Stories From Our Members and their Rides
May 5th weekend adventure by Amy Breeden
Trip To Black Water Falls
Well our weekend adventure started a bit earlier in the week. Bubby woke me up at 4 a.m. on Thurs. morning to tell me he was in pain. As we talked we figured he needed a dr. After going to the dr and then for tests we discovered he had kidney stones. We were supposed to be gettin ready for a road trip to leave for the weekend but we now were not sure if we could go or not. After gettin him some meds and lots of water and some rest... lol at 5a.m. on Fri morning he woke me up to tell me he had given birth to twins and named em Amy & T {how rude}. lol think he was trying to tell us something. So we took off for the day, he said he was feeling better. We ended up at Rob & T's where we watched T have a breakdown because out of no where Rob showed up with a new toy... as if he didn't have enough. Outside of T's kitchen window was a pretty blue truck just like mine..lol. Rob did everything he could to convince T this was a good thing.. we went to lunch n right before our eyes she was breakin. lol but she did agree it was a pretty blue and that she kindof liked the truck. By the time lunch was over we figured Rob & T had a new truck. Which in turn set Bubby off to looking so these guys are no longer allowed to play together. lol We ended up at Liz n Burtons to pick up another toy for Rob.. poor T she never knows what is gonna come to her house. We all went to dinner n discussed our weekend plans. Needless to say its never a dull moment with this bunch. We agreed to meet at 9 a.m. at the Denny's in Mt. Jackson...at 11p.m. Fri nite Bubby & I were in Walmart lookin for rain suits... shoulda known better. I think I finally went to bed by 1 or 1:30. Figured ok I can get up at 7:30 or so n be ready to roll.. What was I thinking look who I'm married to. Bubby woke me up at 6:30 said come on we gotta pack & get ready. So I grabbed the duffle bag n threw our stuff in, got myself ready, loaded up the trailer n grabbed our gear & off we went. Now remember this, I didn't really look at the clock when we left. We go rolling across the mountain and he decides to hit the interstate, what a ride. 70 mph when its damp cloudy n chilly..yep I'm awake. We get to the exit ramp n he decides we should fuel up n dummy me goes what time is it. He laughed n said oh its 8:10 had to do a double take n say do what?? We walked into Denny's at 8:15 and they started the coffee. Liz & Burton came in next it was alil after 9 when they got there. T & Rob were next, poor T looked like she needed a good sleep. She hadn't had much sleep at all it turns out. After everybody got there we went around the table to hear our options for pickin out a spot..we had a lot of great ideas. We voted & decided on Blackwater falls WV. We had to run back to T & Robs for a quick change and from there we knew it was gonna be a long day..lol it had started drizzlin. Of course Bubby was not a happy camper. We took off n the further we got the more rain we hit.Finally we pulled over n Bubby was fussin over the rain which he always does n I understand why but still.. Rob & T came back to check on us n Rob kindof picked at Bubby to get him to laugh, and it worked. We put on the rain gear, jumped back on the trike & took off. The ride was cold & wet but all in all pretty fun. When we did our first gas stop we heard a car alarm goin off & little did we know it was Rob & T. They had shorted out their alarm and it was goin off. We rode in the rain on & off for the biggest part of the day but we never gave up the battle. When we made ot to Black Water Falls we started stripping out of wet clothes. The sign said 214 steps down, what the hell were we thinkin? Slowly we took off down the winding path..n we got to the first platform. Leave it to T to make us laugh. The boy scouts never knew what hit them. To see all of us and for T to ask about hauling her happy ass back up the stairs was one of those rare moments that makes ya remember how much fun we have. After finally making it back up topside and finally saddling back up and headin for food we were finally startin to wind down. Now who would thought to put a damn restaurant up a set of MORE STAIRS, I think this town had it in for us. It was almost like we were in the twilight zone.. I think we scared them by bringing in a group of 6. Was like a mad rush. The rooms that night were nothing special but hey it was a place to lay your head.Now who woulda thought that 6 adults could take 1 board game n turn it into a crazy nite of fun. I've learned that Rob is sneaky ganging everybody up on each other while he slowly sneaks home.. However T will bust him everytime..lol I hadn't had that much fun in a couldn't tell ya when. And watching T slowly wind down n talkin about the marbles turning to jelly beans, what a nite. This group was one for the books. Waking up to Bubby at 6:30 in the morning telling me first there is ice on the trikes made me do a double take and then to have him tell me T was up n dressed yep hell had froze over...lol T don't do mornings. Our trip home was a blast. The sun shinnin and of course the wind blowing n the temps not that great at first.. would we have it any other way.. lol not this bunch. We some tough