extrememarine
Well-known member
With work, college, and family responsibilities right now, the opportunity to escape for a few days is a rare occasion in my life right now. In this case, it was more a matter of needed a mental health day – sometimes you need to get away just to ensure you remember why we subject ourselves to the daily grind that we do. Jim – Spklbuk – was the enabler in this case, needling me at every turn about taking this trip. Jim knows a thing or five, especially when it comes to sampling some of the finer things in this world on two wheels. The stage was set – camping at Jennings Randolph Lake, West Virginia.
Link to Jennings Randolph Lake campground site: https://corpslakes.usace.army.mil/visitors/projects.cfm?Id=E101770
JR Lake is a Corps of Engineer’s campground and in Jim’s words probably the nicest campground in the entire state of West Virginia. After visiting, I can say it is one darn nice place to stay. It has paved roads throughout, paved lanes for each campsite, lawn trimmed and neatly kept that would rival some golf courses, free hot shows, flush toilets, picnic tables and fire pits – it just doesn’t get any better for motorcycle camping.
The initial flight plans were to work from home on Thursday morning – that benefit of this new job is truly priceless – and then take half a day off to travel to JR Lake. Departure would be around 11:00 am, travel distance was around 450 miles or 8-9 hours with stops. Great plan, right? It got flushed down the crapper around 8:45 that morning. Adapt, Adjust, and Overcome became the cadence and so I pressed on through the calls and hit the moved up deadline. I backed the FJR out of the garage at about 12:45. Thankfully, it was already packed, and had been for about 3 days. I pulled on my riding gear, fired up the spot tracker and headed out. It was 1:10pm when I rolled down the on ramp of I-94 after an ATM and gas stop.
Southbound and Hammer (halfway) down. I escaped through Detroit before the rush hour picked up, cleared Toledo as well without incident. In Toledo, I made the turn east and towards Norwalk on the turnpike. This is where the I had to make a choice. My original flight plan put me into JR Lake before dark, with time to set up camp and make dinner. I also had a 10pm hard stop to make in order to catch the campground gate before it was locked for the night. My original route took me diagonally southeast through Ohio and West Virginia on OH 250 & WV 307, then east on WV50. All marvelously FJR-ish roads from what I could attain on google maps and Jim’s feedback. The catch now was my late departure time. Ms. Garmin was feeding me a line of crapcakes ETA as 9pm. What that little whore failed to account for was traffic and the lack of opportunities to dispatch it on those roads. My other option was to abandon an enjoyable afternoon of twist and twist some more for a mind numbing super-size serving of slap by taking the turnpike all the way into PA, then dropping south with minimal exposure to forest rats and traffic. That would have been the “sit on the porch” path to choose.
So I exited I-70 near Norwalk, Ohio and turned southeast through Amish country. From a “I need this trip” standpoint, that was the right decision, no doubt in my mind. That portion of Ohio is a great decompression zone – rolling hills develop as you move along through the farm country, with small towns to break up the pace as well as the occasional horse and buggy. OH 250 slowly transforms from this straight edge path from point a to b into that of a coil lazy snake through and over the rippling terrain. Truly wonderful. By 6pm, I realized that my choice for therapy over efficiency in travel has consequences. I was still close to 5 hours out from JR Lake, and the roads were getting twistier and more congested. Passing was very limited, and the forest rats were out for their evening stroll.
The sun dropped below the horizon, darkness settled in, and the traffic and forest rats receded. And the road – WV 310 and WV 50 turned into something special. There is nothing like a ride at night through the twisties. For me, it’s an adrenaline rush that is on par with little else. I pressed on, making up time now, the pace elevated, but leaving an acceptable margin. ETA to the campground was just before 11pm now. No chance at catching the gate. I made the left off ov WV50 and charged north towards the campground on WV42 and 46. More great roads – long, uphill sweepers as I closed in. Thank you, Mr. Jim, most excellent indeed and thanks to you from Vader 2.0 – who also has taken a liking to this upper rpm rush I was feeding it.
