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This last Sunday my neighbor Geoff and I headed down to Blue Ridge Summit, PA for breakfast at a little diner called Mike Travis' Mountain Shadow. Highly recommended.
Geoff has a late 90s Virago, as you'll be able to clearly see in a few of the photos. After breakfast (did I say it was good?) we turned north toward Michaux State Forest with a desire to ride as much gravel as possible. Apparently, we were in luck.
We stopped at a little cabin for break. This is well into DCNR territory and I assumed it was one of theirs, but I can't find it on a map. It may be a private lease.
Just north of Caledonia we stopped near a small lake for a few minutes to hydrate and stretch the legs.
At this point I was beginning to reconsider our quest for gravel. State Forest roads in PA aren't quite like the gravel roads I've ridden elsewhere. Maintenance is spotty, and we went through a repeating cycle of fast hardpack, washboard, fresh gravel that was up to 4 inches deep, and double track that wasn't much more than a rarely used Jeep trail.
Part of our ride was in search of a geocache. This was the wrong spot.
But this one is right where we needed to be.
We stopped at a few "vistas" that really appeared to be places where logging companies had stripped enough lumber to allow a decent view. This is above Pine Grove Furnace on Ridge Road looking east.
This one is a couple miles further north looking west.
After that last one we started down what would be the roughest road I've ever ridden a street motorcycle on. 4 miles of steep descents, fist sized loose gravel and basketball sized not-so-loose rocks. This is at the very bottom where we hit pavement near Mt. Holly Springs and by no means the worst of it.
In all, it was challenging but fun. I wouldn't recommend a ride like this on a bike like a GS850, but I can't say I regret going.
Does this qualify my bike for "L"-Strom status?
Geoff has a late 90s Virago, as you'll be able to clearly see in a few of the photos. After breakfast (did I say it was good?) we turned north toward Michaux State Forest with a desire to ride as much gravel as possible. Apparently, we were in luck.
We stopped at a little cabin for break. This is well into DCNR territory and I assumed it was one of theirs, but I can't find it on a map. It may be a private lease.
Just north of Caledonia we stopped near a small lake for a few minutes to hydrate and stretch the legs.
At this point I was beginning to reconsider our quest for gravel. State Forest roads in PA aren't quite like the gravel roads I've ridden elsewhere. Maintenance is spotty, and we went through a repeating cycle of fast hardpack, washboard, fresh gravel that was up to 4 inches deep, and double track that wasn't much more than a rarely used Jeep trail.
Part of our ride was in search of a geocache. This was the wrong spot.
But this one is right where we needed to be.
We stopped at a few "vistas" that really appeared to be places where logging companies had stripped enough lumber to allow a decent view. This is above Pine Grove Furnace on Ridge Road looking east.
This one is a couple miles further north looking west.
After that last one we started down what would be the roughest road I've ever ridden a street motorcycle on. 4 miles of steep descents, fist sized loose gravel and basketball sized not-so-loose rocks. This is at the very bottom where we hit pavement near Mt. Holly Springs and by no means the worst of it.
In all, it was challenging but fun. I wouldn't recommend a ride like this on a bike like a GS850, but I can't say I regret going.
Does this qualify my bike for "L"-Strom status?
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