Chethro's WV & Nearby Travels

Fantastic pics. Love the Guzzi. Im in for this. Stunning roads, just WOW.

Thanks.

Try it you'll like it! I'm sure you have your share of nice roads too!

I keep looking at other bikes and think about what would work better for a day tripper like me, but the two I have are perfect for what I do. The ease of maintenance on each is hard to beat. The Guzzi is just so much fun under 65mph. It really handles very good...at least for an old fart like me. There are many better and faster/quicker bikes out there, but the feel (soul) of this bike is fantastic. The rumble of the Agostini's, vibrations and torque are all very enjoyable on WV's curvey roads. It rewards a steady hand and precise inputs with higher smiles per mile than any bike I have owned. The beauty is I can have all that fun and still stay under the speed limits...for the most part!

I keep looking at:

KTM 790 Adventure -- Nah, hate the maintenance interval for valves and couldn't do it myself, but very tempting

Africa Twin -- Close, but the cheaper ones don't have tubeless rims

Vstrom 1050 -- Another close, but so big and I bet it's hot to ride in the summer

Kawa Z900 -- It would just be a more powerful version of what I have, I would probably lose my license ... again

Bored and going thru some pictures of my first DR650 that I owned back in 2012 and thought I would post a few.

I swore off riding after a year or so with that bike after two very close calls. Then I had my thyroid removed, blood clots and a few other problems in subsequent years, so I figured if I'm going to go I'm at least going to do what I love before leaving...





The Mothman in Point Pleasant WV. A guy (Bob Roach) at the power plant I worked at made this and many other stainless steel "sculptures". He did these with pipe angle etc. scrap from the plant and then bead after bead of weld which he then ground down. All heat, beat and grind. He could do it all paint, carve and draw. A true artist. He even had an old flat nose 60's van/truck where he made the entire cab out of stainless steel. I would hate to think what it weighed. The door skins were about 3/8" thick.



These next few pics are from an area known as Kentuck.











This is actually the road. Unfortunately, someone gated the entry from behind where this picture was taken, so I couldn't make it here this year. There is a very large rock clam shell type cave here.



This is another road of solid rock about 2-3 miles long. I remember having to turn around this day due to the water being too high.

Still a bit bored, so off to the shed for modifications!

I have been thinking hard about storage. I need just a little more. I like the HB C-bow system, but hate the color of all the bags that go with them. I can add extra pouches to my current bags, but I like the look as they are. I was able to move my dish towel, battery tender usb converter and cords under the seat by adding a couple of bungee cords under the seat. There were four existing nuts and a couple holes to use screws available. Then your typical kayak paddle holder set up worked out just fine for holding everything nice and tight. Now, I need to figure out how to hold an 8oz bottle of water and I will be good. I think I'm going to add a small bicycle bottle holder, so off to search the internet...







Yes, my bungees don't match, but I'm the only one that will see it.

Thank god you quit posting pictures of wild and wonderful West By God Virginia!

My wife wants to move back there and those pics have us both missing our old home.

You hear her voice in the mornin' hour she calls me
Radio reminds me of my home far away
Drivin' down the road I get a feelin'
That I should have been home yesterday...

Well the DR felt neglected in the garage, so I decided to change my tool and air compressor storage that are currently stored in the round bags behind the Biltwell7 bag.. I have had a small pelican box for quite a while, so it's time to see if it will work.

The old...



The new:



It ended up fitting everything nice and snug with a few rags stuffed in, so that should keep the rattles down.

Another break then time to clean up the garage.

So many great pics. God I love WV! Looking forward to 2021 to return once again.

A little less than 4 hours and 160 miles today. Lift off with 43F temps that warmed to 50F within an hour or so. The gizmo in the speedometer said it was 67F when I made it back to the house, but the cold side of the mountain was...er well... still darn cold, so much so I never shed a bit of clothing or changed to lighter gloves during the ride. It was a fantastic ride tho except for the one instance when a State road truck tried to smack head on an older Dodge 2500 that was in front of me. The State truck barely swung back in his lane in time. I had slowed significantly to make way for the expected carnage. Likewise, the State truck was going quite slow as we passed. Enough so, that I could give a long sustained one finger salute to the driver that was wearing a red and white Santa hat! Luckily, I was not following the Ram 2500 that close.

