eap wrote:Pics? Ride report(s)? Did it rain?
Why would you ask if it rained?
I have never attended the Twin Valley Rally but apparently it has a reputation for precipitation. This year, the weather was perfect. It was so clear that I could see the Milky Way (faintly). It had been years since I had seen so many stars in the night sky. The Willville Motorcycle Camp
http://www.willvillebikecamp.com/ is at 3,000 feet and above the haze that blankets the lower elevations. The facility is nice and well maintained. Three nice features of the rally, a live band, a selection of micro-brews on tap, and quality coffee roasted in the shop of one of the club members.
DSCF0266 by
Bruce Dimon, on Flickr
DSCF0252 by
Bruce Dimon, on Flickr
DSCF0264 by
Bruce Dimon, on Flickr
DSCF0265 by
Bruce Dimon, on Flickr
The food was good, chicken on Friday and pork on Saturday. They smoked it on site and it was delicious.
DSCF0251 by
Bruce Dimon, on Flickr
Saturday had field events and demo rides from Frontline Motorsports. However I wanted curves so, after breakfast at the VFW, I headed for the Back of the Dragon. I rode Route 16 from the Mouth of Wilson through Hungry Mother State Park and over three mountains to Tazewell. It's an excellent road. and not to be missed when you are nearby. Traffic was light and the locals pulled over to let me pass. Even a couple of Harley riders too.
View Larger MapI finally had a chance to ride through Burke's Garden which was as pretty as claimed. Looking around inside you are surrounded by a ring of mountains as if you were in the middle of a crater. Although it looks like an impact crater in a satellite photo, it is actually a mountain that collapsed when the cavern inside it grew too large. One paved road into the Garden wiggles over the broken mountainside into the flat farm land of the collapsed mountain.
DSCF0257 by
Bruce Dimon, on Flickr
Thanks to Ed for telling me about Route 738, Robinson Tract Road, northwest of Pulaski. On a day full of twisty roads, this was the tightest. It's only one lane wide and the switchbacks felt as tight as a U-Turn. Fortunately, I followed a pick-up truck who blocked any oncoming traffic from the entering the corner as I went through it.
Now that I was in the home stretch across the main valley to the Blue Ridge, I thought that the twisties were done for the day. Indian Valley Road was a nice surprise. Although it had a lot of driveways, there were few cars. The whole ride lasted about eight hours and only covered 275 miles.
Back at the rally site, I parked the bike and washed up for a delicious smoked pork dinner. After dinner, I continued my long-standing rally tradition of watching other people win door prizes. It's not as much fun as it seems. Then both the band and the campfire started up. I was so tired from the day's ride that I crawled into my tent after only an hour of telling tall tales. It was a long time since I slept that well in a tent.
That was the rally. The highlights were perfect weather, a great campground, and good food & beer. The Twin Rally Riders did a great job and I look forward to attending next year.