I probably should have taken the hint when the group lost one rider before the trip even started, then splintered for the departure. We were in for a rough week. Unofficially, we started the trip with nine riders and finished two days early with one lone rider at the Pilot station in Monroe on Friday.
If you’re just looking for photos, they’re at the bottom of this post.
Sounds pretty grim, doesn’t it? Not to worry. Everyone said that they enjoyed the trip. While we didn’t finish the entire MA-BDR, we did enjoy some incredible roads and had a great time hanging out at the campgrounds and hotels along the way.
Our official first day started with four of us meeting up at the Pilot station in Monroe. We would meet up in the evening with four riders who had departed together a day early and a fifth who took a separate route for a personal visit. Our slightly damp route took us on a pretty direct route to Wise, VA with a lunch stop in Chillicothe, OH. The point group had enjoyed their dinner at the very same restaurant the day before, so we had high expectations for the barbecue at the Old Canal Smoke House. We arrived at the Best Western in good spirits at about the same time as our ninth rider. After taking some time for greetings, fist-bumps, hand-shakes and some time to clean the road grime off ourselves, we walked next door to Reno’s roadhouse and enjoyed dinner among friends.
Most of dinner consisted of discussing plans for the “first day” on the BDR, along with expectations for our first night of camping, food along the way, and concerns about road conditions. After dinner we spent some more time talking about plans over drinks and tried to get to bed early.
Sunday found us up and headed for Damascus mostly on time. We had an excellent breakfast at the Damascus Diner before hopping on the official MA-BDR. It’s a little anti-climactic to start, since much of the overall route is pavement, and the first day starts without much of a warning. We did find some dirt and everyone was in high spirits. That is, until the rain started.
Rain on pavement isn’t a big deal. Sure, it cuts down on your traction and we all know that slowing down is the best way to deal with it. On the BDR, I found that the amount of “slowing down” was exponential compared to the street. Dirt paths which I might have done at 25-30 mph were slowed to a crawl. My nightmare scenario quickly became a sharp down-hill turn covered in slick Virginia mud. I heard someone describe it as “baby poo mud” – which is pretty accurate if you’ve ever changed a slimy diaper (minus the smell, thankfully).
We saw the possible effects of losing control on one of these forest roadways when we cam upon a group trying to rescue a rider’s motorcycle which had gone off the path and down at least 50 feet into a ravine. The rider was okay and was far down the slope working with a couple of others to try and get his bike back up to the the trail. Our group pitched in where we could, but it still took close to two hours (and a side-by-side to do much of the heavy lifting) before the rider and his Ténéré 700 were returned to the top of the hill and we were able to get on our way. Before we left, we were able to see that beat-up and dragged around motorcycle fire right up on the first press of the starter! We all hope that the rider made it safely to his next destination.
Our last stop for the day was scheduled be be a small grocery store, but due to a small error in planning, we arrived to find that the store was closed on Sundays. We moved on to the campground and realized the benefits of carrying some dehydrated food. White Cedar Horse Camp was a nice campground and we were able to salvage some time around the campfire. Unfortunately, there wasn’t any water available at the site, so we had to make due with what we brought with us in bottles and bladders. The rain stopped in the evening, but it was a moist night. and most of us packed up damp gear in the morning as we readied ourselves for a wet day in the saddle.
Monday was the toughest day on the trail that we had. There was a lot more dirt than we saw on Sunday, and it had been soaking for a while in the consistent rain. Once again I found myself wondering what I’d gotten us into. Despite taking it slow, there were a number of drops, but fortunately nothing ride-ending. I managed to throw in an allegedly spectacular high-side when I tried to avoid a large puddle and had my rear tire slip sideways, bucking me off into the grass where I scrambled with hands and feet to not slide down into a ravine.
As the day wore on, we were exhausted. Later in the afternoon, we were on a welcome stretch of pavement and one member of our group went down. This was signal enough that we needed to wrap it up for the day, and we located a relatively local hotel. After righting the motorcycle and getting the gear re-packed, we headed straight for a hotel in Covington for a dry evening, some adult beverages, and an obscene amount of pizza. I think that all of us fell asleep early and slept like the dead.
Tuesday was Section 3, and we were looking forward to water crossings! At one point, I missed a turn on the BDR, and didn’t catch it quickly enough to turn around (and no one wanted to go back down some of the slippery hills that we’d left behind). We blazed our own trail for a few hours. The rain lightened up a bit, but the trail didn’t dry out. I found myself actually happy to see gravel patches, since I knew that they would provide so much more traction than the “baby poo mud” that terrified me enough to nearly make me duck-walk my bike around those treacherous downhill switchbacks.
Fortunately, our detour didn’t take us far enough off the beaten path to avoid the water crossings. There were some concerns about the depth of the water, but it turned out to be a non-issue with the streams being pretty easy to cross. A couple of riders found their way into the stream, or created “alternate routes” as they scrabbled for traction on the wet and gravely stream bed, but everyone made it across and we stopped after the third crossing to congratulate each other and celebrate a bit.
