Summer in the USA is the classic time for a road trip and so the Friday before Memorial Day is dedicated to reminding you to make your plans. Sometime this summer I plan to take my motorcycle to my happy place – The Blue Ridge Parkway (and throw in the Skyline Drive in Virginia just for fun). The Blue Ridge Parkway is lovely with vistas and waterfalls and historic sites and activities. But for me the attraction is the road itself.

The road winds its way through and around the Blue Ridge Mountains and the protected forests that thrive there. A leisurely speed limit of between 35 and 45 miles per hour makes this two lane road a spot for reflection and meditation instead of speed and tension. When the road can’t wiggle around the peaks, it pokes through them but in a gentle, respectful manner.

Eventually I will end up at my favorite Blue Ridge Parkway location – the Craggy Gardens Welcome Center, just north of Asheville, NC. Hopefully I will also have a brief visit to my favorite mountain town, Highlands, NC. I’ll keep you abreast of the tour, dates not yet exactly determined. During the trip I will road test a new motorcycle backpack from Viking Bags and a new motorcycle jacket from Viking Cycles. They look all nice just out of the shipping container but need a real road trip to test their durability and utility.

So plan your own road trip this summer. Just the thing to shake off the COVID-19 lockdown and see the country again. But consider avoiding the Blue Ridge Parkway. It gets crowded with all you cage drivers out there! Have a wonderful summer.

As always you can find more at http://www.walterthinnes.com and on Twitter @walterthinnes