V for Virginia

Vineyards, Civil War victories and vivid vistas abound in the National Parks of ‘Old Dominion’

Skyline Drive is known as one of America’s great riding roads. It winds its way through Virginia’s iconic Blue Ridge Mountains for 105 miles, from Waynesboro in the south to Front Royal near the border with West Virginia.

It runs the entire length of the Shenandoah National Park, mostly along the mountain ridge. It’s not just the beautiful sweeping bends that attract riders from all over the country, but the stunning scenery en route.

By happy coincidence, my friend Bob Brotzman’s house is in Culpeper, only 30 miles from what many consider to be the most stunning stretch. So when he suggested I fly out to see him, there was one must-do item on the agenda: ride the Ridge.

Bob, or to give him his full title Colonel Bob Brotzman (retired), is a keen motorcyclist himself. He took up riding after a lifetime of flying bombers for the USAF. He replaced the thrill of flying supersonic jets with the rush of riding, and he thinks nothing of covering hundreds of miles in a day.

I meet up with Bob at his home, and we plot our route. This is a beautiful part of the country, even more so in the autumn, when the temperature drops and the leaves start to turn.

Route to the Ridge

Riding out along Hoover Road, we turn on to the 522. I’m riding a Night Rod^® rented from Patriot Harley-Davidson® in Fairfax, Virginia. The first stop is Sperryville, a small town at the foothills of the range. After a light Southern-style breakfast, we head up towards the Ridge.

Bob knows these roads like the back of his hand, and despite my superior horsepower, I’m left tracing his lines through the bends. The colours are beautiful; most of the leaves are still green, and those that have turned brown now match the rusted crash barriers that adorn most of the bends. The low sun throws an orange glow through the trees, adding to the amazing hues and making me feel like a black-clad intruder in a Theodore Robinson painting.

As we climb into the mountains, I feel the temperature noticeably drop. As I look over the edge towards the valley, I can see a haze on the ground below. The Revolution® engine is pushed up and down the gears, and I crack the throttle every chance I get to make ground on the Street Glide^® up ahead. Curve after curve comes at me, but I don’t even touch the brakes as I haul the cruiser left and right.

Sixty miles later, we break to enjoy the scenery. I have spent much of the ride so far concentrating on the double yellow lines that run down the centre of the road and guide me between the rocks on one side and the drop on the other.

Fly and ride

As we admire our rides, Bob talks about his love for the area and his time in the military. I know Bob from the time he spent living in the UK. He has travelled the world and lived in more than 20 countries while serving in the USAF, including 25 years in England.

Although he loves biking, planes will always be his first love. He started out flying F4 Phantom IIs with the Panther Pack 13th squadron, including tours in Vietnam. He flew with the Panther Pack again in the F15E Strike Eagle before retiring in 1993. It’s a squadron close to his heart, and his house is adorned with artwork and photos from his time with them, scattered among the many pictures of his beloved wife and family.

Most of his time in between the Panthers was spent in F111s. “We used to call them aardvarks,” he recalls, “on account of them having such long noses.” The thrill of speed has never left him. I guess when you spend much of your career at Mach 1, only riding motorcycles comes close.

At the end of day one we have covered more than 130 miles, and I am ready for a cold one. Back at sea level, the temperature is still in the 90s.

The following day we head out to pick up the next stage of the route. The tarmac is as smooth as a peach, which is true for many of the roads in the region. The local authorities around here pursue an aggressive programme of resurfacing, and the sheer number of riders we encounter is testament to the success of the policy.

Tomorrow we head further north and a visit to the Manassas National Park, this year celebrating its centenary as a National Park.

War and Peace

This part of Virginia is steeped in Civil War history, and Manassas played host to not one but two of the war’s most important battles. Manassas also defined the epithet of Stonewall Jackson, the legendary Confederate general, whose army patrolled the area under Robert E. Lee. “You see, Stonewall was born and raised in Virginia,” Bob tells me. “He knew every passageway through these mountains. The Union would think he couldn’t get there in time, and ‘bang’! He’d be there waiting. Every time!”

As we walk around the park, I look towards the very hill that the Union Army charged down, where they met Stonewall Jackson’s company of Virginians in the First Battle of Bull Run on July 21, 1861. Looking across the serene landscape today, it is hard to imagine the carnage and loss of life that occurred here in the first major battle of the Civil War. But riding away, I am reminded of the legend as I see golf courses, hotels, and even schools all named after the famous General.

Today, the fields are more likely to contain vineyards than infantry; Virginia is wine country, and no trip here would be complete without a visit to one or two of them. On the way home we visit one of Bob’s favourites, Old House Vineyards, known for producing gins, brandies and bourbons as well as award-winning wines.

Behind the impressive Colonial house, we are led through to a World War II-themed tasting room, complete with a WL45, built for the liquors they make on site in their craft distillery. We don’t sample any as we still have a few miles to cover, but I buy a bottle of their brandy, which is much talked about in these parts. I can tell you it didn’t disappoint.

After three days on the road, we have covered nearly 500 miles. The roads are awesome, the people friendly and the weather is ideal. It’s time for me to bid farewell, but I’m not quite ready to head home. I think maybe I’ll ride back to Skyline Drive and head south towards Blue Ridge Parkway. There’s a lot of this great state to see yet.