Mary#17

Yes.  Road conditions were pretty decent on most of the roads we took.  41 is probably the only road I would say to avoid. It's just really rough.  There were certainly some bad parts here and there but most were in really good shape. 16 was the only other road that had major issues but the nice parts were really nice so it's hard to say avoid it.  

33, 61 (near deepwater), 39 near 220, 250 and 36 were really winners in my opinion. 

Mary

Ok. So we went to WV last Thursday, Friday and Saturday.  Here's the route and what I can remember of the roads. Also, heads up, cell phone service in the mountains was EXTREMELY limited. Even at gas stops, we rarely had service. VERIZON carrier. 

Day one starting from Marietta.

47

16

39

219/55

47 was a good connector route and got us warmed up.

16 is a very twisty road.  There were times that I was hoping a straight would be coming so I could rest.  Road quality is a huge hodge podge. Kind of rough up north, then you'd hit nice pavement, then you'd hit brand new pavement then back to rough. It was really all over the place. The rough parts could be bone jarring but not impassable so I'd still recommend the road, just be cautious in the bad parts. 

39 was fun and in decent shape from what I could remember.

218/55 were also in good shape and had some really nice sections.

Day 2 from Elkins

33 south. It was so much fun we turned around and did it again.  Southern part of 33 is amazing.  Lots of new pavement and if it wasn't new, it was in great shape.  33 is a must!!!!

from 33 to 28 - ok connector road but not as curvy as I thought it would be. It was interesting though as you were riding  between the two mountains so I would call it scenic.

28 to 250 south - 250 was a very good road. I definitely want to do the whole section at some point. I was worried about road conditions and found this part to be completely fine so I would think the other sections in this area are probably OK as well. 

250 to 220 - 220 was really not that exciting.  We were actually pretty mellow on this road and of course, this is where we get tickets. A speeding ticket for both of us and passing on double yellow for me as a bonus. Thank you Virginia!  After this joyous detour, I wanted to get out of Virginia as soon as possible so we picked up 39 north.  What a nice road!!  Freshly paved in most spots and just really twisty.  I would have enjoyed it even more if we hadn't just gotten the darn tickets but it was really fun. 39 is another must route.

Took 39 to 92 and then over to Beckley.   We almost ran out of gas in this area and GPS tried to take us down a crazy road.  There were lots of adv tour type of roads in this area for those that might be interested.  

Day 3

From Beckley heading back to Marietta

41 to 19 to 60

Over to 61

16

36

14

41 is a dump.  The road quality is beyond poor. They had neon red circles and lines all over the road highlighting pot holes and other deformities.  Felt like I was at Nelson Ledges but worse. Until they pave this thing, I would avoid it. 

61 near Deepwater is a blast!!!!!! Brand new pavement and just wow!  Good times.  Keep in mind, unless you are on an adv tour bike, you will need to go to the town to cross the river.  We tried heading over to another crossing and the road was crazy bad. I think the town is Montgomery?

36 is a pretty fun road. There are several parts that are freshly paved. It's a really nice north/south route. 

14 is a decent connector road. Decent amount of turns and pavement is good for the most part although there are some bad spots. 

I think that covers it and hopefully I remembered all the important details!

Ok. Hundred to Moundsville definitely needs some road work. I may try 250 south of that or I might just shoot right back up 33 and do it in the other direction. 

I think the roads around Lake Hope are fine. Pavement quality of 356 is fine as well. Unfortunately, the last time we rode it, there was some fine silt on the road in the turns and it made the bikes a little twitchy. Our tires were also on the end of their life so that could have played a factor as well. I think taking 356 south from 56 is the better route. I don't like it as much coming from the other direction. Not sure why...........

If you get over there to ride 328 again you might want to check out 677.It's not as long as 328,but it's a fun way to get over to 278.it cuts out some of the not so fun parts of 50 and 278.very good road surface...probably paved in the last year or two.

Did you guys get over to WV yet?

Funny, I was thinking about trying 677.  I will put in on the route for sure now next time.  No, didn't make it to WV yet. Hoping this week or last week of the month.  My son was sick and the weather kind of iffy so did an overnight trip to Hocking/Athens instead.

Mary

we did 329 north of 550 as well but it was pouring so I can't really comment on how much fun the road would be.