asses. When we got to lunch watchin T & Liz take over was great. Leave it to these 2 to walk in a packed restaurant n take over finding a place so we could all sit together. Of course with us its never a dull moment. It was great seeing the 6 of us ride together n laugh n have a good time. When I asked Bubby if he'd do it all over again he said ya know what I would. Rain & all. He gets stressed over stupid stuff n said he has to learn to stop it. Life is too short to be grumpy about stuff. But after working in Farifax n travel the way he does just relaxing & taking things in stride has not been easy. Our trip was well worth everything we went thru to get there n come back home. As we said our goodbyes in Strasburg to Liz & Burton I sat n looked at the 6 of us. We make a pretty damn good team of friends n we're all blessed to have each other. We all needed that break to just kick back and relax and I'm glad we got to do it together. Gettin back on the trikes n headin south now back up Rt.11. I kept thinking where would our next road trip take us?? When we got to New Market we said our goodbyes to Rob & T and had a few more laughs, was time for our adventure to end. We all had hair by helmet n couldn't wait to get home n shower & unwind. Bubby & I jumped back on the trike & headed across the mountain back to home to where our lives go back to hectic n crazy and questions of how was your trip and phone calls to check in. Why couldn't we just turn around and go back to WV?? It's called life you take the good n the bad you take your everyday crazy hectic messed up life and you thank God you have friends that you can spend special time with and you pray Liz remembers to bring Aggrivation the next trip so you can get even.
Ride To Black Water falls
By Liz Dowden
On Saturday May 5th it started off with what we thought was going to be a normal day of riding. We rode all bundled up looking like 2 old mountain people to Mt. Jackson for breakfast at 9:00 a.m. with T & Rob, Amy & Bubby. We were second there. Amy & Bubby got there a little after 8 a.m. T & Rob were late and didn't get there until about 9:20 a.m. We each showed our papers of routes & discussed where we were going to go and all decided on Black Water Falls State Park, West Virginia.
After breakfast was over T decided she needed to go home to change clothes. Then we started our trip. Not even a half hour on Rt 33 west it started raining. T & Rob were leading, then us and Amy & Bubby were bringing up the rear. All of a sudden there was NO Amy & Bubby showing in the mirror. We pulled over and waited. A couple of minutes went by so T & Rob went back to look for them. We sat on the side of the road and waited and waited and waited. Burton said we had better go back cause Bubby broke down. I said I bet they are putting on rain gear, which was true. Finally here they come and off we go again in the rain. That mountain on Rt. 33 is a bad mountain and I don't ever care to ride over it again, not even in the sunshine. We finally made it and the rain stopped. We stopped to get gas and heard this siren blowing and was looking around for the source and finally found out that it was the alarm on T & Rob's trike. Then away we went to Black Water Falls State Park just outside Davis, West Virginia. Upon arrival we parked and walked some steps towards the falls. Bubby & Rob went to the bottom of the falls so Rob could take some pictures. The rest of us stayed on the observation deck and watched them go as we looked at the falls. Upon their return we ask a Boy Scout leader to take our group picture. Then we took the handicap walk back to the parking lot after stopping several times to rest.
We then went back to Davis and had dinner at the Sawmill Restaurant. After dinner we got a room in the Alpine Lodge where the Sawmill Restaurant was located. We all changed into dry clothes. Shortly after that everyone came to our room and the six of us played the Aggravation game until about 10:30 when everyone went back to their rooms for a well deserved rest and sleep.
After everyone was up the next morning we all had breakfast, again eating in the Sawmill Restaurant. After breakfast everyone packed up and loaded up the trikes and all came back to our room to play another game of Aggravation while we waited for the ice to melt off the trikes. About 11:00 a.m. we left going towards Mt. Storm Lake. We stopped at Mt. Storm Lake and saw some divers there. Rob also took some pictures there.
After leaving Mt. Storm Lake the ride was just beautiful. The one big mountain we had to go down was 3 1/2 miles long with a 10% grade, but we made it and was off to Moorefield, West Virginia.
In Moorefield we went to the Ponderosa Restaurant to eat lunch. Did they ever have a shortage of tables. We finally got a table and did we ever chow down.
After lunch we got on the new Route 55 to Baker, West Virginia and gassed up the trikes again. Nice road. While getting gas it was decided that T & Rob, Amy & Bubby would ride into Strasburg before splitting up. They would take route 11 home and we would comtinue on route 55 to our house.
Before leaving to go home we all agreed that what started out as a rainy ride turned into an awesome ride for our group for the weekend and proved we are true trikers of the Shenandoah Valley.
