Maggie Valley 2019

To Maggie Valley

September 22 to October 1, 2019

 

Day 1

As usual day one is meant to get as far away from home as possible, without too much hassle. This trip there are four of us, Roz on her Spyder, Bill & Ryan on BMWs and me on the Harley. Because none  of us enjoy hiway travel, the plan was to utilize rte 219 as much as possible. Destination today is Somerset, PA; about 525kms.

After the effortless run thru the border, our first stop was the fashionably trendy Ellicottville, NY. Fuel up and brunch at Katy’s Café. Roz and I had the breakfast burrito called a Kool Kat; mostly veggie with just a little bacon crumble and lots of spinach. Quite tasty. The boys had regular breakfast, all good, and for less than $10 each with very good bottomless coffee.

As I found on a previous road trip, Ryan can be a little anxious so to keep him busy I asked him to lead. This also gives him the opportunity to rush thru the occasional twisty without running up someone’s ass. I reminded him that Roz does not like to ride for more than 2 hours without a bathroom break and his first stop was a roadside gas station/convenience store/Subway just north of Ridgeway. Not classy, but timely. As we were dismounting, an old WV Jetta parked next to us. A 20 year old football player type gets out and strides into the Subway; leaving his car idling. The car rattled, banged and spewed smelly exhaust. I pointed this out to Bill who suggested that perhaps he left it running to keep the air conditioning on; I pointed out that all the windows were down. Well, maybe he has trouble starting the old beast. Perhaps. We went in, used the facilities and grabbed a cold drink. Back outside the VW was still running; the young man came out, reached into the car, retrieved his cell phone and headed back inside. I asked him why he left the car running; ‘I’m just grabbing a Sub, be out in a minute’; .. That does not explain why the car is running..; ‘Hey, I’m just gonna be a minute’;.. You were inside talking to your friends for 10 minutes and the car is still running. Its noisy and stinking up the environment; ‘OK, I’ll shut it off’. He scowled, turned it off and he headed back inside. As we were mounting up to leave he came out. He slowed down as he drove in front of us, gave me the one finger salute and gunned the engine, spewing a nasty black fog as he turned onto the roadway. KIDS…

About an hour later, just after we had turned off 553 and 22 back onto 219, Ryan signaled and pulled over onto the shoulder. His bike had just quit, no warning as if it ran out of fuel. We ran the necessary restart and roadside tests. Nothing. I called AAA and arranged for a tow truck to at least get him to the hotel; it was Sunday, no place to take it today. Roz and I waited with them for about 45 minutes then left so she could get to a washroom. We got gas and arrived at the Sure Stay Inn in Somerset about 7:30. Ryan and Bill arrived about 15 minutes later and unloaded Ryan's BMW into the parking area. We spent another 30 minutes trying to diagnose the problem before deciding to have dinner.

This hotel is inexpensive; $60 a night and is much like any other BW.; clean and comfy; nothing fancy. The crowning feature, other than the price, is the covered parking area; the full basement area is open and accessible for parking, great for the bikes. There are several restaurants to choose in the area; we went to Ruby Tuesday, a short walk out the back door. Excellent.

As we were returning to the rooms we spotted a Harley RoadGlide in the parking area with a trike kit mounted to the front end. I had seen them online before but never in person. Kinda weird.

 

 

 

Day 2

The plan for the day was to meander down 219/160/36/28/220. Well that was the plan, but of course there were several deviations. To start the day we had to get Ryan going. He had spent much of the previous evening searching the internet for solutions. His research suggested that the fuel pump or perhaps the fuel regulator was the obvious problem. Ryan walked over to the local Napa, grabbed some wire, clips, tape and tester. After pulling the side panel and disconnecting the fuel controller, he hooked up bypass wires and the fuel pump ran just fine. So it must be the controller, so detach the controller plug, splice the wires and connect a solid bypass. But still it would not start. By now it was after 9am so he called a BMW dealer and the AAA and towed it to Tyrone for repairs. Roz and I decided to carry on our way, Bill stayed with Ryan.

The hilite of our day was rte 160. Although I had been in this area many times, I don’t think I had ever turned down rte 160 before. What a surprise!!. Rte 160 ran up into a mountain and followed along a ridge with terrific vistas for about 15 miles then twisted and turned for another 5 miles down into the valley to connect to hwy 36. If you are in the area, do it.

