
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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