Ride to EOM 2016
(one picture... lots more words)
See... there was this thing they call EOM that happened last weekend in Wytheville, Virginia. Well, Josie and I had never before ridden
any of Skyline Drive, nor the upper part of the Blue Ridge Parkway. We'd tried to do the Parkway once before (with MEM), after the EOM in Cumberland Falls, KY starting from the bottom end down in Cherokee, SC, but it was on a very warm September Sunday, and the traffic caused us to run away and hit the slab north. Those of you who know me at all, know that really means something, as I
hate the slab, and avoid it whenever possible.
So, reserved our places at EOM, and made our travel plans, mapped out some GPS routes, and managed to pull in a few other NE folks that liked the plans enough to come along for the ride. We headed out for points south last Tuesday morning at 8 AM with the ionbeams (Alan and Helen) and the bbdigs (Jack and Jane) in tow, all three of us riding 2-up. Took some made-up routes on a bunch of back roads that I'd never been on before, south and west through MA, Western CT and NY, and we landed for the night in Hazleton, PA.
It was a pretty long first day; 380 miles in a shade over 11 hours of riding time, with no stop for lunch, just gas and butt breaks every couple of hours, and eating snacks along the way. We could have just slabbed it down to Front Royal in one fell swoop, and probably less elapsed time, but where's the fun in that? That first day ride was fun, but just an appetizer for the main course the rest of the week.
We stayed at the Candlewood Suites in Hazleton, which was a nice hotel perched up on a hillside that gave us nice views, but that also meant walking back up that hill after dinner at the Top of the 80's restaurant across the street. The place's name is because of the view from the (also elevated) dining room of the distant intersection of I-80 and I-81. The restaurant was only so-so, and a tad pricey, IMO, but the Candlewood's restaurant / tavern had recently closed for one reason or another, so walk up and down the hill we must.
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Wednesday morning we
did hit the dreaded slab for just about 3 hours from Hazleton to the top of Skyline Drive, as this was part of my "plan" to ride on Skyline in the clear afternoon, and thereby avoid starting out on it in the early morning fog and mist and risk missing some of the views. That plan worked to a tee.
As many of you already know, ionbeam had been "negotiating" getting a custom seat built from long before this trip, but the vendor missed his drop dead deadline, and so he was stuck riding the stock seat. Helen had an AirHawk cushion that seemed to help, but Alan, for whatever reason, was "roughing it" to put it mildly. Day 1 hadn't been too bad for him, but... well, being a Candy Ass rider spoiled by Russell Day Long seats
myself, I can tell you that the stock seat is most definitely a
cumulative pain in the ass. Some may recall the Rube Goldberg-esque seat topper contraption that I fabricated for my bike back in the fall of 2014, while I was waiting for my Russell build.
By the time we reached Front Royal, even with an hour long breakfast break at the half way point, the discomfort he was feeling was palpable from the opposite side of the gas station parking lot where he'd gone to vent his frustration. After another lengthy break, we resumed our ride, paid the Ranger the $15 NP fee (those other Geezers had their lifetime passes) and got onto Skyline Drive.
At one of the first of the many scenic overlooks, I stopped and asked Alan if he would mind leading us along, since they had ridden it previously and would know all of the "must stop" locations, but also because that way he could stop us for butt breaks
as required. That seemed to work well, and we took our time doodling down the Appalachian ridge-line, taking in the picturesque views and stopping at, or at least rolling through, most of the overlooks long enough to take it all in and grab a quick photo or two.
When we rolled into the first overlook after crossing the interchange with US Route 211, who did we spy just taking his helmet off but none other than the honorary Long Island Chapter of NERDS President, BigOgre (Mike M). Mike had just rolled in off of route 211 and was taking a short break before starting his solo ride down the Skyline. We had planned to hook up with him that night at our hotel stop in Waynesboro to join us for the rest of ride down the BRP starting the next day, but lady luck arranged for us to hook up for the ride down Skyline Drive too. How cool was that?
