Search the Community

So this past Wednesday I left for deals gap and returned on Saturday. I had a buddy with me on an Ultra Classic Harley. We left Wednesday from Jefferson and grabbed 250 in Wheeling, WV ran that to 79 to 19 to 16 south of Beckley based on Tonik's suggestion. 16 was a great call thank you sir. This lead into the Back of Dragon and to our hotel in Marion, VA. Over 500 miles and around 12 hrs. Day 2 was the Snake, BRP, Diamondback, and 4 trips through the tail, back to the hotel in Robbinsville, NC. Around 450 miles and 11hrs. Day 3 I once again took Tonik's route for highlands, blood Mtn, 68, 60, and Cherohala. We had to run it backwards to avoid rain. The hateful one @Tonik again did not disappoint. Thanks for the awesome route. We also ran the tail twice because my buddy wanted me to video him so he could show his grandkids. Saturday morning we left at 7 am and headed for home. We ran the Tail one more time and ran into no issues with traffic not sure what you guys are saying about all these problems with Saturdays on the Dragon. We then just slabbed it home. 626 miles in just over 9.5 hrs. Got sprinkled on just once with some damp roads on the whole trip. Awesome trip overall.

Reservations are now open. ----------------------------------- Same as last year and the year before, I'll start with the important stuff: Ride your own ride. Enjoy the weekend. Be safe. This is not a competition or a race. This is just a good weekend away with friends. You are responsible for yourself. This is, of course, an "at your own risk" event. Motorcycling is dangerous. These roads are dangerous. Be careful. Ohio Riders (and/or it's owners, blah blah blah) cannot be held liable for anything (like, but not limited to, traffic tickets, accidents, stupidity, death, etc). June 5th through the 8th, 2014. Nothing is officially organized. There are no set routes. It just happens to be a weekend for a bunch of us to meetup down there to have some fun. The weekend is up to you. When you come down, where you ride, who you ride with, where you eat, where you stay (Fontana Village discounts below if you want to stay there), etc is completely up to you. There will be shindigs in the evenings involving fire for us to sit around and tell lies about women, motorcycles, amazing drinking stories, etc. There are a few changes this year. First, we are not staying in the same cabins. Last year we were in 2 bedroom / 1 bath Hemlocks. There's a huge family reunion going on that weekend and they have them booked. I think this is a blessing in disguise. Our group sales rep recommended the 3 bedroom Azalea cabins. They appear to be much nicer. They are also more expensive. However, here's a break down: 2bd/1ba Hemlock, three nights, 4 people = $111.75/ea plus tax 3bd/2ba Azalea, three nights, 6 people = $114.50/ea plus tax As you can see, really not that much more, and you get a lot more. These cabins have 2 full baths, a whirlpool tub, stone fireplace, etc. They're much closer to the pool, grill, lodge, etc. Bonus, they should all have wifi signal. If you'd prefer a 2bd cabin, there are is an option for you below. There are also again lodge rooms. The number of reserved group rate cabins/lodge rooms can be increased if needed and if available, but no guarantees. All bookings must be down by April 5th, 2014. However, I highly recommend booking early as we will fill up again. Once you've booked, send me a PM or post in this thread with your chosen accommodation and who's staying with you. ----------------------------------- Rough Itinerary Thursday (6/5/14): Arrive. Check-in. Meet-n-greet at TBD location. Friday (6/6/14): Whatever you feel like. Meet-n-greet at TBD location. Saturday (6/7/14): Whatever you feel like. Farewell shindig at TBD location. Sunday (6/7/14): Most will be loading up and going home. ----------------------------------- Lodging Fontana Village 300 Woods Road Fontana Dam, NC 28733 828-498-2211 www.fontanavillage.com Lodge room: 2 queen beds 2 reserved $95/night 3BDR Azalea Cabin: 3 bedroom (1 queen, 2 twins, 1 set of bunkbeds) 2 bath 6 reserved $229/night 2BDR Hickory Cabin: 2 bedroom (2 queens) 1 bath 2 reserved $189/night ----------------------------------- Who's Going Casper's Cabin: - Casper - Marlboro Man - Gump - CmhSprint - MaxPower - Andre (not sure what his screen name is) 2talltim's Cabin: - 2talltim - Jstump - Habi - Dying Shadow - osumj rollnhot's Cabin: - Mexican Prison Gang (+3 I think) MidgetTodd's Cabin: - Midget - Midget's sammich maker Dori - Hutch - Hutch's sammich maker Mandy Casa de Rawlins - rawlins87 - rawlins87's +1 - carwhore - carwhore's +1 bowdog's cabin - bowdog - bowdog's sammich maker unknown: - 82packer - oldschoolsdime92 - dustinsn3485 - Danimal - granda080 - Jst2fst

I'm contemplating my last big ride of the year for sometime in October, and was hoping to get some input on the current conditions of 536. The past 2 years, I have heard a lot of bad things about culvert patches leading into turns, massive tar strips, & gravel. This summer, I have read or inquired on 3 accounts of rides there, and was treated with good feedback saying the road was fine. The only way I could justify the ride this time of year is if it were a mild weather dry day to where I wouldnt have to worry ad much about wet leaves & gravel washed into the road. The other condition was that I'd have to slab it to at least 668->669->>>->>556->7 so that I could hit it with more uphills. (Or slab it further to get big muskie drive to 556). Also, northwest bound will avoid the fabled 15mph decreasing radius right hand turn southbound that had sent many riders into the field next to it, so I hear. I rode 255, 26,78,565/260/537, 260 north of 26, 676, etc last year. Although there were some sections of 26,260,537&565,etc that had some fairly tight turns, I was really hoping for more tight 15-30mph turns & switchbacks than I found. 255 had some tighter ones imo,but was more medium speed sweepers than anything. Denny has recommended a few more roads that are tighter, but it seems as if 536 is more of what I was longing for, aside from some dangerous blind turns/rises/decreasing radius areas. I was contemplating the coshocton area, but it doesnt seem as tight as my favorite backroads in the hocking/burr oak/etc areas, so the only other alternative was to do the long haul to 536/260/255/556 etc. 258 & a few roads around Cambridge seemed like a worthy destination, but the distance is a bit far for lack of many similar roads in the area. Opinions? Conditions/reports?