Adventure in Ohio?

So this is why you drove a 1978 Pacer wagon.

That car had a message, it said "Clearly this guy is fucking crazy...leave him alone and for god's sake don't bother him or ask him for money".

See, the message isn't always obvious, but it's important that it's the right one.

I was married at the time, so the sub-message to women of "holy crap, get away from that blue fishbowl and the creeptastic loser at the wheel" kept me from any temptation.

Genius, I tell you.

Life is so much simpler when you pretend not to give a FF what people think.

I could see having a Miata, a lifted F-150, and a Subaru all at the same time... multiple personality disorder lets you do that.

Ok, sorry for the late arrival of pictures. After we split on Sunday I rode more gravel roads heading north and broke my "get home before dark" rule but at least I was out of the woods by then. Sun set about the time I got to Marcy so only about a half hour in the dark. Awesome day, thanks Luke for the ride planning and leading. I had quite a few close calls but didn't drop the bike so a good day. Monday I got up early and right back at it. We went to Briarcliff, a motorcross park just northeast of Hanover, for a day of dirtbike riding. I was on a Husqvarna TE310 and man, it feels like half the weight of the X Challenge! They have a "big" motorcross track (high jumps) that I skipped, a "smaller" track I rode a couple times but it was really rutted, and a baby track that was small and boring. So I spent the day riding the woods trails and picked up some pace as I went. A few muddy crossings and mostly woods made for a fun day. That's 3 weekends in a row I've been out gettin' dirty. Awesome! Sounds like swingset is riding out of the woods as I'm riding in. On to the pics ...

Steve on his KLR



Jason and Alyssa



And our intrepid host Luke, looking like something from a Kool-Aid commercial



A little scenery on Thompson Ridge Road



Before we hit the gravel





On the move





Luke knows some old abandoned or unmaintained roads



A quick break after some rough stuff. I didn't get pics as I was trying not to crash





Back at it on another unmaintained "road"



If you look closely you can see the general path we were on here



Out on the top of a large area that may have been strip mined at some point we found another rider taking a break



Luke liked him cause he also wore orange



His bike is set up for some serious adventure riding



Lunch stop in McArthur



We rode the trails in Richland Furnace



The main trail was easy riding



My only pic of a side trail as I can't ride the steep stuff one-handed as I take pics. I barely survived riding two-handed!



Back on the main trail it was easy sledding



More gravel roads heading back north



A cool covered bridge ready for Halloween



Then Jason got a flat tire - pumping but the air didn't stay in



So we got a lesson in roadside tire repair










Fixed and ready to go



A quick check and its holding air just fine



Mental note - if I ever get a flat I'm screwed so I need to build a little fix-it kit. Or just ride with Jason and Luke every time! Thanks again for a great day.

Later,
M

My Monday ride at Briarcliff. I rode a Husqvarna TE310 (edit - I'm trading the Elefant for it). It's the one on the end - the only bike without a number plate on the front. Awesome little thing - light, powerful as hell and more than I can use but I think it'll be fun to ride. As the day went on I got a little better and faster riding the trails in the woods.



I was like a factory rider - I showed up on the Challenge and the bike was reasy to go. Easy-Ups got popped



And the chairs came out. Even got the free lunch.



The boss giving his wife some pointers for riding through the slippery bits



A little mud here and there





But it was mostly easy woods riding



Meanwhile, Kirk and Elizabeth ran the motorcross track. Liz hits the big jump





Kirk got more air time





Everyone had big fun



On the way home, more gravel roads on the Challenge. Nothing like a gravel road through the woods in the fall



Later,
M

Just catching up on the last 4 pages.

Brandon, sorry to hear it but totally understandable. I'll still be within easy driving distance... Peggy Sue's is exactly halfway...

Craig, I know how you feel about the TTR... that was a motivating reason I got rid of the WR, too. FYI, Miatas are cool, and I'd happily drive the piss outta one.

Luke, you look like a pumpkin and I see you learned about Google Images in my absence. Will you be making an instructional video on that?

Vivid Tatas, I had a very nice time, thanks for the inside tour of Ohiopyle and the C&O, Bill's, etc. You did very well on the off roady shit and I was impressed. I will have to try harder to get you to crash the next time.

Scqtt, you do realize I live 8 miles away from you, right; and I've posted ride offerings the last 2 or 3 weekends plus a recent multi day trip, and we (4 - 5 of us ADV fellas) get breakfast in Mt Gilead once a week, Wednesday mornings. You can come and sit at a nearby booth and post about it later, if you want.

Solace, pics look good as always.

Whitey / Brandon / Joe / anyone, how's tomorrow look for you for breakfast?

Im in. What time?

OK, I had to listen twice to make sure, but anyone riding in the Zanesville area needs to be on the lookout for "exotic" animals on the loose. The list of wildlife includes lions, tigers, and bears... as well as a girafffe, at least one leopard, some wolves, cheetahs, and a partidge in a freak'in pear tree.

But seriously, they found the owner of this exotic animal farm dead and his animals all set loose on the countryside.

Not a good situation.

Easy guys.
That dude was a friend of mine. I hear that his wife of 40+ years had just left him. No excuse for his actions, but he was genuinely a nice guy. Misunderstood.

Vivid Tatas and I just took a 800-ish mile two day trip to Ohiopyle, PA; and nearby portions of WV and MD.

Vivid is a bicycle rider at heart and he knows a lot of the backroads in the area from bike tours... he also has a good handle on the local history. He showed me some neat portions of the C&O Canal, tunnels, and locks; as well as a cherry camping spot right on the Potomac River. We rode a nice mix of pavement, gravel, and some abandoned roads better suited to a KLR or DR (but the Stroms did fine).

It was nice to interact with another ADV'er that I didn't know that well, and even though our riding styles are a bit different (he's slow as hell ), we both had a good time. The weather was absolutely great, and the sights and smells of fall were everywhere.

I came back through Bethany WV, and up into Steubenville, which is good because had I gone through Zanesville as I planned I might have been eaten by one of the wild animals on the loose! :eek1

Grabbed up the Danville tag on the way home, and beat the rain by about 20 minutes.


We're like Twins, in the same way that DeVito and Schwartzenegger are:



Vivid:












Me:







Potomac River:



C&O Canal Tunnel / Paw Paw Tunnel (It's 2/3 mile long, does not look like it!):









Not real sure what the helicopter was up to... it had what looked like 3 huge bags dangling from the cable, and it was dropping them into a wooded area and moving around a little, then flying off with the load still attached to the cable. Marking trees? Breaking them off? No clue...

Even armed to the teeth, riding through the woods on a bike, the animals would have a sporting chance. I sure wouldn't want to be the one getting stalked by the lion while riding the trails.

I've been busy lately preparing for my next round of treatment. I should be able to start Cyberknife treatment in a about 2 weeks after a couple more minor procedures and setup appointments. I still have 2 tumors in my left lung and this treatment should take care of those. Hopefully that will be it, and I can get on with recovering from all the damage done by the Cancer and the various surgeries, Chemos, radiation I've already had over the last 5 1/2 years. It's been a long, bumpy road, but it may be smoothing out a little very soon.

930?

Oh yeah!

I am part of a family now.

Great shots Mike

Sounds like that's where I should take the 426.

What's the matter Charlie Brown, never seen the great pumpkin before?
I can help you google that if you wish.

I didn't think I said anything bad about the guy. I have no idea what the situation is/was, just repeating what I heard on the news. If I offended anyone, it was unintentional.

Post deleted. RIP

930 works for me!

Let's see some new faces!

Open season on exotics?

Eh.

If I'm ever in a picture like this, something has gone VERY wrong.