2025 Eastbound Trip 1 - Day 18

June 17, 2025

Photos will come later.

Today was a blur and I’m sure I won’t remember every thing in order as it moved so quickly and I didn’t take all that many photos which I usually use to reconstruct the events.

At dawn I got up and took advantage of the shower at the campground bath house.  There was no waiting as there was still only one other camper in whole place.  After getting suitable refreshed I took a walk and looped through this section of the state park.  There is a lake and I grabbed a few pictures.

Before heading back to our site I checked out the group area and draw that they had a pool, a very small and shallow one and a larger one, almost big enough for lap swimming.  Unfortunate, it was all locked up.

When I got back to our campsite I heard a rumble that I hadn’t noticed before.  It sounded like maybe a river or a waterfall coming from the hills across the way and it was getting louder.  Then I felt a few drops.  It was incoming storm and the sound was rain hitting all the trees.  I retreated to my tent and sat it out, writing yesterday’s blog.

It eventually cleared up and the sun even showed up.  Breakfast for me as the other half of last night’s dinner and Dan had a scramble egg and chorizo thing that I’ve had in the past and was pretty good.  Everything was wet and muddy so I tried to stay on the pavement we camped on as began the packing process.

Today’s plan is to ride the Head of the Dragon, a 91-mile loop through this part of West Virginia.  It’s named for the other parts of the Dragon, such as Tail of the Dragon, a road we travels on last year, a mere 11 miles but with 319 turns.  The ride to where to loop starts is an hour or so from where we camped so we geared up and headed that way.

We pulled out of the parking spot next and stopped to check out Bluestone Lake.

I may be able to construct our routes but that might way for an update to this blog entry.  We rode 2-lane roads to the town of Welch where we would start the loop.  The roads are in good condition and there is very little traffic.  If there is a straight section of road it might only last for 1/4 mile but at most.  Sweeping curves are the norm and 35-40 MPH is the standard.  There are MANY backroads options and we took quite a few of them.

These backroads, and even some of the main one of the Head of the Dragon route get down to not much more than a single lane.  We rode plenty of these.  The turns come quickly and frequently.  At the end of the day we were trying to estimate how many turns we went through and it it was easily over 1,000, and maybe even 2,000.  Here’s a photo from one of those backroads.  Due to the rain there had been a mudslide and there was some heavy equipment clearing the ditch alongside the road.  We stopped just past it for these photos.

By midday we were getting hungry and stopped at a Subway for lunch and to use their Wi-Fi to check on our route.  As I was getting my jacket and helmet of, a pickup pulled into the parking spot next to me.  Three guys, all aged 50+ were obviously on lunch break from a construction job and one said “Hello” and I answered with “Hello, how are you doing?”  He said great, can’t you smell it?”  I could as he passed a joint back to one of the other guys.  We all laughed.  They hung around a bit and we chatted about the roads in West Virginia and stuff.

Did I mention rain?  Rain came and went during the day with a frequency similar to the curves in the road.  At one point we pulled over donned the rain gear.

This route takes us past LOTS of small towns, or I should say “villages,” and as beautiful as things are, there is also a depressing side.  We’d go through one small place after another and see nothing but boarded up or otherwise abandoned Ed businesses.  In one town, the Walmart was even closed up.  While there were many towns will fine houses, on the same block there would be a few that are collapsing or are burned out.  We hear about the poor state of the economy in this state but now we are seeing it first hand.

The rest of the day was about covering miles, and we did.  Beautiful curvy roads.  One of the best was Black Oak Rd.  Miles and miles of narrow twists inside dense woods.  We didn’t have much in the way of dry roads but these tires I run, Michelin Road 6 GT, stick to it like they have suction cups.  The only time I felt a slip was when I hit a spot of gravel.

We finished the loop up where started and took a break as we pondered what would come next.  Dan wanted to check out the possibility of camping at the New River Gorge National park so we rode there.  We took the slab for a while to cut some time.  On the intercom he told me to ride past him so he could shoot some video.

When we got to the parking lot we found that camping wasn’t available so Dan picked Babcock STate Park and we headed there, about 45 minutes away.  We did ride across the New River Gorge Bridge along the way.  

There was no problem getting a site there so we set up out temps, had food, and got settled in for the night.

It was a 268 mile day, which is lower mileage than usual but those twists and curves really do slow us down.

2025 Eastbound Trip 1 - Day 17

June 15, 2025

(Yes, I know the day numbers are messed up but today’s is correct.)