Yes, the gate was indeed locked when I rolled up just before 11pm. And the boulder to the left would indeed crush a FJR exhaust header closed I was certain. I dropped my gear, grabbed a flash light and headed up the hill. What a nice walk that was; in the dark, after 10 hours on the bike. Tremendous. Side note – next time, make sure Jim’s cell phone number is loaded into my cell phone before taking off, make sure you ask for the gate lock combo prior to departure, and get there before it’s locked – mkay?
The bright spot was finding Jim, Norm (another Tenere rider in from Boston) and the campfire – warm welcomes all around. We hiked back to the bike, got it though the gate and up to camp – 1130-ish. Jim quickly talked me out of setting up my tent because Chuck had stopped by and set his tent up but wouldn’t be back until Friday. I filled up my air mattress and rolled out by sleeping bag. We sat around the fire a while and then turned in.
Clear skies ensure cool sleeping conditions and Friday morning presented a sunny clear day. Shower (hot water, too!!), breakfast, and we were off. Jim mentioned something about going to see a dolly and that it was on or in some sod. Turns out, I was still a little fuzzy as it was “Dolly Sods” that was our destination and that other thing Jim mentioned was the miles of dirt road we’d travel. I’ve got no problem abusing the FJR, Jim embraced that and we climbed up and down to see the view that is Dolly Sods. Wow. And yet the most twisted thought comes running back through my head on the way down – Ohlins suspension pieces really do turn the FJR into a fairly capable off road platform – sick, I agree, but true I can attest to… Vader 2.0 had been a garage kept, concrete princess prior to being pasted to me. I’m sure it was thinking something along the lines of, “so, it’s going to be like this, is it? – very well.” We have an understanding and clear expectations of each other now – it gets all the best stuff, but has to earn it…
We returned to camp to find neighbors. Many riders had arrived, both from the FJR side of the house and the dual support crowd. Holy cow – Jim’s lured in quite a crowd for the weekend. Quite a crowd gathered around the campfire and there were good times had by all – maybe too much as we did get a visit requesting quiet hours be observed…
A side about tents. When someone borrows your stuff, take the time set it up before you use it again. I have 3 tents, all of different sizes. We had used the two smaller ones on a family camping trip and my son was in charge of taking them down at the end of that trip. Both are dome style tents, but the better Coleman 9’x7’ takes 4 poles where the other wally-world special takes just 2 poles. Apparently, both tents were taken down at the same and all of the components stuffed in the bags without regard for which tent they belonged to. What I ended up with at JR Lake as a tent with match rain fly, all of the tent stakes – those are universal – and one pole for the tent. There were 2 other poles, neither of which were for this tent, and left me short a pole as well. That would have been a fun exercise in the dark Thursday night had Chuck not had his tent already there and set up. My son will have a life defining experience when I get home. So I set up the tent in a half ass manner – the weather as great, so no worries…
Saturday presented yet another clear day and great weather. The temps were unseasonably cool for August, but no one complained about that. The FJR crowd was going to cook south to VA and back while the Tenere off road group enjoyed some dual sport roads in the area. Jim and I decided to take in some hidden treats before turning to Romney so he could drop his bike at the dealer for service. That would leave some time in the afternoon for me to intercept the FJR crowd on their return north. I followed Jim to the north end of Smokehole Road, where he promptly waved me around and allowed me to go play. What a road that is – very enjoyable – so much so that Jim make me turn around at the sound end and run north just to make sure I had enough of it. We landed in Romney in time for Jim to get the bike in for the day and for me to drool over the eye candy in the show room. Romney Cycles has the largest showroom that I’ve been in for some time – a very dangerous place. We escaped before having to load a new Tenere and DR650 in Jim’s truck…
I left Romney in search of an internet signal so I could check FYB’s spot tracker link and plot an intercept. Wi-Fi at McDonald’s is great – but the FJR group was still a good ways south with too many options for northbound shenanigans to guess which way they would be headed. Jim had planted an idea – Savage River Road, which was a loop near Westernport, MD. I headed that way. I made the loop clockwise and dropped back into Westernport. That was another one of those roads that was just too good to run just once. I turned around and headed back around counter-clockwise. Wow – a must do!
