Day 17. Asheville, North Carolina.A fairly long day of riding the Blue Ridge today. Another 190 odd miles covered. Having said goodbye to our Australian friend we made a fairly early start and were off on the road by 9:30. During the day we had temperatures ranging from 20 to 30 degrees and got to altitudes of almost 6000'. Once we arrived in Asheville at 2pm we stopped for dinner and experienced the very American phenomenon of a drive through cash point. We then...

Day 16. Fancy Gap, Virginia. Continued down the Blue Ridge Mountains today, approximately 80 miles to Galax. Decided to stick to the back roads for the first 40 miles to Floyd - a small little town full of art and craft shops. Then re-joined the Blue Ridge Parkway (with a 35 / 45mph limit) for the final section. Unfortunately there are lots of roadworks along the route at the moment, and we hit several places where the carriageway was narrowed to one lane at...

Day 15. Roanoke, Virginia.Started off a bit rainy and cold today but warmed up during the afternoon and got really hot and humid. Unfortunately we had to abandon the $2 pillows as they were going to take up too much room! Drove a good 100 miles on the Blue Ridge Parkway today which is one of the good motorcycling roads in the state. A speed limit of 45 mph also meant that it was a bit more fun today. We have now arrived at the motel in Roanoke which has a distin...

Day 14. Harrisonburg, Virginia.Our day off turned out to be fairly busy, and involved about a 100miles of riding. It seems to be very difficult to do anything without getting on the bikes. In the morning we headed off the Dukes of Hazard museum and cafe, owned by the actor who played Cooter, the mechanic in 'The Dukes'. Then headed up to Skyline Drive for a waterfall walk. The 100 mile Skyline Drive is meant to be one of the best motorcycle roads in the US. Ho...

Day 13. Harrisonburg, Virginia.Another day of sweeping roads and beautiful scenery through West Virginia. Sort of a cross between Wales in the sun and northern Spain - forest covered hills/mountains and steep river valleys. WV has been a real surprise. Unfortunately it's also one of the poorer states, with little opportunity for farming and little sign of industry or other types of jobs. Stopped off at Seneca Rocks around mid morning, and then continued onto ...