It Doesn’t Get Any Better

Sunday was a picture-perfect day for motorcycling. After freezing our asses off on Saturday, both Hubby and I were a bit noncommittal about venturing out on Sunday. But after driving into Romney for breakfast at McDonald’s on Sunday morning, I told Hubby the weather was so perfect it would be almost criminal not to ride.

So I mapped out a route for us. Whether using old-fashioned paper maps or newfangled mapping software, route planning is not a perfect science. While county roads are fun, sometimes they are not paved. But we manage, as long as the gravel and/or dirt roads are in good condition.

I couldn’t resist stopping at the Post Office just off US-220 South of Old Fields, WV after seeing the flowers growing there. After that brief pause, we headed West on Old Fields Road [CR-2/5] into Williamsport, WV.

Here are some images from that road…

We proceeded West and, after hitting Williamsport, headed North on CR-5 [Patterson Creek Road]. From there, the plan was to continue West on Poplar School Road (or Popular School, depending on which map software you believe). But there was a problem.

That road was not only not paved, it looked like this…

It’s a pretty little scene, right? Do you see the problem?

This shot shows the trouble a bit better. The road went right through Harness Creek!

Had we been in the truck, we could have forded the smallish waterway. Fording creeks, however, is never a good idea on big-ass, 800-plus-pound street motorcycles.

Traversing dirt and/or gravel roads is enough of a challenge. Driving over slimy wet rocks in a creek? Uh, no.

I couldn’t resist snapping some pics before consulting my trusty West Virginia Atlas & Gazetteer (by DeLorme Publishing) to find an alternate route. Now, I knew where I was and could’ve gotten us home without a map, but it was too nice a day to quit so early. So we headed West to Greenland Gap Road, which goes right through the Greenland Gap Preserve.

Both this and the following images were from a previous trip I’d taken there without Hubby.

I did stop long enough so Hubby could see the gap as shown in the above image. You can’t appreciate the size of the cliffs when traveling the road from East to West.

From there, we headed East on SR-93 then East on US-50 back into Romney.

Riding weather doesn’t get much better than temperatures in the mid-70s, with very low humidity and sunny skies.

As much as I love Fall, I really hate to see the riding season end.