We traveled thru LaVale, MD stopping for brunch at the Cracker Barrel. Then down rte 28 with a stop at Seneca Rocks and a visit into Yokum's General store.

The temperature had reached 24C and sunny;  time to discard the heavy jackets. A little further down 28 I was planning on taking off down Snowy Mountain pass but when I asked Roz she was below a quarter tank of gas, so we stayed on 28 finally finding a small gas bar about 30 minutes later; just in time to avoid a discussion about my choice of backroads.

Just down rte 28 at rte 92 is the fabulous Green Bank telescope and observatory. We made a quick stop but did not have time to go into the centre; perhaps next time. Staying on rte28 put us about 50km further west than the original plan, but it was still a good forested, bendy road; so ok. The only problem was that it was thru the state forest for almost 200 kms, no café, no bathroom. When we finally found a roadside store/diner at the front of a hillbilly trailer park, it was not exactly what the boss ordered. The bathroom was an oversized outhouse complete with running water and a shower. Oh well. Then on to Warm Water Springs and a Hardee’s for lunch, about 3:30. It had started to drizzle and when I checked the radar I could see rain in the forecast. I aborted the backroads plan and headed for the hiway. It was the longer way around but would get us to the hotel about a half hour quicker. Good plan, it started to rain just as we pulled onto the ramp into Radford, our prebooked BW for the night.

I booked in, then went down the road to the Food Lion, grabbed some snacks and beer and headed back to the room. Not a bad day, some great roads, about 600kms and still dry.

Bill and Ryan arrived about 9pm, fully rain geared up. They rode the last 3 hours in the rain, some of it torrential. I offered them snacks and beer in return for an exchange of the days activity. The BMW dealer in Tyrone lent Ryan a bike so the boys could go for a ride instead of standing around waiting for the mechanic to have a look. Turns out the fuel problem on Ryans bike was the fuel controller. But apparently he must have disconnected a wire while putting it back together. Just bad luck. Took the dealer 10 minutes to fix. But they had a nice lunch and short ride anyway.

 

Day 3

Wow… what a fantastic day for riding; nothing but blue sky in the forecast, mid 20's. And it almost went totally according to plan, which was quite simple; get on the interstate to a local Blue Ridge access point, ride the Parkway as much as possible, stop at Little Switzerland for lunch, ride the Diamondback and be in Maggie Valley by 6pm.

Well, like I said, it was almost according to plan; the first hour was perfect. We left the BW about 9am in beautiful sunshine and 20C, hit hwy 81 then 77 south, exit at Fancy Gap, took the ramp up to the Parkway and ….whoops; the BRP is under construction. A huge roadside sign flashed a warning to us that there was loose gravel on the Parkway and travel by motorcycle was not recommended. Damn. So a quick turnaround and reroute down rte 52 into Mt Airy.

At 10:30 it was time for a pee break anyway and there is a convenient McDonalds in Mt Airy. We have been there many times but this was Ryan’s first trek in this direction. He is too young (only 53) to remember the Andy Griffith Show but has seen reruns and recalls the name of Mayberry. Mt Airy no longer has an active Mayberry display downtown but a few of the old Ford police cars still roam around escorting tourists to the hilites of the old TV set. Using the free wifi at McD I decided on an alternate access point, hoping that the construction was not extensive. So, a ride down Main St and out on rte 89 to rte 18 and on to the BRP.

There was no sign greeting our entrance and just a few hundred yards along we saw a sign that stated ‘end of work zone’. Haha, did it. We pulled into the first lookover and revelled in the spectacular scenery. The BRP is truly a wonderful and beautiful roadway. It winds and bends for hundreds of miles along the top of the mountains. The only problem is that it meanders, a lot. If you really have to get somewhere quickly, it will take quite a long time to get there if you stay on the Parkway. The other issue is that there are very few services on the BRP, if you need gas or want lunch, you have to exit. We rode along for about 2 hours, stopping at a few look outs to take pictures and stretch our legs. About 12:30 we came to one of those annoying warning signs; damn. Oh well, turn around and take the Aho Road exit down into Blowing Rock; we needed gas anyway.

