A great relaxing ride along route 28
23 August 2014
22 August 2014
Heading North (August 20th)
After a night in Elkins it was time to move on. And after riding up thru central West Virginia like we wanted, it was time to head northward.
To finish off West Virginia it would be highway 33, 28, 220 and 48 to the 81 north.
Highway 33 didn't disappoint. It was a similar ride as the day before except we were crossing the Appalachians ! Yes sir, up one side and down the other !
The early days ride seems to be broken into different runs.
Highway 33 offered a similar ride to the day before. Steep hills, steep and winding down slopes, 10% sloping curbs, hairpin turns.... A great run and even nicer than the day before as it seemed the road was more open and you could see the hills as you were riding. This and the next blog of pics shows some of the roads and turns.
Towards the end of the 33 we hit Seneca Rocks. A small place with lots of caverns for exploring. Apparently there are lots of organized tours.
Some of these tours are based out of Smokey Hole, a cabin resort along route 28. What a beautiful area. We have said if we'd know about this before we would have planned a couple of days here. After visiting the store and lodge, the owner told us about a cabin we could go see for the 'next time' we are in the area ! Again, a few pics on another blog.
Route 28 was a very relaxing ride. The road ran through wide open fields with hills and mountains on each side. You just rode through the valley !
As we got on 220 we stopped a gas station. Talking to a gentleman I asked if we were on the right track to get to the 81. Well, we were on a motorcycle so he said we'd enjoy taking route so and so, it has lots of twists and turns ! Nope, I said, I've had enough of the turns, I'd just like to get to interstate 81 !
Anyway, we were headed in the right direction and within and hour (and some pretty heavy rain, I might add) we were on Interstate 81 headed north.
We both agreed, West Virginia certainly offered the best for riding, scenery, and roads !
We made it to just north of Harrisburg, Pa on Wednesday night. We followed a rainy weather front just ahead of us all the way from route 48 up ! Oh well ! If you don't like the rain, don't go on a bike !!! Ha !
Above is the start of route 33 from Elkins.
Changing Times
Remember when it was just the toothbrush you had to make sure you packed...now it's headsets, cellphones, cameras, movie cameras, iPad, kobo.....don't forget the power bar !
Stay tuned for another update soon. I didn't get a chance on Wed, we had a cabin last night with no wifi.....
21 August 2014
Highway 20 ( Tuesday 19)
Here are couple of pics of highway 20 from Webster Spring to Buckhannon. Many of the turns after a while look the same!
19 August 2014
Kiss your ass turns (August 19)
It was a great ride again today.
As usual, we try to find the back roads, off the interstate, that show the back of West Virginia. Today we scored big time!
We left Fayetteville and headed north on the #19 to Summersville, a nice little cottage country area. From here the plan was to go to Valley Head (we picked it out on the map) and then on to Elkins. This looked like a less travelled backroad to enjoy and get us right up through central West Virginia.
When we got to Summersville our written out turn-offs went a little awry. We had to find a map. There was no way I was trusting the bike's GPS again on a backroad after the highway #8 incident.
Do you have any idea how difficult it is to buy a map today, other than getting it at the tourist info booth? Hardware store, drug store, gas bar, no luck. As well, we asked if anyone knew if we were on the right road to Valley Head. No one knew of the place. (More reason to not trust the bike's GPS). Finally we got one at a convenience / gas bar store.
After I had purchased the map I mentioned to the lady where we were headed and if we were on the right track. You sure are, she assured me. You keep following the # 20 road to Craigsville, head to Webster's Spring and it will bring you right to Valley Head. As I was about to leave I heard her say 'You're going to go through some pretty good kiss your ass turns on that road you know'.
Well, she was right on ! They were up, down, sharp, hairpin, some all at the same time! There were some pretty good turns, steep banks, steep slopes and real hair pins going up and turning down. It was a nice ride.
Meanwhile, once we got to Webster's Spring it was lunchtime and time to stop. What a great little town. Again, the typical small town America, founded in the 1800s, witha stone Post Office, an overbearing stone courthouse...... and a nice little country style downtown. It was here the lady was explaining to Karen what a 'ramp' was. It was one of the ingredients in a bottle of homemade salsa she picked up (apparently it is a root vegetable, similar to an onion but stronger, and only grows on the leeward side of mountains in West Virginia and some parts of Ohio).
After a very filling lunch - no one here believes in moderate portions - it was time to hit the road again. We checked our map and saw that the #20 we were on continued to head north but we had to make a right to get to Valley Head. Hmmm, the 20 looked more interesting, kept us in the back country longer, eventually got us to our destination of Elkins for the night, and it seems to have more twists and turns!
Yippee ! It sure did ! By the time it was over I had enough of twists, turns, hills and slopes! But it was a nice ride, saw some great hillside scenery, and saw 4 deer. One, we had to stop for!
The #20 finally ended in Buckhannon and we pulled in to a McDonalds for an ice cream and a break. Before we got the gear off we were chatting with 2 bikes from Ontario. They were in the area doing the same as us.
Following the break it was just a 20 min ride down the highway to our destination.
So tonight we are in Elkins. A nice town of about 7000 people, a nice historic looking downtown, founded in the 1800's......you know the story!
And as for Valley Head. It is on a map, despite what the people in Summersville know. However, like them, we've never been there either!!