Since I just spent a few hours planning routes down and back to Nationals, I thought I'd post 'em here so any other Region 6ers riding down can take a look, compare notes, etc.
At the moment it's Chris (cablebandit) and I riding together (both of us on '07 Wee Stroms), but if anyone else wants to tag along, let us know. Chris is gonna ride from State College down to my place in Harpers Ferry on Friday (June 6) and stay the night...then we're hitting the road Saturday morning.
Day One - 380 miles: slab down I-81 to Staunton, ride the best Virginia section of the BRP down to Roanoke, then hop back on I-81 and slab down to the North Carolina line, where we'll work our way over to Stone Mountain State Park for the night.
Link to route in Google MapsDay Two - 272 miles: ride the BRP all the way to its end, camp out in the area of Nantahala/Wesser/Robbinsville, NC.
Link to route in Google MapsDay Three - 502 miles: get up at the crack and do an out-and-back of Deal's Gap...then take the Cherohala Skyway west to Tellico Plains, where we'll work our way south to Ducktown, TN and head east on Rt.64...we'll follow Rt.64 most of the way across Tennessee and through Memphis (avoiding the slab unless Rt.64 is too slow). Our goal is to get just into Arkansas and stay at Village Creek State Park.
Link to route in Google MapsDay Four - 235 miles: we'll take back roads, then Rt.65 northwest to Eureka Springs, arriving by early- to mid-afternoon.
Link to route in Google MapsDay Five - ??? miles: ride around Arkansas and Oklahoma!
RETURN TRIPDay Six - 323 miles: Route 62 northeast out of Eureka Springs to Missouri, then back roads to Cape Girardeau, MO.
Link to route in Google MapsDay Seven - 339 miles: ferry crossing on the Ohio River, then continue east through Kentucky on back roads...with (hopefully) a tourist stop at
Mammoth Caves National Park. Goal is Somerset, KY.
Link to route in Google MapsDay Eight - 417 miles: this one's a crap shoot, since there are a million good ways to get from Somerset, KY to Lexington, VA!
The route I mapped out is just one of those million possible routes (and they're all twisty routes).
Link to route in Google MapsDay Nine - 156 miles: just a leisurely jaunt up the slab (I-81) to get to Harpers Ferry resonably early on Sunday...then Chris still has to ride back to State College, PA.
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Of course none of this is etched in stone...and if anyone sees any roads I routed down in Tennessee/Arkansas/Missouri/Kentucky and says "NO! Don't take that road! It sucks!" then I'm happy to oblige!
I relied heavily on Google Maps' new "Terrain" feature...as well as satellite imagery...to map a route across Missouri and Kentucky that follows the most forested, hilly areas of the states (and avoided the flood plains along the Mississippi and the less forested, heavily farmed areas of the state). And of course, as always---back roads! (I don't mind having to look down at my GPS every 15 minutes to see which way to go at middle-of-nowhere intersections---it's more fun!)
Scott
