DC Denizen

[macorell24]

Chupacabra...this sounds like a sticker idea if I ever heard one!

Now we just need Todd34 to show up and all the craziest/fastest riders I know will be there. At least I'll have littlelionmonster to keep me company.

[gastone]

You guys are fookin' crazy... Dean and I aren't even in the same ballpark. He's playing major leagues and I'm playing T-ball. I've certainly ridden stoopidly before, but no one accuses me of riding well... hell, just ask Blooch. And Todd would be out of my sight after about 1/3 of a mile.

Those are the same too that are talking about riding 990s on Dictum ridge... up hill.. that mean up ledges... two foot ledges. Shit, I couldn't do that on a trials bike.

[manfromthestix]

Originally Posted by macorell24

While in Eagle Rock, VA visiting my family, I asked around for some off road ideas. My father recommended Patterson Creek trail through Jefferson National Forest. It's roughly 15 miles of woods, dirt, and streams but the best part is there's 10 or so ATV/motorcycle only trails . AND it's only 15 minutes from my father's house!

http://
View Patterson Creek in a larger map

Hey, we're practically neighbors to your family in Eagle Rock! We live near Collierstown, VA. We ride, drive, hike, and kayak in the Eagle Rock area all the time. One of our favorite hiking trails is off 612 along that stretch shown in your map above, and the James River in that area is a HOOT in a kayak (well, for this novice, anyway )! From Eagle Rock head toward Buchannan about 3 - 4 miles on Hwy 43 "Narrow Passage Road" you'll come to Route 612 "Blue Grass Trail", which is dirt for about 10 miles then turns to asphalt which progressively gets better as you approach Effinger and Hwy 251. We're about 5 miles from Effinger, near Lake Robertson. There are lots of great roads out here, but like you, I'm not terribly excited about taking my 550 pound 1150GS on those ATV trails. There's another set of ATV trails just off the BRP where it crosses Hwy 130 (just up the BRP from where it crosses the James) and I've scoped those out as well, but am not inclined to take the Big Pig up there either.

We've gotten some snow recently, but it's mostly melted off at lower elevations. We tried to go hiking on the AT last weekend (New Year's eve) near Mount Pleasant (near Buena Vista, just off the BRP) but it was a sheet of ice at elevation:






We chained up the truck to get up and down, and ended up rescuing a guy in a 4X4 Subaru who was sliding off the mountain sideways. It was SLICK.

The BRP was closed so we thought we'd go walk there, but it was a sheet of ice too. I'm not sure if it's open again yet.



I've been able to ride the higher dirt roads a bit in Winter, but won't get too crazy on the GS; time to turn around:




I lived in Wyoming for many years before moving to Virginia and got spoiled rotten with the dirt riding selection out there. When I moved here I sold my dirt bikes (thinking there wouldn't be anyplace to ride them, DUH) and now I'm really missing them. I brought a BMW RT and the GS and a short time later sold the RT because it just wasn't getting ridden. The big GS-type dualsport seems to be the perfect bike for this area with it's mix of dirt roads, ratty asphalt, and good highways. I recently told my wife I had my eye on a WR250R so I could go trail riding and she said "over my dead body". She's seen me ride a dirt bike and I think that means "no, dear, you'd kill yourself in short order on that thing". She loves to ride with me, but isn't keen on going fast on dirt bikes (I told her I'd ride S-L-O-W but she knows me pretty well ).

If you're down this way visiting sometime give me a shout and I'd enjoy showing you around a bit. Ride safe and watch for all that ferking sand on the roads; we've gotten just enough snow in the lower elevations out here that VDOT has blasted the area with sand and salt so that the roads are totally treacherous!

Doug

[macorell24]

Howdy Doug!

I'm planning on headed down your way sometime in the spring. If you're up for it we can let the pigs rout around in the mud one afternoon while you show we around.

Garrett- I never said you were good. I said your were crazy and fast.

[eap]

Originally Posted by FMFDOC

I ride all over this area, but alas, I often don't stop for pictures. It's a little something that I think I will have to work on...

Count me in! I'd love to ride with YFF's some time if you allow KLR's in with your group.

Without pics, my post is useless, but I recommend the area around Sugar Loaf Mountain and the ride west out of Burkettsville over the mountain to South Mountain Creamery. I can go on all day, but I'd rather just show you on a bike.

The People's Republic of Maryland has a ton of great roads to ride!

+1, Sandy Hook Rd - Harpers Ferry Rd - Sharpsburg town - Mechanics Rd- Pottstown Rd - Keetysville Rd - Reno Monument Rd. (Blue Bird Diner) Really nice (mostly paved for me) twisty, rolling, curvy, single lanes , arched bridges, stone fences, civil war monuments, Appalachian trail - some of my weekend favorites! Fun fun!

[manfromthestix]

Originally Posted by macorell24

Howdy Doug!

I'm planning on headed down your way sometime in the spring. If you're up for it we can let the pigs rout around in the mud one afternoon while you show we around.

Garrett- I never said you were good. I said your were crazy and fast.

Cool! By Spring, do you mean like this Sunday? Can you believe the forecast - 70 on Saturday, 68 Sunday. Unbelievable for mid-January. I'm thinking of doing a long bicycle ride... Last year we bought a bunch of hay to feed our horses and I think I threw out maybe ten bales all Winter; they turned their noses up at it and grazed green grass. I ended up giving all the hay to a friend who feeds year-round so that it didn't just go bad. We bought more hay this Fall but it's looking like it might be the same kind of Winter again this year.

