Last year, I barely put any miles on my motorcycle. It’s sad, really. Especially since I enjoy riding so much.

Hubby clocked more miles, but only because he rides his bike to and from work when he’s required to go to the office (he usually works from the house like me).

We’ve both been missing our weekend getaways, which were always very special to us. So this year I am determined to schedule some actual trips. Overnighters instead of simple, ad hoc day trips. Which usually means at least two days of riding. But where to go?

PENNSYLVANIA GROUP RIDE

I’ve been telling my Aunt Bertha for two years that we need to do a group ride in Pennsylvania. She and I did manage a short ride together last June, which was fun. But we’ve been wanting to get the rest of our motorcycle-riding family members together since she bought her Spyder.

My cousin Bob rides a large Harley Davidson. Bob’s brother-in-law, Jeff, married to Bob’s sister, Maryanne, also my cousin (duh!), rides a Honda Goldwing. Jeff and Maryanne have traversed the US on that thing. Bertha’s cousin, Amos (my second cousin or great cousin?), rides a Goldwing trike. I think another cousin (Rod, maybe?) who I haven’t seen in years rides, too., but I’m not sure what sort of bike. A good friend of Bob’s rides a smaller Harley.

Of course, Hubby and I have our matching F650GSes. Can you picture this motley crew of bikes?

MOTOBLOG BUDDY MEET-UP

There are two motorcycle bloggers in New York that I befriended years ago. I’ve met Ralph in person, but haven’t met Rachel in-the-flesh yet. We had a meet scheduled for Fall of 2012, but things came up and it didn’t happen. I’m really hoping 2014 is the year for that. Of course, I’ll be riding my bike north so we can log some miles together.

EXTREME SOUTHWESTERN VIRGINIA

In late-2010, Hubby and I took our final trip on those big-ass cruisers we used to ride. We headed south through West Virginia and west into Kentucky before heading back north and east through West Virginia again. Our second day of riding took us past Breaks Interstate Park, a place I’d never heard of before that day.

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Which is no surprise considering how far away from us and remote the place is.

Anyway, we’d stopped for lunch at a Hardee’s in Grundy, Virginia, and a nice, chatty older guy told us we should go there. Not knowing anything about the place, and since we were sort of tight on time, we didn’t listen. Later, at our hotel, I looked it up on the Internet and wished we had stopped.

According to their web site, the 4,600-acre park, which the Kentucky/Virginia border, encompasses a five-mile gorge, carved by the Russell Fork River, that plunges 1,650 feet. The area is known as the “Grand Canyon of the South.” Sounds perfect, right? I’d really like to squeeze that one in, but it’s a good distance away, so will require multiple days. We’ll see…

CLOSER DESTINATIONS

There are quite a few places I want to see that are closer, which means we’re more likely to get there. They are…

• Natural Bridge, Virginia
• Green Bank Observatory and Cass Scenic Railroad State Park
• The National D-Day Memorial in Bedford, Virginia
• Monticello (can you believe I’ve never been there?)

To be honest, though, our rides are typically about the journey, not the destination. So we’re just as likely to head down into Wytheville just to enjoy the rides mentioned in my Horn of the Cow post, as we are to go anywhere specific. Although, since Wytheville isn’t terribly far from Breaks Interstate Park, we could tie one of my to-be-seen destinations in with some of these to-be-ridden roads. Which is usually what we do, anyway.

Wow, I could daydream about upcoming rides all day, but I really need to get to work.

Are there any must-see places or must-ride roads in Virginia/West Virginia that you would recommend?

After the recent water pipe incident at the WV Place, and in light of the continued below-freezing temperatures in our region, Hubby and I decided we’d better go see how the place is holding up. It’s about a 1.5- to 2-hour drive from here. Since we weren’t planning on hanging around, we left the girls at home.

Despite having a four-wheel-drive vehicle, we decided to play it safe and walk from the road to the house rather than chance getting stuck in the driveway. Our house isn’t exactly in an easy-to-reach spot. It could take MONTHS for a tow truck to find us.

Okay, maybe not months. Or even days. But it would have certainly required more time than we wanted to waste. Especially since we were both hungry.

It was comforting to see that it’s drying out quite nicely inside.

Compare the image above with the following shot, which was taken a week ago, and you should be able to see the difference.

All the bits of fiberglass insulation that had been frozen to the saturated boards was easy to brush off.

There was no need to hang around — yay!!! — so back down the driveway we went.

You can how busy the deer have been.

We decided to take the long way home so we could grab lunch at the Star Mercantile in Wardensville, West Virginia.

I’d happened upon this cute little restaurant about a year ago on the way home from a ski trip with my son, Eric.

There’s not a lot to Wardensville (population ~300), but I’ve always had a soft spot for the place. I only recently learned that it’s referred to as the “Gateway to West Virginia,” apparently because of it’s location about six miles west of the VA/WV state line on WV-55. Wardensville is only about 20 miles west of I-81 at Strasburg, Virginia.

Motorcyclists take note… WV-55 is one of my favorite motorcycle roads in Hardy County. About nine miles west of town, WV-55 turns into a superhighway (now labeled US-48), but Old WV-55 parallels the new road, snaking along the Lost River, under the very high overpasses, wending among impressive outcroppings of rock. The multiple twisties and elevation changes make for a FUN ride.

But back to lunch. There’s a story behind the Star Mercantile, which serves up some mighty tasty comfort food…

The food is good, the atmosphere is welcoming and friendly. They even have live music sometimes. We just happened to be leaving as musicians were setting up for the Saturday afternoon jam session.

There’s all sorts of stuff adorning the walls, some of which is for sale. In fact, it really is a general store of sorts, and quite a bit of stuff is for sale. They feature locally made crafts and food items as well as a wide assortment of other treasures. There’s a giant bear just inside the front door, too.

Hubby ordered a cheeseburger and I got a steak and cheese sub.

The only negative was being served crinkle-cut fries. Neither of us typically care for those. But these were perfectly cooked (they’re usually served limp and half-raw), so I can’t really complain.

Neither of us had room for dessert, but we got two helpings of Bread Pudding with Whisky Sauce to go.

Hubby didn’t care for his dessert (more for me!), but I really like their bread pudding.

All you local peeps… if you ever feel like going for a drive, Wardensville is slightly over an hour from Warrenton if you take US-17 west to I-66, I-81, and then WV-55. It’s slower if you go through Front Royal and/or Strasburg.

And if you like seeing unusual stuff, a couple miles west of where the old and new roads split is a sign near where the Lost River literally becomes lost. Really. It sinks into an underground channel and then re-emerges a short time later as the Cacapon River. Weird, huh?

Other than the sign, there isn’t a whole lot to see near the road. But if you’re needing a bit of fresh air, the Trout Pond Recreation Area is a mere 13 miles outside of Wardensville. It’s a nice place for a short stroll.

If you have more time to burn, you could also visit Lost River State Park , which itself is a lovely place, but that’s 26 miles SW of Wardensville. Just remember to circle back to the Star Mercantile for some good eats.

I am constantly amazed at all of the natural beauty that can be found such a short drive from our new home.