DAMN ADV ride May 1-2

[Firebolter]

Just finished up Day 2. Looks pretty good and like I said, it is all nice backroads to Frederick, so a easy cruise home on Day 2. Alot of Rt 9 but it is a pretty nice twisty route home. Nice run along the canal coming back into MD. Good stuff!

Day 2, guys could make up their own route home too! That's the nice thing, lots of flex on Day 2, use this route or just make your own!

[Firebolter]

Each person is responsible for their own lodging arrangements for Saturday 1 May 2021. I AM NOT MAKING ANY RESERVATIONS EXCEPT FOR MINE!-

Hotel rooms are 167 for a King or 2 Queens and are 100% refundable up to midnight the day before (30APR). Make reservations online or Call the resort direct (866) 238-4218
https://www.guestreservations.com/rocky ... gK9MPD_BwE

Camping requires a reservation
https://dnr.maryland.gov/publiclands/Pa ... tions.aspx

Rocky Gap State Park
​Overnight Accommodations/Camping
Make reservations online at https://parkreservations.maryland.gov or call the reservation center at 1-888-432-2267. TTY users call 1-866-804-7846.

Camping Seasons and Service Charges For Maryland State Parks and Forests

​Campground Registration
Hours of operation vary seasonally
17600 Campers Hill Drive
Flintstone MD 21530
443-603-6324

Campers at Rocky Gap State ParkRocky Gap Campground offers 278 individual campsites (including 30 equipped with 30 amp electric hook-ups, mini cabin and yurt Options), a family group site and two youth group camping areas. The campground also features a dump station, bathhouses with hot water in each loop, the Scales & Tales Aviary, canoe/kayak/SUP board rentals (Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day), a nature center, a private swimming beach, a playground, trail access, Snack Shack and a camp store. Pets are allowed in Camp Loops Ash, Birch, Chestnut, Dogwood and Elm (Sites 1- 143). Alcohol is only permitted inside personal motor homes. Check-in for campsites is 3 p.m. and check-out is 1 p.m.

The family group site offers space for up to 40 people to camp together. The group site includes a two-story mini cabin with electric, as well as six 30 amp electric hookups and a group fire ring. Bathhouses are located in the adjacent camp loops.

Depending on how many folks come, this might be the best option and split it amongst the campers?

[Firebolter]

I am gonna wait until we get closer to send out the files, but the GPX files I made look good. I plotted them up on GPSVisualizer last night and walked them all the way from start to finish to make sure they followed the "turn by turn" direction sheet I originally made. I found a couple small mistakes on that turn by turn list, so am cleaning that up. Having the GPX files and a turn by turn direction sheet should be enough for anyone to follow the course easily.

I am not planning on any "chase" type folks. We carry what we need. Depending on how many folks go, we will break up into smaller groups so people can move along at a good pace for their group. We all work our way to RG and meet up there that night.

I will include cell numbers and such to call for help if someone runs into some and can't address it within their group.

There will be 2 GPX files for Day 1 and 1 file for Day 2. The plots in my previous post show them all plotted out. The process to make the files is a bit cumbersome, but if you want to do a turn by turn, this is about the best way.

1. Go to Google Maps and enter in your route from start to finish-That can be a little troublesome as sometimes it wants to "force" you to go a different way sometimes and you have to use the "add destination" point to force it the way you want. And of course, you are limited to how many times you can add a destination point (10 I think). If you look at the "GPS Waypoints" marks in my plots above, those are not waypoints of anything specific, those are the "added" points I had to insert to force the track to go exactly where I wanted it to. That takes the most time, this step. Then you go to step 2
2. After you get the track all in google and are happy with it, Copy the URL of your google maps page and paste it into a "GPX" converter website. That website (and there are many) will convert your google maps track into a GPX fie. I used https://mapstogpx.com/
3. That will output a GPX file that you can go to gpsvisualizer.com and load it and see it against the maps and stuff to verify it is what you wanted.

Takes a bit of work, there are plenty of video's on Youtube on how to do this as well. But you get nice GPS files that are made how you want them!

[Firebolter]

In light of the ongoing COVID situation, I will keep a close eye on that and as long as the STATE of MD allows and Rocky Gap is open, the event will go. If they were to close the park and such making over night hard, we will get together and maybe make this a day ride, A DAMN LONG 1 DAY RIDE! Or just go stay somewhere else. Based on the last year, if recreation and/or camping/park use is restricted in MD, it is gonna be worse in Pa. more than likely (huh Bruce!)

Anyway, point is, We'll keep an eye on the situation and flex accordingly, but we are doing something that weekend fo sho!

I want to start a list and not have to try and capture names of planned attendees from this or other posts! Please PM me with your real name, email add and a contact number so I can get the list going for attendance. Most all other info will come from the "mailing" list I will make and not this post.

This is a ride for a group of friends, it is not sponsored or an official event nor will there be any support that you do not personally arrange! Your bike should be street legal with a plate and current registration and insurance and your exhaust should be USFS approved with a Sparky. Any interactions with officials along the course is between you and them!

The idea is out there, you see the course, the days are picked, all you have to do now is decide if you camp or stay at the hotel and make a reservation. For now all we have to do is get a list and wait to go get away for a weekend of relaxing legal riding through some awesome National Forest.

[Firebolter]

And I need to give a shout out to Mr. Jed Hargrave. He was the genesis for this ride. He, along with Jeff Nelson, Chris Borger and I, put this together about 10ish years ago, but never actually rode it on the bikes except for bits and pieces! We did it in 4x4's so I could do the turn by turn note taking and mileage recording etc.

Want to make sure the boys get credit for all of the work they put in to make this possible for us to enjoy!

[Wingfixer]

Awesome work Bill! I'm going to use this as a last minute test ride for our trip to Alaska. Hopefully my brother, Junior and Paul will be able to join us to give all the equipment a good shake down!

[Firebolter]

Awesome work Bill! I'm going to use this as a last minute test ride for our trip to Alaska. Hopefully my brother, Junior and Paul will be able to join us to give all the equipment a good shake down!

Awesome, yeah a 200 mile day with some off road carrying your gear and camping one night will work out alot of bugs for you guys IRT gear selection, packing and such!

[phoo]

Looks amazing!

Am I reading this correctly that it essentially starts a little south of Carlisle, PA, spends a night in Flintstone, MD (via Sheetz...?), then ends at Frederick, MD?


Thanks,

~Patrick

[Firebolter]

Looks amazing!

Am I reading this correctly that it essentially starts a little south of Carlisle, PA, spends a night in Flintstone, MD (via Sheetz...?), then ends at Frederick, MD?


Thanks,

~Patrick

Kinda---

Day 1 Starts at Thurmont MD @Sheetz on 15 (12ish miles north of Frederick)
First part of Day 1 ends south of Carlisle in Mt. Holly Springs (North end of Michaux)
Second part of Day 1, we head out to the west and south through Tuscarora and Buchanan SF onto Flintstone for the night.
Day 2 Flintstone back to Fredrick or wherever your end point is.

I broke Day 1 into 2 parts purely because of the way and limitations I had to deal with making the gpx files. Day 2 is all one file.

[Wingfixer]

I'm planning to camp at Rocky Gap State Park. Currently they're showing no camp sites available for May 1. I'm assuming that's a covid thing but I'm going to call them to find out.