Friday morning, we scarfed down a tasty homecooked breakfast (thanks Laura) and caught up with Blair and Laura – our stay was too short, and we’re already planning a return visit! Stephanie and Janet headed home with the trucks and trailers, and Terry, Brian, Matt, and I started our ride. We packed lunches and rolled out in mid-50° sunny weather (our entire trip had lows in the 50s and highs in the upper 70s and no rain – insane for late October).

Our first stop was Reddish Knob via North River FSR (forest service road) and NF-85. This route provided a nice warm-up for our off-pavement adventure, leading up sweeping vistas atop the knob.

Dropping off the knob, we slid down Flagpole Rd and Dunkle Hollow Rd to US 33. Dunkle Hollow was the toughest portion of the entire trip – a downhill dirt jeep trail with large, slick rocks hidden by leaves, while meeting vehicles that wanted to take their half down the middle. I was the only one with a get-off (well two, at zero mph less than a foot apart). While Terry and Brian thoroughly enjoyed this “road”, Matt and I were glad when it flattened into a gravel road near Switzer Lake.

There’s an old adage – Does a bear eliminate in the woods? Well, I can verify that four unsupervised men certainly do! I was the last one to get “caught out”, still not sure why Brian & Matt felt the need to point…

After a lunch break in Brandywine WV, we headed north to Wardensville WV on mostly gravel roads including Westside Rd (MABDR section 3, TAT), Camp Run, Criders Rd, Crab Run, and Squirrel Gap (all TAT). Due to our late departure and my slow pace on Dunkle Hollow, we had to slab it from Wardensville to Moorefield WV on US 48, where we picked up section 3 of the MABDR again, completing our day by running Smoke Hole Rd (what a blast – it’s been repaved since I was last on it in 2016!) south to Franklin.

After a 225-mile day, we were happy to reach the Star Hotel. We ate an okay supper in the hotel’s dining room and now Brian is prohibited from eating pot roast on our motorcycle trips. We ended the day with bourbon on the second-floor porch outside our vintage rooms. Note: alcohol travels nicely on a dirt bike in a plastic Dasani bottle – mine survived three dirt naps!