The gap is awesome. My partner and I did the blue ridge all the way down to Gatlinburg TN 2 yrs in a row at the end of March, 2 up on a tuono.
Best time of my life and the roads off the parkway are equally nice if not nicer. NO POTHOLES. ok 1 on the parkway.
But watch out, you need total concentration at all times
if you hit fog, turn around. we did and had 0 visibility for 1 hr. we still had to reach our destintation for the night and it sucked. being spent for anything less than sex evn thought it was worth it
Judy