August, 2008

We’re back from our first group weekend trip on our new Goldwing! We went to Marlinton, W.Va. in Pocahontas County, via routes 29, 211, 42, and 39. The Shenandoah and Allegheny Mountains were beautiful! The first day was total sunshine with perfect temperatures. We had leathers in the morning and shirtsleeves in the afternoon. The roads wound their way through deep woods, curves, switchbacks, and mountains. After miles of pristine wilderness we would find farms with horses, cattle, and crops. Tucked away in tall gorges we saw small towns of old homes and deserted businesses converted to tourist shops.

Our group stayed in two locations in Marlinton. After dropping the first group at their B&B, we started for our motel (the Marlinton Motel). On the way we hit a fallen rock and punched the side of the oil filter in, spraying oil on the road and the bike behind us. We both pulled over and made repairs. Then we checked into our motel, where we found a large and old room with a fridge and coffee pot. The beds were clean and the bathroom was okay. It was good enough to collapse into each night.

From the motel we met up with the group, again. Beautiful and peaceful roads took us to the NRAO Observatory. This is a group of radio wave receiving dishes, used for research and education about the earth and our universe.

We ate dinner and returned to the motel. That evening we learned about the black bear that ran across the road in front of one of the bikes, earlier. It crashed out of the woods and down the mountainside. It ran across the road stopping a truck and our friends in a screech of tires.

Saturday we woke up to clouds and cooler temps. But that didn’t stop us! We bundled up and rode to Cass, where we rode an open air, coal fired, steam locomotive in Cass Railroad State Park.

We saw camp #1 at Whittaker Station. Some old cabins and equipment have been preserved. It sat up high on the mountain, so the scenery was beautiful. This is definitely a photographers dream trip.

Sunday morning found everyone reluctant to leave but eager to return to the comfort of home. This trip was wonderful and we made a lot of new friends. I’m sure we’ll go again, soon.

We recently rode to Marlinton, W.Va., staying just outside of town, at the Marlinton Motor Inn. Their restaurant is new but the food is just food. It’s not bad, just not anything to get excited about. We found the same at the Greenbriar Restaurant in town. The service at the Greenbriar was good, but the food was just okay. Down the street is a little corner café named French’s. The café is old and not so clean, although the cooking is pretty good.

The best food we had all weekend was at the lunch counter in Cass  Railroad State Park. It was just old tables and chairs in the historic Company Store, but the food is homemade and good.

Travel days were just fast food stops for burgers and ice cream. The food was not fantastic but we didn’t starve.

Remember to take your camera. The scenery will make you forget about your stomach! The ride was great!

We have a new bike!! We now own a beautiful new candy apple red Goldwing with all the bells and whistles. Naturally, we’ve been riding a lot.

Last weekend we rode on VA55 in Virginia. It is one of the most beautiful rides we’ve ever had. There are windy roads up and down the Va. Hills. Along the way we popped in and out of the woods, and through rolling picture perfect farms. Some had white fences and some had dark fences. We even rode past the dreamed of country cottage with the white picket fence out front.

Then we moved on to US211. The valleys and mountains were awesome! We crested a rise and there would be a spectacular panorama of green mountain ridges surrounding us. We found farms and small orchards on ridge tops and quiet little towns with historic old log cabins. Some had multiple add ons showing the advances of many generations.

Sorry, no Virginia restaurants to review. But I did have a killer corn dog from a gas station, along the way. We’re planning a long trip, shortly. I’m sure I’ll have much to tell you, then.

After the ride to Marysville and the Honda plant tour, I returned to Washington DC and was prompted by the other half to go visit the local Honda dealer and came home with a new addition to the stable, a new Goldwing.

2008 Goldwing

We put 400 miles on the first weekend with a trip to Winchester VA, visiting the downtown pedestrian mall and a band playing on the commons. We rode the next day eastward on US 50 and 220 to Keyser then southward through the WV roads to join US 33 eastward , once again riding that fun motorcycle road from WV back into VA. We also stopped for a break in Luray. The ride was fantastic and much more comfortable than on the C50 which we traded in. We managed to stay just ahead of the rain the entire return eastward and watched a thunderstorm pass through about 1/2 hour after returning home. A great east coast mountain trip