Inspired by a couple of Swedes...

[Stoneyrun]

riding a section of the Blue Ridge Parkway, I'm thinking it's doable on an ebike too. Those guys flew from Scandinavia to ride bikes here. They began not far from my house.
My Lectric XP (classic) should be coming soon(really). I have the Aosom trailer ready except I still need to put a 175 watt...ish solar panel on top and wire it. My plan is to rotate two batteries so one can charge in the trailer while using the other. Bike is 500w fat tire(it'll have to do). Will add a second battery(prolly 14ah...ish). I'll be in no hurry. But I do want to be able to travel some daily of course. Still need to get the 2nd battery/charge controller/maybe a smaller inverter to reduce weight and charge times. I have a 100 watt kit already but it's just too heavy and not enough power. Will do short days and visit towns along the route for water/food/shelter/power as needed. Will also hammock camp often cuz this hammock is quite comfortable. Hope to be able to do about a 6-10 days/nights in one trip starting at the Blue Ridge Parkway entrance in Roanoke, Virginia and heading south to see how far I can get. I'll make arrangements to be hauled home when the trip is over or needs to be cut short. I snagged a couple of these solar batteries for $30 bucks each(clearance) and may use to recharge accessories. May need them to power an electric jacket for warmth. Though they are a bit over 4lbs each. My hope is that going south on the BRP will have more descent and less ascending. We'll see . I'll firm up a departure date after I get the bike so I can complete the set up for the trip(told 1st week of June delivery but who knows these days). Bikes, including ebikes, are allowed on the Blue Ridge Parkway and all it's paved surfaces. eBikes are not allowed on unpaved trails on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Finding good camping spots will be easy. Some boondocking, but also staying at a campground or two for power I suppose. I might stay at Willville campground the 2nd night. They haul wheelbarrows of firewood to your campsite. They also give biscuits and orange juice in the morning. Anyone rode any stretches of the Blue Ridge Parkway? Got a campsite suggestion between Roanoke, Va. and Cherokee, NC. along the Blue Ridge Parkway?

 

[fooferdoggie]

Not to be a downer but your bike choice is one you may not be able to be repaired on the road. Plus it is not a rugged bike made for long hour of riding day in and out.

 

[Bitmugger]

I say give it a good couple long rides on the Lectric XP before you set out just to work out the kinks. That's sounds like a long trip you have planned and your riding a commuter bike and pulling a trailer. Just make sure you get a feel for if it's up to challenge before embarking. Paved roads make me think it's doable probably but be cautious. How many days do you feel you'd be biking? Take a spare tube at least. I bet you'll have a blast

 

[Stoneyrun]

Not to be a downer but your bike choice is one you may not be able to be repaired on the road. Plus it is not a rugged bike made for long hour of riding day in and out.

I'll take it pretty easy. Few hours seat time per day at best. If I don't get much sun I'll probably need to town hop often for charging.

 

[fooferdoggie]

I say give it a good couple long rides on the Lectric XP before you set out just to work out the kinks. That's sounds like a long trip you have planned and your riding a commuter bike and pulling a trailer. Just make sure you get a feel for if it's up to challenge before embarking. Paved roads make me think it's doable probably but be cautious. How many days do you feel you'd be biking? Take a spare tube at least. I bet you'll have a blast

it takes more then a couple of rides to make sure a bike is bug free.

 

[Stoneyrun]

I say give it a good couple long rides on the Lectric XP before you set out just to work out the kinks. That's sounds like a long trip you have planned and your riding a commuter bike and pulling a trailer. Just make sure you get a feel for if it's up to challenge before embarking. Paved roads make me think it's doable probably but be cautious. How many days do you feel you'd be biking? Take a spare tube at least. I bet you'll have a blast

Got a spare tube. Got tools. Got a diy ikea stainless steel utensil holder hobo twig stove I've used a time or two with some success.

 

[Stoneyrun]

it takes more then a couple of rides to make sure a bike is bug free.

I'll give the XP a good shakedown before I take off on any overnighters.

 

[GypsyTreker]

I think you said you have someone who can pick you up (retriever) so after a shakedown go for it. My only comment is the BRP is very stressful when sharing it with autos. I use it to get to the VA in Asheville and it freaks me out watching cars and bicyclists trying to occupy the same space ( there are no shoulders to speak of) As is a common experience nowadays , lots of really inconsiderate auto drivers and a much smaller group of bicyclists in the same catagory. Oh, it's hilly in either direction with some uphills long enough to go through a battery rather quickly. Not trying to discourage an adult from making a decision but you might consider the GAP in Pa, not crazy far from Roanoke. If you go on the website you can combine BnBs with camping and route plan right on the site. No problem charging and really an exceptional trail. Just a thought

 