From previous experience I knew that rte 221 south from Blowing Rock was an excellent mountain gap road and would put us back onto the BRP about 50 miles further on, so off we went. It is truly an amazing road, full of twists and turns; quite challenging in places and even a few vistas if you chance to take your eyes off the road for a few seconds. I knew Roz would be struggling to guide her Spyder thru all these turns so I decided to get back on the BRP for a more relaxing ride.

We arrived at Little Switzerland at 3pm; unfortunately the café at the Lodge stops serving lunch at 3pm, so we had to ride over to the other smaller café in the village for lunch. It was excellent, but without the view offered at the Lodge. I did stop at the Lodge store and grab another T-shirt and patch, just because. I told Ryan and Bill to go ahead and charge down the Diamondback so they could get the full experience. Roz and I followed at a slower pace. At the bottom of the hill I took the lead and headed out to Hwy 40 for the 90 minute ride into Maggie Valley.

The Maggie Valley BW is near the west end of town so we got a good look at the whole town before checking in. Quite a nice hotel but we were disappointed that the pool and hot-tub were closed for maintenance. After a long day in the saddle with near 30C sunshine, a little soak would have been relaxing.

Bill and I walked the mile down to Dollar General to grab some beer packs, threw them into the fridge and we all walked over to GuayaBito Mexican for dinner. Quite good and not expensive.

Another great day. 550kms, great roads and plenty of sunshine.

 

 

 

Day 4

 

Yessiree, this is why we ride. What a perfect day, nothing but sunshine and fantastic roads. Out 19 to Cherokee, thru Franklin, up 28 to 129, run the Dragon, across the Foothills and south on 441 to BRP and back on 19 to Maggie. 450kms in 8.5 hrs.

It was a very chilly start to the day and we had to pull over to put on an extra layer 5 minutes after leaving the BW. It was only 13C. But that ride down 19 into Cherokee is enough to put a warm, good morning smile on any rider’s face. Woowee. At Cherokee switch over to the 23 and onto the 4 lane to Franklin. Stop in Franklin for gas and a McD brunch then onto the 28 north.

28 is often referred to as the Moonshiner and supposedly in the 20-30’s it was used to evade the revenuers during prohibition but today it is a favourite of riders and motor sports enthusiasts. The twists and turns seem to never end. Unfortunately as we neared the 74 we fell in behind an empty dump truck which of course slowed us down. Thankfully he turned right into Bryson City and we went left to carry on up the 28 north. On previous trips we had stopped at the Iron Horse Lodge (well worth an overnite if you are ever in the area), but today I was in a hurry to cover more miles so onward. And we did not stop at the famous Fontana Dam but carried right on to Deal’s Gap.

Ryan had never been here before and this was Bill’s second trip, so I told them to get out onto the Dragon, run it both ways while Roz and I took a break at Deals Gap restaurant. It was hot, about 33c and a cold beer was just what the mechanic ordered.  While we were waiting i stood outside and watched the wide and weird assortment of rides that show up at Deals Gap. The boys returned in about 45 minutes and Roz and I left, agreeing to wait at the parking lot at the north end. I decided to take off and do a floor board scraping run thru the Dragon. I may be old and not as quick as in years past, but it is still a thrill to see how much I can push the Ultra thru this famous twisty.

From there we turned onto the Foothills Parkway, probably the second best scenic roadway in the region. The new section with its beautiful blacktop and special scenic vistas is a real treat. The Parkway ends at Wears Valley, where we turned right and headed into Pigeon Forge. I am not a fan of this hectic, madhouse of a crowded tourist hotspot. Heavy traffic and many stoplights; yuck. We grabbed lunch at TGIF, slow service and mediocre food.

Down the parkway onto the Gatlinburg bypass and onto the 441 south. The 441 is probably the best road in the area with lots of twisties, exceptional vistas and a climb up the highest mountain in the region. The ride and views are absolutely stunning, but the traffic can be intense and very slow in places. As we passed the info centre we spotted several Elk and some wild turkeys in the field; as did about 100 cars that had stopped on the narrow shoulder to take pics. Awh, the beauty of nature!!! We turned onto the BRP and enjoyed the ride up the mountain thru the many tunnels, including one that is part of a total 360 turn where the road goes thru the tunnel and you swing around over the tunnel to complete the circle. Neat. From there it was a quick ride down the 19 and back to the BW.