The above story is based on actual facts as seen thru the eyes of Liz Dowden
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Ride to Pamplin, Va.
By Tianna "T" Croy
It was a Friday night and Dave, Sandy, Amy, Bubby, Rob & I all were heading out to go to Pamplin Va. for their 2nd annual poker run. Debbie Happel had asked us to come and since we thought a weekend away would be just what the dr. ordered away we went. We met up at the Dairy Queen in Elkton and from there the adventure began. We were in hopes of finding our way to the hotel in Appomattox (just miles from Pamplin) before dark. Well you know what they say about the best plans, and yes, you guessed it. We didn't make it. So, when we saw we had many miles to go we stopped off for a gas/drink break at a little store on the side of Rt.29. After a few min. we were on out way again. We were looking for Ty River Rd. well let me just say, I'm sure during the day this would be a beautiful ride. However the 8.7 miles that MapQuest said it would be turned out to be 12 plus miles! This road was a narrow, unlined, very dark (seemed to have no houses on it) however we knew there must be houses because as I was trying to read the directions by Amy & Bubby's headlight, there was a school bus "letting kids off" yes it was summer & yes it was the middle of the night. What a bus would be doing letting kids off in the dark, in the summer & in seemingly unoccupied territory, NO ONE KNEW. Once we finally got off this road and found our way to the hotel we discovered that our rooms were not all beside each other like we had hoped. So Rob & I went down & under to our room and Dave & Sandy, Amy & Bubby went to their side by side rooms up on the road level. We were all pretty tired so we just kind of kicked back. Well here comes Debbie to check on us. She got worried and wanted to make sure we made it. We didn't find much to do in Appomattox, so we went to bed so we could get up bright & early to go into Pamplin for the poker run. Sat. morning came fast. As we all know I'm not a morning person by any means, but here we go again. We all go over to the McDonalds for a quick breakfast, which as it turns out they are very busy because there isn't much else in this town. So we eat, gas up the trikes & head out to the Pamplin Fire Dept.. As we are gettin close , we see that the first group has headed out & they go on past us. I think they had something like 80 in the first group. We got to the fire house & decide we would try to catch up with them. So we sign in, grab a map & off we go. We got to the first stop which was at another fire dept. and then decided we would like to hang back and take our time. Whoever mapped the run out did a great job. The directions were excellent and we found our way with no problems. Each stop was at another fire dept and they all had refreshments available for everyone. Since it was very hot we appreciated the hospitality. The last stop was back at the Pamplin FD, and of course non of us won the poker hand. They had a great turnout, when we got back they had a band & lots of door & raffle prizes to be won!! Dave & Sandy won a bunch of door prizes, Amy & Bubby won some. But of course again, Rob & I .... no such luck. But the company was good and Debbie & Archie and all of the helpers did a fantastic job. We decided to head out around 4:00 to start back home. Archie gave us directions to get into Lynchburg for a nice dinner before we headed up the road. We decided on Texas Steakhouse. They were right busy as it was 5:00 on a Saturday evening, our waitress was real nice, but a little too "blonde" if you know what I mean. Bubby & Sandy had ordered the exact same meal and she only put it in one time, which now we are in a pickle because you don't mess with chow time you know. After we all ate except Sandy, she had given Bubby the meal and was waiting on its twin, we had asked about Sandy's food several times. When it finally came & she ate, we had been there over two hours. Then the waitress was gonna over charge Sandy, which by all rights she should have tried to compensate her for her troubles. But anyway that got taken care of & we were off again, back up Rt. 29. We had tried to make it to the Rt. 6 short cut before dark, once again plans.... need I say more? We found Rt.6 which was in itself almost miraculous. Then a deer decides we needed to be awakened & stepped out in front of us. I could have touched her & she just stood there in the middle of the road. We couldn't go around her either way, then she finally decides to meander off, after all that excitement we stayed on Rt. 6 which if you have ever gone on you know it is very curvy and gets steep close to the top at Afton. We should have went Rt. 151 but like I said the excitement had us all in a tizzy. We finally get to the top at Afton & get on 250 heading into Waynesboro. We stopped at this little station for one last chat, since once we got on 340 we would turn off and Amy & Bubby would keep going. So we said our tearful goodbyes and had a few last laughs and then back on the road, our adventure was all but over. As we got close to Harrisonburg Sandy decided to stop for a quick cup of coffee. She was sleepy & needed a jolt. So we stopped with them & once again had to say goodbye. Our weekend away had officially gone away. It was back home and back to work. It all ended much too soon, but I'm so looking forward to our next adventure!!!!
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