It's been almost three months since we've ridden but I also need to check up on the Virginia Cottage so the thought is to combine a ride with a trip there.
Meeting at Blue Bottle Coffee near Union Market in DC. Marked on the map.
Let's head back out to the Northernmost section of the George Washington National Forest and see if we can't find some more gravel roads to explore. There were a number that we saw off of 48 as we were coming back before it merged with 55. Maybe we can try to get an earlier start?
There are some forest service roads listed in the US forest service road database that we ve talked about exploring. I don t know what shape these roads are in. The bikes in the mix will determine how far we go. if it gets too rough for any member of the ride we ll all turn around. There are plenty of roads to explore.
The plan is to head back up to Michaux State Forest and see if we can find some roads there we haven't ridden.
We're getting a late start. The plan is to stop by the cottage in Kinsale to take a look at it and then head towards 211. Plans are fluid because of pending inclement weather. The plan is for a mix of slab, pavement, and gravel. If all goes well it'll be a 350+ mile day.
Pondering a ride to forest services roads on the far side of 81. Unfortunately, due to a rear wheel bearing failure on Duncan's DR650 this turned into a street ride.
Plans have changed. Now the plan is to take the DR s up to Michaux State Forest and ride a section of the MABDR which cooncidentally runs over some of the dirt we are familiar with.
We need to get the DR's out as they have been sitting for far too long. The original plan was to head to Michaux State Forest but unfortunately the weather forecast has other plans. The thought is to head to the Fort Valley Road area and explore some of the unpaved roads around there.
Frederick Municipal Watershed and Michaux State Forest are on the Agenda. We could meet up in Thurmont at the social center of town also known as the Sheetz.
A 352.9 mile day ride on a Suzuki DR650SE seems much longer. We headed across the Potomac 301 bridge from Maryland into Virginia and then South into farm country. It was a day of alternating really good small country roads punctuated by traffic laden urban sprawl. There were several notably good roads. Route 17 North of 66 turned out to be a surprisingly nice ride along hills we had not explored. Further South in the shadow of the small mountain range Skyline Drive winds its way along, we found a number of quite pleasant tree covered country roads that begged further exploration. We've rarely explored either of these areas. We found ourselves pondering how many other roads or notable destinations might be much closer to home than we imagined. Sometimes one doesn't need to travel far away to come across something entirely new ...