shenandoah river | I JUST WANT 2 RIDE!!

Posts Tagged ‘shenandoah river’

Motorcycle Riding Around Front Royal: Thrill and Chill Ride

Posted: February 21, 2024 in Motorcycle, Motorcycle advocacy, Motorcycle Rides, motorcycle touring
Tags: front royal virginia, Harley, Harley Davidson, Laury virginia, Motorcycle, motorcycle blog, motorcycle high crash area, Motorcycle Ride, motorcycle ride in virgina, motorcycle rides in front royal virginia, motorcycle rides near skyline drive, motorcycle riding, motorcycle safety, motorcycle skyline drive, motorcycle touring, motorcycle touring blog, motorcycle touring in virginia, shenandoah national park, shenandoah river, Skyline Drive, sport bike, Sportbike

Front Royal, Virginia is the northern terminus of Skyline Drive, one of the premier byways of America. Ten thousand or more motorcyclists pass through Front Royal on their way to or from Skyline Drive each year.

What those motorcyclists don’t know is that the riding around Front Royal is amazing! If you are riding to or from Skyline Drive, you owe it to yourself to stop to visit Front Royal and ride our local roads.

Look for my other documented ride in the Front Royal area here.

Mountain Passes and Valley Riding

This “Thrill and Chill” ride gets its name from the Thrills of riding two mountain passes and the Chill of cruising through parts of the Shenandoah Valley.

Heading south out of town you will be cruising through local farmland, vineyards, and quaint small towns. During this part of the ride, you will have spectacular views of the steep, rugged tree-lined mountains to your west. If you are lucky, you will get glimpses of Skyline Drive high above you.

Before long you will see that same mountain in front of you growing larger and taller with each mile. The twists and turns on this pass are as good as any twisty road in America. For those that enjoy mountain riding here is a chance to drag your pegs and experience the fun of flipping your motorcycle through turns. But be careful, this is a high crash area and there is a sign at the bottom pointing out that fact.

Passing under Skyline Drive and down the other side puts you back in the valley and just a chill cruise to Luray, Virginia. Continuing south you will pass through more verdant farmland and more charming small-town America until you reach Elkton and turn east back towards the looming mountain.

As with the first mountain pass this is a mountain riding lovers heaven. Miles of climbing with tight right and left corners and a long-twisted descent will put a big smile on anyone’s face.

Before long you will be heading north again via the valley roads until you make it back to Front Royal again. This is a 3-hour(ish) ride covering 145 miles.

Local Highlights

Front Royal Visitor Center

Multiple Vineyards and Breweries

Multiple Farm to Market Shops

Luray Caverns

Luray Rescue Zoo

The Route

From the Front Royal Visitor Center

Right onto Main Street

Right onto Commerce Avenue = US 522

Right onto US 522/211

At Sperryville continue straight on US 211

Right on Ramp to US 340

Left on US 340 through Luray to Elkton

At Elkton Left onto US 33

Left onto US 29

At Madison stoplight intersection of US 29 and Virginia 687

Left onto VA 687 immediate merge onto Business 29

At the east end of Madison, Left onto VA 231 (Blue Ridge Parkway) This is easy to miss you will need to watch.

Left onto US 522

At Sperryville turn right onto US211/522

Left onto US 522

Left onto Front Royal Main Street

Weekend Ride Motorcycle Ride … Mountian Ridge, River Valley, Irish Pub

Posted: November 13, 2013 in Motorcycle Rides
Tags: Blackthorne Inn & Restaurant, Harley, Harley Davidson, HD, HOG, Motorcycle, Motorcycle Ride, motorcycle riding, Secret Blue Ridge Mountain, shenandoah river, upperville, US 15, US 50, US 7, VA, Veterans day, Virginia, Virginia motorcycle ride, Wolf Tune Irish Pub

My wife Debbie and our close friends Tim and Karma went for a cool ride this past weekend. Cool in that the temperature was about 50F degrees before wind chill.

I was going to take the Ultra Limited out, thinking the big faring would reduce the wind. But, luck conspired against us and the Ultra would not start (weak battery). So we hopped on the Heritage and away we went, we both had our chaps on and Debbie had her long underwear, full face helmet and heavy jacket. I put on an open face helmet and a middle weight jacket.

Watching the pig dance

We linked up with Tim and Karma at the intersection of US Routes 15 and 50. We had barely been there 5 minutes (watching a dancing pig) before they pulled up looking like black leather clad Eskimos! There was no skin showing anywhere on Karma and only a little on Tim. I started thinking maybe I was a bit under dressed.

We did not have any real plans on where to go, this was a last minute thing, so I took the lead. I knew neither Tim nor Karma had been on the “Secret Blue Ridge Mountain Northern Stretch” which runs along a blue ridge mountain ridge line and connects US 50 with US Route 7. I also knew that I was the only one in the group that had taken River Road along the Shenandoah River which would take us back to US 50. I had mentioned the Blue Ridge route here and the River Road ride here.

Wolf Tune Pub

As the sun stated to slide into the west it stated to cool even more. About 3 PM we pulled into the Wolf Tune Irish Pub, part of the Blackthorne Inn & Restaurant in Upperville, VA. The atmosphere and food in the pub was superior! The hot apple cider warmed our hands and insides. If you are in the Upperville area we can recommend a stop at the pub!

Getting back on the bikes we began chasing the fading light, sunset was coming fast. Riding back to the intersection where we met we soon split, with Tim and Karma heading east and Debbie and I going north back to Leesburg. It was at the split that I really started feeling the cool, hugging the engine a little closer I survived to ride another day.

: Karma as black leather Eskimo!

: Middleburg, VA

: US Route 50

: On the Ridge

: The River Road

: Karma and Debbie

: My eyes are frozen open!