We started in Lancaster.  374 south to 56 east. 328 south. 50 east. 278 north over to 685 (turnaround at end and come back). 78 to 691 south.  56 over to 50/33 (?) pick up 329 from there to 550. 550 east to the good section near 377 then turn back around and do that good section of 550 again. Then took 550 to Athens where we stayed overnight. About 200 miles.

All of these roads have new or newer pavement, very little traffic and are pretty clean for the most part.

Tried 328 finally. Had forgotten about it. Nice road. We are adding it to our keeper list!

329 south of 550 is a surprisingly fun road. Nice pavement as well.

Why can't we cut and paste anymore?

there's a May 2014 review on motorcycleroads.us on RT 250 from 219 south and it says road is in good shape with lots of places to pass.  I think Tpoppa said 250 northern side was in bad shape.

My Day 2 route takes 33 from Elkins all the way to almost Harrisonburg.  Isn't that the good part?

Mary

I wonder if it is a restricted area? it's not showing up for me. I registered but don't have any posts so maybe it won't show up?

Ouch! Glad everybody is doing ok. That is a great turn but always seems to have debris in the road. All these torrential downpours aren't helping either.

Prayers for a speedy recovery!

Mary

How do I find the FODS map on the FJ forum?  I just don't see it. Thanks.

Mary

Ok. Here's where I'm at with the planning right now. What do you think?  And, thank you for all the suggestions!!!!

Day one 300 miles

starting in Marietta

47 s

16s

60

19

41 to 39

219/55 to Elkins.

Day 2 285 miles or 330 if we go to Beckley

Elkins

33 e (se)

732/731/42 cutover to 250

250n

219/55 s to Lewisburg or Beckley. 

Day 3 - assuming we go to Beckley

From Beckley heading to Marietta 210 miles

to 41

31s

21e

60w

16/39 n

4w

36

14 to Marietta

Congratulations!!  Nice bike.

Thank you! Some really great suggestions. I'll let you know what route I come up with!!

Under 300.  depending on the route, we may need to do loops around locations that have decent lodging and food etc.....

Mary

Starting to think about a 3 day trip down south. Any suggestions for southern WV/Northern VA?  How about eastern WV? Is 250 still in bad shape? Any other good roads in George Washington or Monongahela Forest? 

Mary

I only get 3000 miles on mine as well. Think it depends on the bike and how you ride. I was running supercorsa's before and barely got 3000 miles on those well. Thankfully, with the rebates and deals, the price is really a deal.

Mary

The Q3s are great tires.  I don't think you will be disappointed. I felt the Q2s didn't turn is as well as my Pirelli Supercorsa's but the Q3s fixed that issue.

My husband and I are going through about two sets a season so we've tested them out quite a bit. My only complaint is we are only getting about 2800 miles on a rear and not much more on the front but that seems to be the normal range for the Ducs.

Mary

Are you talking about the bp/post office/head shop where the 550 jogs over?  I couldn't agree with you more. I would turn around and keep doing that section several times if I thought I could get away with it.

The museum is very cool. The owner let us ride one of the really old Harley's. It was a great experience.

Mary

Husband and I did an overnight trip to Hocking Friday/Saturday.  Did mostly our normal roads.

RT. 374 - pretty dirty especially north side.  Lots of fine silt/dust on the road. Made for some interesting wheel spin moments.

RT. 56 (between 374 and Bloomfield) - the winter definitely did some damage as have the storms.

Rt. 56 East of 374.  Two single lane closures where the road has caved in. One is almost fixed. 

356 - heading south from 56 is cleaner than heading north.  Lots of silt and fine dust. The rain is just wreaking havoc in the valleys and flood areas.

50 has lots of new pavement.  It was very nice. We usually just use this to connect to 278 but the little bumps used to wreak havoc on my kidneys so this was really appreciated.

278 - pretty decent shape throughout except in the wooded section up north.

685 - pretty clean. Some dirt from rain runoff but not bad.  We usually take this and then turnaround and head to 691. You can now take the new section of 78 that was added directly to 33 or to 691.  Probably could do it last year as well but we hadn't taken that in the past. Very nice connector.

691 - Good shape.  I ran over a snake. freaked me out a bit.  I think it was already dead but I was in the middle of passing a truck so not sure.  Blah!

550 - I always forget how much I like this road. It's really a great cool down and warm up road. We take this to get to Marietta where we stay at The Hackett.

Fun trip. Need new tires AGAIN!

Take care and stay safe!

Mary