What a day….

After breakfast (home fries and scrambled eggs) I finished packing and loading the bike.  

Dan and I texted a few times and agreed to get on the road around 10am.  He came over and we headed about by 10:30 or so and his girlfriend grabbed a video of us pulling away.

The first leg of the trip is to Uniontown, PA, traveling on Hwy 51, where we stopped to top off our tanks.  The weather is nice and feels like it will be a warm, and somewhat humid, day.  Being a Sunday, the traffic is light and we scooted south and crossed into West Virginia.  Almost right away the roads became curvy.

Since we were going top be within a short distance of Morgantown, WV, I wanted to stop there for a tourist site: a statue honoring Don Knotts who grew up there.  Yes, Don Knotts, AKA, Barney Fife.  While I haven’t watched TV in decades, I did watch the Andy Griffith Show back in the day and enjoyed Knott’s portrayer of the bumbling, and nervous, deputy.

The statue is in front of a theater on the Main Street and swe were able to park a few car length a way to get some photos.

From there, we headed to Dan’s choice: Seneca rocks.  This is a large outcropping of rock in what it otherwise tree covered hill country.  The ride there was great, all 2-lane roads with lots of twists and turns and up and down hills.  Along the way, in Belington, we stopped at a Subway for lunch.

There was a railroad graveyard next door.

Seneca Rocks wasn’t far after that.  We stopped there for some photos.

I don’t exactly remember when the rain started because there was so much of it for the rest of the day, on and off, cycling from drizzle to shower to downpour.  This is one reason there are not lots of road photos today.  Between being on narrow roads with few places to pull off, getting the phone out to take photos in the rain is a huge hassle.

The next stop was Smoke Hole Road.  We rode some distance, maybe 15-20 miles, on some back roads before we arrived at the turn off.  This road is freshly covered with new blacktop and is narrow, a car width and a half, and nothing but twists and turns, many of them very tight, running through a heavily wooded terrain with great changes in elevation.  There was rain, clouds, fog, and fun.  Here’s photos from one stop.

Dan id good at shooting photos while riding. Here are some of me on that road.

Here’s the Happy Father’s Day photo.

All good things must come to an end and after 15-20 miles, we got back on a 2-lane road but it was fun itself.  We were heading to our campground, Bluestone State Park, which the navigation app indicated was about 3 hours away.  The route there was more West Virginia delights with a beautiful route with sweeping curve after sweeping curve.

The rain kept coming and going so in Franklin, WV we stopped for gas and get on on our rain gear.  My jacket had taken on some water but I was mostly dry underneath it but getting the rain liner inside it would be like extra insurance.  My Levi’s were a bit wet and rain pants over those would keep things from getting worse.  I was wearing my lightweight gloves, which were soaked, but the temperature was still in the mid-70s so I didn’t feel a need to change them out.

In White Sulphur Spring we stopped because our Cardo devices were telling us that the batteries were running low.  Not only does the device let us hear navigation directions in our helmets, we can talk back and forth with is really handy.  The rider in front can warn the rider in back of road hazards.

After passing through Caldwell, we were about 10 miles out of town, still heading south when we saw flashing lights up ahead.  It turned out that a large tree had fallen across the road and was completely blocking it.  Some guy directed us down a side road, Deerfield, well-named, because as we passed a large field, a half dozen deer ran across the road in front of Dan.  After a few miles on this little road we stopped to check the map.  This was going nowhere so we turned around and headed back the way we had come.  That app directed us down another side road which terminated at a locked gate.  OK, turn around and head back to Caldwell.  

By this time, we had chewed up a bunch of time and it was getting late and the only way to get to where we were going was to get on I-64 which we did.  No sooner had we started rolling along that another storm blew through and this one was serious.  We had to slow way down to even see where we were going.  We rode that route for about 40-miles or so and then exited at the rode to Hinton, the town near where we would camp.  We stopped for gas again and picked up beer to go with dinner.

It was now dark and we had 12 miles to go to get to the campground.  The rain had mostly stopped and we found our campsite without a problem.  The only issue is where to put our tents as every inch that isn’t paved is muddy mess.  Tents were places on the asphalt next to our bikes.

After setting up we fired up our stoves and enjoyed a nice dinner by headlamp.  I had Sweet Potato Chili Mac that was pretty good.

It was a 386 miles day.

