East Coast Route suggestions...

[yamadawg]

Whoo-Hoo!!!:clap2:It's almost vacation time!!!:clap2:Me and Mrs. Yamadawg had planned to travel with a couple of friends back up to Sturgis for two weeks again this year but unfortunately they are casualties of the recession and cannot go.

As a result we plan to cover some ground we have not travelled yet. We are thinking about riding to New Orleans and from there travelling east to Jacksonville, FL. Once in Jacksonville we would like to head to Tybee Island, GA and camp somewhere in the vicinity. From there on we expect to go up the coast as much as possible ending at Ocean City, MD. Then the tentative waypoints are Dover, DE, passing by Baltimore, MD, and then Pittsburgh. From there we would go down through Morgantown, WV and south to Knoxville, TN. I know it may sound a little screwy, but we are looking to check a few boxes in our travel map since we have never ridden in LA, FL, SC, MD, DE, PA, or WV on the bike. The trip will net out around a mere 3,000 miles with around 7 travel days. We would like to tent camp a few nights during this trip and expect to take around ten to eleven days total. The good part about the trip is that if we run short on time we can simply head west and cut it short at just about any time.

We have never ridden the east coast nor any of the area mentioned from the coast back to Knoxville and would love to hear any suggestions regarding the sites to see or the roads to take to make the most of this trip. We will be most appreciative...

 

Thanks to all!

Don

Yamadawg

[Bigfoot]

You'll find that riding the coast for much of the east coast, at least up to VA, is not all that spectacular. There are certain places where you can ride and see the water but in many places the traffic congestion makes it a pain. Va Beach is one example. If it were me, and take this for what it's worth, I'd consider coming up thru Ga through the mountains and into the mountains of Va. You've got the BRP and some beautiful areas to ride. You could then cut over from the Skyline Drive in Front Royal, Va where it ends over to W. VA where the beautiful scenery continues.

[mini-muffin]

Might want to swing through the outer banks. Once over in Manteo you can head to Hwy 12 and down from there. There's lighthouses to see. Plus if you head up to KDH and Kitty Hawk theres a few things up that way, one is the Wright bros. memorial. Just a few suggestions. Let us know if you do head up this way some of us can meet up with you along the way.

 

Margaret

[1BigDog]

If you make it to Jacksonville FL give me a shout. I can probably run you down to St Augustine and back up through Jax beach, over the ferry to Heckscher drive all the up to Fernendina beach...all along scenic waterfront A1A.

[Jrichard]

IT's all overpriced 'tourist' stuff! and the further ya travel 'N' everything is:mo money::mo money:food, adult-libations--if it happens to pour 'liquid sunshine' on ya'll those rms. can get rather $$$$$$$----NO,NO go WEST to THE HUB------where you all will b among friends who love and care bout ya!-------FOOD,FUN,and GR8 ridin in ARKANSAS-------what mo can a person want outta life???????------that is the question!:sun1::usa::thumbsup2:

[Gray Ghost]

I would avoid I95 between Richmond and NJ if at all possible. I had not been on it for years, thought I could make some time heading up it on a Sunday. Not recommended unless you like walking the bike a lot.

 

Good luck on your trip.

[raceman62race]

I live in central GA and I had much rather ride north into the mtns rather than the coast. But if you do make it to Tybee/Savannah area, I would suggest eating at the Pirates house in Savannah. Their food is good but it is the history of the building that makes them different. There will be someone dressed up like a pirate giving tours...take the tour and listen to what they say.

[Tatonka]

The fever has got you too, huh? Hope you have a good trip in any case.

 

I'll be leaving DC and heading to Indianapolis/IN on August 13th where we'll be doing the 2009 Legacy Run from Indy to Louisville but riding 1200 miles through OH-PA-WV before reaching Louisville. We have our convention there until Aug 28th when I hit the road to camp and ride through TN-AL-MS-MS with a big tour through Texas including Big Bend and returning on September 28th to DC. I did 10,116 miles last year from DC-Indy-Phoenix- west coast and down the middle before heading back to DC. About half of the trip on side roads.

 

Lots of places to see on the east coast, some where you can just stop for a few minutes and say, "Whew- glad we don't have to stay here". If you are traveling up the I-95, be sure to watch out for the signs for South of the Border. At least you can tank up there and say you've been there. From DC going south my end point is always Florida, so I ride as fast and long as possible on the I-95. Florida with the coastal road is nice and you can see nice places like St. Augustine, Cape Canaveral, Singer Island, North Palm Beach and Jupiter on the way down towards Miami. That will be too far though if you want to turn off to go north after coming from the west.

 

I'm still planning my trip through LA-MS-AL and will send you a couple of tips later if you want.

 

Heading north, the Outer Banks are a great idea and you can take the ferry to Ocracoke. Just be sure to carry food with you since the last time I was there (2001), you couldn't buy anything at a grocery store.

 

Kind of hard to know where to send you up north. DC is worth a trip on its own and you can ride the Chesapeake Bay Bridge on Rt 50 (at least ride through Annapolis and see the Dock area and Naval Academy) through Salisbury to Ocean City. Be sure to stop at Assateague National Shore but don't play with the ponies. There is a campground there also but you might prefer to stay in Ocean City to walk on the Boardwalk and be in civilization (with food, sights and lots of tourists).

 

On the other hand if you came up the coast from Norfolk, you could also follow Rt 50 all the way out to West Virginia and visit th places I mentioned above (add Chincoteague Island where Misty the Pony was based). Baltimore is only about 45 minutes from DC. Skyline Drive, Shenandoah Valley, Harper's Ferry are also nice places to ride.

 

Guess we need to know a little more of what your interests and intentions are.

 

I'll send you a list of things I wrote down for me to see in the southern states and a plan I made to travel from DC over Ocean City to Nova Scotia that I'm working on for next year (Nova Scotia to Alaska).

 

When are you leaving by the way?

[Magnawake]

My 2 cents...Like said before, stay off I-95. It's horrible. HWY 17 North is jammed with traffic, expecially from Charleston up past Myrtle beach. Charleston is crowded and I wouldnt go downtown, However it would be better on a Sat. or Sun morning and it would be very cool to travel across the new Bridge (its huge). We do have some really nice country roads that have nice little towns along the way. Dont plan on making good time though. Its all about cruising and seeing the country sites for me anyway. I absolutely hate riding on intersates. In SC, I would stay away from the beach areas and head for the hills. I guess that doesnt help you complete the big trip. Sorry.

[yamadawg]

Thanks for the tips! We are still planning, but are now considering leaving the coast after Ocean City and heading to Skyline Drive and then the Blue Ridge Parkway towards home. It seems a great fit and perfect ending for the ride. We'll miss travel in PA and WV at least, but we can get those next time...

[barend]

there is a thread somewhere about bikes and the city of Charleston. Not a biker friendly town I believe it says, can't recall if Savannah snuck into that thread as well.

 

Still historic Charleston and Savannah both are nice.

[Venturous Randy]

there is a thread somewhere about bikes and the city of Charleston. Not a biker friendly town I believe it says, can't recall if Savannah snuck into that thread as well.

 

Still historic Charleston and Savannah both are nice.

 

Hilton Head SC is not a biker friendly place. There are restaurants there you can not get to if you are on a bike.

If you have never been on the BRP, there are many campsites along the way. My favorite is Carolina Hemlocks Park between Mt Mitchell and Burnsville, NC on HW 80. This is especially if you like to swim and snorkle in cool clear water. It is about five miles off the Parkway.

RandyA