Dinner was at the Italiano Café. Very good food, but just too much of it. With very fair prices and a decent selection of local beers, we'll be back next trip.

Everyone had a  great day. Again.

 

 

 

Day 5

The forecast for today is potential thunder storms in the afternoon, so a short ride and a visit to the Wheels Thru Time museum seems in order. Well that was the plan and we pretty much stuck to it despite the faulty forecast.

I decided that since we rode the 441 in a hurry yesterday, not stopping for any photos and with no time for Clingman’s Dome that we would retrace that part of the route. The sunshine that encouraged us in Maggie Valley left as soon as we headed down the mountain on the BRP. We did stop to take photos and I had the GoPro working most of the way, but the overcast turned to light rain as we stopped at the info centre in Ocotunafee. Oh well, it was still warm and it was very light rain, so carry on. As we started to climb up to the Dome the overcast became fog (low lying cloud) and the temperature dropped from 20C at the info centre to 13C at the top. And it was windy, visibility about 100 yards. Certainly not worth the ride and definitely not worth the walk up the hill to the Dome. We waited around for about 30 minutes to see if it might clear; no luck. But the plan was to ride down to the Chimneys, so lets try. Nope, still foggy and the parking lots (on the upside only) were jambed and the opposing traffic was heavy so, no stopping for photos today. Gatlinburg was its normal hectic place, but the sun had returned and the temp was up to 28C. Everytime I ride thru Gatlinburg I am amazed at how commercial and crass it is, especially when compared to the natural beauty of the Smokey Mtns. Yuck. And even if you wanted to stop and walk around with all the other tourists, there is no easy parking.

My plan was to ride up 321 and down 32 but 32 was under construction so it was north on 32 and then down 40 back to Maggie Valley. We dropped Roz and Ryan at the Mexican restaurant while Bill and I went to the motel to eat our Italian leftovers. Then we walked down to the WTT museum to meet Ryan and Roz. The WTT amazed as always and the 2.5 hours we spent with all the vintage machines was not enough, but more than our tiny brains could handle.

On our walk back up to the BW, it was sunny and 30C forcing us to stop for a beer at the Salty Dog. This old tavern is a gem of local southern hospitality and charm. Nothing fancy and the fixtures look like they have been there for 100 years. We were greeted by Heather and escorted to the bar. They do keep a decent stock of beers; so a local IPA called Green Man. Nice and hoppy, and cold.

We had another beer at the BW with Ryan and Roz before heading back down the hill to the Mexican for dinner. It was overflowing with a 30 minute wait. Oh well, over to the Salty Dog. Heather greeted Bill and I by name and found us a comfy booth away from the overly energetic air conditioning fan. Danielle was our waitress, very bubbly and enthusiastic but not all that clever. When Roz asked her how the black-eyed peas were cooked, she had that funny vacant look and responded, quite seriously, ‘In a pot, on the stove’… The catfish was quite good, the hush puppies excellent, the cole slaw a little too creamy and the service very slow. But the local atmosphere was very memorable.

 

 

 

 

 

Day 6

After 3 nights in Maggie Valley it was time to start the trek north. The destination today was Johnson City, only about 150 kms if we went directly; but that was not the plan. There are many special roads in the area, lets see how many we can find on the way. First breakfast at the BW, Cherry and Mandy, (the BW staff) were at their cheery, bubbly selves cajoling the guests and telling local stories. They do their best to make sure all feel more like family than tourists. And they did make this somewhat run down old BW feel like home for a few days, many of the guests we talked to had stayed here several times.

From Maggie Valley we took the 276 thru Waynesville and up to the BRP, stunning ride; and of course the BRP is its own special place, that view from our first pullover was stunning. 10km on the BRP and we dove down the aptly named Devil’s Drop. I let Bill and Ryan charge ahead so they got the full experience, I tried to keep up but the lumbering heavy Harley just couldn’t keep up with the lighter more nimble BMWs; and my brakes heated up quite severely.

As usual I had programmed in a route on Google Maps but planned on deviating whenever the mood struck me. Such was the case when we got to hwy 23 and instead of turning left I went straight and meandered around the foothills until we came out to hwy 19. Up thru Canton and a stop at a Waffle House for an early lunch. I decided to take off on the first sideroad which turned into Crabtree Mountain Road. Very special. This road is an old rural road that obviously does not see much traffic, it is narrow, paved, no shoulders and almost no banking. The road is very steep and twisty as it climbs up and over Crabtree Mountain. Whewy. I pulled onto an unused grassy driveway at the peak and managed to get the Harley turned around before I lost my footing in a tire rut and dropped

the beast. No problem, soft dirt and 2 buddies to help pick her up. The view down the valley from ‘Hawk Holler’ was worth the brief embarrassing moment.

