We have been moving from our former home in Leesburg to a new “temporary” home in Front Royal, VA. The reason, I thought we were at the top of a sellers’ market and wanted to cash in before it faded.
So now being in Front Royal it is time to get out and discover new roads on my motorcycle. We live about 3 miles from the northern terminus of Skyline Drive Parkway but that was not my destination this time. I wanted to try something new.
Leaving my new neighborhood on a cool, for a dramatic change, morning I turned west and headed to Strasburg on State Route 55. The morning light dappled through the tree cover creating a crazy show of shadows and light. It was a quite and very uneventful ride to Strasburg.
The road into Strasburg proper is a mess right now, I don’t know what they are trying to do but watch yourself on the uneven and rough road up to the traffic light at the intersection of 55 and 11.
Strasburg seems to be a pretty cool town with a brewery, antiques and art boutiques mixed in with the normal main street business. Murals seem to adorn, what was, every blank wall giving the town a renaissance feel. I had hoped to find a diner for some breakfast, but I did not, which given everything else on Main Street seemed odd.
Taking State Route 11 out of town I was now headed down the Shenandoah Valley. Passing though the small towns of Toms’ Brook, Maurertown, Woodstock (not that Woodstock), and Edinburg. I admired the views from the valley, mountains rising from both the left and right framed the valley and the small towns in a way you can’t get from inside a car.
When I reached Mount Jackson I decided to turn around and head back the way I had come. There were other ways to make it back to Front Royal but there were places I wanted to stop and take photos. For my first motorcycle foray into Shenandoah region, I was quite happy. I look forward to more local trips in and round Front Royal.
An older Skyline Drive motorcycle ride post – 2015
One of the neat things about this ride is the fact that the tourism/visitor centers for each of the counties have worked together to “lure” motorcyclist on to the byway. If you desire you can download a “passport” from the 
store, 
Back on the bike we were off to our next destination. This portion of our motorcycle ride was through a mountain valley, the view from the saddle showed that fall is upon us. The beginning of fall is well marked with the spots of color scattered across the mountainsides. It was not long before we made it to Webb’s General Store for our next passport stamp AND a glass bottle of Dr. Pepper with real sugar! OMG was it good! Even if you don’t ride your motorcycle the length of the Byway, the ride through Rockbridge and Bath counties in Virginia is worth your time.
the rollercoaster until we dropped back into another valley and entered the town of Marlinton (don’t add a G, they even have a song or poem about not adding the G). The 
The rest of the ride was much like the first, whipping the bike through the mountains and relaxed cruising along valley or ridgetop roads. More wonderful views and fresh mountain air all around. So enough we arrived in Summerville and the end of our Appalachian Waters Scenic Byway but not our weekend.
I JUST WANT 2 RIDE!! 