The clock was closing in on 5pm, so it was time to head back the campground. Jim had rounded up some local BBQ for dinner and I was not going to miss that! Dinner was very tasty, and the stories of the day’s adventures were many. It was great until someone started mentioning the “R” word and the forecast confirmed there was a chance for rain overnight and into Sunday. Remember the part about my tent, right? The rain came in steady at 4:00 AM and kept steady. When I rolled out of my sleeping bag, the tent was already taking on water from the rain fly not covering the tent windows. Most of my gear was packed, so I wadded everything up and stuffed it back in the bike. Strategic Error 3 occurred when I did not back dedicated rain gear because at my last check of the forecast, there was no mention of rain. I had the rain liner of the mesh jacket, no liner for my riding pants, and one set of gloves. At least it wasn’t too cold.
El Toro Joe and I rolled out before 8:00 AM, headed west on WV-50 with the hopes of reaching dry roads quickly. Eventually, things did dry up, and then more rain, then dry for good. It was a magic line – one minute we were tip-toeing along, the next we were on this heavenly section of WV-250. We were following a tan sedan who would pull the typical speed up on any straight as though to intentionally hold us up. Warp drive engaged and I dove into the left lane as we went through an open left hand sweeper that afforded good site distance. To my surprise, Billy-Bob Andretti was driving the wheels of the sedan at this point and still just off the side of my saddlebag – time to feather in some afterburner to get back in the lane and then set up for a hard right hander. Very exciting stuff here and thankfully Vader was up to the task. Joe hung back and waited for Mr. Andretti to give up hope of maintaining pace as I move ahead to gain some distance. Joe made it around and caught up in short time, and we enjoyed the next few miles of race track – er – WV-250 very much.
The rest of the trip home was uneventful. The typical home stretches of Detroit expressways were flowing well and I made it to the garage around 6:30-ish. When Annette pulled in, I was standing in the driveway with my tent in hand watching the water drain out of it. She laughed uncontrollably and asked, “good trip?”
Yes, a good trip indeed!
4 Days, 1350 miles.
Photobucket slide show here: https://s147.photobucket.com/user/waynereeves/slideshow/JR%20Lake%20August%202013
Spotwalla trip link: https://spotwalla.com/tripViewer.php?id=78af5207f86cd215b
Link to Jennings Randolph Lake campground site: https://corpslakes.usace.army.mil/visitors/projects.cfm?Id=E101770
JR Lake is a Corps of Engineer’s campground and in Jim’s words probably the nicest campground in the entire state of West Virginia. After visiting, I can say it is one darn nice place to stay. It has paved roads throughout, paved lanes for each campsite, lawn trimmed and neatly kept that would rival some golf courses, free hot shows, flush toilets, picnic tables and fire pits – it just doesn’t get any better for motorcycle camping.
The initial flight plans were to work from home on Thursday morning – that benefit of this new job is truly priceless – and then take half a day off to travel to JR Lake. Departure would be around 11:00 am, travel distance was around 450 miles or 8-9 hours with stops. Great plan, right? It got flushed down the crapper around 8:45 that morning. Adapt, Adjust, and Overcome became the cadence and so I pressed on through the calls and hit the moved up deadline. I backed the FJR out of the garage at about 12:45. Thankfully, it was already packed, and had been for about 3 days. I pulled on my riding gear, fired up the spot tracker and headed out. It was 1:10pm when I rolled down the on ramp of I-94 after an ATM and gas stop.
Southbound and Hammer (halfway) down. I escaped through Detroit before the rush hour picked up, cleared Toledo as well without incident. In Toledo, I made the turn east and towards Norwalk on the turnpike. This is where the I had to make a choice. My original flight plan put me into JR Lake before dark, with time to set up camp and make dinner. I also had a 10pm hard stop to make in order to catch the campground gate before it was locked for the night. My original route took me diagonally southeast through Ohio and West Virginia on OH 250 & WV 307, then east on WV50. All marvelously FJR-ish roads from what I could attain on google maps and Jim’s feedback. The catch now was my late departure time. Ms. Garmin was feeding me a line of crapcakes ETA as 9pm. What that little whore failed to account for was traffic and the lack of opportunities to dispatch it on those roads. My other option was to abandon an enjoyable afternoon of twist and twist some more for a mind numbing super-size serving of slap by taking the turnpike all the way into PA, then dropping south with minimal exposure to forest rats and traffic. That would have been the “sit on the porch” path to choose.
