Blue Ridge Parkway - Am I insane??

[Zen]

Have you included any rest days?

Would this be enjoyable or would it be torture?

You are the only one who can truly answer your question.

[7rider]

No rest days - but there is some wiggle room in the schedule for bad weather or other catastrophes.
It would be very enjoyable....if it's not torturous.

I'm curious to know grades (I can slog away for a while on a 5-6% grade, but spare me the 12's, thank you), traffic levels. How seizure causing are the tunnels (there's one 5-mile stretch with 5 short (<500') tunnels.)?

Any other "gotta know before you go's"??

[OakLeaf]

I've only done parts of it by moto, but what I've seen of the BRP is that the grades are relatively shallow, but any time you get off the Parkway to go to your hotel or whatever, you're going to be in for some of the steepest stuff the Appalachians have to offer.

You didn't mention motor homes, either. That's probably the worst thing about the BRP. Traffic really depends on season and day of the week, since there's no commercial traffic. Instead, there are half-blind retirees without CDLs driving vehicles almost as big as semis. If you're planning to do it during the fall foliage season, I just wouldn't. This time of year, on a weekday, traffic should be pretty light.