Roanoke South Routing
 

Hey everyone,

I was following the ACA routing Atlantic coast route down the east coast from Connecticut. I've biked just about 1000 miles now but cut off the route in Richmond to head to my parent's house at Smith Mountain Lake in Virginia near Roanoke. I am contemplating my next routing.

Does anyone have any experience with biking in this area? I'm wondering if I should head back towards the east coast and bike through the outer banks or continue south. I definitely would like to make it back to Savannah GA since it's a city I always have wanted to visit. Any recommendations are much appreciated. I would also love to have any company even for a short time. Thank you so much!!

Joe

It all depends on what you want to do. I rode Richmond down to Raleigh down to Columbia before heading towards Tallahassee a couple of years ago, most of it on US301. Wasn't a bad ride at all. What do you want to see, that always determines your routing more than anything else. Granted how much time you have available can also make a big difference.

If you depart SML for the Outer Banks you will be doing a very erratic zigzag to Savannah. Taking U.S. 220 or U.S. 29 south from the lake (depending on which end of the lake you leave) will take you to Greensboro NC, but you should probably ask yourself what you want to see along the way to Savannah. The route from Roanoke to Savannah is like this: l, while the route from Roanoke to the Outer Banks to Savannah is like this: >. That's a lot of riding. Good luck!

Got ya. Yea I'm leaning towards heading south. Is 220 a nice ride down? Right now I'm thinking I would ride down to Greensboro and head towards Charlotte. Then I would start making my way to the coast. Eventually, I want to get to Jacksonville and then I'm going to turn west towards San Diego. Time isn't a problem since this I quit my job for this tour. I'm just interested in the most scenic route.

It's been a few years since I drove it regularly but it goes through some pretty country. However, it is divided four-lane and it is the main road through the area so expect considerable traffic. Trucks and hills. It's more "direct" than it is a "pleasant cycling experience" but it'll get you there.

Sounds like you're looking for more of "pleasant cycling experience" than "considerable traffic"

Check out the cycle layer of OpenStreetMap - https://www.openstreetmap.org/#map=1....1363&layers=C - it has several marked routes which could help with your decision.

Now, you're in Roanoke! I feel silly to ask but have you been on the Blue Ridge Parkway (last time I had the opportunity to check it out, it was closed for the season)? You could head south on BRP and then follow what Google suggests to Charlotte (though word of warning - don't trust Google):

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Roan...35.2270869!3e1

I've been looking into the Blue Ridge. That could be awesome. I was thinking I could take it to Asheville and then cut over to Charlotte. Many options! Thanks for the suggestions.

:thumb: enjoy your tour!

One more thought - not sure how I didn't think of it, but Strava HeatMap has been fantastic for me for finding new local roads to ride. Could be useful for you too.

http://labs.strava.com/heatmap/#10/-...10/orange/bike

Actually, if you use the route builder and set your starting point in Roanoke, and ending point in Charlotte, the routing algorithm does a pretty good job using most popular roads!

Thanks for all the advice! I'm heading down the blue ridge parkway tomorrow and planning on being in Asheville on Friday! I plan on hanging out for the weekend and then heading two days to Charlotte. I'll hang out there and then head to Myrtle beach back to the ACA Atlantic Coast route!