Fifty Plus (50+) - Route help for X-country tour

I posted this on the Touring Forum but I figured some of you folks may have thoughts and I know you respond quickly so here goes:

I normally hang out in the 50+ forum but I need some help from you folks. I have three college grads staying over tonight at my house on Capitol Hill in DC where they will start a cross country tour tomorrow. They plan to follow an Adventure Cycling route they will pick up in Charlottesville, VA but they don't have a good route to Charlottesville from DC. They were planning to follow Google Maps :). Any suggestions? I figured they could get out of the metro area on the WO&D to Purcellville and find a way down from there. But hopefully some of you know better.

I should have posted a more location specific title which might have drawn the attention of locals. In any event, they are off. I escorted them from my house to mile 9. Here are a couple of shots:

Mile 1:
http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd44/donheff/IMG_1782w.jpg

Mile 9:
http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd44/donheff/IMG_1783w.jpg

If they want a real nice scenic route, but fairly hilly:

W&OD to Purcellville
Right on Rt 7 Bus., left on Silcott Springs which becomes St. Louis at Snickersville Pike.
Follow St. Louis to Rt. 50. Jog right on 50 for a few hundred yards, then left on Atoka Rd.
Right on Rectortown Rd
Left on Maidstone Rd to Rt. 55
Follow 55 to Front Royal (last five miles after Linden is pretty heavy traffic. There's a side route on Dismal Hollow that you can take into Front royal that is pretty in its own right.)

Follow Skyline Drive for 105 miles.

You'll end up right at Mile 0 of the Blue Ridge Parkway, and you can pick up the Adventure Cycling route from there.

I'll be on Skyline Drive both days this Saturday and Sunday. Maybe I'll see 'em there!

Ah - to be young again without any cares and responsibilities!!

Don,
Your initial post raises an interesting question. Would I do route planning for someone else? When I first read your post my mind went through all of the published routes that I am familiar with and came up with nothing useful so I did not reply. If I were the youngsters in question I would have already chosen a route and would likely not have been dissuaded by a last minute suggestion from someone on an internet forum. As much as I enjoy route planning for myself, I don't think that I would do it for someone else.

Don,
Your initial post raises an interesting question. Would I do route planning for someone else? When I first read your post my mind went through all of the published routes that I am familiar with and came up with nothing useful so I did not reply. If I were the youngsters in question I would have already chosen a route and would likely not have been dissuaded by a last minute suggestion from someone on an internet forum. As much as I enjoy route planning for myself, I don't think that I would do it for someone else.
I agree completely. The kids in question seem to be a bit under-prepared. They have all the Adventure Cycle route maps from Charlottesville, VA to California. But they arrived at my house not knowing how they would get to Charlottesville - thus my post. A response on the touring forum recommended the WO&D out of the metro area followed by rural roads via Google Maps to get south. That is what I recommended as well. They made it to Warrenton, VA yesterday so they are doing pretty good - at least 85 miles depending on the roads they selected. Today they should make Charlottesville and be able to follow their maps. I hope their repair skills are up to snuff :)

If they want a real nice scenic route, but fairly hilly:

W&OD to Purcellville...

You'll end up right at Mile 0 of the Blue Ridge Parkway, and you can pick up the Adventure Cycling route from there.

I'll be on Skyline Drive both days this Saturday and Sunday. Maybe I'll see 'em there!
I couldn't catch them before they left the WO&D and rode down to Warrenton but at that point they decided to go with your advice. The last Twitter twit I saw from them they were up at 3200' in the National Park.

They may pass within a block of my house if they take the Northern route.

They may pass within a block of my house if they take the Northern route.
They described it as the Oregon Trail without Oregon (they are going to California). I think they said that was the north central route.

I do not see routes listed under those names. I am on the Northern Tier route that crosses the Mississippi at Muscatine, IA.

Adventure cycling routes (http://www.adventurecycling.org/routes/northerntier.cfm?pg=more)

I do not see routes listed under those names. I am on the Northern Tier route that crosses the Mississippi at Muscatine, IA.

Adventure cycling routes (http://www.adventurecycling.org/routes/northerntier.cfm?pg=more)
They described it as "sort of a central/north route." I can see from the site that it is the Transamerica Trail. They are riding down the Skyline Drive today and joining the mapped trail near Waynesboro.

Great, Don! I'm glad they were able to hit Skyline. For me that would be one of the highlights of the trip. I'll be there in about 16 hours :)