my own Appalachian Mtns. from Mobile to Boston w/ Blue Ridge Parkway

[merinojersey]

Hi.  I'm wondering if anyone has any thoughts/suggestions about a trip I'm planning to do solo camping with a BOB trailer from probably Mobile, Alabama (but doesn't have to be, just on the Gulf Coast) to Boston.  I'm trying to do it in just over 30 days, and I think that with this route, what I see while riding will partially make up for not making a lot of side trips, etc. Rough estimate of about 1850 miles.

I think I want to travel the Blue Ridge Parkway and the Skyline Drive.  I've seen the very small amount of precautionary info that the National Park Service has for bicycling on these roads, but I haven't found a lot of info yet from cyclists.  I wonder if it's better to ride on the Parkway and the Skyline Drive, or only parts of them.  I see that the Transamerica route does follow part of the BR Parkway, but I wonder how safe some of the turns are and just whether or not it's friendly to cycling (I've never ridden with a trailer nor a loaded bike). 

If I use those two roadways, then it's only about 140 miles to connect from the northern end of the Skyline Drive to the Atlantic Coast Route in PA to go up and around NJ,NYC, etc.  Any suggestions about this part are welcomed. 

That leaves the section between the southern tip of the Blue Ridge Parkway in Cherokee, NC to the Gulf Coast.  I could go to Mobile and use a portion of the Underground RR route, but I still have to connect a few hundred miles in between the URR route and Cherokee, NC. 

Please let me know if you have any thoughts/suggestions with routes, connections, things I should see, places to stay and anything else.

Thanks very much

[staehpj1]

30 days sounds reasonable.

The Blue Ridge Parkway and Skyline Drive are great riding.  There are no trucks and cars are not in a hurry.  There is no shoulder most of the time on the parts I have ridden, but it wasn't a problem.  The down side is that services are scarce on the BRP and leaving the BRP usually means a steep descent that must be climbed again in the morning to get back up.  So plan your stops carefully.

[dubovsmj]

how about taking the natchez trace parkway up to nashville (northern terminus) and then the few hundred miles to get to cherokee, nc (don't have map infront of me, but i/m sure it's less than UR).

if you did connected the two parkways that'd be near 900 miles worth of low traffic/nearly car free riding...on pavement.

there are good cycling specific books on biking each parkway (natchez and blue ridge). 
def check them out to help plan your trip.

[merinojersey]

Thanks for the info. 

The Natchez Trace Parkway seems like a very nice ride.  I think I'm focusing too much on the ocean to ocean thing though.  If I start in Atlanta and ride north I'll have more time to explore NC and VA, which is what I'm really interested in.