Down the hill and right onto rte 209 into Fines Creek and the start of the Rattler. I charged off with Ryan and Bill in pursuit enjoying the sunshine and ride. We waited for Roz at Trust then proceeded into Hot Springs for an ice cream stop. And it was hot, 32C and sunny. Then onto rte 70 to 19.

After a stop at the McD in Burnside for a cold drink and bathroom break I saw a sign for Mt Mitchell. I have never been down this road but had seen the sign off the BRP and heard from fellow riders about the great run. Ok, plan deviated again. And it was well worth the extra kms. Great twisty, next time we do it from the other direction.

It was now about 4pm and time to start the trek in a more direct route to Johnson City. We stopped for gas and I reset the map to keep us off highways but get us to the BW before 6pm. Well it almost worked, I had to abandon one of the turns, the road looked like it would lose its pavement shortly, and I missed another quick turn and ended up going thru Elizabethton. Oh well, we still got to the hotel about 630.

We have stayed at this BW in Johnson City, Tn before, its fine and the onsite Thai restaurant has a very lively, and noisy bar. Just fine to review the day, unwind and plan for tomorrow.

400kms of very hot riding along some of the finest twisties in the area.

 

 

Day 7

Gonna be another hot one today. Forecast is for 32C and sunny. Our destination today is Wytheville, VA, only about 250kms but somehow we’ll make it over 400km. Basically, 19/421/67/19e/91/133/58/21., kinda like a figure 8 which includes the Snake, BackBone Tunnel and the Crooked Roadway.

On our way across to the top of the Snake I stopped on WhiteTop Road for a photo-op of the Bristol Speedway, quite a site sitting there in the hillside. At rte 421 I let Ryan and Bill charge ahead after warning them that it had rained in some places overnite and it is September, leaves would be on the roadway. I followed Roz and hopefully got some good footage on the G0Pro. Bill and Ryan were waiting for us at the General Store and let me lead from there, the roads were too wet to run quickly, we might as well stay together.

At Mountain City I turned west along 67 and enjoyed the sunshine heating up the meandering valley road. After a quick stop at the Mobil/McD in Elizabethton we were off on 19E to 91, over the mountain again and thru Shady Valley. 91/133 are not named but are just as pleasant a run as the Snake.

In Damacus I stopped at the Wicked Chicken for ice cream and they indeed had my absolute favourite, Hershey’s dark chocolate raspberry truffle; yummy. Damascus is famous for its access to the Andirondack trail and caters to hikers and mountain bikers. You can rent a mountain bike here which they will shuttle to the top of the trail and you ride back down; very popular with families.   I quite like this little spot, very quaint with a nice café and outdoor patio. There was even a one man band playing on the porch.

Then it was off onto rte 58 and one of my very favourite rides in this area, the Crooked Road (musical trail). This road bends and climbs thru some gorgeous countryside including the Graystone Highlands. Not a difficult road but still full of bends and twisties. I just love it every time; and I’ve been here at least 10 times. There is of course the ice cream stop at one end and my favourite leather shop, Fox Creek at the other end in Independence. I have been ordering their deer skin gauntlets for many years. From here it is a short run up hwy 21 into Wytheville, late lunch at the Mexican and over past Black Bear Harley to the BW.

It was only 4pm when we checked in and it was sunny and 27C so Bill and I decided to head out for a quick tour; Ryan grudgingly agreed to join us; he was glad he did. I headed up I-77 and exited at rte 42, west almost to Saltman, up 91 and east along 601 then down rte 16 to Marion and back along I-81 to Wytheville. A nice circle 8 that included part of the Claw of the Dragon and most of the Back of the Dragon, about 120km. We have visited this area many times so I know my way around and always love just wandering.

Total for the day was almost 500km, no rain and lots of great riding.