2025 Eastbound Trip 1 - Day 16 and 17

June 14, 2025

In the past few days we’ve kept busy and there was even some motorcycle contact.  On Saturday we drove my son and his girlfriend to a spot on the Rachel Carson trail for a training run.  We met them at a point on the trail where they left their car and we shuttled them to a spot where they’d run back 10 miles to it.  This in on prep for their 37-mile run next weekend.

On the way back we cruised the Mexican War Streets of Pittsburgh because I wanted to visit Randyland, a contemporary art installation.  We got there and the entire area was mobbed.  It turns out that Saturday mornings are like an ad hoc flea/farmers market.  People were everywhere and parking was nonexistent.  While we did drive by Randyland, I figure that I’ll give it another shot on a weekday.

Later, I did get fetch my motorcycle from the other house.  While there I checked tire inflation and added a few pounds.  I also helped my son load a big dresser into his truck so we could take it to the other house.

I rode my motorcycle back to the other house and while I had my helmet and gloves on, I was in Levi’s and a t-shirt, the first time I’ve ridden it without a jacket.  It reminded me of my youth but only for the 3/4-mile ride.  I do prefer protection. 

I got the bike parked and we unloaded the furniture.  It was hard work so it was beer time.  That IPA was 17%.

Sunday morning I was planning to do a run but it was raining which, after heat, is one of my least favorite running conditions.  Instead, we took the car over to Bethel Park to a Supercharger.  Before 8am it only charges 17 cents per kWH which is almost as inexpensive as home charging.  Rates are usually 37 cents.  We went from something like 38 to 90% for less than 6 dollars.

I rounded up my gear and started the packing process for tomorrow’s ride.  It’s only 3 days so I’m trying to down-pack as much as I can.

I did finished a drawing of the house I’ve been working on.

At 5 pm, with my son, we headed to an area near Freeport, PA to meet his girlfriend at her parents’ home for dinner.  She’d picked up Indian food and the dinner was excellent as was the company.  Afterwards, we played a fun game of croquet as the sun set.

The drive back was an adventure as it was dark and a thunderstorm had moved in.

Another fun day.

2025 Eastbound Trip 1 - Day 14 and 15

June 13, 2025

I knew that the day numbers in these titles had to be wrong so I’ll have to go back and fix them.  I’m not looking at a calendar and the days just all seem the same, which is a good thing.

Yesterday was a day off.  Well, they are all days off but yesterday was nothing in particular.  We did do a bit of grocery shopping and while we were out we cruised through the Whitehall area to look at properties.  It’s pretty nice there and even though it is a little bit upscale, there are plenty of really nice homes for under $300K.

The rest of the day was laid back.  I have a library book on my Kindle that is about due and I spent quite a bit of time getting that finished.  It was “Round the Bend” by Nevil Shute.  I’ve read quite a few of his books and this one was a real stand out.  That said, “On the Beach” is still my favorite of his and one of the more unsettling books I’ve read.

Today is sort of of unplanned.  I did want to get in a 5 mile run so I headed out about 7:45 with the destination goal to check out the Landis Nature Trail.  I charted a course that would make it a big loop and take me through a few places I haven’t seen yet here in Brookline.  Here are some views from along the way.

I turned onto Edgebrook Avenue, a long and increasingly narrow street.

At one one a group of bicyclists went by, going the other way, and the guy in the rear asked “What are you doing on our road?”  Pretty funny.  There were a few cars that went by and they have to hug the shoulder when coming to opposing traffic.

I got near the end of the road and turned on Timberland which took me to the trail head.  Someone is collecting aluminum cans.

The trail isn’t marked and I wasn’t sure which way to go other than to keep heading west.  There were lots of muddy spots.

I exited the trail not where I thought I would but close enough.  It turns out that I’d been tresspassing on the final 100 yards or so.

The next stop is Moore Park to look at their pool.  I had to run uphill through a nice neighborhood to get to Pioneer Ave.

I arrived at the park and checked out the pool.  It looks pretty nice.  I’m not sure what the hours are.

The run back took me through some small streets, new neighborhoods, to me, and, of course, more hills.

Once back on Brookline Blvd. It was an easy cruise back to where I started.

Here are today’s stats:

Later in the day we went to Settlers Park on the west side of the city.  We ran the dog at their dog park and then hike the Waterfall Trail.

Yes, the after fall is a small one.

After that it was back to our place on Harcor to refresh.  Now she is mowing and I’m about ready to get our dinner started.

A pleasant day.