motorcycle riding skyline drive national park

Posts Tagged ‘motorcycle riding skyline drive national park’

Motorcycles and Front Royal, Virginia

Posted: July 12, 2022 in Motorcycle, Motorcycle advocacy, Motorcycle Rides, motorcycle touring
Tags: front royal virginia, Harley, Harley Davidson, local motorcycle rides, Motorcycle, motorcycle blog, Motorcycle Ride, motorcycle riding, motorcycle riding front royal, motorcycle riding in virginia, motorcycle riding skyline drive national park, motorcycle safety, motorcycle touring, riding a harley Davidson in virginia, sport bike, Sportbike, sportbike touring, virginia Beer museum

I have ridden along many national parkways including the Natchez Trace (TN/MS), Great Lake Seaway Byway (NY), Blue Ridge Parkway (VA, NC) and, of course, the Skyline Drive Parkway (VA). I have also attended multiple motorcycle rallies along the east coast including Daytona.

Outside of rallies, I have never seen as many motorcycles in one location as I do in Front Royal, Virginia. During motorcycle riding season, it is not uncommon to see hundreds of motorcycles in Front Royal, either singular or riding in large groups daily. You can see these large numbers of motorcycles passing through almost every day but especially on weekends. In my opinion Front Royal could be the motorcycle destination of Virgina much like Tail of the Dragon in Tennessee.

Why are so many motorcycles passing through Front Royal? It is because the town is located at the northern terminus of Skyline Drive and about an hour from the nation’s capital. All these motorcycle riders are passing through the town on the way to Skyline Drive or to parts unknown as they leave the Parkway.

By just passing through Front Royal motorcyclists are missing out on opportunities for some great local rides and the great local flavor. For example, a rider can take a loop from Front Royal to Luray via Fort Valley Road. That ride would last about two+ hours, depending on stops, and would have you back in town by lunch time.

After lunch, mount the motorcycle and head south out of town to cross under Skyline Drive at it two gaps. But be careful, they are quite technical, and the northern gap is designated as a high crash area. Two+ hours later you will be back in town with enough time to get to dinner and a stroll along main street.

After dinner, riders could visit the Virginia Beer Museum for brew and live music or Shenandoah Valley Axe Throwing for a unique activity or any of the many other venues in town. Front Royal has lots of hotels and restaurants and a main street that could be considered a throw-back to another era. Check out the movie theater that has a 1950’s vibe with a state-of-the-art projector and sound system.

Front Royal may be the gateway to Skyline Drive, but it should also be a destination at the start or end of your motorcycle ride. Stay a day or two, there are plenty of hotels and campgrounds, to explore both our local roads and our small-town atmosphere.

Out and about on a short Motorcycle Ride

Posted: March 22, 2022 in Motorcycle, Motorcycle Rides, motorcycle touring
Tags: Harley, Harley Davidson, Motorcycle, motorcycle blog, Motorcycle Ride, motorcycle riding, motorcycle riding in front royal virginia, motorcycle riding in virginia, motorcycle riding skyline drive national park, motorcycle touring, motorcycle touring virginia, riding a harley Davidson in virginia, Skyline Drive, sport bike, Sportbike

We were able to sneak out for about 2-hour motorcycle ride this past weekend. Still a lot going on in life/work, so I am just happy to get out on the motorcycle.

Motorcycling around Front Royal, VA and the surrounding area is a lot of fun. More than a few nice places as destinations and more than a few good country roads to ride.

We even got up on Skyline Drive for a short ride. The leaves have not yet reappeared on the trees, so the views were spectacular!

The curiosity of the day was the “Audi” Can Am Spyder. The reality was the guy was not happy with the big, black, empty area on the front of his trike and put the Audi badge there. It was a neat conversation starter.
Ride on, Ride safe

Motorcycle Ride: Skyline Drive 2020

Posted: October 7, 2020 in Motorcycle, Motorcycle Rides, motorcycle touring
Tags: american byway, fall riding, Harley, Harley Davidson, motorbike, Motorcycle, motorcycle rides in virginia, motorcycle riding skyline drive national park, ride, Skyline Drive, Sportbike, Touring

We pulled out of our driveway on a cool, crisp Friday morning for a long weekend motorcycle ride. By cool & crisp I mean 51 degrees Fahrenheit, a little less with wind chill, of course. We knew it was going to be at least that or a bit less on Skyline Drive.

We had decked ourselves out in appropriate clothing and closed the vents of the Harley Davidson Ultra Limited, so the chill was not very noticeable. Otherwise, the sun was out with blue sky all about and traffic out of town was quite light.

It took us about an hour to get from home to the northern terminus of Skyline Drive in Front Royal, Virginia. I really think that the state could do a bit better job of signage to get people to the park. I knew where it was but, until you are right upon it the signs are few and far between.

Once we were on Skyline Drive the cool air got a bit cooler! There was nearly a 10-degree difference from the valley to the top of the mountain. While we did notice it, and I turned on the heated grips, the motorcycle seemed to love the cool air and purred as it rolled up, down and around the ridge.

The leaves had not yet started to change colors or drop from the trees, but the greens were awesome to view. I do have another complaint, maybe it is a by-product of Covid 2020 but several of the overlooks really did not overlook. The trees and bush build up limited the view on some of the stops. Only a minor disappointment as the day was so nice!

We reached the southern terminus of the parkway late afternoon and headed to our hotel in Charlottesville, VA. The next day we went to some local site like Monticello. Our return tip was via the American Byway “Journey Through Hallowed Ground Byway”, which will be documented on another post.

Skyline Drive by motorcycle really shows that the adage “Riding in car is like watching a movie. Riding on a motorcycle is like being in the movie” is absolutely true.

If you live on the east coast this ride needs to be on your bucket list.

Ride On, Ride Safe