Seriously, it would be great to get together later this Spring when the higher (i.e. dirt-ier) roads are open again for bike travel. There's some great country around here and I'm still exploring.

Ride safe, watch for all that sand and gravel!

Doug

[yuu]

Another NoVA Arlingtonian here.

There's a good bit of stuff tucked up in various portions all around that goole map you posted.

[macorell24]

Howdy yuu!

Yeah there's a lot of great stuff around there. Just wish I had more time and unlimited finances.

[dentvet]

Originally Posted by macorell24

The weather is going to be nice this weekend and I plan on taking advantage of it. Me and some other inmates are headed out west (virginia) for some off-road fun if anyone wants to join.

I'll leave DC around 0730
Head to Fredericksburg, VA to pick up gastone.
Leave Fredericksburg around 0900 to Harrisonburg, VA
Hit Long Run Rd
maybe Dunkle Hollow
Hope to be home by 1800

Let me know if anyone is interested.

I'm interested, what route do you use towards Hburg? i'd be joining up coming down from Marshall

[macorell24]

Howdy Dentvet!

Not sure we're going to ride Long Run or Dunkle Hollow....mtnflow over in the Cat Herders thread did a little recon yesterday and posted some photos of snow and ice on the mountain. Here's the post:

http://advrider.com/forums/showthrea...2683&page=1497

We're trying to think of a plan B in lower elevations....

[macorell24]

The promise of warm weather was too much to resist this past Sunday so I decided to ride the route poolman described on a previous post. The weather was not as anticipated and a heavy fog stayed in the area all day.

After getting a late start, I climbed into my gear and headed north on the GW Parkway. Having picked up some tips from JaxObsessed and WayneJ, I tried my hand at motion photography. This is my first attempt and took me a bit to work up the courage. Whenever these moments of fear or doubt hit me I hear gastone's voice in my head, "Matt, don't go out like a bitch."



After a few miles on GW and the inner loop of the beltway, I turned onto River Road heading north into Maryland. I didn't take any motion shots due to heavy traffic and lack of confidence, but I did stop by Seneca Creek School house for photos and map check on my way to McKee-Besher's Wildlife Management Area.







If you have ever been on River Road you may have been surprised by the standards of living. Vast sprawling estates, gated to keep people out but just transparent enough to allow the passerby to stare with envy, are stacked side-by-side each one trying to out do the next in size and expense. As I see these places I cannot help but wonder at what sort of lives these people live.

Onwards and upwards, I say! So I spent a few miles wandering through McKee-Beshers while getting lost in the fog of my thoughts and came to the end of Sycamore Landing Road. Walked around a bit and snapped some shots along the canal and over the Potomac River.





Jumped back on the bike and headed further north on River Road. A couple of turns and River Road is hard packed gravel for a couple of miles before dropping you right at White's Ferry Crossing.

Another motion shot along River Road:




After a quick break at White's Ferry, I headed into Poolesville. Saw this lovely little gem and couldn't resist a chance to take a photo:


Couldn't tell what sort of business occupies it now but I like to think in it's former life it was a stately brick bank occupying a prominent position in the society of Poolesville before being covered in peeling plaster. Perhaps this is the fate of us all...

Getting late in the day I pointed my pig south where beer and food was calling my name.

[yuu]

Originally Posted by macorell24

Chupacabra...this sounds like a sticker idea if I ever heard one!

For more local relevance, perhaps The Bunnyman stickers.

[macorell24]

Originally Posted by yuu

For more local relevance, perhaps The Bunnyman stickers.

Yeah maybe but a hairless goat-sucker has a really nice ring to it.

[manfromthestix]

The promise of warm weather was too much to resist this past Sunday so I decided to ride the route poolman described on a previous post. The weather was not as anticipated and a heavy fog stayed in the area all day.



Yeah, we got out as much as possible this weekend too. Nice photos - it's hard to get good crisp shots with such flat light. I love the motion shot! I've done a bunch of them and feel pretty comfy doing it these days.

On Saturday we got up fairly early and went for a long hike over near Eagle Rock; drove over in fog and mist, light rain, thinking GREAT, it was supposed to be warm and sunny! WTF?! By the time we got to the trailhead the fog had lifted, the mist quit, and we enjoyed a 6 mile hike (with 16 stream crossings, no bridges, VERY slick!). The sun came out and the humidity was very high so we were totally over-dressed and sweating like pigs. The dogs in their thick winter coats had their tongues hanging out a foot and every time we crossed the stream they'd lay in it to drink and cool off. A very strange day for mid-January, but gorgeous.

Sunday we had chores around the house to take care of, then got out on the bike for about 100 miles of cautious lowland touring in the afternoon. The roads were pretty slick, wet everywhere from the cool ground plus warm humid air combo and the residual sand/gravel the VDOT has put down everywhere. We had sun and blue sky here, just glorious, but the roads were still wet all day. Since then, we've had 36 hours of rain with temps in the 50's so the creeks are up and it's neck deep mud everywhere. We need the moisture, I just wish it would snow like it's supposed to in Winter!

OK, back to work.... Glad you got out for a nice ride!

Doug

[poolman]

[QUOTE=macorell24;20482656]The promise of warm weather was too much to resist this past Sunday so I decided to ride the route poolman described on a previous post. The weather was not as anticipated and a heavy fog stayed in the area all day.




QUOTE]


macorell24,

I hope you enjoyed the route even though the weather did not turn out as predicted. I was actually skiing in the heavy fog at Whitetail with my daughter that Sunday.

Nice shot of the old Poolesville City Hall!

Cheers,