Eventually, we made it to a nice night at Trout Pond campground, where the weather cleared up and we were treated to a comfortable night’s sleep.
Wednesday was a bit nicer, and we had all had a nice rest. We suited up and met one member of our party (who had passed on our miserable, challenging riding on Tuesday and wisely decided not to ride the BDR in the rain). We decided to ride the “Harper’s Ferry Bypass” rather then cutting south and enjoying the stopped traffic that surrounds that historic site. The bypass was full of turns, and more than once I had to turn around in order to get back on the designated path. The bypass was also nearly 100% pavement. We did find one gravel road driveway which led to a (presumably) Mennonite farmhouse where we finally managed to pick up some farm-raised chicken eggs. This may sound like nothing, but we’d been searching for eggs for days with no luck. Finding them was akin to succeeding in a scavenger hunt.
By the time we re-joined the “regular” BDR and headed south toward Greenbrier State Park and what would ultimately be our last night of camping for the trip, we were again getting pretty tired. A quick stop for some campfire food and to replenish our stock of adult beverages, and we finished the last leg of our fourth day on the MA-BDR.
There was a surprising amount of “bureaucracy” when we arrived at the campground, but after just the right amount of compliance, and a bit of schmoozing with the camp host, were weren’t worried that we’d have any trouble. Everyone was tired, and we left more than enough wood by the fire ring for a nice morning campfire by the time everyone decided to call it a night.
Thursday morning rolled around and we were greeted with beautiful weather. My damp clothing was dry, and we had another great breakfast at the campground (which included the aforementioned and delicious farm-raised eggs and some sausage left over from the night before). Two members of the group decided to head back to Michigan because of a lousy forecast for the rest of the trip.
9:00 AM rolled around, and we were pretty close to leaving on time. After a bit of pavement riding to get us warmed up, we started to hit some dirt and gravel. It was DRY! So dry that dust started to become a problem for the riders in the rear of the group! This welcome change added to our confidence. I noticed that speeds were up along with those confidence levels. The trail was so much nicer to ride when I wasn’t constantly worrying about traction or flying off the edge of a switchback into a ravine or off a cliff!
Something resembling disaster struck around 11:30 AM when one rider failed to negotiate one of those downhill switchbacks that was preceded by (and covered with) deep gravel. I heard some commotion and a few expletives through the comms and stopped my bike to see him laying on the trail next to his bike. It quickly became evident that this was no simple “fall off and get back on” situation.
After a break and some first aid, we came up with a plan that had a couple of people (including our injured man) walking the 1.5 miles to the nearest paved road, then back to get motorcycles. It was time consuming, but uneventful, and by the time we all gathered at the bottom of the hill, our injured rider had decided to try riding. We headed straight to the hospital, which was about 20 minutes away and checked into the emergency room while the bulk of the group went to get some food.
End result? X-Rays revealed a broken collar bone (and no other significant injuries). Pretty damned impressive that he rode to the hospital! After a bit of discussion, he decided to get on the road and see if he could make it back to Detroit. It took two legs and probably a moderately uncomfortable night in a hotel, but he made it home safely.
The weather forecast for the rest of the trip was looking pretty foul, and a decision was made to cut the trip short. Some of the group rode straight through on Thursday night, arriving safely at their respective homes at 1:30 AM Friday morning. Others found a hotel in Youngstown, OH and split the trip in half.
Personally, I grabbed some food in Carlisle (where the hospital was located) and then set my GPS for Detroit. After only a few minutes of riding in traffic, I pulled over and switched to the “Avoid Highways” route setting – deciding that I’d see how far I could get and then stop for the night “somewhere” before finishing on Friday.
I arrived at the Pilot Station in Monroe on Friday afternoon at about 4:00 PM, followed by a short jaunt home.
While we didn’t finish 100% of the BDR, we did accomplish more than what we set out for. We found that the first three sections of the MA-BDR are some of the toughest riding most of us have ever done. We found that riding in slippery mud is incredibly challenging. They say that the MA-BDR is the “easiest” of the BDRs, but that doesn’t mean that it’s “easy” – especially when you pour a bunch of water on it and call it a “Discovery Route.” For me, the adventure was as much an opportunity to discover my own skills (and limits), as it was a chance for me to discover that I could push beyond them and watch my fellow riders do the same.
We didn’t finish the planned route, but we accomplished so much! I’ve received many positive comments about the planning and execution, but the real credit goes to the riders who made this trip something amazing. Thank you to Charles, George, Joe, John, Kyle, Mark, Rich, and PJ for making such a memorable trip!
A written ride report can’t do a trip like this justice. If you want to hear more, talk to the folks that rode the MA-BDR. They’re all awesome travel partners, and each of them has their own unique perspective on the trip. I didn’t see much of the riding, having been in the front of the group for most of the trip. Next time you’re on a dinner ride with one of the guys above, and I’m sure they’ll be able to regale you with stories!
