Canaan Loop Road (Davis, WV)

A moto-camping trip with a dreary weather forecast of RAIN, RAIN, and MORE RAIN had my friend Whit and I second-guessing our plans. With the Canaan Mountain Bike Festival coinciding with our planned trip, we decided to load two more two-wheeled crafts onto the trailer & roof tray and head to Canaan Loop Road. We figured the rain would be less of a drag if we were on bicycles, and if the rain let up we'd still have the option of riding the motos.

To our surprise, the clouds rolled in and out, darkening the skies but never actually dropping on our heads!

On Saturday we took two trips from our campsite. The first was mainly gravel as we finished the rest of Canaan Loop Road.



Eventually, though, the gravel gave way to rock, decreasing from road-width to double-track.







Next, the deep, rock-strewn mud puddles appeared.





After that, the water crossings!







Once the Loop Road was complete, we returned to the campsite to spend some time cooling off in the North Fork Red Run with [my dog] Ruprecht.



A short break to change into dry socks and we were off again - this time with the asphalt twisties on our radar.



The roads surrounding Davis & Thomas are great. Our smiles increased at each warning sign, advising drivers that the maximum speed of the upcoming corner would be 20mph, 15mph, 10mph, and even 5mph!

The only downside was when the road decreased in width to require us to creep around any blind corners, knowing full well that many of the locals claim the entire width of the road.

On Sunday, we struck camp and headed into town where we met our friend Bryan for breakfast at Milo's. After fueling our bodies, we set off to ride some of the Camp 70 trails.



Although I couldn't convince them to attempt the Moon Hoodoo Rocks climb, we still had plenty of riding at our fingertips.



After a few soggy miles, we strapped the bikes back onto our rig and set home with the goal of returning Whit to his house as close to 5pm as possible.

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VCHSS Hamtown - Peninsula Classic (Windsor, VA)

After a successful test during the WATR trail day, I had high hopes for my Yamaha YZ250F for round five of the 2025 VCHSS harescramble series. During my last race, the bike shutoff during the last lap which dashed my hopes of a second-place finish. This time, though, the bike ran flawlessly!



This round always features a live-start, so getting off the line in the vicinity of my class was guaranteed. Although I entered the woods in 9th place (of ten riders), I decided to keep with my regular strategy of working methodically through the pack without rushing to make dicey passes.



This course, though, is extremely tight. This year, especially, as most of the track was newly cut. The organizers didn't do us any favors either - as saplings kept appearing in the middle of the course, causing the riders to slow to a snail's pace time and time again. It seemed that the only real opportunity for passing came in the open field sections, something I'm not especially fond of, since ANYONE can twist a throttle.

Despite the challenges, I was able to work to the front of my class and end the race in third place - a respectable finish I'm happy to achieve.



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Wild, Wonderful West Virginia!

For our planned Mother's Day retreat to West Virginia, Rebecca and I brought along mountain bikes and my KTM EXC-F 500. We left town on Thursday after work to stay at the Firefly Inn in Wardensville. The next day, Rebecca logged in for a day-long seminar. I was planning on doing some exploring on the KTM while she was tethered to the computer, but cold weather and rain kept me inside for the morning.

We checked out of the motel around 11:30am and Rebecca moved to the wifi connection at Drifter's Cafe. I walked our three dogs while she continued to attend the seminar and by 1:45pm we headed to our AirBnb near Lost River where she finished out the work day.

The rain let up and warmth moved in, so I did some light riding that afternoon before her mother, sister, brother, & sister-in-law arrived. During my ride, I stopped to take a photo and when I re-mounted the KTM the kickstand boss snapped off. Luckily, I had the handlebar in my hands, so the bike wasn't dropped. I was a bit perturbed by the break, a result of poor design in my opinion.



The next day I rode backroads around Lost River State Park before rendezvousing with the group at a new Bier Garden not far from our rental house. After food, we headed to Trout Pond Recreation area to hike around Rockcliff Lake.



Although my riding thus far (with supermoto wheels) was primarily on asphalt (with gravel sprinkled here and there), I decided to check out Squirrel Gap Road. It's a 12-mile stretch of gravel with some amazing views, which ends just outside of Wardensville. I leap-frogged with a gravel cyclist most of the way, stopping every so often to snap a photo while the rider caught up to me.



