Saturday, July 12, 2008-Peaks of Otter, VA

Today we drove to the the Peaks of Otter campground on the Blue Ridge Parkway.  During our drive, there were more motorcycle and bicycle riders than automobiles. The motorcycle riders were good drivers, and usually drove in groups of three or four. They kept to the speed limit and were courteous drivers. The parkway seems to be a popular place for them to ride and camp.

The bicycles were more of a problem. With so many curves and hills, and their slow speed, it was difficult passing them, pulling a fifth wheel. They cannot maintain a speed of more than a few miles per hour going up the ascents. Most were helpful and signaled when they could see there was no oncoming traffic. A few would not move to the right side of the lane to make passing them safer, but kept to the center or left side of the lane.  I know we need to share the road, especially on the parkway, but some of the bicycle riders introduced an unacceptable risk factor.

In the afternoon, we drove to Bedford, a town ten miles southeast of the parkway. There is no fuel on the Blue Ridge and we needed diesel for the truck. We finally found a station with diesel and next to them was a Kentucky Fried Chicken. We could not pass up a chicken dinner. We ordered two meals, returned to the camper and ate our KFC. When we camp, our meals are simple, with good food and nutritious. Every once in a while, something like that tastes really good.