, my advice is to add an extra day or two to the trip, and head west from DC on I66 to make it to Skyline Drive. You won't be doing 90, but some of the nicest, twistiest, most scenic road in the world will be yours for the taking.

No trucks. No convenience stores. No lights. No nothing but a ridge-running road going down the Shanendoah Valley. For an MC, it doesn't get any better than this--fun driving and photo ops, espcially in Autumn, as trees begin to turn. This is the weekend if the weather is good.

So, take an extra day or two or three on that trip to FLA, and do what MINIs do best....

We drove in the Blue Ridge Parkway last year in the Cooper CVT and it was a blast. I'll look up some of the pics and will post here.

[jvw]

Quote: Originally Posted by justbob

If you're heading south on the east coast of the U.S., say, from NY to FLA, my advice is to add an extra day or two to the trip, and head west from DC on I66 to make it to Skyline Drive. You won't be doing 90, but some of the nicest, twistiest, most scenic road in the world will be yours for the taking.

No trucks. No convenience stores. No lights. No nothing but a ridge-running road going down the Shanendoah Valley. For an MC, it doesn't get any better than this--fun driving and photo ops, espcially in Autumn, as trees begin to turn. This is the weekend if the weather is good.

So, take an extra day or two or three on that trip to FLA, and do what MINIs do best....

I'll second that. It is a wonderful, twisty road. And do count on taking that extra day or two. It is not high speed and the curves must double the milage. Some people tire of the curves after several hours, but there are a number of places to get on or off.

Enjoy the ride.

[Oldpaint]

Besides, don't the overpasses on I95 regularly fall down?

[justbob]

Well, I'm bummed out. The weather here closed in over the weekend and both Skyline Drive and the Blue Ridge Parkway were socked in with clouds, rain and fog.

Consequently, we had to bail out and hit Interstate 81, a great road that follows the floor of the Shenandoah Valley, but not one of my favorites due to the high density of tractor trailers and the AMAZING number of mini vans and SUVs in the left lane on cruise control ("Kerist!" I can hear them think, "I'm doing SEVEN MPH over the speed limit! Why does that snotty little red b*st*rd want to pass me?!") Even scarier are the SUVs who think they can do the weave through the traffic.

So, not a bad trip, but not the best either. I have noticed that it's a lot more fun in our MINIs, however, than in anything else!

Maybe next Spring....

[justbob]

Well, I'm bummed out. The weather here closed in over the weekend and both Skyline Drive and the Blue Ridge Parkway were socked in with clouds, rain and fog.

Consequently, we had to bail out and hit Interstate 81, a great road that follows the floor of the Shenandoah Valley, but not one of my favorites due to the high density of tractor trailers and the AMAZING number of mini vans and SUVs in the left lane on cruise control ("Kerist!" I can hear them think, "I'm doing SEVEN MPH over the speed limit! Why does that snotty little red b*st*rd want to pass me?!") Even scarier are the SUVs who think they can do the weave through the traffic.

So, not a bad trip, but not the best either. I have noticed that it's a lot more fun in our MINIs, however, than in anything else!

Maybe next Spring....

[S2000&CooperS]

We were out in Luray and Front Royal on Saturday with the DC Metro MINI club - was a blast. Passed by Skyline Drive as we did another drive there not too long ago and the line to enter was REALLY long with foliage viewers.