Once in Wardensville, I filled up with fuel then took Trout Run Road back.





The final day of our trip, Rebecca and I rode a short loop at Shenandoah River State Park to break up our drive home and give the dogs a chance to stretch their legs.





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Route 5 to VA Beach (via Jamestown Ferry)

A trip to VA Beach to celebrate my brother's bachelor weekend before being hitched gave me the opportunity for a ride along Route 5 and across the Jamestown Ferry instead of the normal slog through the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel. I even had time for a short detour along the Colonial National Historical Parkway before boarding the ferry.

On the way back, I tried out a couple detours along Route 5. One in particular ended at a closed gate on private land, but served as an opportunity for a moment to stretch my legs off the bike.



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New Vinyl for the KTM

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VCHSS April Fools at Oak Ridge (Arrington, VA)

The most recent harescramble events have somewhat been "test rides" to troubleshoot my YZ250F, which has been experiencing an intermittent issue that only seems to occur after about an hour and half of riding. Sure enough, it reared its ugly head at round two of the 2025 VCHSS series.



What really stinks, though, is that it happened during the last lap of what was shaping up to be a second-place finish.



Off the line I was last of fifteen riders, which is par for the course considering that I'm usually the only rider using a kickstart. As usual, I paced myself in order to avoid tangling with anyone making erratic passes and slowly made my way through my pack of riders, only having to fully stop twice for logjams in the tighter sections of woods. By the end of the second lap I saw a "2" while passing through the scoring gates and decided to keep the same pace that landed me there.

Although the YZ had shown some of the sputtering at higher RPM's that are a telltale sign, it hadn't shutoff and I decided to keep it happy with gentle throttle application. Without warning, though, it conked-out about three miles into the final lap.

I knew right away there was hardly any chance it would refire and that proved to be the case. I pushed the bike to a more suitable spot for extrication and watched my class ride by.



Back at the pits, everyone had a different opinion of which component might be the culprit, so I ordered a bevy of parts to swap out once home. Hopefully the problem will be solved with this next set of parts and perhaps the next race will be ridden to completion.



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Skoolie Paint!

It's been a long time in the making, but I've finally reached the point in this project to paint the exterior of the bus! Come along to see the transformation.



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Canaan Valley (West Virginia)

Great conditions this year in Canaan Valley, West Virginia! The snow came down overnight on Thursday, so my wife Rebecca and I completed our drive early on Friday morning to ensure some time in the soft stuff at Timberline Resort. On Saturday, temperatures increased and the snow transitioned to rain. We decided to take that day off to relax, then returned on Sunday to explore Canaan Valley State Park Resort. Temperatures dipped again and the snow returned, ensuring plenty of powder!







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SXCS Hangover Harescramble - Wicomico MX & ATV (Charlotte Hall, MD)

My first experience racing the Sprint Cross Country Series (SXCS) was a bit of happenchance, as a friend mentioned he'd be racing round one a few days earlier. Since I needed to test the new coil and injector I'd swapped onto the YZ, I figured it was perfect timing and signed up immediately.

The temps were low, but the turnout was impressive, with probably around twenty riders in each class, creating an absolute circus as we all headed into the woods to find a faster line around the mass of riders.

I had some issues with stalling a few times, but luckily the bike fired up quickly each time. This did create a yo-yo effect, though, as I had to re-pass a handful of riders again and again.

Eventually, a bobble over a set of roots sent my chest into the handlebar, breaking the GoPro MAX from its mount. A few moments after that mishap, I encountered an increasingly greasy spot on the track which was sending riders sideways. It did the same to me and after picking up the YZ from the ground, it decided it was done playing nice and refused to restart. While I waited for a tow-out, I decided to warn riders of the hazard (after several followed suit and crashed in the exact same spot). Since it was not obvious that the slight right turn was slippery, most had no idea why I was signalling them to slow - resulting in about half of them going down there also.

Overall, the race was great! Some small gripes about marking the course were all I could complain about (taped too low, so one wide rider could wipe it away). I'll most certainly be throwing a few more parts at the YZ (new cutoff switch, maybe?) and registering for the next event.



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