Take Me Home, Country Roads - West Virginia

[Tyler]

Curiosity sated, we saddled up and Bob led us to the next gem of the day - Back Mountain Rd. He had warned us that it was pretty bumpy but what he didn't know is that the road had been completely repaved and was smooth as a baby's butt... however, it was a fairly narrow road and one had to heed caution of the locals barreling through in their trucks... I'm a bit wider than the 2-wheelers so took it a little bit slower... oh, and I took a few pictures although not nearly as many as I wanted... my comrades had been patient with me and I didn't want to push the envelope... but this should give you an idea...

Our next stop was at the National Radio AStronomy Observatory in Green Bank... again, time was tight so we didn't get the chance to do a tour of the museum... we did meet up with Wayne and Jada / Rain Princess though... evidently, poor Wayne was moving a little slow due to 260 miles worth of dual sport riding the previous day...

Something old, something new...

And with that, we retreated back to the hotel in Lewisburg via 219 and into the rain that we had dodged up until that point...

 

[Tyler]

I found Nancy toiling away with the admin details for a rally the following weekend in Gerlach, her trusty sidekick by her side "helping"...

Showered and changed into civvies, we headed out to the lobby area to find a flurry of activity... how many bikers does it take to change a tire? One. And 14 others to tell him what he's doing wrong...

Folks were enjoying an after-ride beverage and swapping stories of the day's adventures...

Nancy / HelloKitty was up to no good...

Those VA boys raising a ruckus again...

Back to Ruby Tuesdays we went for dinner... the hostess said it would be about 45 minutes but I think she wanted to get us out of the lobby so we wouldn't scare the other customers so we got seated in about 5 minutes...

I was worried that someone would scare the wait staff...

We had another great dinner and made our way back to the hotel where the festivities were in full swing... for some more than others...

Rob / LKLD, Vic, and Marie (Mrs. LKLD)...

Marie was a popular lady...

Miss Donna was holding court with the boys...

I'm not sure what Bob said to her here but it looks like she wanted to slap him.. he probably deserved it...

Would you like to say hello to my leetle friend??

The hotel needed bigger garbage cans...

Trusty steeds patiently waiting to see if they'd be getting out of the gate the next day...

it had a been a brilliant day with so many great roads, wonderful friends, cool places, valleys, views, and vistas... how could we top that? Guess you'll have to stick around and find out...

 

[LKLD]

Tyler, your photos really capture the joy and comradery that everyone felt. Not to mention...the antics. :grin:

Thanks for sharing!

 

[hppants]

Enjoying this very much. I haven't been to West Virginia yet. The Highlands Scenic Byway is supposed to be epic riding.

 

[Redfish Hunter]

What is taking so long? The hard part is doing the ride and taking the pics isn't it? Typing and organizing and posting the pics should only take a few minutes right?

You are doing great, I wish I could have been there with you guys. I would have been honored to wait on the side of the road for you.

 

[majicmaker]

It was definitely an honor, Redfish. These EOM's just keep getting better and better. This one in particular went off the charts. Bugntr showing up last year was wonderful. I know he had a real good time but, Tyler making this trip was.... Well, let me put it this way. There was an unmistakeable presence in the air that couldn't be ignored. She was the subdued down to earth Diva that I always imagined she'd be. And!!! This EOM will forever be immortalized by one of her amazing ride reports. It doesn't get get any better than that. I'm in the process of looking at my schedule to see when I can do a fly and ride in the Santa Clara, CA area sometime in the near future. I might wanna try one of those Spyders. They look like fun.

 

[Bugnatr]

EOM is a blast! A premier gathering for anyone thinking of going, the roads are good but the peeps are the best..

Vic, if you do come out west this fall(or anytime) I expect a visit from you and Tyler. She knows the trail to our home quite well and I have a few roads in the Sierra's I'd like to show you.

 

[majicmaker]

EOM is a blast! A premier gathering for anyone thinking of going, the roads are good but the peeps are the best..
Vic, if you do come out west this fall(or anytime) I expect a visit from you and Tyler. She knows the trail to our home quite well and I have a few roads in the Sierra's I'd like to show you.

I've had that neck of the woods on my todo list for a long time, Bugnatr. I'll let you show me all the roads you want. I wanna see in person some of those pictures that Tyler has posted up on her ride reports from that area. I also want to pay a visit to the USS Midway in San Diego. I spent 4 of the most grueling/wonderful years of my life on top of that thing. It'll be therapeutic to stand on that flight deck and have all those memories flash before my eyes. Looking forward to it. I'll keep you guys posted.

 

[Tyler]

Tyler, your photos really capture the joy and comradery that everyone felt. Not to mention...the antics.

Thanks for sharing!

Antics... is that what the kids are calling it these days? :lol: Wonderful to meet you and Marie and hope to be there again next year! B)

Enjoying this very much. I haven't been to West Virginia yet. The Highlands Scenic Byway is supposed to be epic riding.

It was amazing, Pants... you would love it... put it on your calendar for next year when the date is announced. Would be great to share some (s)miles with you. B)

What is taking so long? The hard part is doing the ride and taking the pics isn't it? Typing and organizing and posting the pics should only take a few minutes right?

You are doing great, I wish I could have been there with you guys. I would have been honored to wait on the side of the road for you.

