Sunday Drive

**big_sur** · 10-03-2006 07:37 AM

So last week I picked up a new camera and since I will probably end up spending over $2500(once you factor in the speeding ticket I got going to pick it up) on it, I figure I should probably use it. Anyways the plan was to get up bright and early and go on a Sunday morning drive. I’m lazy and I felt like crap when I woke up so Sunday morning didn’t actually start until 12:30 or so. For the most part it’s just driving wherever and exploring roads I’ve never been on before. Anyways here’s my Sunday Drive for this week:

Otterville Rd (RT 643)
-2 lane double shot treated tarmac
-Speed Limit not posted
This is the road I live on. So, barring any off-roading, this is pretty much how I’m going to start. It’s actually a pretty sweet road to live on. It’s out in the middle of nowhere but it’s also a fun road to drive. Watch out for the occasional tractor and if you have anything wide, passing must be accomplished on the shoulder. The road itself is full of little bumps and ripples but it’s pretty much standard country road. This type of road is referred to here on out as double shot treated tarmac because that’s what I’ve always heard it called and I’m sticking to it.

The Front Yard and Otterville Rd

Oslin Creek Rd(637)
-2 lane compacted gravel
-Speed Limit not posted
I figured I should start the day with some gravel and give myself a little pick me up. This road has apparently gotten very compacted so it takes a bit more than it used to require to get loose. There are a few nice turns where you can look all the way through but a lot of the turns are blind and ABS only does so much. There’s some beautiful countryside as you drive through the valley but mainly I just take this road because it’s a shortcut to charlemont.

Moo

Charlemont(638)
-2 lane double shot treated tarmac
-Speed Limit not posted
This is one of my old driving roads that I used to beat up my old BMW on. It’s even better in the WRX. There are great scenic shots everywhere but I’ve pretty much taken them all so I just enjoy the road for what it is nowadays. Definitely pay attention here though as there are quit a few turns on this road that come out of nowhere and take the road in an entirely unexpected direction. I always stop at the Sedalia Store at the end of this road because you don’t see too many stores like this around anymore and that’s a shame.

Curves are good

Sedalia store parking lot

The Sedalia Country Store

Sedalia School Rd
-2 lane double shot treated tarmac
-Speed Limit not posted
This road goes past the Sedalia Center for the Cultural arts or something to that effect. Basically it’s a conference center\hippie school but they do have a pretty cool blues festival every year. Anyways I wasn’t on this road for any period of time but I thought I would mention that.

Gunstock Creek
-2 lane double shot treated tarmac
-Speed Limit not posted
This is another connecting road I just though I would mention. It basically hugs the bottom of onion mtn and has some endearing qualities but my main objective was to get to….
Reed Creek Rd(764)
-1 Lane Gravel
This was the road on the map that I was curious about. Supposedly this was supposed to go up terrapin mtn but apparently the state only maintains the lower part and my map didn’t mention this. Looking on the brighter side of things there was a neat old house at the top of the state maintained portion that was being restored. As far as the road goes, the gravel was sort of medium density; it wasn’t really compacted but it wasn’t really fluffy either. there was also the occasional rock sticking up and I always think about my alignment bill every time I hit one at speed. Unless you have a truck, don’t go on this road, there’s really not anything up it.

Think Narrow

Neat House getting restored at the end

Creek Crossing after end of state maintenance

Final Roadblock

Cornelius Rd
-2 lane double shot treated tarmac
-Speed Limit not posted
There was nothing really out of the ordinary on this road. There was however, a bunch of hayfields that just got harvested with the big bales randomly placed all over. I was constantly contemplating driving through the field to get a shot of the WRX placed as a hay bale but I decided not having the shot was an acceptable alternative to shotgun in the face.

Intersection of Cornelius and 122

122 N
-2 Lane Asphalt
-55mph
Every time I get on 122 it’s sort of like “when do I get to turn off this road” but it’s really not that bad. It has an absolutely beautiful view of the Blue Ridge Mountains all along it. It’s has a fair amount of elevation changes and turns. It even has one really long straight that I *may* have topped out every vehicle I have ever owned on. I think the difference between this road and most of the others that I drive is that on this road I would have to be going double the speed limit for it to be remotely challenging. I mean it’s a highway granted, and that is it’s purpose ,but on most of the other roads I choose, you have to be driving hard to even approach the speed limit.

