Johnson City

The big decision of the day was determined by the weather. I was really keen to ride the scenic Blue Ridge Parkway through to Roanoke, but we were faced with forecasts of rain and thunderstorms as a low front was sweeping through towards us heading east.

I looked out the hotel window after breakfast and the Blue Ridge Mountains were shrouded in dark clouds and mist - similar to what we encountered at the start of the ride yesterday morning through the Skyline Drive. Decision made, we decided to stick to the main highway and head south-west. The weather forecast was predicting storms later in the afternoon, so we really wanted to be off the road early afternoon.

As we left Waynesboro on Hwy 64 our decision proved to be the correct one. I saw a few exits to the Blue Ridge Parkway and was sorely tempted to turn off, but by Roanoke we encountered our first downpour. We pulled off the road into a BP forecourt and donned wet weather gear and then carried on. As quickly as the rain had hit us it eased off and we didn't strike another downpour until Wytheville. This time the rain was torrential and visibility was very poor, so we pulled off the road into a fuel station and took the opportunity to top up the tank and wait for the worst of the rain to pass.

Once it had eased off we kept heading west and by the time we stopped at Marion for lunch, the sun was out and it was very warm and humid. We crossed the state line into Tennessee just past Abingdon and shortly after endured yet another downpour! We reached our stop for the day at Johnson City. It worked out to be good timing, because once we had unpacked the bike and settled into our room, more torrential rain  and thunder arrived!