We continued down through the park, and towards the end swapped back the lead position as the day wore on, as Alan knew that I wouldn't hit quite as many of the turnouts, and we were all suffering from sensory overload and a desire to get to the hotel stop for the night. Stayed at the Holiday Inn Express (HIE) in Waynesboro, VA, which was the priciest night of the week for us. The hallways of the hotel were being renovated, but the rooms were finished out fine inside. Dinner was at an Outback Steakhouse. It just like all the other Outbacks. What more can you say?
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Thursday AM after partaking
heavily of the FCB (Free Continental Breakfast) at the HIE, we loaded up the bikes and headed on down the BRP, PDQ.
It was a wonderfully crisp and clear morning, not too many foggy spots to deal with, as we rolled along down the northern miles. I led the little group from the start, and we stopped every 45 minutes or so for
B3s ('beam butt breaks) and rolled through the better looking overlook turnouts along the way. I figured if we stopped more often from the beginning it might hold off their butt pain for a little while.
Stopping at the Peaks of Otter Lodge for one such break, who did we spy gearing up there but our good NERDS friends Asphalt Junky (Paul) and his lovely bride Gina McD (Gina McD). They had headed down even earlier in the week, and had been hiking and biking around and off the Parkway, and were getting ready to roll on over to Wythe(s)ville for EOM. Serendipity was surely on our side this week.
So we rode along with them, but only for a short while, as they soon turned off towards Roanoke for fuel and to head west, and took the 'beams along with them, as Alan and Helen had decided to separate from our little tour group and ride on their own to head on in to EOM on Thursday as well.
We had other plans, and continued along down the Parkway as far as Blowing Rock, NC that day. We did hit a little mist, that turned into a light rain that afternoon, but it was not too bad at all, and kept the afternoon temps in check.
We stayed at the reasonably priced HIE in Blowing Rock, which felt like a fairly new place. Had our BYO cocktails in their stone fire-placed living room just off the lobby, then walked on over to have a
great BBQ dinner right next door at the Woodland BBQ and Pickin' Restaurant, where we were serenaded by a pretty good cover guy on acoustic guitar through dinner.
After dinner we re-gathered in the living room and watched the NE Patriots
decimate the Texans on Thursday Night football on the hotel's big screen TV while sipping a little first rate bourbon that Mikey had brought along with him. It is one of my all time favorites: Woodford Reserve Double Oaked. Pricey, but well worth it. Both the hotel and restaurant (and the bourbon) are highly recommended any time you'll be passing through the area.
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Friday AM was another beauty. We gorged on the eerily similar HIE FCB and jumped back on the BRP headed south-er. The air was approaching cold as we rode along and attained some altitude. Coming around one corner was the Bear Den Overlook with a view that I could not get enough of. This view is a great synopsis of our Ride-in to EOM
(L to R) BigOgre, Jane, Jack, and Josie, enjoying the moment and the view.
We continued along down the parkway and took the short ride up to the top of Mt Mitchell when we got there. The 360 degree views are well worth the short diversion of riding up to the top of the highest mountain top east of the Mississippi river. While it is not as prominent as our own Mt Washington in New Hampshire, and so does not get the extreme weather situation that is nearly always present up there, it is none the less an impressive mountaintop destination.
Not long after coming down off of Ole' Mitch (we're on a first name basis don't ya know...) we turned off of the Parkway just shy of Asheville, NC onto Ox Creek Rd. over to US 19 as a bypass of the city, then on up NC 197 into the Pisgah National Forest. There were a few signs early on 197 warning trucks of the unpaved roads ahead, but being intrepid FJR NERDS (New England Riders of Dual Sports) we were not deterred. We were initially treated to about 5 miles of loose gravelly switch backs, climbing up to the height of land, but on the back side it was all 1st gear smoothly paved twisty, goodness. What a hoot!
Continued up 197 to a whole bunch of other awesome goat trail back roads, eventually running into a bunch of other riders who were out for the day on loop rides from EOM. Arrived in to the Ramada Wythe(s)ville a little after 5PM and ready to start the rally. But that is surely for a different "One Picture Ride Report".