Red Hill Rd(601)
-2 lane tarmac switching to 1.5 lane gravel
I might as well go ahead and say it, I got denied again by the all mighty END STATE MAINTENANCE. This time however, I would highly recommend going down this road. The road starts out as tarmac and has a nice flow to it but then the gravel part is where it really gets interesting. Switchbacks galore are at the end of this road with absolutely perfectly maintained gravel. All of this AND it’s in the middle of a very thinly populated forest meaning you can see the road about 3 turns ahead. At the end of this road I got greedy though and threw caution to the wind; I defied the end state maintenance sign. It really wasn’t all that bad but after a while the road got progressively worse and I was down to 5-10mph. A country dog ended up making my decision for me and wouldn’t get out of the road. I mean seriously, what animal just lays in the middle of the road and does not yield to an object like 25 times its size? Oh well, I got to do the rally stage again.

One of the few potholes in the road

Peters Creek Rd
-2 lane double shot treated tarmac
-Speed Limit not posted
While I have no doubt passed this road about 5 million times driving to and from the mountain, for some reason I never ventured down it. Great country road. There are tons of switchbacks and elevation changes with some interesting scenery on the sides. It’s actually a road I think I will add on my route to the mountain from the house. It takes off a boring little bit of 501. On a side note, Ginks gun shed is off of this road. Can’t say that I’ve ever been to or have a desire to go to Ginks gun shed but I thought I would mention it.

Time Warp

BRP Crossing

Curves

501N
-2 lane Asphalt
-55mph
This is sort of the warm up to the mountain. It’s not quite as tight and the curvy parts are definitely spaced out more but it has some very alluring turns. This road actually comes from Lynchburg in Boonsboro so this is the most expedient way to get to the mountain or the Blue Ridge Parkway. I suppose I underrate this road simply because I’m usually on my way to a more challenging road but it is definitely on the recommended list.

501n\130w “The Mountain”
-2 lane Asphalt
-55mph
This is the road that is generally referred to as “The Mountain.” I used to ride this road all the time on my triumph and then carried that over to cars. It’s not quite as tight as Deals Gap and it’s not as long but it’s probably the best smooth paved roads in the area. If you have a sport bike or sports car of any type this is the place to be. To break the speed limit in a turn is an accomplishment in itself and you will never touch anything near reckless driving in anything short of a full prepped race car. Police presence is light due to the fact that hardly anyone “speeds.” Watch out for the occasional tractor trailers, stay on your side of the line, and enjoy your time on the mountain.

Roller Coaster

**big_sur** · 10-03-2006 07:38 AM

River Rd
-2 lane double shot treated tarmac
-Speed limit not posted
This is a nice little loop off the side of 501 before Buena Vista. There’s a little curvy section at the end but for the most part it just lazily snakes alongside The Maury River. I found a neat little lock or something of the sort and explored a bit. I sort of got my hale bay picture but I couldn’t really get in the middle of the field and the bales were a lot smaller than the ones on Cornelius. Last side note: there’s a very cool solar house on this road that’s worth checking out.

Hay bale shot was sort of a letdown w\2ft tall bales

At the Lock

Solar House

501N
-2 Lane Asphalt
-55\45\35\25mph
Back onto 501N and it heads into the town of Buena Vista. It’s a very picturesque town but also a very big speed trap. If it says 25mph, one would be wise to proceed at exactly 25mph.

Buena Vista Old Court House

60E
-2 Lane Asphalt\Concrete
-55mph
This is another up and down a mountain road. Nice and smooth with some tight turns. Watch out for the second right hander coming up as it decreases radius mid corner(my speed triple explored the cliff on the left side after I dismounted mid turn). This road actually continues to have some nice turns past the parkway for a while but I usually opt for the parkway simply because it turns to long, straight, and flat in the middle of nowhere on it’s way back to Lynchburg and I generally speaking do not like to double back.

Yum

Watch out for that

Blue Ridge Parkway South
-2 lane Asphalt\Concrete
-45mph
Ah the good old parkway. Thank you depression. If you’re up for a scenic drive it’s hard to beat the parkway. I pretty much stopped at every overlook to check things out and take some pictures. There are a couple sections going up to the peaks of otter that can be fun at 50mph but I generally just cruise. Park rangers have more power than the police and I’ve never really had the urge to get on their bad side. In addition, there is a park ranger station at pretty much every entrance\exit so running from their jeep grand Cherokees might not be such a good idea after all. But the fire roads you say, there are hundreds of miles of fire roads that line the sides of the parkway. Well unless you know those hundreds of miles of fire roads without looking at a map, which I don’t and I drive the parkway a lot, you will probably run into a dead end. Just don’t speed, enjoy the road for what it is.

