Day 2 West Virginia Cryptid & Paranormal Motorcycle Ride: Mothman We Are Coming

Posted: July 16, 2024 in Motorcycle, Motorcycle Rides, motorcycle touring
Tags: books, cryptids, Harley, Harley Davidson, history, mothman, Motorcycle, motorcycle blog, Motorcycle Ride, motorcycle riding, motorcycle safety, motorcycle touring, paranormal, sport bike, Sportbike, the mothman muesum, the mystery hole, the new river gorge, The talon, Touring by motorcycle, west virgina, West Virginia Cryptid & Paranormal, west virginia tourism

After a very busy 1st day on the motorcycle visiting a bunch of West Virginia paranormal sites, we were ready to mount up and head out on day 2. The weather folks said this day was going to be hot a one, but we could take an early start as our first stop, “The Mystery Hole”, was not scheduled to open until 10AM.

Unfortunately, it turns out that the Mystery Hole has an issue with getting good help and was closed. So, we rode on to our next stop, the Mothman Museum.

I have visited the Mystery Hole many times, as it is only a couple miles from my childhood home. However my wife never has and I wanted to share it with her.

A great bonus to trying to visit the Mystery Hole is it resides alongside one of the most fun roads in West Virginia, US 60 also called “The Talon”. If you are ever in this area, you must ride this road. While a couple miles shorter, it does rival the Tail of the Dragon for fun.

The Talon is a wonderful package of twisty roads and switchbacks all through forest and cliffside landscapes. Low traffic levels allow you to ride at your pace and comfort but will challenge you if you want to step it up.

The downside of The Talon is that you can no longer see the New River Gorge and all its natural beauty. The state has allowed the undergrowth to get to a level where there are only a few small “blink and you will miss it spots” where the gorge is visible. Sad very sad, a great opportunity for increasing tourism missed again.

Stay Tuned for a video of the Talon/US 60.

Once we got to the bottom of the mountain, we rode alongside the Kanawha River to and through the state capital Charleston. This day the morning sun was glistening off the gold gilded dome of the Capital Building making it pop like a gold jewel in a cityscape setting. Unfortunately, I forgot to turn the camera on.

Not that much later we were getting off the motorcycle across the street from Mothman HQ. There was a large crowd at the museum. By large I mean there were at least 20 people in the gift shop and about that many in the museum proper. There were another 10-12 more hovering, in the afternoon heat, around the Mothman statue waiting their turn for photos.

By now it was early afternoon, and the weather folks were right it was HOT. We made the decision to make a direct ride to our new, unfinished but finished enough, Ohio home. We were off the road early and with a shower and air conditioning.