Spontaneous, No plan, No GPS, 431 mile, 3 Day Trip

[JK001]

The area: Northern VA and WV National Parks/Forests, 3 days, 431 miles
The bike: 625 SMC (Dunlop Qualifier tires!)
The rider: Trail rider wanna be, motard adept

Day I

2.5h ride trying to get out of this hellhole, aka our capital region. Decided I had enough for the week, and headed out with a first stop near Luray Caverns. I was curious about a local establishment, ended up getting my bike check out w/ suspected counter sprocket seal leaking (ended up being a loose screw). Good guys, just takes them a bit to warm up to you. Here is what the bike looked "packed":



It was late enough to start looking for a spot to camp for the night, so I headed west. I took VA 675 to Edinburg, real nice ride:



Stopped at George Washington National Forrest, but pushed on ahead thinking I would spend the night at Tasker's Gap. Ended up staying here (great folks!):



They fed me rib dinner, sure beat my planned can of tuna...

Day II

Had a great idea of off roading the summo at Peter Mill/Tasker's Gap until I met my nemesis...It starts off easy, but then...large, loose rocks + going down hill= me hitting the groud!





My very first time dropping a bike, guess I can't say "it's never been down" anymore. The hand guard took most of the hit, some scratches on the swing arm, bruised right hand and ego for me. Moving on to gravel roads:



Didn't take much to gain my confidence back and hit the rocky trails again. This time I managed to keep the bike up right.
Rain was coming my way, I headed to WV on 675/Wolf Gap Rd-->Trout Run Rd trough the Wardensville Wilderness Area-->Mill Gap Rd. Encountered these:



And took shelter from the rain here:



Not so lucky though:



Got pretty soaked, it was a bad storm. I found a place to camp near Mathias, WV, some church folks allowed me to share their private camp ground:



It was a nice and cold night (it dropped down to upper 40s, and I had only one thin long sleeve MX jersey!), one that I haven't had in the past few years ( don't know if I miss the feeling or not):



Day III

Upper Cove Rd-->Crooked Run en route to Bryse. Probably my favorite route for this trip:



Goofing off:



And last pic, another first for me, crossing this creek! (successfully):



I came back on 675-->Ft. Valley Rd.

Final thoughts: I would pack warm clothes, may be invest in an actual luggage rack and some Distanzias, and would love to do it with riding buddy. I enjoyed this trip very much, I hope you enjoyed reading too!

JK out

[Psycho18th]

That looks like a great ride. Brave taking those slicks off road, glad to see you didn't give up.
Psycho

[JK001]

Thanks Psycho18th! You are the 3rd person calling my tires "slicks", couple of off road guys thought I was nuts riding on the trail...

[DCMC]

Originally Posted by JK001

Final thoughts: I would pack warm clothes, may be invest in an actual luggage rack and some Distanzias, and would love to do it with riding buddy. I enjoyed this trip very much, I hope you enjoyed reading too!

JK out

Good read. This trip is just my style.

I had distanzias and warm-ish gear, but I missed the riding buddy telling pack it in around 8 instead of riding till late

Next time?

[bob393]

Thanks for sharing. That's exactly the type of spontaneous trip I like!
And yah there slicks

[JK001]

Originally Posted by DCMC

Next time?

I'll up for a ride on weekends, we can coordinate a trip. Blue Ridge is an option.

Originally Posted by bob393

Thanks for sharing. That's exactly the type of spontaneous trip I like!
And yah there slicks

You are welcome. I have a google map (don't know how to place it in the forum, shows up as link) if anyone is interested.

On a side note, I just got pulled over, one mile after leaving my house... Luckily, the cop happened to be a fellow rider and he let me go. Thank you sir!

[Fred26]

Hi, I'm planning a 6-7 day trip down from Toronto Canada Likely leaving on Monday Oct 1 to the Blue Ridge Parkway. I'm riding an F800gs with stock tires. Thinking that it would be more fun to run the Trail as much as possible. Great initiative on mapping the trails! Thanks.

How can I get the files. I have a Garmin Montana. Anyone thinking of doing the same, or meeting up down there, let me know since this area is all new to me and I have no particular plan but to ride the area. I'm thinking of staying at cheaper motels. Should be at the start of Blue Ridge in Virginia on Wednesday if all goes to plan. I need to be back in Toronto by Oct 8/9th.

[Wes Mantooth]

Looks like a lot of fun (drop notwithstanding!). I'd be happy to join you some time soon.

[DCMC]

Originally Posted by Fred26

Hi, I'm planning a 6-7 day trip . . .

How can I get the files. I have a Garmin Montana. . . . .

He'll have to email you the GPX track files, which you can put onto the Montana using the Garmin BaseCamp software. Then make sure the track is visible.

[DCrider]

nice ride, you should make one of the Shenandoah Cat Herders ADV events, one this coming w/e in elkton,VA