 

Day 8

The plan is simple, ride the Back of the Dragon, continue up hwy 16, then 52 and into Barboursville. Great plan with a stop at the Back of the Dragon store to buy another T-shirt; because after a week on the road in 30C plus sunshine, I only had one clean shirt left. Well that’s my excuse this time. Linda at the store told us about the new construction taking place on the lot next to the temporary trailer/store. It will be finished in time for next spring and include a new store, lounge and hopefully wash bay and café. A beautiful, large, spread wing Dragon is already in position protecting the building. Great for photo opts. Ryan decided that he needed to be home tomorrow so left us at Tazewell.

Riding on hwy 16 is always a treat and I never can decide which section I enjoy more, but today I think the part from War to Welch wins. The only sad part is the condition of some of the towns along the way. The closing of the coal mines has impoverished many in this region. I don’t think that reopening the coal mines is the answer, someone needs to encourage newer industries into the region and train young people so they will stay and reinvigorate the region.

We wound our way up hwy 52, enjoying the bendy road and marvellous scenery, stunning. But just past Mingo the traffic came to a standstill on rte 10. Cars were backed up as far as I could see and after 15 minutes in the 34C sunshine I decided to follow other drivers and turn around and find an alternate route. Hwy 52 up to 5 and onto 119 into Logan. I found the Mexican restaurant where I had stopped before, and Roz loves Mexican.

I then followed 119 to rte 10 and then onto hwy 60 to the BW in Barbourville. While waiting at a stoplight my temperature gauge reached 37C. wow… Across the parking lot from the hotel was a pub called ‘Bill’s Grille’. Bill couldn’t resist and offered to buy a cold one to celebrate another great ride day. The bartender wore a T-shirt emblazoned with the logo and an outline of WV. Bill tried to buy one but all they had in stock were small and 2x; too bad. Bright side, we’ll have to make another trip to WV so Bill can get a T-shirt.

Back to the room and a dinner of cold beer and tortilla chips. Oh well….

 

Day 9

The forecast today was hot, hot, hot. Record breaking temperatures were spreading across the mid west and heading north, right in our path. Well I guess its better than the rain and cold they have at home. Today we have to reach Morgantown, WV. The route is simply along hwy 60 and up 19.

After the usual quickie breakfast at the BW we were off toward Charleston, WV and would probably hit the morning rush as hwy 60 went right thru the downtown core. Well that’s what we were expecting, but there was no heavy traffic at all, in fact when we stopped for gas near the Capital Building we all commented on the fact that the downtown streets were empty, the indoor parking lot nearby was near vacant. This is Monday morning at 930am; maybe it’s a local holiday??

From Charleston hwy 60 follows along the Kanawha River and is known as the Midland Trail. It is a combination of 4-lane hwy past some huge, ugly factories and small 2 lane meandering roadway past several faltering towns. We stopped at one of those towns, Montgomery, looking for a café for our late morning snack. What a depressingly ugly place. The town is crambed between the mountain and the river on the opposite side of the hwy. We had to cross a wonderful old arcing steel bridge to get to the town and then follow the rail tracks thru town. The tracks divide the town with three streets of the downtown stringing along between the tracks and the river; the houses and old apartments on the wrong side of the tracks looked as if they may have been stylish at some point but were now showing decades of neglect. The downtown was similar in its decay. The only café we saw was closed with a for sale sign hung awkwardly across the doorway. No place to stop here, but I did see a McD sign around the river bend out on the hwy. OK.

One of the reasons I chose hwy 60 is that part of it has recently been branded as The Talon and advertised as the next best ‘dragon’. At Gauley Bridge I pulled over, just past the bridge, where I saw a big sign announcing ‘The Talon’, your adventure starts Here’. Now, as I said, this is a newly branded road; but I was expecting more than just a sign. The old building next to the roadway still carried the faded sign for an ancient post office and the adjoining shack promised a ‘Snack Shack’ coming soon. That’s it. But other than it was disappointing not to find a store where I could add to my collection of patches, stickers and t-shirts, Gauley Bridge is in a gorgeous setting at the confluence of two rivers and the site of a Civil War battle. There were 3 historic signs posted on the roadsides telling the story of the famed battle. I am always amazed to note that parts of West Virginia consider itself part of the southern states. Geographically it does not make sense.

