MABDR Weekend Run, June 22-24 (1 Viewer)

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I think the cabin is still a good spot to leave from... I’m still headed up tonight so either tonight or tomorrow is fine, Greg.

That sounds like a plan.

Should we meet somewhere else, or is the cabin still the best rondevous point?
 
GPS tracks from our trip... we had an awesome time!

http://shared.galileo-app.com/5b31a6446a01e2743eb123b3.html

And some pics...

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It was a fun time, nice scenery, good guys. All the pics above are from day two. Day one it rained most of the day, into the evening, and early next morning. It made things a little more challenging. I don't know how we got a fire started at camp, it was almost extinguished by a torrential downpour. Rob had a few sketchy moments on his bike, at two different water crossings, where the swollen creek decide to deny him. Luckily, he's skilled, and did not end up falling, or floating downstream! The weather on day two was BEAUTIFUL! Absolutely perfect. Unfortunately for me, I split in the early afternoon after I started to hear a noise under the truck. My relay rod end on the pitman arm side had significant play and I was not comfortable continuing to beat the hell out of it on washed out trails. Last thing I wanted was to loose steering far from anything, with no cell service...in the mountains. I drove about 50mph all the way home. An old lady in a Pinto flipped me off, and called me a pussy as she blew by me!
 
Apologies but have been playing catch up at work...

Good weekend to say the least with great company! We departed Rob's cabin Friday morning around 10ish and headed south towards Handcock. Shortly after pulling out the rain started and continued off and from Central PA to the heart of VA. @BROKEROB1 led the way on his BMW GX 450 with me and @Crusha following along. We worked our way through dirt trails, small wildlife management areas, back roads, little towns, George Washington National Forest, Jefferson National Forest and Monongahela NF. We spent most of the time wondering where we were but none were really concerned!

The first notable area was a toll crossing from Oldtown, MD into W VA. Old Town Historical Bridge Home Page Apparently this is one of the oldest privately owned tolls in the country and spans about 300' across the Potomac River. It's been deemed unsafe and closed several times since the mid 90's but the folks continue to operate it. After looking at photos, we were pushing our luck crossing while the river was almost to the bottom of the deck. Several piers are unstable and essentially floating!

We then continued South through Romney, Petersburg and Moorfield W VA trying to get out ahead of the rain to no avail. We then skirted the eastern edge of the Monongahela NF and a small port of Seneca Rocks. We continued to push south into VA and in a SE direction to try and break into GWNF before nightfall. There were several water crossings as Greg mentioned and Rob was able to show off his skill. Greg used his winch to drag a fallen tree from off of one of the trails. Once inside the forest we came across several nice camping locations but continued to try and beat the rain. As nightfall was starting to creep in we found a spot and quickly setup camp. As a last minute decision, I decided to through an EZ-up in the back of the truck as I don't have an awning. Thankfully I did or we have been SOL for any socializing Friday evening. Greg worked tirelessly to start a fire only to have mother nature one-up us! We fired up the grill, had a few drinks and called it a day. 217 miles logged in about 9.5 hrs
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Woke up very early Saturday morning to another monsoon but the clouds broke, we cleaned up and continued south. Beautiful day with clear skies and great views

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Lots of washed out trails, downed trees on Friday and Saturday due to the amount of rainfall in the area. About 70 miles in on Saturday (mainly dirt), Greg noticed a rattle that ended up being more serious. We opted to find a hardball, find a town and hope for a well stocked parts store with no luck. We transferred gear and parted ways in Clifton Forge, VA. Rob and I decided to find a beer and burger as we figured out what the next step would be. Fortunately we found a Brewery in town, watched a bit of the World Cup and devised a plan. We decided to head northwest in the direction of the Monongahela NF to try and camp there for the night. Off we went through Douthat State Forest. Very neat place and one of the original 6 parks in the country.
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@BROKEROB1 scouting the way!
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Pushing into the hills of W VA early evening
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It was another long day of trying to keep up with the bike! Ha! The GX 470 performed well IMO. Still have a few bugs to work out but she did very well. Pushed it pretty hard at times on the washed trails and other than my disconnects getting loud by the end of the weekend, everything felt quiet and tight! Have FJC bumpstops that will replace the GX OEMs very shortly.

Stopped to find some wood Saturday evening but for the convenience we ended up staying at a little campground in Cherry Grove, along the banks of the North Fork Branch Potomac River.
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Sunday we pushed through the Monongahela NF and wow what a beautiful place to have some time to explore. Notably
Seneca Rocks and Smoke Hole.
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Pulled back into the cabin around 3:30 Sunday afternoon and logged about 585 miles. I'd look to go back for sure but next time I'll just shoot south, get to GWNF and start from there.
 
I wish I had known about this trip!

I just rode it last week with two friends on our BMW R80G/Ss and would like to drive some or all of it with my wife in our FJ60 Land Cruiser.

How does one make it so one is notified about upcoming runs? I just clicked Watch This Thread, but that is after the fact.

Thanks for any help with this.
 
How does one make it so one is notified about upcoming runs?

On our main club page, click on "watch forum". This way you'll get an email anytime a new thread is started.
 
Great write up here! I just started a thread on the MABDR on the CLCC page... I would love to hit these trails for a week long trip sometime. Anyone planning to go out again this summer of fall? Maybe we could coordinate?
 
I’m always up for a trip like this, but would rather be on 2 wheels. Let me know... I’d make the time to do this again... it was beautiful!


Great write up here! I just started a thread on the MABDR on the CLCC page... I would love to hit these trails for a week long trip sometime. Anyone planning to go out again this summer of fall? Maybe we could coordinate?
 

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