Day 8 of our trip to Deal's Gap

Day 8 began with some dark and foreboding skies. Didn't look like we were in for very good weather for the day. We had some complimentary breakfast at the hotel and loaded up for the day. It wasnt raining so we decided to head out only with the rain boots and pants. Riding up i77 about 10 kms later we pulled over to put on the full gear. It started raining pretty hard. It wasnt so bad because it made for some really intersting views. The clouds looked like they were oozing across the treetops of the forest. Incredibly cool.

Took this picture a bit after putting on the raingear. The grade of that hill is amazing. Steep.

We stayed on i77 through the on and off rain (wouldnt you know the rain would ease to a light mist as soon as the full gear got put on). Exited i77 at route 61. Took route 61 east. This was a pretty nice ride through the back country of a part of VA I had never been to. Somewhere along this stretch, I was riding along and I saw a rabbit sitting upright in the field off to my left. It was about 30 feet off to the side in the grass. Once I got about 45 degrees from it, it bolts at top speed across the road at a 45 degree angle. I was probably doing about 80km/h and this rabbit was almost going as fast as I was! This thing was booking. I did the mental calculation and determined he would be squashied unless I did something, so I lightly touch the brake and I must have missed hitting it by about 6 inches. Stupid rabbits always seem to run across and in the direction you are moving. The road kind of follows a river for a while. Really nice scenery. Once we got to Narrows VA, we got rid of the rain geat. It was getting quite warm again. From there we got onto US460 and went west. This was a really neat stretch, divided road, 2 lanes each way and a low speed limit. The right side was a cliff going up and the left side was a drop off into trees. The cliff was VERY close to the road in spots. Hopped onto US219 a few kms down the road and headed north. We rode up 219 for a long way. We were getting pretty hungry by the time we arrived in Lewisburg (right near i64) but I wanted to go a little further before stopping as we had just gassed up about 30 mintues ago. So we stayed in the saddle and kept going. My mistake. There was nothing down the road past Lewisburg. I mean nothing. Nothing except rain. Rain and hunger. We had to pull over at the side of the road in a forest to put on the raingear. I thought we might be able to avoid it, as we were heading away from it for the most part, but we rounded a bend and headed straight at it again. Started raining hard. Problem was that this was some of the best parts of 219. We had come down this way last year and I made a point to visit again this year because it was so good. I was starting to get frustrated. The rain cleared up as we came around a mountain. The roads were dry at last and it no longer rained. We were right at Droop Mountain Battlefield State Park. This part is the best section of 219. WOOT! This part is a lot like the Dragon, hairpins, banked corners and non stop twists and turns. I was starting to enjoy it and i was thinking "Finally, this is more like it". While coming out of a right hander, going into a lefthander, I notice something to my left, out of the corner of my eye. I immediately close the throttle and right the bike and then a small deer comes flying out of the tall grass on the shoulder, hits the pavement about 10 feet infront of me and runs across the road at a 45 degree angle to my path. I grabbed all the brake I could. This deer must have been about a foot infront of my front tire when it got out of my way. Stupid thing was looking at me the whole time. If I had not closed the throttle as soon as I caught movement, I would have smoked it for sure. My heard was pounding and my hands were shaking. That was the closest I have come to hitting a deer. Had a few 15-20 feet infront of me on the BRP, but this thing was practically under my tire. Amy saw it running off the road as she came through the corner. Once we got through the state park, it starts raining again. Great. I pulled into the first place I saw. A gas station in Hillsboro. Starving, shaking and feeling extremely lucky to still be on 2 wheels, we went inside for food. Had some heat lamp special pizza and tried to wait out the rain. It did ease up a bit, like my tension. Eventually it was down to a light mist. Got back in the saddle after a needed break and headed back up 219. The rain eventually stopped and we stopped for some gas. I am pretty sure it was in Slatyfork. We ditched the jackets.

Headed back out again and rode a ways further before I decided it was finally time to completely lose the raingear. The sky was clear ahead as far as you could see. Behind us was another story.

This was the view behind us when we finally ditched the raingear for the last time.

Batman was along for the ride since day 3.

We rode up to Elkins and started thinking about accomodations. I was hoping to get to somewhere along i68, but Amy didn't think she could make it that far. We stayed along 219 and once we got into Maryland we decided it was time to find a hotel. First we stopped and grabbed a snack at McRaunchies. I needed something to eat desperately. Talking to locals, turned out there was nothing in the town we were in, Oakland. But everyone said "go to Deep Creek Lake", OK, we grab a phone book and find a hotel. We were starting to get worried about getting a room, considering it was July 4th. Luckily they had a room at the Comfort Inn in McHenry. We rode up to Deep Creek Lake. This is a pretty intersting place. Looks to me to be a playground for the rich of Maryland. Skiing, boating, cottages, fine hotels and restaurants, boutique shops. Reminded me a lot of the Muskokas in Ontario. We rode for what seemed to be an inordinate amount of time before we finally found the hotel. I was starting to get worried as we were nearing the end of Deep Creek Lake! There was so many cars parked everywhere and so many people and traffic I couldnt believe it. I guess I should have expected it in a holiday destination on July 4th. Once we found the hotel we got ourselves checked in. Another hotel with construction going on. No carpet on the floor in places, dust on everything. The rooms were nice though. Unpacked and looked for a place to eat. Found out there is a Mexicali type place about a km away. We didnt feel like riding anymore so we walked over. We found out there was going to be a big fireworks display tonight right over the water near where we were. We got to the restaurant, the Santa Fe Grille, got a buzzer and waited for a table. We forgot the camera so we went back to the hotel to get it. Back at the restaurant again it wasn't too much longer of a wait before we got a table on the deck overlooking the lake. Great seats for the show. Ordered some food, I ordered the half rack habanero ribs and scampi and I am pretty sure Amy ordered the Lazy Crab. The food was excellent. We got the food just as they turned the lights down and the fireworks began.

Great fireworks show they put on here.

Happy 4th of July!

With the dinner we ordered a bottle of wine. Ridge, 2006 Three Valleys Sonoma County Zinfandel. It is not 100% Zinfandel, but a blend of 80% Zin, 10% pettite syrah, 5% Carignane and 5% Grenache. I was quite excited about this bottle as I have heard pretty much nothing but good about Ridge Zins as a whole. They rate quite highly as far as I have seen in Wine Spectator. First smell I would have sworn they swapped out the contents of the bottle with that of an Australian Shiraz. It has a thick musty black berry nose. Smells exactly like a shiraz from Australia. Take a taste of it and it was very similar to shiraz again. big fruit bomb. Anyone that loves Shiraz would love this one. I wasn't initially feeling it, but the more I swirled it, the more it opened up. I imagine this would be better after a few years in the cellar. It was a bit too overpowering for my tastes, not enough of that Zinfandel bite for me, it was there but not enough of it. The flavours were nice, but it just lacked a little Zin'iness or something like that. :)

Ridge 2006 Sonoma Country Three Valleys Shiraz... er. Zinfandel.

I liked it, but I wouldn't say I would go out of my way to get more of it. The price for the bottle was surprisingly low considering the asking price at retailers will be around $20-24. The winelist had it for $30. Not a bad price for a restaurant. Bottom line is that I was slightly dissapointed, it was definitely not up to the level of Seghesio's 2005 Sonoma County Zin. If I were to rate it, I would probably say its around an 87-88.

After dinner we headed back to the hotel and crashed. It was a pretty exciting day, nearly pasting a bunny rabbit and a deer, riding through some nasty rain, then blazing heat. It saps you pretty good.

This is the route for the day.