April 12th, 2015.
Day 2.

I awoke to a lovely Appalachian morning.
I slept in relatively late in an attempt to get more rest that I needed. I was in no great hurry. After all, I was on vacation and had set a conservative agenda for todays’ mileage to be travelled.
it was close to 7:00 in the morning.
The sun was already high in the sky and the air was crisp and fresh. Temperature outdoors was 50’F (10’C).
It felt wonderfully different from being in a big city.
I was looking forward to riding The Skyline Drive on this day.

The Skyline Drive starts here at Front Royal and stretches for 105 miles (168 km) as it snakes its way over and around mountain tops and through the Shenandoah Valley. Its end becomes the start of the Blue Ridge Parkway that runs for a further 364 miles (582 km) to its end at the southern end of the Great Smoky Mountain range.
So with bike/luggage loaded and in place I set off for the day. It was 8:00 a.m. sharp.
It was not hard to find the Skyline Drive. Signs were littered all over the place.
One could not miss it.
So after a couple of intersections and turns I found myself at the northern terminus of the Skyline Drive where it entered the Shenandoah Valley.
I wasn’t even 20 minutes into the ride and I was already being mesmerized by the stunning views of the valley.
It was early April and leaves had not started fully sprouting on the trees that lined the road.
This allowed me expansive views. Stopping at the roadside, I whipped out my camera and began immortalizing the views.
I continued along the road.
With each turn, with each curve that I went around the views presented were just as lovely and breathtaking as the previous, if not, more so.
My stops for photos were becoming frequent.
Subsequently I found myself spending more time than I really should have by making these frequent stops.
My time versus distance travelled ratio began to suffer and I began to realize that at this rate I would not get very far this day.
I had to make a hard decision to find a good compromise. so I pushed on, burning images into my mind.
Stopping to remove camera gear, set up for photography and re-pack camera gear onto the bike requires no less than 12 minutes!
So spending any extra time to take in the surroundings is just that much more time added.
Before you know it, half an hour will have gone by for each stop!
The morning wore on. I was enjoying the ride. I was enjoying the views. I was looking forward to meeting up with family and friends along the way. I was looking forward to riding some fabled motorcycling roads.
Just after 11 in the morning, I peaked in elevation, finding myself at the highest point of the road through the park at 3680 feet (1121m) in elevation and I particularly wanted, I particularly needed to memorialize my personal achievement with a photo op.

I pushed on for another half hour before my hunger pangs mandated a stop for lunch/a snack of yogurt and bananas that I was carrying.
I found a lovely meadow with a clump of trees nearby under which I sat, and just “took in” my surroundings as I rehydrated and filled my empty stomach.
Times/breaks like this I cherish greatly!
I spent about 40 minutes here on this break from the road. I just couldn’t bring myself to leaving this lovely place. But I had to get on with the journey. I definitely would not like to find myself still on these roads after dark. I still had many miles to go to my final destination for the day.
the views were getting better and better.
Each one more grandiose than the other. I kept stopping. I was in awe of the spectacular sights.
Looking down into the valleys from this perspective was so different.
Views and perspectives not commonly seen in regular day to day life in the big city.
Soon after midday I found myself at the end of the Skyline Drive.
All too soon it came to an end, but oh what views!
Well this meant that I was now at the start of the Blue Ridge Parkway - at a gap in the mountains called Rockfish Gap. Interstate 64 intersects with the Parkway here at this point.
My destination/stopping point for the day that I had chosen, was Afton which was still quite a few miles away.
I began to make my way towards Afton,VA in search of lodgings for the night.
I was deep in mountain territory. Roads were narrow with great elevation changes.
So as the bike knocked down the miles I began to realize that this Afton, VA area was a really tiny place. I don’t know how it made it onto the map. I could not find a single motel/hotel in this locale, so I made an executive decision to move on out of this area till I got to a large enough town to crash out for the night.
Looking down at my instrument cluster I realized that it was 72’F (22’C). No wonder I was starting to feel warm.
I ended up in Waynesboro, VA.
Pulling into a Mickey Dee’s, I went through my tried and tested routine of patronizing them, surfing the net via their hotspot and locating a place to stay.
I checked into the Comfort Inn right around 5:00 p.m.
The ST had munched only 133 miles on this day.
So with phone calls and bedtime prayers dispensed with, sleep soon got the better of me.