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Trip Report by Marc Krouse
| Description | : | Fairystone Loop Ride 09/16-17
The Riders: Marc Krouse [K1200RS], Mike Maul [SV650], Jeff Timblin [KLR], Tom Johnson [1200 Bandit], Carlos Saraiva [GSXR600], Ken House [CB1000], Bob Kurtz [Burgman 650], Denis Callimanis [Gold Wing 1800]. Saturday weather was just about perfect. Cool and bright. We didn\'t actually launch at 0700 but just close enough to keep Denis and Carlos cooling their heels at their designated pick up spot near I85 north of Durham. That was the last time Denis waited for anyone this trip. ;-) The route used backroads to get to VA 43 in Altavista, VA where the plan was to stay on VA 43 all the way to Buchanan, VA. Here are the roads we took to get to VA 43: Bahama Road, Mt. Harmony Church, Molly Moonie Road, Gentry Ridge Road, NC49N, NC96W, Denniston Road, Paradise Road, Snow Hill Road, Cluster Springs Road, Turbeville Road, Stibbens Road, River Road, Jones Ferry Road, VA 360E, Chatham Road, Leda Road, Leda Grove Road, Cody Road, Straightstone Road, Level Run Road, Grit Road. Many of these were typical VA rural roads, no line markings, heavily crowned, fairly narrow. Chip sealed mostly, and this time they were all clean without any loose gravel. Very few state troopers spend time waiting around the next turn. Dogs yes. We ate breakfast in Altavista where everyone was served, eventually, except for Jeff. He kept his budget under control by eating leftovers from eveyone\'s plate. VA 43 is a great road for rural VA, It relatively flat and curvy, lined and well marked, then it climbs up into the mountains, joining the BRP for a few miles before it descends into Buchanan, VA. Plus the old homes in Altavista and Bedford were pretty cool to glance at as we passed through. From Buchanan the goal was to get to the beginning of VA 39 near Lexington, VA. 39 runs west about 135 miles to Summersville, WV. We used these roads to get from VA 43 to VA 39: US 11N, Buffalo Road, Blue Grass Road, VA 251N, US 11N. I think it was on Buffalo Road, one of those typical narrow, unmarked, beauties, where we saw a sign that said CAUTION ROAD NARROWS. Damn. Maybe the Gold Wing wasn\'t such a good idea, Denis. VA 39 is just a great road. It is rarely straight, tight twisties, rolling meadows, great pavement, little traffic, no enforcement [that I saw], as it meanders through several national forests. The last 60 miles or so into Summersville was sweeper after sweeper through the trees. No surprise corners, no decreasing radius turns. You could safely keep the speeds up,with very little need to roll off the throttle.....much. The area in Summersville, WV where we stayed is fairly new, with several hotel and restaurant chains. The Comfort Inn was clean, slightly high in price [$87] but with a nice complimentary breakfast including waffles! Dinner at Applebees. Standard fare. Sunday weather was again just about perfect. By the time everyone gathered for departure, the morning fog was burning off and the temperature required a jacket liner. Where is Ken? One hour and 39 minutes after scheduled departure, Ken emerges. We all wait with engines running while Ken prepares for launch. Wires, cord, earpieces, tunes. What? Everyone already got gas? More waiting while we watch everything get disconnected and reconnected at the gas station next door. All engine shut down. Wait I think he\'s ready. Nope. Yep. Nope. Maybe. ;-) Finally we\'re off on a newly planned route. Tom and I misjudged the wear on our tires. My front and his rear were looking toasty. I didn\'t believe we could make the planned 459 miles, so we conjured up a new return route of 338 miles. That should be about right for cord arrival. Carlos says you have 200 miles after cord...so we had a buffer. The goal was to head more directly towards the Dublin, Christiansburg, VA area. The roads we planned on the return trip were: US 19S, WV 41S, US 60E, WV 12S, US 219S, US 460E, VA 100E, I-81N, Tyler Road, Meadow Creek Road, VA 8S, NC 89S, NC 65S, NC 68S, I-40E, US 220S, I-85N, US 421S, US 64E. Doesn\'t sound very exciting as compared to the Saturday roads, but the route was actually pretty nice. Sun was breaking through the mist as we hit WV 41 and US 60. It was chilly at times, and the sun glaring through the morning mist was gorgeous, but made seeing the turns, at times, kinda tricky. The sun stayed behind the clouds until we got down into VA, but it was still a pleasant ride. The roads were all dry and mostly clean. Overall the RTG was minimal. The group dispersed somewhat as we picked off traffic coming south on VA 8, both before and after Floyd, VA. Not everyone saw the safe openings in traffic that I did. Or Mike or Jeff. When I missed a turn for VA 8 just before Stuart, VA we lost the two Scooter boys. Then Carlos had ice cream and Ken broke off to be serviced in Winston-Salem. Ken apparently caught up and passed the scooter boys, while we waited for the faster than expected trailers. In the end, we were last. More dispersing as we hit I40E near Greensboro, NC and I slabbed on to Apex, NC to insure that the scooter twins made it safely home. They had, and were administering to Indy The Dog who had tangled with a Copperhead. Snout all swelled up. He looked liked he wanted a DNR clause in his contract. Don Schoppe stopped by at about the same time, just two days late for the ride. Maybe next time Don. And bring along Zippy. She can follow me... ;-) As group rides go, especially with 8 riders, it was quite uneventful. Safe, reasonable speeds by most. Good spacing and matched pace. With such fine riders, I needed to worry only about the route and when to fill up the tanks, while spending little time watching my rear view mirror. Thanks to all for a great riding weekend. Marc Krouse North Carolina USA 2002 BMW K1200RS |
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