Will brought us chicken and sausage biscuits for breakfast, and we sat around the picnic table, disussing what we wanted to do today.  We would be back here tonight, so there was no need to break camp, and no particular place to go.  We could do whatever we wanted.

Bill wanted to see Burkes Garden, and that was an area that I really enjoyed, so we decided to head there.  The V-Strom rider, Paul, was familiar with these parts, and decided to join us.  Not that we wanted the company, but we were too polite to refuse.

From there, we rode into Burkes Garden and had lunch at the Country Store.  They had free wi-fi, so Bill and I whipped out our laptops and started checking email.  Paul, frustrated with our lackadaisical ways, bugged out on his own, neglecting to pay for his lunch. 

By the time lunch was over, the skies to the west were threatening.  We rode a few of the farm roads in the valley, stopped for Bill to make some pictures at the Post Office, then headed out in a light drizzle.  I stopped long enough to hook the helmet cam back up to film the excellent road out of Burkes Garden.

Burkes Garden Road Video, WMV format, 6 Mb, 1:30 long

Leaving the Garden behind, we started working out way back east to Willville.  The skies grew darker and thunder boomed.  We pulled over to don rain gear and discuss our options.  We had planned to ride twisty roads all the way back, but the dark clouds indicated heavy rain, which meant slick pavement and limited visibility.  We decided that I-70 might be a better option.  Shortly after we got on the Interstate, the bottom fell out, and it poured on us most of the way to Wytheville.  There we took a break at a truckstop, where I discovered that my camera, resting in my tankbag, had drowned.  There went $300 down the drain...

The rest of our trip back to Willville was uneventful.  Once there we met back up with Paul, who had been caught in the same storm and reported significant hail.  Glad we missed that.

Later that night, I was up at the camp garage admiring the home-made exhaust system that Will had put on his V-Strom when Marc pulled up.

Marc writes:

22 June (546 miles)

At lunch, I programmed the Zumo to route me to the New River Gorge.  This was one of the places I wanted to see as part of the original trip planned for Elkins, WV.  Cool that I could still make the waypoint.  Fayette was at the bottom of the gorge, along the "old route".  Waypoint set.

After this visit and a brief stint on 19, it was back to the slab of I-77.  I'd been here recently with my family's ski trips to Snowshoe WV.  In fact, many moons ago I learned to ski in Ghent, WV (Winterplace).  No snow today, but RAIN.  Man, a storm moved in and *dumped* in buckets.  Thunder, lightning, slow-moving traffic, .... , yuck.  Put the Toggs to work and stayed mostly dry but it was not easy, or comfortable riding.  Things eventually cleared up, but I did wonder what direction the storm was headed.  I hoped it wasn't to the south -- toward Willville.

Through the East River and Big Walker Mountain tunnels.  Very cool.  Chan later indicated that there are some great roads in that area.  I'll have to put them in the plan for my next trip.  It seems that this list is growing -- always a good thing when there's enough left to do for another trip.

Bill was lounging in a hammock.  The camp was very nice.  Grass, tiki torches, tables, high tree cover, circular gravel trail.  All of it purpose-built by Will himself.  It was a really nice place and I'll definitely go back again.

On the way to dinner we came upon a bike accident, shortly after it had happened.  Wasn't sure what happened, but there was a sportbike rider lying on the road's shoulder.  We didn't see his bike.  He was not alone and was receiving treatment, so we continued on.  A bit later, two LEOs speed south past us.  An ambulance.  A fire truck.  Lots of emergency personnel headed to the site.  We hoped he was OK.

After dinner, Chan suggested a loop before heading back to camp.  "We should arrive just before dark.", said Chan.  My site wasn't setup, but I didn't care.  I had a camp headlight and wanted to ride anyway.

We headed south on Hwy 8, down to Hwy 40.  Very nice.  Not too technical.  Left on Shooting Creek road took us back to the BRP.  Shooting Creek was narrow, with a bit of trash.  Pretty, nonetheless.  Sort of a rain forest look to it.  I'll like to ride that one again.

It was a nice little ride, but I miscalculated the timing.  It got dark quicker than I expected, and we ended up tip-toeing through dense woods, infested with deer, in dim light.

On the way back (BRP), we came back by the accident site – and a large dualie pick-up truck blocking our lane.  We slowed and found a gent was pushing a wrecked bike up the hill and out of the woods.  It looked like a 600cc supersport.  Very light, very fast.  The man was with a woman, presumably his wife/girlfriend and they were policing the area for equipment and trash.  We immediately parked and helped him get the bike loaded into the truck's bed.  I'm glad we were able to help – good thing we opted for that loop after dinner.  He relayed that his friend ran through a deer and was in a Roanoke hospital.  He was alive.  The deer was not.  Chan commented that he was the deer’s blood up the road.  They'd previously thrown the deer’s carcass over the hill.  Sucks.  We provided directions to Roanoke and said goodbye (thanks again, Mr. Zumo).  Must be careful at dawn and dusk.  Deer and other wildlife are everywhere on this road.

Slow ride on the BRP back to Willville.  It was pitch dark, and spitting rain.

I began to set up the site, with help from Bill and Chan.  CRAP!!!  My tent stakes, where are they?  I couldn't find them and suspected that I'd left them at Hungry Mother.  Double crap.  Chan, of course, had sufficient supplies to get my tent staked.  All is good.  Camp headlight came in very handy at this point.

Some chat by the fire, with a bit of the wine purchased at Tuggles Gap.  No wine for me.

Wind, thunder, lightning, and rain ended the lounging, so it was off to bed.  That lump under my sleeping bag?  Yeah, that would be the bag of stakes hiding under my tent's ground cloth.  Shouted the news to Chan.

RAIN.  THUNDER.  LIGHTNING.  It was on, in a big way.  Not really glad to be in a tent, but thankful that I was in a new, high-quality REI.  I stayed dry all night.

Tonight I really enjoyed the tarp that I had pitched over the entrance of my tent, forming a canvas porch.  When we retreated from the oncoming storm, I sat in my tent, flap open, glass of wine in hand, watching the rain pour down, drops frozen in the air by the strobe effect of the lighting.  A thunderstorm, observed from a dry, safe place, is a thing of beauty.

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