BlimeyCabrio
August 8th, 2007, 09:53 PM
A motorcyclist buddy of mine told me that, in his opinion, NC 80 was perhaps the best road in the state. Hmmm. That's pretty high praise from a guy who really has ridden just about every twisty this side of the Mississippi...
So today I drove from Greenville, SC up to Boone, and took the long, twisty route... about 5 hours including some brief stops. NC 80 runs from just north of Old Fort (on I-40), up to the Blue Ridge Parkway, on North to Micaville, then doglegs on 19E a bit and continues up the Bakersville, NC. Then you can hop over to NC261/TN143 to go up and over Roan Mountain for more nice scenic twisties.
This is the route I took. (http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&hl=en&geocode=&saddr=34.832968,-82.296524&daddr=US-25+N+%4035.069390,+-82.436290+to:US+25+Hwy%2FUS-25+N+%4035.223130,+-82.437530+to:I-26+W%2FUS-74+W+%4035.338500,+-82.437880+to:Chimney+Rock+Rd%2FUS-64+%4035.450270,+-82.287810+to:NC-80+%4035.787580,+-82.203100+to:NC-80+%4036.012860,+-82.186840+to:TN-143+%4036.119590,+-82.081180+to:boone,+nc&mrcr=0&mrsp=0&sz=11&mra=dme&sll=34.861708,-82.282791&sspn=0.241705,0.563736&ie=UTF8&om=1&ll=35.605952,-81.872864&spn=0.987016,2.581787&z=9)
NC 80 ROCKS. Portions are Dragon-quality. A couple of sections are "beyond Dragon" in technical skilll level. There ARE cross streets and driveways to watch for on some sections. Others are pretty clean. There aren't any 11 mile continuous stretches - but there are several shorter outstanding parts.
Here's an example - the 1.5 mile segment leading up to the BRP - this is NOT for the faint of heart...
http://www.paulscottpenny.fastmail.fm/NC80.JPG
But it's not solid switchbacks - even these tight ones are mostly "paper clip" bend curves - just one or two legitimate switchbacks that sneak up on you and test your puckering skills. If I had a hardtop, I would make a roof graphic outta this... it's that awesome...
Oh yeah, and NO tractor-trailers. And NO law enforcement to be seen anywhere along this... and light traffic.
So today I drove from Greenville, SC up to Boone, and took the long, twisty route... about 5 hours including some brief stops. NC 80 runs from just north of Old Fort (on I-40), up to the Blue Ridge Parkway, on North to Micaville, then doglegs on 19E a bit and continues up the Bakersville, NC. Then you can hop over to NC261/TN143 to go up and over Roan Mountain for more nice scenic twisties.
This is the route I took. (http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&hl=en&geocode=&saddr=34.832968,-82.296524&daddr=US-25+N+%4035.069390,+-82.436290+to:US+25+Hwy%2FUS-25+N+%4035.223130,+-82.437530+to:I-26+W%2FUS-74+W+%4035.338500,+-82.437880+to:Chimney+Rock+Rd%2FUS-64+%4035.450270,+-82.287810+to:NC-80+%4035.787580,+-82.203100+to:NC-80+%4036.012860,+-82.186840+to:TN-143+%4036.119590,+-82.081180+to:boone,+nc&mrcr=0&mrsp=0&sz=11&mra=dme&sll=34.861708,-82.282791&sspn=0.241705,0.563736&ie=UTF8&om=1&ll=35.605952,-81.872864&spn=0.987016,2.581787&z=9)
NC 80 ROCKS. Portions are Dragon-quality. A couple of sections are "beyond Dragon" in technical skilll level. There ARE cross streets and driveways to watch for on some sections. Others are pretty clean. There aren't any 11 mile continuous stretches - but there are several shorter outstanding parts.
Here's an example - the 1.5 mile segment leading up to the BRP - this is NOT for the faint of heart...
http://www.paulscottpenny.fastmail.fm/NC80.JPG
But it's not solid switchbacks - even these tight ones are mostly "paper clip" bend curves - just one or two legitimate switchbacks that sneak up on you and test your puckering skills. If I had a hardtop, I would make a roof graphic outta this... it's that awesome...
Oh yeah, and NO tractor-trailers. And NO law enforcement to be seen anywhere along this... and light traffic.