ESTN 2008: West Virginia - exactly where and when?

[garry]

West Virginia was the landslide winner in the poll for ESTN 2008. Now we need to decide exactly WHERE and WHEN. This thread is for open discussion and the top choices will be put to a poll. I will volunteer to help organize it as I've organized rallies in WV before and spend more than a little time there. R Doug has offered help as have others. I have already started checking on proposed locations. To date, the contenders are:

Canaan Valley State Park (Davis, WV) - state run facility with camping on site. In recent years the group rate was $80/night for a room with 2 double beds. No advance deposits required. No penalties for people not booking the rooms blocked out. Very Moto friendly. They have been willing to honor the group rate even after unbooked rooms are released.  Plus, no one ever said anything about drinking beer in the parking lot while hanging out. The STN National was there in 2006 and people had a great time. There are many, many, many miles of back roads and dirt roads for an ADV ride too if you want to get a little dirty (big bike friendly).

Chief Logan Lodge (Logan, WV) - state run facility located south of Charleston in the middle of coal country. I got a packet of info from them about group rates/etc and was not impressed. Rate is higher than Canaan at $89/night. All manner of stuff in the packet about absolutely no booze can be brought on the property. No smoking. They appear to want a big deposit up-front from an organizer (that'd be me/whoever) complete with penalties if you don't book 90% of the rooms you block out. They will NOT honor the group rate after rooms are released. Seems to be a good central location for exploring the Tazewell/Marion corridor, eastern KY, southwestern WV and maybe even north into Ohio. As R Doug points out, this is coal country (think Deliverance), so the locals are less enthusiastic about visitors. I was kinda excited by this option at first, but after getting the group info packet, I'm not interested. Maybe there is another moto-friendly lodging option in that Charleston area to consider?

Marlington - someone suggested Marlington Motor Inn in another thread. I'm waiting for group rate info, but the regular rate is only $80/night. Marlington is about an hour south of Canaan. Most people would probably ride most of the same roads/routes as at Canaan, just starting from a different point in the loop. It does offer the option of exploring south of 39 which was about the limit for routes based out of Canaan.

Regarding dates:

The National will be in June. There will likely be a Region 6 Meet and Eat in May (Catskills anyone? Runner up in location poll). There seems to be interest in a September date. How about late September to avoid conflicting with the MotoGP at Indy? Leaves don't really change until mid-October, but the weather in September is usually quite nice.

[R Doug]

Great leg work so far Garry.  Canaan is a very good place to go, no doubt.  Also, thanks for thinking about the MotoGP race.  I know a lot of people going to this.

For one other meeting place option, I read in an AMA Magazine that the Koolwink motorlodge in Romney, WV is a pretty bike-friendly place too.

http://www.koolwinkmotel.com/index.htm

The rates are very reasonable, the rooms are clean, and there will be more dining options in Romney, WV.  

As for riding, it's located on Rt. 50.  You could head north towards the Gettysburg area one day and south towards all sorts of WV twisty goodness the next day.  

[tomballos]

Time wise I like September and late Sep is OK with me.

I have stayed at the Canaan Valley Lodge and that place is pretty decent.  It's everything Garry mentioned above and more.  Aside from the main complex or rooms they have several individual cabins that sleep from a few to a dozen folks and you can have your bike right there.  This area could be interesting if we were able to get a large group in here.  The Hotel has a great lounge and restaurant as well as a work out room and pool.  It gets my vote.

[R Doug]

Regarding Canann... there's camping nearby too.

[chornbe]

Marlinton Area, Late September.

$.02

[maddjack]

Sept is good,Canaan is fine with me or second choice marlington,no booze the other place,screw that

[marty2]

Another lodging option in Marlinton Is the Old Clark Inn. It's a very MC friendly B&B with a good rate and a very good breakfast included.
I was there last May with another group of 20+ and I would highly recommend the Inn and that area of WV.
I think they have 7 or 8 rooms but the owner made arrangements with another B&B within walking distance to accommodate our group.
Worth checking into.

my .02
 

[chornbe]

Another lodging option in Marlinton Is the Old Clark Inn. It's a very MC friendly B&B with a good rate and a very good breakfast included.
I was there last May with another group of 20+ and I would highly recommend the Inn and that area of WV.
I think they have 7 or 8 rooms but the owner made arrangements with another B&B within walking distance to accommodate our group.
Worth checking into.

my .02
 

+1, likewise the Jerico B&B/Cabins.

[garry]

Remember that we're estimating 50 people needing 30 rooms. Camping nearby is a plus (on site even better), as is the ability to host a group dinner of some sort. Nearby essentials a plus (food, drink/beer, gas). If anyone is feeling motivated to call the establishments they are recommending and getting group rate quotes (if they can accommodate this size group) for late September that'd be great. $60/night for a room with two double beds is kinda my ideal target, with $80/night being the upper limit.

