Hats off to Virginia!

[jpv7]

This is year 6 of our annual ride to Virginia from Toronto.  We usually base our rides out of Staunton, and do daily loops from there.  All I can say is that your roads are tops, with excellent pavement quality and little traffic with few police.  Did everything from the Blue Ridge, highways 250 and 33, Shenandoah, Elkins.  Wow.  And great people too. 

Our group of 9 consisted of mainly sporty bikes with a Speed Triple, Ducati ST4s, Yamaha FZ-09 (2), Honda VFRs (2), Kawi ZR-7S and a Bobber and V7.  These rides are why I ride motorcycles. 

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

If you were as far west as Elkins, then it should be "Hats off to Virginia and West Virginia". 

[jpv7]

Yes Sir - I should have included that.  Both are truly impressive!

[Lannis]

I've made the ride from Central Virginia across West Virginia into Ohio and/or Kentucky three times this year, and am getting ready to do it again.

I'm not saying I'm getting "bored" with this embarrassment of riches, but I'm trying to find ways to make the first 200 miles of a trip from here to the Midwest less of the same roads.  Problem is, these are real mountains (although proponents of the Rockies or the Alps might disagree if they haven't ridden across them much), and the options are limited.   

The big toll interstates are out, as always, so it's VA39/WV39, WV 20, US250, US33, US60, or US50 if you want to make any time at all on the way to your destination.

Took my first trip from my home in Appomattox across West Virginia in 1971 on a 200cc Yamaha twin, so it's been happening for a while.

I'll bet other folks have the same issue no matter how pretty the local roads are; the first 100 - 200 miles of a trip seems to be the same-old same-old after 45 years or so.  Or maybe it's just li'l ol' me ...

Lannis