We wanted to take a no holds barred kick ass motorcycle adventure to the mountains of West Virginia for our summer trip, and so we did. This was not going to be your average candy ass weekend ride. This was gonna be the hairpin turn switchback twisty ride from hell ! Diana and I got together with Lem and Darlene McMaster one night back in December and planned the basic idea for a 5 day trip to Snowshoe, New River Gorge and Morgantown. A ride that will put hair on your chest! The first two days we would spend at Snowshoe Ski Resort for the first two days of Freedom Fest, an all brand motorcycle rally and $10,000 Poker Run. We wouldn’t register for the rally or particpate in the poker run, but we would partake of their entertainment. A few months later we had 8 motorcycles signed up for the entire 5 day trip and 3 motorcycles that would meet up with us for the final 3 days.
The Mission
Wednesday July 16th: Travel quickly but safely to Snowshoe Ski Resort over 350 miles away in the heart of Monongahela National Forest
Thursday July 17: Take a short lunch ride to Marlinton and return to the resort to enjoy the ammenities and entertainment
We left early Wednesday morning with a group of eight motorcycles. Eveyone in the group had traveled by motorcycle before, in other words we didn’t have any beginners. Eight bikes is a great number for an aggressive ride like this. We traveled down Route 301 from Delaware and crossed the Bay Bridge to Annapolis, Maryland. We cut across Maryland to Frederick and then Harpers Ferry. We stopped at Winchester Harley Davidson in Virginia for lunch (we previously stopped at Winchester on our Skyline trip last year). The Winchester dealership had a nice cafe and we enjoyed the sandwiches.
Then it was back on the road because we needed to get to the top of Cheat Mountain before dark. Cheat Mountain is the second highest point in West Virginia at 4848′. We stopped at a neat old country store at Seneca Rocks for gatorade and a butt break.
The country became more and more beatiful the further we got into West Virginia. I found out my butt is currently conditioned for up to 300 miles. I was enjoying the curvy roads but was eager to get to the resort as monkey butt was taking it’s toll. Lem took us past the Snowshoe Ski Resort entrance and I wasn’t sure what was up. My ass was not happy! Definitely not a candy ass ride! We pulled into the next gas station/country store to fuel up. Lem pointed up at the top of the mountain at the resort and said that’s our next stop. Diana and I were toast! I couldn’t believe we still had to climb the mountain. I went into the country store and bought a bottle of Gold Bond powder. The only kind they had was the medicated kind for foot fungus. I bought it anyway! I went in the bathroom and put loads of it in my pants and powdered my rear. I came out of the bathroom covered in powder feeling better, until Lem told me the medicated kind burns. Then my imagination took over and I felt a burning sensation. Oh well, time to climb. The road up the mountain was awesome, lots of tight windy turns. We caught a glimpse or two of deer, then more deer and then even more deer. Finally we got checked into the resort after riding 370 miles!
We unpacked and freshened up a little. Then we regrouped for dinner at the Foxfire Grill. This was a great ski lodge restaurant fashioned like a log cabin with large glass picture windows facing the sun as it set. Diana and I enjoyed Sam Adams beers and buffalo wings at the bar while we waited for everyone to arrive. The wings were great but we would have preferred Yuengling.
We sat down to dinner and the menu’s were made of slices of tree wood, very neat. We had a first rate meal! At first the sun was right in our eyes and we were blinded but as it set we caught a beautiful view that I can not describe in words. Thank god we have pictures to show you!
Some of our friends ordered smores for desert, I’m not sure if that was on the menu but it was cool watching them toast marshmellows at the table of a fancy ski lodge restaurant. After dinner we walked around the resort and then headed to bed.
Although there were some motorcyclists, mountain bikers and hikers at the resort, it was like being at a ski resort in the summer on a weekday. Oh yeah, we were at a ski resort in the summer on a week day! We felt like we had the place to ourselves. I guess most of the bikers will arrive on Friday after we leave.
The next morning I took my saddlebags off the bike, adjusted my shocks down a notch and got ready for some West Virgina country riding. We headed down the mountain. I rode sweep so I didn’t really experience the startled reaction of our frontmost riders as they encountered a few deer standing in the middle of the raod. By time I saw the deer they were on the sides of the mountain just watching us go by like scared pets. Our ride into Marlinton was awesome. Great sweeping turns, great twisties, great scenery! Diana started taking her “Hillbilly” pictures as we passed trailer homes that had decks built onto them. Then we passed a million satalite dishes, run down cars, tractors, school busses and outhouses. We passed giant radio telescopes at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in Greenbank. They have the worlds largest fully steerable radio telescope. It is the worlds largest land based moveable structure. It looks like something out of a movie about aliens or something.
He had lunch at this great little family restaurant with deck seating on the side of a river called the River Place Restaurant. They always serve home made pie which is fantastic. We watched people fish and raft in the river as we ate.
After lunch we continued on our loop around the mountain and we started to encounter the West Virginia S turns! Great riding! Then we headed up the back side of the mountain on Route 66. This was a steep ascent with cambered hairpin turns that will make your ass pucker. Floorboards were scraped as we leaned deep into the turns. You gotta ride this mountain!
After the ride Diana and I changed into our bathing suits and headed for the ski lift which was only open for another hour or so. We took the ski lift down to the lake which only had a handfull of people enjoying it. We took a paddle boat out and had the whole lake to ourselves. We could see our room way up high on top of the mountain.
Then we took the lift back up, grabbed some pizza and a few beers and took pictures of Diana sitting in a giant Adirondack chair. Then we went to sit in the hot tub! Oh yeah baby, this is living large!
We changed into dry clothes and and caught the ending of an outdoor concert by rock group Geneva. The lead singer has quite a set of lungs, enormous! Then we caught the X-rated adult comedy act of Bag Lady Sue. Oh my god, the muff puppet is the funniest act! You have to check out the video, but I warn you… this is for adults only! It’s not everyday you watch a puppet muff diving. I tried to post the video here for you but I had trouble. I think you have to go to YouTube and sign in and confirm you are an adult in order to watch it. Do a search for Bag Lady Sue on YouTube. You will LOL and pee your pants if you watch it.
Just before the comedy act Diana and I found out Big Mike Griffin was playing after the comedy show. We saw him standing outside with Emilie Shantz, the VP of Marketing for Chrome Link Entertainment. This was a great opportunity to actually talk to Big Mike Griffin regarding the documentary I reviewed a few months back. He and Emilie were both very nice, and very tall. Emilie was like a raven haired amazon beauty and Big Mike, well he is BIG! I wish we took a picture with them.
We drank a few Rolling Rocks, caught a few songs by Big Mike, did a little dancing and then hit the hay (we would have preferred Yuengling). We had to be up early for our ride to New River Gorge!
Tags: Trips & Places To Go by Jay Green
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