Spring 2013 - Romney, West Virginia - May 3-5

sorta IN if she don't biacht about it........

Now it's a party!!!! I know what ya mean about the bitchin' i hear it all the time,my wife just doesn't understand. She thinks me and BEANTOP are gay(not that there's anything wrong with that)because were always ridin' together

Maybe not gay but there is a serious "bro-mance" there.....Not that there is anything wrong with that.

By the way, one of YFFs need to buy my boots. I'm running out of semi-amusing bumps.

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=875976




VAC

bro-mance..............too funny----------I like that

Hey Mike

I'm out... sales are down and so's my paycheck, can't afford the time off work.

Maybe next time.

Met up with Dirt Dad in Elkins Saturday night while route planning. He and Tom are leading rides with more dirt and I'll lead a road ride. Dirt is more fun but not for pillions on the back and I don't like to subject Karen to them. So here are a few photos from the planning trip:

Yes, there is nice pavement in West Virginny.



And interesting things to take photos at:


One thing to notice in almost all these photos is the amount of gravel on roads. Even roads that are great for a couple of miles will suddenly look like the following shot and yes, it can be like marbles on the pavement.
So leading a group of strangers, some 2-up, I do NOT plan to ride more than 5-10 mph over, may pick slowly or brake into curves and sections that I'd ride faster alone or with people I know, and can't emphasize enough:
RIDE YOUR OWN PACE.
We'll wait at the next stop sign or turn for you.


Because of the marbles, 2-up folks, being strangers of varying skill, etc, I'm planning to mostly (not entirely) use the numbered State roads, rather than county ones.

I'm thinking about lunch (upstairs porch) and a gas stop at Seneca Rocks if it fits the timing of the road route:


We may even wander up into PA. Again, notice the marbles on the road. We need some good Spring thunderstorms.


Sadly, Karen is busy and now won't make the ride. I'm still up for the road ride, but needed to console myself with some personal time as paved roads turned to gravel or less. Yeah, that's my story and I'm sticking to it!!!

So while still planning for a nice road ride, the rest of these shots just show gravel.

This was paved when it started miles back & it went into worse condition from here. No problem here, but not for folks the first time off pavement at the deep mud, wash-outs, and tree falls. Jon's getting stuck off to the right somewhere on the other side:


Different road while crossing a mountain and before it got really challenging. I took this a mile or two of blind corners before I nearly "met" a couple young guys 2-up coming the other way around a corner on a big quad, taking their half out of the middle. They were the only traffic I saw in a bit less than 20 miles on this road.


Snow near Laurel Fork (this is NF14 on April 14) and it was 34F when we got up in Elkins. The National Forest roads are well groomed and shouldn't be a problem for folks with less experience off pavement.


Same road that had Jon on the other side:


So here's to looking forward to seeing y'all in May! Sounds like Dirt Dad's done a great job of coordinating with Romney Cycle Center on OUR behalf!

Happy to have Tom leading another pavement/dirt group ride. Since we have two options I'm going to make mine more technical. If you're on a smaller dual sport, the roads I'm thinking require you to pick a good line and avoid the rocks, mud holes, pot holes and endless sharp sticks. The rocks on the small stream crossings cannot be avoided. On a bigger dual sport like the Tenere it will be more challenging. You'll want a good skid plate.

Due to the challenges and more than 200 miles to cover over the day I want to limit the ride to 6 or less. If there are more people interested I will publishing the route over the next few days. If no one is interested I'll make the ride less technical.

This video shows some of the uglier stuff.
<iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/9G061xtokCA" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" width="560"></iframe>

There's definitely two of us coming from Louisville on Teneres....MarkB and me, and we're trying to convince a third guy and his KLR.

We'll be camping, unless it's raining...then we (I) won't...

We're going to leave Louisville Thursday am circle around WV, MD and PA and come into Romney Fri evening...leaving Sunday morning by Seneca Rocks and Babcock State Park.

I camped and rode around Blackwater Falls last year...nice area and the falls are worth a looksee.

Anthony

So everyone has an idea of the some of the routes available I've uploaded a few. If you are heading east from Romney on Sunday morning and want a little more dirt, I've posted my dirt covered route towards home. If anyone is interested feel free to ride along until you get to a good break off point for your destination.

