Mini 2008 ESTN Ride Report - Marlinton, WV

[R Doug]

ESTN 08

Friday

I departed from home in Morgantown, WV at 9AM Friday to start a 320 mile journey to Marlinton.  Here’s the last time I saw the bike clean for the weekend.  The low pressure system which formed a Nor’easter slowly spun its way though the entire weekend.  I had hit and miss rain the entire trip down.



I decided to explore some new roads and boy did I find some keepers:

First was Hacker’s Creek road between Rt. 20 and Rt. 119 (no picture)

Next was Georgetown Road connecting Rt. 119 with Rt. 19



Oil Creek Road between Rt. 19 and Rt. 5



And Cedar Creek Road between Rt. 119 and Rt. 5  



Here are some more images from my trip down.

Rt. 20 over Webster Springs, WV



Off the Highland Scenic Highway







Road to Droop Mountain Battlefield



I arrive to meet some other STNrs in the parking lot

chornbe



chornbe on Madjack’s and his new toy.



Garry passing out dinner and raffle tickets in his “ticket office”  



Saturday

The rain had settled in to stay by Saturday morning.  As various groups headed off to explore the WV twisties, WVRidgerunner (Vince), FizDog74 (Erik), chornbe (Chris), and Chris’ brother Mike went off on a ride of our own little wet loop.  We originally had planned to do the entire SE loop, but given the weather, we cut it a bit short by 100 miles down to 250 miles.

Here are Shil (fresh from CSTN on this way back to Toronto), Eric (left) and googus (showing off his squidly shoes) getting ready for their Saturday ride.



Here’s most of our gang



Our first treat of the day was Anthony Station Road between US219 and Rt. 92.  

On it, we crossed the Greenbrier River



Looking good Vince



Chris was going too fast so he turned out blurry.



A bit later, the Super Duke came across it’s arch nemesis, the tree branch (for those of you who remember the Burger Run this year)  



I dismounted to check out the situation (thanks to Erik for image)



We made it past the branch and treated ourselves to Rt. 311 in Virginia (brilliant road, it’s a shame it was raining and foggy).  Then, we tried out Rt. 615 connecting 311 to US 220.  This road was the highlight of the day.  Hands down, it’s one of the best roads I’ve been on in the two Virginias.  

Here the group poses at the intersection of 615 and 220

FizDog74, WVRidgerunner, chronbe, and Mike.  



We made our way to Lexington, VA for lunch followed by a ride of the famous Goshen Pass.  The colors were absolutely beautiful on the overcast and drizzly day.  



We stopped at an overlook to take a quick break and take in some views.





Erik taking a picture



We continued on Rt. 39 and took a coffee break in Marlinton to warm up our chilled bones.

Posers inside





Bikes outside in viewing distance across the street.  



Later that night we had dinner and handed out some door prizes.  



(stupid reflective gear screws up the shots)





Later, we hung outside our rooms to discuss the best boots and gear in the rain in addition to the best tires, helmets, GPS, etc…  

[chornbe]

Excellent write-up Doug. Thanks again for letting us slow pokes tag along. What a great day of riding, regardless of conditions. I wish it was dry. My front tire is a tad wasted and I was really anxious to wick it up some. A freakin' Burgman took me to school on one of the twisty sections this morning.   I found a few miles of dry (or at least drier) roads on the way home and made full use of available traction.  

note to self - check and replace BOTH tires next time, idjit! And don't be such a puss in the rain.  

[jnor]

  Great write up!!! Even with the rain looked like a good time.

[googus]

Boy, you are fast and great pictures.

Greg

[FizDog74]

Great write up Doug!   I had a blast with you guys Saturday. I really thought the rain was going to ruin the weekend, but that wasn't the case at all. I honestly don't know if I would have had anymore fun if it was sunny, it would have just been faster.   What a great group of folks to ride with!  

[atypical1]

Looks like fun! Great shots.

james

[kendenton]

Great write-up Doug!  Good job stopping the bike to get some great shots, that's always a hard balance to maintain.

Love the branch!

[EricJ]

Great ride report & attitude towards the weather! Thanks for posting!
Eric

[DogBoy]

I wish I'd been on the road last weekend, wet or dry. Glad you all had a fun meet. Thanks for the report and pics.  

[TuffguyF4i]

I'm really disappointed to see you guys drinking Coors light!!!  

Even with the bad beer selection, i'm jealous that you got to ride in WV.  Such a great state for riding.  Maybe next year,,,,sunlight!

[Sandbag]

So that's how it work. Everyone rides back. We though we were supposed to bring one back in a van.

[WVRidgerunner]

Glad to see your usual, great ride report, Doug.  OK, maybe you're a nerd, but you planned a great route and rode it beautifully, rain be damned!  Many thanks to you and Garry for the great weekend.  Chris, Eric, Mike and the others, I enjoyed riding with you.  Let's do it again in the dry.  Hey, why didn't someone tell me my left headlight was out?

[FizDog74]

  Hey, why didn't someone tell me my left headlight was out?

Nice meeting you too Vince. I honestly thought the headlight was suppose to be that way - like some other bikes that only use one side for low beams.  

[Orson]

Thanks for the report  

Here are Shil (fresh from CSTN on this way back to Toronto)

There was a CSTN recently? Why no trip reports?

Edited to add: you need to stop posting pictures of that KTM! The darned thing's looks are beginning to grow on me  

[chornbe]

Nice meeting you too Vince. I honestly thought the headlight was suppose to be that way - like some other bikes that only use one side for low beams.  

Ditto that. I rode a CBR around for two years listening to people tell me a light was out and simply saying "Thanks" rather than explaining... AGAIN... that it was supposed to be that way. I couldn't remember whether the VFR was the same way. Hey, you didn't expect consistency from Honda did you?