Author Topic: Fall Colors Ride 2019  (Read 14580 times)

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Offline doug mcpeek

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Fall Colors Ride 2019
« on: October 01, 2019, 03:37:46 pm »
Fall Colors Ride 2019 was great! The roads, the weather and the fun were as good or better than they have ever been. While there was a little scattered rain on Saturday, maybe only Steve and Rich Grabowski along with Kevin McDaniel were the only ones to get truly wet.  Attendance was light, however, especially Saturday evening when the hotel was booked up for a concert.......  I rode 1400 miles and none of that was on straight roads for long. On Thursday John Boyd and I rode from Columbus on state routes and county roads both new and familiar to us. We arrived in plenty of time for the Thursday group dinner at Food and Friends. On a sunny Friday John, Jim Goody and I rode Fall Colors Route 4, 301 miles of curves that included 60 miles of the BRP sandwiched between very satisfying series of twisty roads.....Saturday was ghost town day. Jon Campbell and Michael Wade joined us on a visit to Thurmond which took us through Prince and past Winona, Sewell and Nuttallburg. Saturday evening it seemed that everyone was at Ruby Tuesday for dinner where Mike Molnar and Jon entertained our table with tales of run-ins with airport security..... On Sunday Jim and I made a long day of the ride home. We went through the Monongahela National Forest, Smoke Hole Canyon, and across the North Woods-like scenery near Davis, WV before slipping into Maryland and finally going via the curves to Cambridge, OH. There we split up and headed home......  I offer a big “Thank you” to Syd Mayes for organizing and Doug Pippin for creating routes.  It was a weekend I'll never forget.
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Offline GlibGuy

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Re: Fall Colors Ride 2019
« Reply #1 on: October 01, 2019, 08:58:00 pm »
Some of the best weather we’ve had throughout the event. 


And kudos to Syd and Doug Pippin.
Mick
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Offline Brick

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Fall Colors Ride 2019
« Reply #2 on: October 02, 2019, 05:55:38 pm »
I agree fantastic riding at this year’s Fall Colors Event!


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Brick
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Offline HawkGTRider

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Re: Fall Colors Ride 2019
« Reply #3 on: October 02, 2019, 10:26:12 pm »
Taking a photo from the top of the Big Walker Mountain observation tower was a bonus location during the 2019 Iron Butt Rally. So was taking a picture of Seneca Rocks.
Geoffrey Greene
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Offline stevegrab

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Re: Fall Colors Ride 2019
« Reply #4 on: October 03, 2019, 04:50:08 pm »
I had a great time again even if we did get a little wet. At least we were not in a downpour when we road the fabulous VA311 from Newcastle thru Paint Bank. (We stopped in Newcastle as it started to pour and geared up with just a drizzle when we left.) It was wet, but the sun was shining and creating some blinding light in the eyes looking east late in the day. Still an entertaining road for sure.

We saw a bear cub on our ride on Saturday, in some national forest land near Warm Springs VA. Luckily momma wasn't around to check us out. We had a lunch stop near the interstate where I picked the place that had a sign for "Best BBQ in Virginia", doubtful that Smiley's Travel Center and Sports bar in Raphine was in the top 50 in the state. But I was trying to avoid the chain food at the travel plaza where we gassed up.

I did miss out on some of the usual camaraderie that goes along with this event as the parking lot was often rather empty after dinner time. But it was good to visit with old friends and make some new ones. Now if I can just remember your names next time I see you. ;)

For once the 60+ miles on BRP didn't put me to sleep, probably because we could ride a good pace and didn't stop often.

Thanks to Syd for his efforts with this event.

PS  I wondered about a ride to Seneca Rocks, but it seemed like a long haul and replicates some of the roads I used coming in Thursday.
Steve Grabowski
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Offline Brick

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Re: Fall Colors Ride 2019
« Reply #5 on: October 03, 2019, 05:14:22 pm »
Taking a photo from the top of the Big Walker Mountain observation tower was a bonus location during the 2019 Iron Butt Rally. So was taking a picture of Seneca Rocks.

Cool!


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Brick
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1999 Suzuki SV-650