West Virginia Trip ~ 1979

Ohio to West Virginia
June 2001

The Riders: Jim on a new 2001 Suzuki VL 800 Intruder Volusia , Dave on a 1999 Yamaha 650 V-Star

Photos by: Jim McMullen (from Franklin, OH) and Dave Patton (from Greenfield, OH)

The Trip: This was the first trip with my new bike purchased from the dealer in Chillicothe, Ohio. This trip took us down thru southeastern Ohio crossing over into West Virginia at Point Pleasant.
When we left Greenfield, OH our route took us down thru Rarden and Portsmouth, OH and then along the Ohio River over to Gallipolis to cross over into West Virginia. In WV we camped the first night just north of Point Pleasant at a Wildlife Mgmt Area.

The next day we headed east past I-79 and then turned south heading thru mountains (actually 99% of the route thru WV was mountains) and eventually pasting thru Beckley, WV heading back west towards Huntington, WV.

We had a long riding day so we spent the second night in a motel close to Portsmouth OH on US-52 before heading back northwest (SR-73 & SR-41) to Greenfield.

CLICK HERE for a SLIDE SHOW OF ALL THE PICTURES FROM THE TRIP
We were well protected during some parts of the Ohio portion of the trip.	Davie needed a pit stop. But I think I utilized the facilities too.	Pushing 50 years old, but wish we were just pushing 30 again. Oh well, at lease the scenery is great.
An Ohio River lock....	Cruising thru the hills along the river...	Just another bend in the road...
Same bend in the road...just a different angle on things...	Looking upstream from the Ohio River lock...	Campground at the Wildlife Mgmt. area, WV. Camping is fun, but motels are more convenient.
Last time we have camped out on a trip until 2019. I woke up with a heck of a headache...I blamed it on the camping (sleeping on the ground).	Nighttime at the Wildlife Mgmt. area, WV.	Decisions, decisions... which way to go? Could have lived without the heavy fog too!
Just one of the many views in the WV mountains.	Two-thirds of a train bridge is all that's left. Gauley Bridge, WV (Jct of SR-39 & US-60)...	A lone canoeist on the river...
Area east of Gauley Bridge, WV. Plenty of river views...	A nice waterfall sightseeing area east of Gauley Bridge, WV (US-60)...	Mountain view. We'll be over there shortly..
Area east of Gauley, Bridge, WV. Plenty of hills and curves...	Area east of Gauley, Bridge, WV...	In the town of Gauley Bridge, WV...
Another good stop for a photo opt.	Dave thought he'd catch me off guard. Joke's on him! He didn't have a telephoto lens!	Lunch break at a Dairy Queen.
Lunch is over. Dave's waiting for me to get my shit together.	Our route away from the DQ...more hills & curves!	Beautiful day, Beautiful scenery!
Sinking Springs, OH. Trying to figure out why my new bike won't start after taking a short break.	Still trying to figure out my bike's problem. I have a habit of shutting off the bike using the kill switch.	Eventually got her started. Problem with some wiring connected to my kill switch. I'll use the key from now on!