Yeah it's a snap to put it all together... a loooonnnnnggggg snap! Between work and being gone at the Clans event this weekend, I haven't had as much "free" time as I'd like but good things come to those who wait.

 

[Tyler]

It was definitely an honor, Redfish. These EOM's just keep getting better and better. This one in particular went off the charts. Bugntr showing up last year was wonderful. I know he had a real good time but, Tyler making this trip was.... Well, let me put it this way. There was an unmistakeable presence in the air that couldn't be ignored. She was the subdued down to earth Diva that I always imagined she'd be. And!!! This EOM will forever be immortalized by one of her amazing ride reports. It doesn't get get any better than that. I'm in the process of looking at my schedule to see when I can do a fly and ride in the Santa Clara, CA area sometime in the near future. I might wanna try one of those Spyders. They look like fun.

It was so great to meet you, Vic, in the flesh (so to speak!) after being friends on the forum and FB for so many years... was like greeting an old friend again even though we hadn't met in person... kwim? B) And we would love for you to come out to CA for a visit... so many wonderful roads all over the state... just showed a few new ones to some folks yesterday at the Clans gathering... I know you will love it out here!

 

[Intech]

Good stuff Ty! Spent the last 5 days riding with my brother. Have almost 11K on the '15 now. Not too shabby for the year so far. Over 20K on both bikes. Subscribed and waiting for the rest.

 

[FJRfarrier]

WHAT?!?! Here I thought I waited long enough to browse the WHOLE weekend in one sitting.... lol

great pictures Tyler! looking forward to the remaining 200....

 

[Tyler]

WHAT?!?! Here I thought I waited long enough to browse the WHOLE weekend in one sitting.... lol
great pictures Tyler! looking forward to the remaining 200....

I'm going as fast as I can, Julie!!

The next morning, again it was raining at the hotel and again our Pied Piper called a ride going the opposite way of the weather... it was like had a deal with Ma Nature... I thought it was going to be a small-ish group but one by one they flocked to follow Bob around his 'hood... even El Toro Joe rallied from the prior evening's festivities to join in... our route for the day:

The roads were a bit wet on the way out so everyone took it easy...

And then, at just the right moment, the roads were all dry in time for twisty goodness...

 

[Tyler]

Our first destination was the New River Gorge for a view of the bridge and surrounding vista views... but first, a climb down the stairs to get to the observation deck...

Lots of stairs...

And well worth the effort...

We could see folks floating down the river below... and we would shortly be crossing over that bridge on the way down...

Close up shot of The Bridge...

KJ and Gary enjoying a relaxed moment (after I ordered them to stand still and smile... :lol: )...

Scott in a pensive moment...

What goes down, must go back up...

Interesting bark growth/formation on the trees...

The visitors center was adorned with a beautiful array of wildflowers...

Bob cracked the whip and said enough dilly dallying and flower sniffing... let's ride some more!!

 

[Tyler]

And off we went down 82 which is a narrow, one-lane (mostly) goat road that winds its way down the back side of the mountain that we had just been standing on... it was fantastic! You can't see it in this photo but the right turn that folks were making was a v-shape and very technical to get around... but around everyone got!

Really cool rock walls...

Really glad it was one-way cause it was very narrow...

We dove in and out underneath the bridge towering above us...

The bridge we were looking down at from the observation platform...

And then more one-way fun up the other side headed toward Fayettville...

Uphill, off-camber, and watch out for the dirt in the corner... wheeeeee!

Tummies were rumbling so Bob took us to this place for lunch in Fayetteville... if you are ever in this town, most definitely plan a stop here because the pizza was the best we'd had... ever!

Wait... there's more?? Hell yeah!!

 

[majicmaker]

Flashbacks!! Goat road?! That's giving it too much credit, Tyler. Even the goats would be Sayin', What the Hell is this?? That U turn at the bottom to continue down was a most excellent pucker moment for most of us. Those of us that want to admit it.

That pizza was killer for sure. That's a bold statement. I know good pizza. I was born in NYC and I can honestly say it was awesome.

 

[Tyler]

On the way through town in Fayetteville, there were orange ribbons tied to the phone posts... wasn't sure what they represented...

Bob had mentioned a road the day before that he wanted to take us on but would be dependent upon the weather... given that it was still holding dry for us, we sallied forth and even saw some sunshine for a little bit!

Williams River Rd. is a semi-goat road that runs along the river and travels through some gorgeous forest areas... I think it was my favorite road for the weekend...

We stopped at this bridge to flower sniff a bit and enjoy our surroundings...

Gary was enjoying the day... Joe was hanging in there... Scott I think was waiting to catch him in case he didn't hang in there...

Goofballs...

 

[Tyler]

The road beckoned, gently whispering, "Take me... I'm yours."

And off we went, running alongside the river almost the entire way...

And then we popped back out onto 150/Highland Scenic Hwy...

I'm glad we did this one the day before because the views weren't nearly as good this day!

I know they're up there somewhere... dense fog is very unnerving...

And then another fun jaunt along 219 as we headed back to the barn...

Bob and I complimented each other very well for the day...

Next installment... the banquet and one more jaunt, this time solo, out on those country roads... MTC!

 

[Auburn]

Awesome pictures Tyler! The barn made me think of Andrew also

 

[escapefjrtist]

Great pics and story Tyler, some nice looking roads back'thar!

Looking forward to the finish!

--G