With the motorcycle season nearing the end around northern WV now I decided to take a last little 3-day ride. When it came to what motorcycle to take I wanted one with panniers, some wind protection, and heated grips. The BMW R1300GS was my first choice but I was concerned the plugged rear tire would cause problems because I already had to plug it again after the first one failed within 40 miles (a new tire is on order). So I threw a change of clothes, tire repair kit, basic tools, and a few apples and water in the Moto Guzzi V85TT's panniers. Destination was rural north-central PA because it's close enough for this mini-trip and I hadn't ridden that area in 5-6 years. Temps were cool but no rain was in the forecast.

Thursday morning with the electric jacket liner on under the 1-piece Roadcrafter suit I headed east on I-68. The cool temp and wind chill were negated by the electric liner and heated grips. Interesting how it's warmer up high because as I descended down to Cumberland MD the cool turned cooler and foggy. This was the only stretch of 4-lane, it would be smaller 2-lane roads from then on so off the interstate to continue east on the more scenic 2-lane National Road. The light fog dissipated when cresting a hill and there was an interesting old inn and scenic overlook so naturally, being in no hurry I pulled off to read about "Town Hill Overlook the beauty spot of Maryland".







I noted the beautiful old Town Hill Hotel (now called "Town Hill B&B") looked like a nice place to bring Barb sometime. For this trip I'd stay in nothing so nice.

After a few more miles on the National Road I turned north and shortly crossed into Pennsylvania staying on rolling roads like this with near-perfect pavement.



A nice time and spot to stop to eat an apple for lunch. There was even a little bench there.




Back on the road, this is the area I was riding to.



Around 5:30 the sun was behind the hills, it was getting colder so I turned up the heat to keep warm and an eye out for a motel. After 30 minutes of seeing nothing but trees there was The Black Forest Inn. I like places like this where you pull right up to your room plus it had a tavern right alongside for a burger and beverage!



The next morning after I checked my GPS routing to make sure it was set to "fastest way, avoid highways, and avoid unpaved roads" I was off on some delightful little roads then the small, unlined paved road became a Forest Service road which looked "unpaved" to me. But it was in nice shape, hell better than the road I live on, so I naturally kept going. It wound up a steep mountain then along the Ridgeline for 15 miles or so before gradually descending. The V85 is ideal for gravel roads like this. I saw only one vehicle, a parked truck likely a hunter.









At the end I saw it was marked Montour RD.


Back to pavement the rest of the afternoon.





Around 4:30 I pulled into Emporium for the night. In spite of still being sunny the air was getting cold. I settled in my room in this 0 star motel but it was good enough for me. Pulled a chair outside and enjoyed the last of the sun with a bourbon and cigarillo before walking to the restaurant.



When I left at 9am it was a cold 34* in the valley with light fog and the sun hidden behind the mountains. The roads tend to run in valleys so it stayed cold dropping to 33* for a while. It finally reached 40 at 11:00. I thought, “Thank goodness for heated gear!

I rode east to St Marys then 219S, 259, 386, 711, and finally 381 stopping at Christian Klay winery in Chalk Hill on Rt 40 to pick up a couple bottles of Washington Tavern Red, then 381 back to WV and home.

When I got back and was enjoying a glass of red I thought about what a great all-around motorcycle the V85 is. It's at home on all types of roads from 75mph Interstate, twisty paved, to gravel roads. It averaged 50 mpg and the tank is 6 gallons so nice having plenty of range when gas stations are few and far between. Shaft drive so no chain to clean and lube. The top-load panniers held all my stuff with room to spare. The stock seat is all day comfortable and it offers good wind protection.

Looks like a blast with great shots! Thanks for sharing.

That looks like an absolutely fantastic trip, fun roads, and nice fall color. It looks like you got great weather, too, apart from maybe the cold, but it sounds like you dealt with that just fine. Heated gear is definitely on the list, and I need to get the valves checked and new tires. But in the Spring I'm definitely doing something like that. Was talking to my brother in Ohio yesterday and he wants to do the triple nickel in southeast Ohio, so that will probably be on the agenda, amongst other things.

And man, that V85 is such a cool bike!