Stepping Stones

Lake

James River

Unidentified Fire road
-1 lane gravel
Speaking of dead end fire roads, I got denied again. I try to check out the fire roads every now and then as occasionally you will find a gem of perfectly kept, banked gravel for miles but the problem with the fire roads is they are constantly changing. One day it might be open, the next day it may have a giant barricade across the road, or in my case, a post. The reason I tried this one out was that it was not on my map and generally speaking most roads are on my map. Apparently there was a reason it was not on my map.

43N\S double back
-2 Lane Tarmac\Asphalt\Concrete
-55mph
Earlier I said I don’t like to double back. This is the exception to the rule. If you have an Evo or an STI, this is your road. I would highly suggest driving whatever distance you must just for this 4 or so miles of road. Smooth, not really. Long, no. Tighter than Deals gap going up the side of a mountain with at least a 10% grade, that it is. So that coupled with the fact that it was getting late is my reason for doubling back. Side note-there’s some sort of rock quarry at the bottom of the mountain, they’re usually pretty strict about letting people in but I just asked to take a couple pictures this time and they were very cool about it. Sadly not one of them came out.

It is indeed a Land of many uses

Curves

Switchback and then some

Goose Creek Valley Road(695)
-2 lane double shot treated tarmac
-Speed limit not posted
This is another one of those roads I always passed up just because I was stuck in a rut. Without exception I always get back on the parkway after coming back up 43. Today I decided to be different and was greatly rewarded. This road is pretty much an extension of 43 on the other side of the mountain but more of a tarmac road surface. Some very tight switchbacks occupy this road on it’s way down the mountain. Change is good.

Afternoon rex

Murrells Gap(680)
-2 lane gravel\tarmac
Wanna be Colin Mcrae? Buy a house on this road and you’ll probably progress to something along those lines. Loose gravel and VERY tight turns inhabit the opening section of this road. This is not the road for all you posting up “where do I learn how to drift,” Some of the turns on this road I don’t even understand how car traverse it on a regular basis. By this I mean that my turning radius is not tight enough to get around some of the turns without the use of the hand brake. After the beautiful opening section the road sort of goes to **** for a while with rocks protruding through the road. This continues for a bit until it turns into a nice civilized tarmac road.

Not much room for error

Get tight

Kelso’s Mill(682)
-2 lane double shot treated tarmac
-Speed limit not posted
I went down this road at night so I can’t really be sure but I’m almost positive this would be a beautiful road during the day. It snakes through a valley and in the distance I could see there were some mighty big homes leading me to believe there are some incredible views to be had.

Kelso Mill Gas Station

I sorta like how busy this came out

43N
-2 lane Asphalt
-55\45mph
Back on 43, but this time on the south side of the blue ridge parkway. This road actually continues up to the parkway and some fun little turns right before it’s adjunction to the parkway but it was dark and I wanted to get home.

Jopling(643)
-2 lane double shot treated tarmac
-Speed limit not posted
This is the quintessential country highway or at least I like to think it is. It’s pretty much a 55mph road with a couple of exceptions. Basically just a nice flow to the whole thing. Side note-turning onto 640 off this road will lead to some really good fresh apples.

Playing with Overexposure

Everybody else’s headlights going through this section kept washing it out so I set up the timer and drove through with the parking lights on

Disclaimer: I do not condone breaking the law but I do encourage others to get out there and drive. These are all public roads and are meant to be driven as such. Stay within your limits and if you want to exceed them go to a SCCA event. I’ve done both AutoX and RallyX in the past and they’re both a complete blast. Have fun and stay safe.

**302@12psi** · 10-03-2006 07:42 AM

At first I found myself thinking " I wish I lived where this guy lives, it's so nice". But then I started to think we have roads like this around here (to some extent or another) but I've never taken the time to go on a drive down many of them. It's interesting to have that "small town" look as we 100% dont have that. Nice picks and nice town.

**wrx_n_efx** · 10-04-2006 09:05 AM

Nice Wagon

**03WRX_YELLOW** · 10-04-2006 09:20 AM

Great Pics... I wish I had a nice camara... i should just spring the money for one.
Thanks for sharing with us. My fav. was your wagon in the bridge.

Looks like you had a great adventure.

**Speedette** · 10-04-2006 09:22 AM

Nice pics!!! I do love Virginia!!!!

I still have to visit skyline drive and the other scenic drives, but I have been on many back-roads that looked exactly like the ones you pictured...the narrow ones in the mountains are my faves! I really should take my camera along next time!