: Let me fix my hair.

: Is that better?

: I am cold,,,,let’s go home

Motorcycle Ride to Winchester Motosports

Posted: October 19, 2013 in Motorcycle Rides
Tags: Chick-fil-a, Harley, Harley Davidson, HD, HOG, india, india motorcycle, Leesburg, Moto Guzzi, Motorcycle, Motorcycle Ride, motorcycle riding, Royal Enfield, Royal Enfield Continental GT, shenandoah river, Triumph, ultra limited, VA, VA Route 7, victory, Virginia, Winchester, Winchester MotoSports

Well this was the first day of the fall that I needed chaps for a motorcycle ride. Pulling out at 7:45 AM the temp was 45F, cool before I began moving. My wife had to work today so I followed her to her favorite breakfast stop Chick-fil-a.

Shenandoah River

After eating our breakfast she went to work and I began my ride. With my destination of Winchester Motosports set I had no particular route in mind, so I decided to take “River Road”, County road 606, which I picked up at its intersection with VA Route 7. This road follows the Shenandoah River for about 10 miles. The views are picturesque now but in a few weeks when the leaves reach their peak color it will be spectacular!

When 606 leaves the river (and changes names several time) you weave through backcountry Virginia until you reach the intersection of US Route 50 and 606. I was tempted to turn around and ride 606 again but I moved on towards the Royal Enfield dealership.

As I mentioned a few posts ago I found Winchester Motosports when I looked at the new Royal Enfield Continental GT website. I thought it would be neat and visit the store and check out the bikes they had on hand.

When I arrived I meet Ed and the owner Carl. Turns out that Winchester Motosports is not only a Royal Enfield dealer but is also a Moto Guzzi dealer. They are also one of the largest motorcycle consignment resellers in Northern Virginia. They were also, at one time, dealers in Victory and Triumph bikes.

Carl is a very gregarious guy who, you can easily tell, absolutely loves what he does. His knowledge of the bikes he sells (or sold) is immense. I really enjoyed my conversations with Ed and Carl! If you are interested in Enfield’s, Moto Guzzi or a used bike of any kind I would consider Winchester Motosports as a first stop.

After ogling the bikes for a bit it was time to start for home as the weatherman said that rain was coming in the afternoon. Weaving through more back roads, I ended up on US 340 and then hoped on VA Route 9. About an hour or so later I was back in Leesburg. Round, trip I put on 125 miles on a pleasant, but cool, fall day.

There was one big negative on today’s ride. I dropped by phone and now the screen is krap and the pictures are not right. Nearly all the photos on this site have been taken with my Nokia 928 phone. I have been very happy with this phone and camera.

: River Road from the back

: Enfield C5 “Desert Storm”

Motorcycle Ride to PAW PAW

Posted: August 20, 2013 in Motorcycle Rides
Tags: Berkeley Springs, Berkeley Springs state park, blue ridge mountains, cacapon river, Charles Town, eastern panhandle, George Washington, Harley, Harley Davidson, Hillsboro, Martinsburg, mineral spring, mineral spring water, Motorcycle, Motorcycle Ride, organic restaurant, Paeonian Springs, Panorama at the Peak, Paw Paw, shenandoah river, sonic restaurant, table to market, Ultra Classic, ultra limited, VA, VA route 9, VA RT 9, Virginia, Virginia State Route 9, West Virginia, west virginia route 9, Winchester, WV, WV route 9, WV RT 9

Well, Paw Paw, West Virginia was not the intended destination, in fact, we just went out to ride.

We pulled out about ten in the morning (on the Ultra Limited) and head west on Route 7. I noticed the exit for Virginia State Route 9 and decided, what the heck let’s see where Route 9 goes. We knew it went north to Martinsburg, WV but that was about it.

Route 9 in Virginia is also known as Charles Town Pike and passes through rolling farmland and the towns of Paeonian Springs (which has a historic district) and Hillsboro. Hillsboro sets in the middle of a gap in the Blue Ridge Mountains. A short climb out of Hillsboro and you have a great view of Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia.

RT 9 at WV/VA boarder

At this point VA Route 9 becomes WV Route 9 and also becomes a four line highway. While we did not take the road, by the looks of the area I can image that “old 9” down the mountain would be full of twistiness! Crossing the Shenandoah River we scooted through Charles Town and Martinsburg, we did not stop to look around, today was just about riding. A little after Martinsburg the road becomes a 2 lane again.

When we reached Berkeley Springs we did stop. Right in the middle of the town is the Berkeley Springs State Park. The town (its real name is Bath) was considered the country’s first spa and resort area because of the mineral spring producing 2,000 gallons a minute. George Washington even visited the springs. Heck the town even has a castle!

Continuing on Route 9, up the mountain out of Berkeley Springs we summited to a spectacular view of the Potomac River in the valley below. We decided to have lunch across the street from the fabulous view at Panorama at the Peak restaurant. This is a farm to table, organic, restaurant and the food was awesome!

Back on the bike we rode down the mountain and into the Cacapon River Valley. This stretch of road from Berkeley Springs to Paw Paw was very lightly traveled, I doubt that we passed a dozen cars. It undulates along the Cacapon River and was just a very nice ride!

Riding in the Cacapon River valley

We reached the end of WV 9 when we hit Paw Paw. It is a very small town at the intersection of WV 9 and 29 and was the point where we began our return trip. We did not retrace our route instead we zigged and zagged through a variety of roads until we reached Route 7 at Winchester, VA. After stopping at the Winchester Sonic restaurant for ice cream (I love there coconut milkshakes) we quickly made it back home.

We put in 198 miles on this trip with only a few stops….it was a great day with the wife and the bike!