[R Doug]

The Koolwink has 24 rooms.

[SWriverstone]

I vote Canaan Valley. It's just about impossible to beat as a place to stay---good food, bar, drinking in the lot, beautiful scenery, reasonable rates...and THOUSANDS of miles of amazing riding right there---it's in the middle of it all!  

Scott

[photomd]

Although I haven't participated in any of this, I'm interested...and oh yeah...I always have an opinion.  

What about the Inn at Snowshoe? Lot's of room, but I have no idea about night life in fall.

[R Doug]

Although I haven't participated in any of this, I'm interested...and oh yeah...I always have an opinion.  

What about the Inn at Snowshoe? Lot's of room, but I have no idea about night life in fall.

Snowshoe is a nice place to visit and is in the middle of a lot of great riding!  But the room rates would be almost 2x that of Canaan.  IMHO, if you want to ride all day, there's no need for that nice of a room.  


EDIT... I've placed a call to Snowshoe's Group Sales to see what's available.  After looking over the web site more, the rates in September are not that bad.  I know they have several bike meets there throughout the year so I'll post up what I find out.

[Corbeau]

Thanks, Garry. After all the fun I had at the Nat'l, I can't wait to get back to Canan Valley!

[fjrSKI]

Two events to keep in mind are Indy Moto GP 9/14-15?  and CSTN ? which appears to be moving to SEP.
+1 on Canaan Valley.

[BABOU]

OK I think I am over lurking and ready to start posting again.

This sounds like something I will be coming to.  My Buddy, "MAN OF LAMUNCHA" just bought a Hayabusa and we rode about 1000 miles in October / November.  Before that I had only put 300 miles on my bike since the Nationals in '06.

Jeff

[JoBu]

Late September works for me!!    As for the location, since I have never been to WV, I'm with you fellers.  Wherever you decide will be fine.  I'm looking forward to meeting/riding with you guys/gals.

Cheers,

Joe

[kendenton]

I'm most likely in, regardless of where it is in WV.

+whatever about scheduling around MotoGP though.

[st2sam]

I vote Canaan Valley. It's just about impossible to beat as a place to stay---good food, bar, drinking in the lot, beautiful scenery, reasonable rates...and THOUSANDS of miles of amazing riding right there---it's in the middle of it all!  

Scott

+1    How's that saying go? NO booze, you looze!

[garry]

I am considering "late September" to be the 26 - 28 (weekend after MotoGP). The first weekend in October is possible too. After that, it can make for some cold mornings (or not). But late May can be quite cool in the mountains too.

There seems to be solid support for Canaan Valley in late September (26 - 28). Does this need to go to a poll or are people OK with that option? The group reservations woman at Canaan is in Atlanta over the holiday and said she would be in touch with me next week.

[JoBu]

Works for me, Garry.  Kudos to you for doing the planning/arranging.  

Cheers,

Joe

[sprint_st]

Even though I really like the Old Clark Inn and Marlinton as a base for the rides, Canaan Valley just seems to be the best compromise for everything.  My vote is for mid to late September, but quite frankly I wouldn't worry about competing with other events or at least not let them become a deciding factor.  We all are going to have multiple events competing for our time.  ESTN08 will pull enough people to make it worthwhile regardless of other events.

[Corbeau]

Well, if the balance tips towards Sept, it might be very difficult for me, as I'll be a high school teacher and taking a day off (i.e. the Friday) to ride down to WV will be frowned upon. 3 p.m. departure, 550 miles of slab all the way, then 50 miles with the forest rats on 219 S. You do the math, I'd arrive in the middle of the night...

Damn, it might be possible...

[maddjack]

I,m cool with the dates and Canaan valley Garry

[ST-DocLizard1]

Another lodging option in Marlinton Is the Old Clark Inn. It's a very MC friendly B&B with a good rate and a very good breakfast included.
I was there last May with another group of 20+ and I would highly recommend the Inn and that area of WV.
I think they have 7 or 8 rooms but the owner made arrangements with another B&B within walking distance to accommodate our group.
Worth checking into.

my .02
 

I was there with Marty in May(17-20). +1 for the accommodations. Nelson & Andrea are superb hosts and fellow riders.  www.oldclarkinn.com

I took a group of seven down to the Marlinton Motor Inn last month(Oct 12-15) and the accommodations were also very nice. They have a restaurant on site with a bar. The food was adequate and reasonably priced.
www.marlintonmotorinn.com

Pick a date and they will come.

Doc