[EMGX]

riding a section of the Blue Ridge Parkway, I'm thinking it's doable on an ebike too. Those guys flew from Scandinavia to ride bikes here. They began not far from my house.
My Lectric XP (classic) should be coming soon(really). I have the Aosom trailer ready except I still need to put a 175 watt...ish solar panel on top and wire it. My plan is to rotate two batteries so one can charge in the trailer while using the other. Bike is 500w fat tire(it'll have to do). Will add a second battery(prolly 14ah...ish). I'll be in no hurry. But I do want to be able to travel some daily of course. Still need to get the 2nd battery/charge controller/maybe a smaller inverter to reduce weight and charge times. I have a 100 watt kit already but it's just too heavy and not enough power. Will do short days and visit towns along the route for water/food/shelter/power as needed. Will also hammock camp often cuz this hammock is quite comfortable. Hope to be able to do about a 6-10 days/nights in one trip starting at the Blue Ridge Parkway entrance in Roanoke, Virginia and heading south to see how far I can get. I'll make arrangements to be hauled home when the trip is over or needs to be cut short. I snagged a couple of these solar batteries for $30 bucks each(clearance) and may use to recharge accessories. May need them to power an electric jacket for warmth. Though they are a bit over 4lbs each. My hope is that going south on the BRP will have more descent and less ascending. We'll see . I'll firm up a departure date after I get the bike so I can complete the set up for the trip(told 1st week of June delivery but who knows these days). Bikes, including ebikes, are allowed on the Blue Ridge Parkway and all it's paved surfaces. eBikes are not allowed on unpaved trails on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Finding good camping spots will be easy. Some boondocking, but also staying at a campground or two for power I suppose. I might stay at Willville campground the 2nd night. They haul wheelbarrows of firewood to your campsite. They also give biscuits and orange juice in the morning. Anyone rode any stretches of the Blue Ridge Parkway? Got a campsite suggestion between Roanoke, Va. and Cherokee, NC. along the Blue Ridge Parkway?

Go with what you got and have fun. I'm not qualified to give advice regarding your specific bike but I've always found that wider tires on my non-fat bikes make the bike heavier and along with the added rolling resistance makes pedaling more difficult so I avoid anything wider than 1.5" and found higher pressures result in lower rolling resistance. A long test ride would be a good idea to see how your bike pedals without assist and to check your battery range. I've never had any problems with cheap components on my cheap bikes. A couple of them are Walmart purchases and they have been great bikes - I took one (non-assist) on a 2 day 120 mile camp and ride in the Idaho panhandle last September and rode one (a Walmart "Genesis" folding bike) around Crater Lake. Its not all about having the most expensive, which doesn't always result in the most reliable - one guy rode across the US, ocean to ocean, on a 3 speed coaster brake bike and said he had a great time. The longest mini-bike tour I've done was last Oct, 175 miles in 3 days, 8,500ft total elevation gain, longest day was 73 miles. I had 33% left on my 400wh battery at the end of that day because I didn't use any assist for the first 40 miles then used it a lot when I got into areas with steep long climbs. If you pack heavy you might find that you can't ride without assist, then you need more batteries which add extra weight, which makes pedaling more difficult, resulting in need for more battery capacity - sort of a vicious cycle. If your route has spots that you can charge along the way I'd skip the solar panels and all of the paraphernalia that goes along with them. I've charged my battery in the picnic/day use area of a state park and plugged into an outlet on the side of a city hall/police department. I'd focus on keeping it as light as possible and just have a fun little adventure.

Small sample of fun rides I've had on cheap (Walmart) bikes,



I've since installed a tongsheng mid drive on the Walmart hybrid bike in the picture below and that bike has become my favorite ebike, more so than a Yamaha powered, Shimano 105 equipped gravel bike that I rode on the 175 mile route last year.

 

[Stoneyrun]

I've done a few multi-day motorcycle camp rides on the BRP. Never on an ebike though. Drastic distance reduction is not a problem. Other drivers on the BRP, weather, bears, gear failures, etc. could be. I'd like to be able to do a few back to back nights and some daily miles without hitting a town for anything if possible. Before I do this trip I'll do a couple overnighters locally to get an idea of gear/range and see if a few hundred mile trip on an ebike is something I want to try. I enjoy this kind of stuff though so I'm leaning toward making it happen.

 

[EMGX]

Motorcycles and scooters are a lot easier than either regular non-assist or ebikes because gas can take you so much farther and faster even with a load. I've done a 2600 mile Alaska trip (ferry up and ride home) on a 200cc motorcycle and a few long (several hundred mile) trips on a 170cc scooter including to Glacier NP. Good times but I prefer riding a bicycle.

 

[Stoneyrun]

I've started gathering a few things to prep for some overnighters. My bike is actually shipping and somewhere in MS. best I can gather. Here's some things I've gathered so far. Still need a bunch of stuff but making a little progress.

 

[J.R.]

The long and winding road...

I've ridden the BRP many times, end to end on a motorcycle. Town hopping on an ebike will be difficult, time and watt consuming. It's fairly remote and towns and services are off the beaten path. And I second the warning about traffic. Even on a touring MC when you're just cruising along enjoying the scenery, sport car drivers wanting to carve up the winding road, have little patience with anyone going the speed limit. Especially after they spent the last few miles behind a slow moving Winnebago.

All that said, planned well it should be fun! I look forward to reading about the trip.

Another option for a long tour in the region is the GAP/C&O from Pittsburgh to Washington DC. 335 miles, with towns, hotels, bike hostels and camp grounds right along the trail. The trail actually goes through small towns.

Best of luck!