Bears:
Beaks:
And Beaksters:
Oh, my:
More to come, stay tuned...
...and now for ... the rest of the story.
This winter and spring have been more stressful than usual. I was asked to teach a night class and have spent Wednesday nights doing that and several other days each week preparing assignments and lectures as well a grading papers. It is not an experience I wish to repeat. Final grades were due Monday before the Bash and on Tuesday I was still dealing with a student who needed to take an incomplete. I was getting quite concerned that I'd spend the summer seeing that he completed the work, not an appealing thought. The point I'm trying to make is that 3 days before leaving for the Bash I FINALLY broke free of this burden!
So, Friday comes and I get to sleep in some and take my time about packing and getting ready. Mcooperstein was coming from Big Stone Gap to Bluefield (about 100 miles) to meet me so we could ride to Marlinton (about 130 miles) together. The weather had turned crummy a couple of days earlier. It was cold and cloudy. I could see on the radar that there was a system just sitting there spinning and Marlinton was right on the edge. We were definitely going to ride into rain. Mark arrived cold but in good spirits. He warmed up while we chatted and got caught up.
About 3pm we finally left Bluefield. There was light rain off and on as well as sunshine but I don't think it ever quite to 60 degrees F. We hit a small traffic jam in Lewisburg and lost 20 or 30 minutes just creeping along, not good for the bikes. I think he said his temp got up to 240 or 250F. Mark has a temp gauge. At 6pm we arrived at the Old Clark Inn and some familiar faces were hanging around.
After checking in and mingling with the others we went down the street to have some dinner. Several attendees were already there.
The pork chops came highly recommended but I was torn between the haddock or the chicken parmesean. Once I saw Beemeridian's haddock I knew I had made the wrong choice. Dessert made up for it though. A tasty dish called the “Girlfriend's Favorite†After seeing mine and Mark's, Vann gave his ticket back to the waitress and had her bring him one. “So good you'll swallow your tongueâ€Â, said Mark.
I slept well that night and was fully awake at 6:30am. Took my time getting ready and getting down to breakfast which consisted of a biscuit and gravy, breakfast casserole (eggs, sausage, chesse etc.), part of a banana, part of an eclair, a small slice of cantaloupe, and maybe something else I'm forgetting. Back upstairs to get my gear and head outside. Most folks had grouped up and planned their routes. I ended up heading out with MikeCam and machew01.
We rode the Highland Scenic Highway (HSW) (see panorama at the top) and then made a long stop at Cranberry Glades to walk through the botanical area. I had been snapping pics the whole way and we were almost back around to the parking area when I looked out and saw this:
That's not a dog! It's not very big. Where's the mommy?!?!! He's not a cub. All went through my head in a split second, then I think my words were, “Oh no, it's a bear.†I got MikeCam's attention and while he was telling machew01 I stopped the family that had been behind us. The bear didsn't seem to be too concerned with us and actually went back to chewing on a leaf hanging nearby. The little girl behind us whispered, “it's a Grizzly Bear.†He slowly turned and began to move away from us, never spooked at all. An awesome experience and the day was just getting started!
Before getting back on the bikes we discussed where we should go next. Cam wanted to check out the little road that bisected the HSH. I had passed it many times and had the same desire to explore it. That road turned out to follow the Williams river. It ran along a narrow little valley strewn with rustic campsites and packed with fisherman. This was a gorgeous river. Large tan boulders, green mountains, blue sky, and smooth road about 1 and ½ lanes wide. It looked like something out of a fly fishing magazine. All of the turnouts had fisherman parked in them so we didn't stop until the pavement ended and the road forked. A quick check of the gps to confirm this road connected up with a main road on the other side and we were off on one of several gravel segments of the days ride.
We eventually made our way to Webster Springs and had lunch here:
It was right across the street from a motel that looked it might be a good place for a future Bash-type gathering. Hmmmmm.
We looped around back to 219 and consulted the gps again for a direct route to Seneca State forest where the geezers I was riding with were staying in a cabin. This put us a rather long stretch of gravel and mud road. I figure these new M1's of mine have seen more offroad use than most in their first week of being on the bike. We made our way to pavement and reached “Clover Lick†before the gps had us heading down a 2 track gravel road. I snapped a couple of shots of the Greenbrier River before we opted to stay on the paved road back to Seneca State Forest.
The cabin (on another good stretch of gravel road) was nice even if the guys couldn't get into the showers at the park office.
This small lake was right across the road from their cabin:
Machew01 and I left Cam to nap while we headed back to the Old Clark Inn. It had taken all day to go just 160 miles. After that it was time for the group pics and some socializing before our 8:00 dinner at Christy's Place. I finally got to try the pork chops. They were good, but I didn't swallow my tongue. Skipped dessert this time. I tried to get around and meet all of those that I didn't know. Hello to Rbrider, Mrs. Baker, towerworker, Beemeridian, Scottybooj, and Marty2, as well as Mike, Jim, Alex, and Mr. Hibbert. I don't think those last few are board members. If I've left anyone out or didn't get to meet you I apologize and hope to get the chance again soon.
Another good night's sleep, a great breakfast, perfect weather, and an awesome ride had me home before 1pm on Sunday. This was probably the best Bash yet. Great turnout, 24 guys or so, fantastic Saturday weather that made up for Friday's misery, and good friends and fellowship!!!
What are you guys doing next weekend????
***All pics can be found here***
