Marion VA to Tazewell VA (Rt. 16)

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Marion VA to Tazewell VA (Rt. 16)

Postby Unity » Wed Jul 22, 2009 12:21 pm

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Jody and I finally rode the fabled Rt 16 from Marion to Tazewell on our way home from the MOA rally in Johnson City. It was a portion of a ride suggested by the rally organizers. Rt 16 is a tight and twisty Virginia Byway, very well-kept except for the occasional gravel that a cage has kicked up on the pavement. I can't recall any road where I've spent more time at high revs in 1st gear.

--John
(Next I want to do Rt 42 -- which intersects Rt 16 -- in that part of the state.)
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Re: Marion VA to Tazewell VA (Rt. 16)

Postby Maria V » Wed Jul 22, 2009 12:56 pm

Yep, 16 is a fun ride. :D
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Re: Marion VA to Tazewell VA (Rt. 16)

Postby kjackson » Wed Jul 22, 2009 1:04 pm

Shhhh! As a local, I've been trying to keep this part of the country a secret for years and this whole MOA rally has ruined everything. :-) That being said Rt. 16 is just the tip of the iceberg. Ask JVB.
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Re: Marion VA to Tazewell VA (Rt. 16)

Postby Maria V » Wed Jul 22, 2009 1:35 pm

I'll need to pull out my map, I hit some other roads en route to MOA and made notes.
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Re: Marion VA to Tazewell VA (Rt. 16)

Postby Graybeard » Wed Jul 22, 2009 7:30 pm

Sounds wonderful!

FWIW, the recently restored General Francis Marion Hotel is very nice!

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Re: Marion VA to Tazewell VA (Rt. 16)

Postby RockBottom » Wed Mar 31, 2010 8:09 pm

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Re: Marion VA to Tazewell VA (Rt. 16)

Postby lionlady » Fri Apr 02, 2010 4:02 pm

Beautiful route! You'll need to "pad" it with another 50 or so miles if you're thinking of getting a SS1000 certificate out of it, though.

P
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Re: Marion VA to Tazewell VA (Rt. 16)

Postby JonF » Sun Aug 22, 2010 5:55 pm

16 is fun and dangerous if you're not careful. There are so many great roads in that area. I've been there every year for the last 8 years except this year. :cry:
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Re: Marion VA to Tazewell VA (Rt. 16)

Postby Area fire guy » Thu Nov 08, 2012 9:14 pm

Just be careful Rt 16 has now been renamed to Back of the Dragon and sometimes the Dragon bites.
We have responded to several accidents over the years. :oops:
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Re: Marion VA to Tazewell VA (Rt. 16)

Postby henwin » Fri Nov 30, 2012 11:31 pm

Unity wrote:Jody and I finally rode the fabled Rt 16 from Marion to Tazewell on our way home from the MOA rally in Johnson City. It was a portion of a ride suggested by the rally organizers. Rt 16 is a tight and twisty Virginia Byway, very well-kept except for the occasional gravel that a cage has kicked up on the pavement. I can't recall any road where I've spent more time at high revs in 1st gear. --John (Next I want to do Rt 42 -- which intersects Rt 16 -- in that part of the state.)

What you should do is continue north on 16 into WV...in fact, you can go all the way to Beckley on 16. I have probably a week's worth of riding already on Garmin MapSource if you want them, from a series of rides I set up and then rode in 2009, mostly, but not all in WV (some VA, NC, GA, SC, too). =D>
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Re: Marion VA to Tazewell VA (Rt. 16)

Postby RockBottom » Sat Mar 16, 2013 4:29 pm

Here's some video of that stretch of road from last summer (just before I got snarled in the great VA-WV thunderstorm power outage/fuel shortage).

http://youtu.be/qvSd47OsLGw
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Re: Marion VA to Tazewell VA (Rt. 16)

Postby henwin » Sat Mar 16, 2013 4:56 pm

RockBottom wrote:Here's some video of that stretch of road from last summer (just before I got snarled in the great VA-WV thunderstorm power outage/fuel shortage). http://youtu.be/qvSd47OsLGw

Nice job. Did you get to War (WV)? There's another great-named town down on 16, but alas, I can't remember it. :(
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Re: Marion VA to Tazewell VA (Rt. 16)

Postby RockBottom » Sat Mar 16, 2013 5:44 pm

Yep. Turned into a brutal day--550 miles in triple digit heat including a two hour wait at the only functioning service station for a two hundred mile radius. Both Skyline and BRP were closed for downed trees.
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Re: Marion VA to Tazewell VA (Rt. 16)

Postby henwin » Sat Mar 16, 2013 10:43 pm

RockBottom wrote:Yep. Turned into a brutal day--550 miles in triple digit heat including a two hour wait at the only functioning service station for a two hundred mile radius. Both Skyline and BRP were closed for downed trees.

550 miles? That's beyond brutal. If it were me, I would have (if possible) stopped and holed up somewhere...
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Re: Marion VA to Tazewell VA (Rt. 16)

Postby RockBottom » Sun Mar 17, 2013 6:56 am

henwin wrote:
RockBottom wrote:Yep. Turned into a brutal day--550 miles in triple digit heat including a two hour wait at the only functioning service station for a two hundred mile radius. Both Skyline and BRP were closed for downed trees.

550 miles? That's beyond brutal. If it were me, I would have (if possible) stopped and holed up somewhere...



There was no where to hole up. The motel I'd had reservations with in Weston, WV had already called me and canceled because they had no electricity. Here's the whole story:

http://hexhead.blogspot.com/2012/07/worst-vacation-ever.html
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