So I exited I-70 near Norwalk, Ohio and turned southeast through Amish country. From a “I need this trip” standpoint, that was the right decision, no doubt in my mind. That portion of Ohio is a great decompression zone – rolling hills develop as you move along through the farm country, with small towns to break up the pace as well as the occasional horse and buggy. OH 250 slowly transforms from this straight edge path from point a to b into that of a coil lazy snake through and over the rippling terrain. Truly wonderful. By 6pm, I realized that my choice for therapy over efficiency in travel has consequences. I was still close to 5 hours out from JR Lake, and the roads were getting twistier and more congested. Passing was very limited, and the forest rats were out for their evening stroll.
The sun dropped below the horizon, darkness settled in, and the traffic and forest rats receded. And the road – WV 310 and WV 50 turned into something special. There is nothing like a ride at night through the twisties. For me, it’s an adrenaline rush that is on par with little else. I pressed on, making up time now, the pace elevated, but leaving an acceptable margin. ETA to the campground was just before 11pm now. No chance at catching the gate. I made the left off ov WV50 and charged north towards the campground on WV42 and 46. More great roads – long, uphill sweepers as I closed in. Thank you, Mr. Jim, most excellent indeed and thanks to you from Vader 2.0 – who also has taken a liking to this upper rpm rush I was feeding it.
Yes, the gate was indeed locked when I rolled up just before 11pm. And the boulder to the left would indeed crush a FJR exhaust header closed I was certain. I dropped my gear, grabbed a flash light and headed up the hill. What a nice walk that was; in the dark, after 10 hours on the bike. Tremendous. Side note – next time, make sure Jim’s cell phone number is loaded into my cell phone before taking off, make sure you ask for the gate lock combo prior to departure, and get there before it’s locked – mkay?
The bright spot was finding Jim, Norm (another Tenere rider in from Boston) and the campfire – warm welcomes all around. We hiked back to the bike, got it though the gate and up to camp – 1130-ish. Jim quickly talked me out of setting up my tent because Chuck had stopped by and set his tent up but wouldn’t be back until Friday. I filled up my air mattress and rolled out by sleeping bag. We sat around the fire a while and then turned in.
Clear skies ensure cool sleeping conditions and Friday morning presented a sunny clear day. Shower (hot water, too!!), breakfast, and we were off. Jim mentioned something about going to see a dolly and that it was on or in some sod. Turns out, I was still a little fuzzy as it was “Dolly Sods” that was our destination and that other thing Jim mentioned was the miles of dirt road we’d travel. I’ve got no problem abusing the FJR, Jim embraced that and we climbed up and down to see the view that is Dolly Sods. Wow. And yet the most twisted thought comes running back through my head on the way down – Ohlins suspension pieces really do turn the FJR into a fairly capable off road platform – sick, I agree, but true I can attest to… Vader 2.0 had been a garage kept, concrete princess prior to being pasted to me. I’m sure it was thinking something along the lines of, “so, it’s going to be like this, is it? – very well.” We have an understanding and clear expectations of each other now – it gets all the best stuff, but has to earn it…
We returned to camp to find neighbors. Many riders had arrived, both from the FJR side of the house and the dual support crowd. Holy cow – Jim’s lured in quite a crowd for the weekend. Quite a crowd gathered around the campfire and there were good times had by all – maybe too much as we did get a visit requesting quiet hours be observed…
A side about tents. When someone borrows your stuff, take the time set it up before you use it again. I have 3 tents, all of different sizes. We had used the two smaller ones on a family camping trip and my son was in charge of taking them down at the end of that trip. Both are dome style tents, but the better Coleman 9’x7’ takes 4 poles where the other wally-world special takes just 2 poles. Apparently, both tents were taken down at the same and all of the components stuffed in the bags without regard for which tent they belonged to. What I ended up with at JR Lake as a tent with match rain fly, all of the tent stakes – those are universal – and one pole for the tent. There were 2 other poles, neither of which were for this tent, and left me short a pole as well. That would have been a fun exercise in the dark Thursday night had Chuck not had his tent already there and set up. My son will have a life defining experience when I get home. So I set up the tent in a half ass manner – the weather as great, so no worries…
