Take Me Home, Country Roads - West Virginia

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I took a ton of photos but will refrain from posting all of them here. If anyone would like to check them all out and maybe find one or two with you in it, feel free to peruse my SmugMug page here: https://fancyfeettr.smugmug.com/EOM-2015/i-vzxC7bz

Long ago and far away, I embarked on a journey that went a completely different direction than I ever imagined... a long distance road trip to Wyoming turned into a four-month adventure in the hospital. Along that journey, I was blessed with what I call Silver Linings... people that went out of their way to help me whether a thought, a prayer, a card, etc. Many of those Silver Linings were people from this forum. Many I've met on the west coast but there were many on the east coast that I had not had the honor of meeting. So it's been on my bucket list for quite some time now to make it out east to meet many of those SL's and give them a hug and say thanks.

2015 was the year it would happen.

I started following the EOM thread many months ago and watched the attendance list grow and grow and grow... I looked at my calendar... I negotiated at work for the time off... I managed to find a place to rent a Spyder... and it all fell into place. I flew into PIttsburgh, PA and arrived at 12:30am on Thursday, arrived at my hotel by 1am, fell asleep at 4am (too amped), alarm went off at 7am, and back to the airport I went to pick up the rental car that would take me to Sutton, WV, where I would pick up the rental bike. I was exhausted already but also felt an energized calm that I knew would support me through out the coming days.

As I drove down 79, I saw the state sign and my pulse started to pump a little bit harder... I was so excited to be here!!
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I arrived at Ride On Motorcycles and was greeted by Marilyn who I had been corresponding with. I found out that the owner, Bill Hunt, had recently passed away unexpectedly so his wife and Marilyn now bore the brunt of keeping the place up and running, I was glad I could give them some business. They sell primarily Harleys but have some fun classic cars in the mix as well. If you're ever in the area, stop by and say hi.
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They had just purchased two brand new Spyders and, as past history has dictated, I got to take one of them out on its first journey with a whopping 0.8 miles on it. It was a not-so-subtle mustard yellow color which made it very easy to find me and was dubbed the Yellow Submarine by my fellow EOM riders.

I've done this fly-and-ride thing a few times so have the unpacking of bags and repacking of the bike down pretty pat... I was joined by my friend El Toro Joe for some lunch and then a wonderful back roads ride to give me my first taste of the WV country roads... and it was good...
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Our first stop was at the Trans Allegheny Lunatic Asylum which I was a little wary of in case they should decide to keep me... but luckily, I wasn't incarcerated so Joe and I wandered around a bit... wasn't enough time for the tour unfortunately so will just have to put that on the list of things to do next time...
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If these windows could talk...
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Joe made a new friend...
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I'll bet this would be an interesting event!
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We made our getaway and Joe found a way to make a 1-1/2 hour trip to Lewisburg take about 5 hours... I'm not 100% sure of the route but I do remember that Hwy 20 was a good deal of the day's adventure...
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The road were line with gorgeous green foliage that I have missed dearly with our drought in California...
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We came up behind this logging truck that was traveling at a whopping 4mph... just around this corner, we caught a break with a fairly wide open section of road with good visibility and got around him fairly quickly...
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Continuing on I could see that my hopes of seeing fall colors would not be dashed and would only get better throughout the weekend...
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We rolled in to the hotel a bit later than planned but it was a very good day... I greeted a few folks that I had met at NAFO last year before heading to my room to hope into my civvies and join some folks for dinner... I would be rooming with my gal pal, Nancy (aka Hello Kitty) and her canine companion, Carla, who was a lovebug once she got over the alien coming into the room in full moto gear..
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We dined at Ruby Tuesday which was right across from the hotel and had a fantastic salad bar and we had a sassy waitress that was able to keep up with the smart alecks at our table...

Russ/rushes... finally!
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And then it was out to the parking lot for some well-received chit chat and the occasional adult libation to smooth things along...
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Jay / Violione, Kevin / fencer, Mike / Powerman, Russ / rushes
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People were still rolling in but I was wiped out and knew we'd be hitting the road somewhat early the next day so headed back to my room where visions of sugarplums and some such danced through my head... it was one of the better night's sleep I'd had in awhile and I awoke the next morning refreshed, invigorated and ready to the day's adventure...

Coming up - following the Pied Piper of EOM.

 
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Tyler, I looked though your photos and they are absolutely beautiful, I don't typically have time to take a lot of pictures, especially on the road. I noticed that I successfully kept myself out of all of the photos except one. I would recommend the "Daytime Paranormal Tour" the next time you go to the TALA! It was great!

I look forward to the next part of your story!

 
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Subscribed.

Tyler, sorry I jumped you at the Ruby Tuesdays on Friday night. But I just had to introduce you to Line. Before the trip even started, She (Line) couldn't figure out why she just had to meet you. So I told her your story on the long trip down. She understands now, especially after the banquet.

Now, on with a genuine Tyler ride report!

 
SO Awesome!!

Such a good job detailing all the events of the weekend. Even the inebriated folks who lost recollection of the weekend can now know what happened in great pictures.

Scrolling through all of your pictures took about an hour. But I never even realized the time flying.

 
I started the song and began looking at the pictures. Nice touch! It really put me in the mood.
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I could not get that song out of my head all weekend... it played over and over and over... it was nice to hear Mr. Denver sing it finally. ;)

Tyler, I looked though your photos and they are absolutely beautiful, I don't typically have time to take a lot of pictures, especially on the road. I noticed that I successfully kept myself out of all of the photos except one. I would recommend the "Daytime Paranormal Tour" the next time you go to the TALA! It was great!
I look forward to the next part of your story!
I'll try to get you in a few more the next time,... you will be assimilated! :D

Awesome Tyler!! I went to your Smug mug site. Great pics.
Agreed! I downloaded the one of us and nuestro amigo Vic.
I wish that photo could be scratch and sniff... LKLD wears the most yummy cologne! :wub:

 
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