You can download a .gpx file from this website, or if you need a .gdb for your Garmin send me a PM with your email address and I'll send one to you.

2012 DCStrom Route. This is the one we did last year with Trevor in the lead. Nice paved route with one 10 mile dirt road. Worked out nicely to have lunch on the porch at Seneca Rocks. Full day ride. We left at 9:15am and return at 5:45pm on this one.
Route Map: http://ridewithgps.com/routes/2381718

2013 Dirt_Dad Technical Ride. IF there is enough interest, and if the weather is good, this is the technical course we will do on Saturday. The most technical portion includes Blackwater Canyon Road, as well as a few steeper than usual (nothing extreme) downhills with wet sections, and a lot of pointy sticks. The only water crossings are in the Blackwater Canyon video. On a small dirt oriented dual sport with reasonable tires this course is pretty easy as long as you know how to pick a line. On a bigger bike with more street oriented suspension it will be more challenging. I would consider a skid plate as mandatory for a Tenere on this ride. I heard a fair amount of stuff hitting mine last week when I rode this route. You should have above average dirt skills and experience to do this ride on a big bike. That said, there is nothing here that requires JamieV level of skills, if it did, I couldn't do it. That guy is way over my skill level.
Also, this route is too long to do in a 9am to 6pm ride. My expectation would be we will get as far as we can on the route, then when it's time to make a straight ride back to Romney we'll just get on the pavement and head straight back. The other choice is an earlier start. I think we could do it if we were rolling before 8:00am. That will be up to the riders in the group (no more than 6 riders).
Route Map: http://ridewithgps.com/routes/2381059

2013 Dirt_Dad Dirt Road Ride. If there are not enough takers for the technical ride (and who could blame you), or if the weather is less than ideal, I'm very happy to do a nice mix of pavement and regular dirt roads. This route includes Dolly Sods, the wonderful Rt 72, and Seneca Rocks. This route does include an out and back section that is more challenging, but there is no need to ride it. If you decide to ride this route on your own the challenging section is the little line that appears on its own just south of Rt 72 (points 100 - 102 on the map). I've ridden all of this route except the section that parallels Rt 28 down near Seneca Rocks (points 131 - 144). It's an adventure, we'll ride that one together or turn around and hit 28. Should be no problem with this route in a 9am - 6pm ride.
Ride Map: http://ridewithgps.com/routes/2381616

2013 Sunday Ride East/Southeast. Heading back home over a couple of my favorite rides. This include my favorite way to cross between WV and VA, plus Woodstock Tower Road. If you are heading east to hit the highway home, or going back to Northern Virginia this is a dirty way to do it. Happy to have some company on the way home.
Ride Map: http://ridewithgps.com/routes/2384104


These are not all the options. Wreckchecker will have a pavement ride and TH will have another pavement/dirt mix ride on Saturday.

I hope i'm not workin!
I was at Laurel Forks camping this weekend,i saw the video for 72 and River Road,i took a ride to check them out, river road is cool with the river running along side it and 72 is a FUN road.
I saw camping spots along river road,i'm going to camp there sometime this summer.

I'm OUT for this year's event. Kids activities that you don't get a 2nd chance to be a part of. Hope to see you next year and good luck with this year's event. Enjoy!

Thanks for the update. Sounds like you have your priorities right. Can't blame you a bit.

Rt 72 is one of those rare, very special roads. For the guys that are doing your own thing during the Romney event, if you are anywhere near Rt 72, it's worth a ride. Be sure to do River as well, there are cool waterfalls than can only be seen down on River, like this one from last weekend...

Did you camp with BEANTOP Not thet there would be anything wrong with that.

Nothing wrong with a Bro-mance, what happens in WV stays in WV

Waiting to hear back from my friend whether he is going or not.
If so, you can add two to the list.
Not sure if he wants to camp or get a room.
I'll keep you posted.

Beantop sporting his new dreadlocks at Laurel Fork.........

Firming up my maybe status...........camping, riding the Tiger, gravel/street. No single track for this stead I'm not Beantop!

yea, i guess were spending too much time in wv on another note im workin and livin out of a hotel im hoping to be done in time to make this

I have an important question...........How close is Coffee??