What is Parkway By Bike?

I am not certain of exactly when it was Mike first mentioned to me the prospect of riding the entire Blue Ridge Parkway by bike. Maybe it was in the close of last year, maybe it was at the turn of the new year this year. Regardless of exactly when it was we first began contemplating/discussing the prospect of traversing the entire parkay on our bicycles, the fact of the matter is, our trip is now a mere three days out. 

In some ways, it seems as if our first initial thoughts of this trip occurred years, as in multiple years, ago. I remember thinking then, I have forever to train for, prepare for, and try to be patient for the start of this epic journey. And to some degree this trip has been a long time in the making. And yet in other ways, the time has passed all too quickly, leaving me feeling unprepared and rushed. It is almost as if this trip has somewhat snuck up on me in the middle of the night and has yelled, "Surprise, guess who!" We really begin riding in three days! I am filled with excitement and trepidation at the same time. 

So, what exactly are we doing? Saturday, Mike, his wife Rhonda, and myself will be driving to Virginia, bikes in tow. Sunday morning Mike and I will then begin on the Northern-most portion of the Blue Ridge Parkway and head South. (A brief pause is required right now to give proper thanks and recognition to Rhonda who is graciously willing to drive sag/support for us for the entire week. Thank you Rhonda!) 

Our plan/goal is to complete the entire Blue Ridge Parkway, all 469 miles of it, in 6 days on bicycles. During the ride both Mike and I will be providing commentary, reflection, pictures and video on this blog. I am betting we will experience a multitude of thoughts and emotions ranging from euphoria and exhilaration to questioning our own thought processes for attempting such a thing. So there is no telling what, on any given day, you might read from us of our experience. One thing though we are completely confident of is this, it is not a question of if we will have fun but rather a matter of how much. 

We invite you to follow us on this blog through our journey. We also invite your prayers for safe travels and nice weather. A link to a map of the ride is: http://www.blueridgeparkway.org/map.