Can there be such a thing? A road just for cyclists, 755 kilometres of the finest smooth asphalt, with a permanent panorama to the right and left, over densely forested mountains, ridge after ridge lined up as far as the eye can see? A ribbon of asphalt with long but mercifully even climbs up to 2,000 metres and rushing, winding descents during which you don't have to touch the brakes for three quarters of an hour? A route for the senses, with fragrant rhododendrons and azaleas by the roadside, romantic farms, horses in the meadows and red deer crossing the road? Of course, there is no such thing. The Blue Ridge Parkway, which stretches along the Appalachian ridge from Washington DC in the north of the USA to the Great Smokey National Park on the border with the southern state of Georgia, was not built for cyclists.
You can find these tours in the PDF download:
Tour 1: Storming Mount Mitchell
96 kilometres, 2,000 metres in altitude, maximum gradient of 15 per cent
Tour 2: Tour de Tuck
145 kilometres, 3,700 metres in altitude, maximum gradient of 18 per cent
Tour 3: Two-state round
87 kilometres, 1,500 metres in altitude, maximum gradient of nine per cent
Tour 4: Around Boone
122 kilometres, 1,000 metres in altitude, maximum gradient of twelve per cent
Downloads:
PDF: Blue Ridge Mountains