Saturday presented yet another clear day and great weather. The temps were unseasonably cool for August, but no one complained about that. The FJR crowd was going to cook south to VA and back while the Tenere off road group enjoyed some dual sport roads in the area. Jim and I decided to take in some hidden treats before turning to Romney so he could drop his bike at the dealer for service. That would leave some time in the afternoon for me to intercept the FJR crowd on their return north. I followed Jim to the north end of Smokehole Road, where he promptly waved me around and allowed me to go play. What a road that is – very enjoyable – so much so that Jim make me turn around at the sound end and run north just to make sure I had enough of it. We landed in Romney in time for Jim to get the bike in for the day and for me to drool over the eye candy in the show room. Romney Cycles has the largest showroom that I’ve been in for some time – a very dangerous place. We escaped before having to load a new Tenere and DR650 in Jim’s truck…
I left Romney in search of an internet signal so I could check FYB’s spot tracker link and plot an intercept. Wi-Fi at McDonald’s is great – but the FJR group was still a good ways south with too many options for northbound shenanigans to guess which way they would be headed. Jim had planted an idea – Savage River Road, which was a loop near Westernport, MD. I headed that way. I made the loop clockwise and dropped back into Westernport. That was another one of those roads that was just too good to run just once. I turned around and headed back around counter-clockwise. Wow – a must do!
The clock was closing in on 5pm, so it was time to head back the campground. Jim had rounded up some local BBQ for dinner and I was not going to miss that! Dinner was very tasty, and the stories of the day’s adventures were many. It was great until someone started mentioning the “R” word and the forecast confirmed there was a chance for rain overnight and into Sunday. Remember the part about my tent, right? The rain came in steady at 4:00 AM and kept steady. When I rolled out of my sleeping bag, the tent was already taking on water from the rain fly not covering the tent windows. Most of my gear was packed, so I wadded everything up and stuffed it back in the bike. Strategic Error 3 occurred when I did not back dedicated rain gear because at my last check of the forecast, there was no mention of rain. I had the rain liner of the mesh jacket, no liner for my riding pants, and one set of gloves. At least it wasn’t too cold.
El Toro Joe and I rolled out before 8:00 AM, headed west on WV-50 with the hopes of reaching dry roads quickly. Eventually, things did dry up, and then more rain, then dry for good. It was a magic line – one minute we were tip-toeing along, the next we were on this heavenly section of WV-250. We were following a tan sedan who would pull the typical speed up on any straight as though to intentionally hold us up. Warp drive engaged and I dove into the left lane as we went through an open left hand sweeper that afforded good site distance. To my surprise, Billy-Bob Andretti was driving the wheels of the sedan at this point and still just off the side of my saddlebag – time to feather in some afterburner to get back in the lane and then set up for a hard right hander. Very exciting stuff here and thankfully Vader was up to the task. Joe hung back and waited for Mr. Andretti to give up hope of maintaining pace as I move ahead to gain some distance. Joe made it around and caught up in short time, and we enjoyed the next few miles of race track – er – WV-250 very much.
The rest of the trip home was uneventful. The typical home stretches of Detroit expressways were flowing well and I made it to the garage around 6:30-ish. When Annette pulled in, I was standing in the driveway with my tent in hand watching the water drain out of it. She laughed uncontrollably and asked, “good trip?”
Yes, a good trip indeed!
4 Days, 1350 miles.
Photobucket slide show here: https://s147.photobucket.com/user/waynereeves/slideshow/JR%20Lake%20August%202013
Spotwalla trip link: https://spotwalla.com/tripViewer.php?id=78af5207f86cd215b