So, off along hwy 60 and then soon to be famous Talon; well maybe not. After spending several days in the Smokie Mountains and 2 days riding up hwy 16 and 52, this aint no great shakes as a spectacular roadway. It does have a few nice twisties at Chimney corners, one sizable mountain and a great view off Hawk’s Nest, but even the waterfall at Cathedral Falls was dry. Oh well.

From there I stopped at the New River Gorge bridge and we walked over to the store for an ice cream. We were going to take the road down the gorge but the road was under construction and a sign said the bridge was closed at the bottom. Oh well. Onto Hwy 19, a boring 4 laner that leads thru the commercial crassness of Summersville. It was too hot to be travelling on a 4-lane road but if we wanted to get to Morgantown in a reasonable time, it was necessary. Just before we got to the exit to I-79, I turned off onto Herold Road. Herold is a paved, single lane local road; and I mean single lane. When a pick-up truck came from the opposite direction he had to put half his vehicle off the road to get past us. The road twists and turn past several houses along a creek; it feels like you are heading down someone’s driveway with every turn. But well paved and eventually ends at rte 4. Up rte 4 into Flatwoods and over to the Mexican Restaurant in the plaza. I have stopped here a few times, very good food at very reasonable prices. And cold Dos Equus on tap. It was 34C outside.

Back onto rte4 and then rte19 which unfortunealtely is much more open than we wanted and with the heat, I decided to avoid the stop and go traffic thru towns and hit the I-79 for awhile. At least the breeze helped somewhat. I got off the hwy at Fairmont and took the back way into Morgantown along hwy 250 and 19. Very pleasant. I did not know that Fairmont claims to be the first place that celebrated Father’s Day, or so said a sign outside a church in midtown. This part of the ride up hwy 19 was much more pleasant and was treed lined for most of the way, providing much appreciated shade.

We arrived at the BW about 6:30, perfect timing. The place has been painted and partially renovated since my last visit. Much nicer. WE decided to walk over to the Texas Roadhouse for dinner. Very disappointed, my ribs were dry and tasteless and they only had the cheap regular assortment of beer on tap. Not great for our last dinner on the road this trip. Next time maybe the little pub down the hill  by the river.

 

 

Day 10

OK, time to head home; time to bring this fantastic voyage to an end. Damn, but been a good one. Forecast today is 30C, mostly sunny until we get to northern PA, rain forecast at home. Oh well.

Theoretically we could ride straight up hwy 119 to 219 to Buffalo and Qew home, but that would be quite boring; we aint in that much of a hurry, but I wont wander too much. So, around Morgantown by back roads then onto a very rural rte119, thru the mountains and down a very nice twisty. Then onto the beautiful 982, rte 30 and up 217 into Indiana. Indiana, PA is home to the Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) and also the birthplace of Jimmy Stewart. We made a quick stop for a snack at the McD then thru town to rte 954 and north thru Amish country. I have ridden this route many times and always enjoy the pleasant countryside ride, especially on such a beautiful day; sunshine and 28C. Glorious.

We rode 954 onto rte210 then 119 thru Punxsutawney, but we didn’t stop to say Hi to Phil. Then 310 and onto 219 just north of DuBois. We stopped for a bathroom break at the Skeetz north of Ridgeway. Then it was onward up 219 and into Ellicottville and a stop at the Tim’s for a late lunch. Of course we have been into many Tim’s on our travels but I have never been in one where the country rock music assaulted you as you walked in the door. It was so loud it was difficult to place our order and when I asked to have it turned down, the young clerk looked at me like I was some kind of alien, well perhaps a very old alien. She finally managed to turn it down a notch, but even though we sat at the far end of the room, we still had trouble carrying on a reasonable conversation. I checked the weather again, not good; violent storm running across the Niagara peninsula and now centered on Buffalo. Yuck. So, don the raingear and head out. Make sure you have money and passport easily accessible for the border. Damn; cant find my passport; strip down everything; not there.

At the border I explained my dilemma to the border guard; she asked to see my driver’s license; lucky for me it is an enhanced licence. Carry-on. She did tell my wife that perhaps it would be best if she held onto the important documents in the future.

We rode home in the rain not too bad, brief periods of rain, nothing heavy but the wind was very gusty. When I checked the phone messages at home, there was a call from Mary at the general store in Seneca Rocks; someone found my passport and gave it to her. She mailed it to me.

 

All in all; a great trip.

Next time…..