The V7 rumbled like a tiger throughout the day. The power pulses, so enjoyable as you snick your way thru the gears, come up to a curve downshift and start the process all over again. I was being patient enjoying the hills and scenery on Rt33 and 47. There were some ice trails crossing the road here and there and what looked like black ice in one spot, but none of it was in a curve. It did keep my speed down in the shady areas.

I barely beat fellow inmate wvJwaii to the photo challenge below. We missed each other by a 1/2 hour. Hopefully, we will meet on another one some time soon.



First stop an old garage on Rt33 with a rock cliff across from it






Next up, an 8 sided chapel.





An interesting tombstone.



The next WV photo challenge...





Rt47



Smithville WV



I need to get a small finer resolution camera. Preferably a waterproof one. I'm considering a Fuji XP130 that has 16.4 MP which is a bit better than my Iphone XR.

Time to go out and clean up the bike and get her ready for the next ride. I may take one or the other out tomorrow before the rain... Leaning towards doing Tail of the Squirrel on the V7.

I was actually keeping an eye out for redheads as I was out and about today.....make that the red heads of your Guzzi!

It says it has built in Wi-Fi, do you know if that means I can transfer the pics to my iPad without a cord? I hate using my computer. The price is right on this for me to give a real camera a whirl as well.

It looks like it does Bluetooth transfer. I want something small, waterproof, don't need a view finder and easy to turn on. I'm going to mount a small neoprene bag to the handlebar clamp, so I can pull it out quick and shoot. The bag below looks a little short on height, but the flap and extra depth should make it OK -- snug. It may even be possible to turn it on and snap a shot with a gloved hand. Hard to say until you get one in your hands and try.

I used similar Pentax cameras when I was crawling thru coal boilers doing inspections and it looks Ricoh is making that model now (WG-60) with similar specs. but at $320.

There is nothing more enjoyable than having a red head on each knee!

Thanks for this, I’m gonna give one a try. At this price there’s not much to lose. It has an app that lets you use your phone to take the shot too, that will be nice for any group pics although I kind of like being off camera.

Cool! I look forward to seeing your pics. Let me know how well you like it.

Tail of the Squirrel it was!

Rt34 from Kenna to Poca is my go to curvy road close to home. One passing zone that is maybe 100 yards long on a 25 mile stretch. Every type of curve, increasing/decreasing radius, off camber you name it. Just enough bad pavement to play dodge the pot hole and still be able to hustle down the road. Nothin crazy mind you, but this roads makes me stay focused on the task at hand.

I crossed 7000 miles on the V7 this ride. The DR stands at 1700. That gives 8700 miles for the year. Maybe the most I have ever done. I know it is nothing compared to some, but for me it's a milestone....



Non stop curves like this...





Rt62 from Poca to Pt Pleasant is not so fun. Flat ground does exist in WV! You can also see the sun poking thru ruining a perfectly overcast and dreary day.



I saw this little jewel at the armory near the Winfield locks and dam.



Time to go play in the shed.

That little jewel at the armory is smiling in the dark just now: Army 15 - Squids, 0.

Seriously, nice pix as always.

Apropos your comment about sun and overcast, I actually MUCH prefer "dreary" days (with "warm" understood! ) to bright sunlight.

No worries about sun blinding me or oncoming drivers. I also did an involuntary "dismount" on my Griso once in a very slow 90º right-hander going from shade to BRIGHT; the sun blocked the sand in the middle of the road. BANG!

All of that blather aside, riding home on the final leg of a ride with the sun on my back lighting the way ahead with its soft afternoon light is a priceless experience. When I manage to do that, I feel as if I am riding in an Impressionist painting.

Keep riding ... and posting your great photos.

Bill

Bill, Safe Journeys for you too! Sand is the worst. I almost lost the DR this year in a sandy spot on a paved road. I didn't see it either.

I prefer overcast days too when it doesn't rain, but you're always rolling the dice on those days.

I hope we can meet up in the New Year for lunch again. My ride to New Martinsville was the longest this year and quite enjoyable. Perhaps, Weston would make a nice mid point. Drag Bulldog along if you can. I'm buying this time!

May you and yours have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!

Sounds good re reprising in Weston or wherever and with His Chaplainship, Bulldog.

Thanks, too, for posting that pic of me with my stunned mullet expression.

OTOH, a photo-artist such as yourself has to work with what's available.

Bill

I came across a few more pics of my old DR650 on a trip my son and I did to Pipestem in 2012. We had a great time riding from Pipestem to the VA state line along the New River with a few stops near Bull Falls.















These shoals on the New River roughly mark the border.