Next week I'll be starting my trip... my first vacation in 4 years, a motorcycle trip estimated to last about 10 to 14 days. I'm leaving on Wednesday and shooting straight down to Beaufort, South Carolina... yeah, it'll be an overnighter. I have to make it to my grandparents' house for thanksgiving. After that, I'll be making my way back, stopping off in Winston-Salem NC and Lynchburg VA to see some friends. Beyond that, I'm just looking for some good motorcycling roads and exciting places to see. Anyone have any suggestions? I'm considering heading out to the Tail of the Dragon. It's 4 hours away from where I'll be staying in NC. I know it's extremely popular, does anyone have any experience there in late November on a weekday? I'd love to hear about other nice places to ride that will be closer to my route, sort of up I-77 and US-22 (I haven't actually planned a route yet).

The Blue Ridge Parkway goes from Cherokee NC in the South up to Front Royal VA at the North end. Pretty decent back roads through PA to NY.

Looks close to your stopovers but I have no knowledge of the Parkway road conditions in Nov./Dec. From May to Sept. they're pretty good.

Weather looks OK right now, I bet that it will be optimal time to run the Dragon. Iron horse motorcycle resort is a good place to lay your head, if they are open.

I second the parkway, you can drop down to Winston on 421 I bet. On a side note, 421 in Tenn is fantastic, past Mountain City. The Snake its called. Shady Valley TN.

Right now between of Asheville and NC80 the parkway is closed due to weather. I personally find the parkway to be the best riding in the area, and that does include the Dragon. If you feel a need to go up on the north side I would recommend NC80, aka The Devils Whip to get you up there. 226A is ruined, 181 is not bad. If you want to hit the parkway, let me know, I will get you much better directions. South side I am not so familiar with, but SC1 and I want to say 176 up to the parkway are national favorites.

Be prepared for sensory overload. And wildlife, the turkeys in particular are running in gangs.

So in my rambling way I will say: SC1 to 176 to Parkway to -oh this is nice - 74A in Asheville, 9 to Old Fort Mountain Road, Silvers Welch to 70 to 80 to Parkway to 421 to Shady Valley to Winston Salem. Past that I dont know. I can make you a map if you want.

*** Warning ***

Traffic in the DC area will be its "normal" terrible self for the Thanksgiving holiday.  I think it is our official worst day of traffic.  If you can, avoid I-95 south of the DC beltway from about 11:00am (maybe earlier) until after 7pm on Wednesday.  The traffic jam usually goes to the Fredericksburg area which is about 25 miles south of the beltway in VA.  Cagers will be driving insanely!  The only other place I get traffic going to Myrtle Beach, SC is sometimes around Richmond, VA but it is usually not a big deal.  Take I-295 south in the Richmond area all the way until it connects back to I-95.  Its about 8 miles longer than I-95, but hardly any traffic.  Watch for cops on 295!

On the bright side, the weather looks pretty good for your trip.  Be safe!

Thanks for the tips everyone. I don't think I'll bother heading all the way out to the dragon, but I might check out the Blue Ridge Parkway.