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    1 of 9
    Yermo
    3 years ago
    America.Rides.Maps is out on a 10 day ride and is reporting from the road about conditions, accommodations, and traveling in the age of COVID-19.

    Blog Article (87138)

    RONA RIDE Day 1 - Escape from Quarantine

    After so many months of sheltering at home it's surreal to be out on a motorcycle trip. A for-real trip, not just a day ride or a work project.  Until we arrived at the Mountain Lake Lodge this evening it just seemed like another day ride, a loop out from the safety of home and back. Even during times of local lockdown we've been able to get out and escape confinement by riding. There was no risk of contamination winding through the backroads of the Blue Ridge Mountains alone on our motorcycl ...Read More

    2 of 9
    Yermo
    3 years ago
    Blog Article (87202)

    RONA RIDE Day 2 - Out Amongst the Masses

    Breakfast at the Mountain Lake Lodge was fairly benign. We've pretty much come to accept you can't eat with a face covering and there were no real crowds to deal with. We eat early and it seems most of the likeminded are mask compliant. Seating was adequately distanced, the food was good, it was not anything that triggered concerns. We rode into West Virginia today. Of course the time on the bikes is about as safe as it gets. There was a needed stop at a Staples store to pick up something I'd ...Read More

    3 of 9
    Yermo
    3 years ago
    The 'Rona ride continues ...
    Blog Article (87298)

    RONA RIDE Day 3 - Into the Safe Zone

    Our morning at Mountain Lake Lodge was as before. Breakfast in the sparsely populated dining room then out on the road. Mask use was common today, a Monday. Once we were on the bikes it was bliss. The roads were great, the stops scenic and spectacular. The only public encounter we had was a stop at the Paint Bank General store when we strayed towards West Virginia for a short while. It was nearly empty, we got in and out to take our photos with little worries. Arriving at the Ft Lewis Lodge a ...Read More

    4 of 9
    Yermo
    3 years ago
    Blog Article (87349)

    RONA RIDE Day 4 - Amongst Friends

    Opportunity knocked and plans changed today. Friends from Charlottesville were available to come out and meet us for some riding and we jumped at the chance. It's been too long since we were all together. It was a bit of a conundrum early on. One of them was receiving medical care that left him highly vulnerable and at risk for infection. Meeting here at the lodge was not the best idea so we chose insteadd to rendezvous on the road. meanwhile we enjoyed breakfast here. The dining are was a bit ...Read More

    Blog Article (87402)

    RONA RIDE Day 5 - Fears Dispelled

    Our final breakfast at the Ft Lewis Lodge was as before. Our same corner table safely tucked away and delicious food brought to the table. Afterward we set out on the bikes with little ares or concerns crossing from west to east on a road about course to reach the start of the Skyline Drive. The hours spent cruising it were in relative isolation save the few encounters at overlooks none of them close. Arriving in Harpers Ferry, WV around 5 we were greeted by signboards in the road carryi ...Read More

    5 of 9
    Yermo
    3 years ago
    Blog Article (87461)

    RONA RIDE Day 6 - Socially Distant

    Harpers Ferry this morning was a ghost town. We were up and out early enjoying the empty streets and historic sights in solitude. Returning to our room to pack up we noted the bakery across the street opened early and jumped at the opportunity to get on the road faster. Getting breakfast always seems to hold things up. We popped in, grabbed some coffee and breakfast sandwiches and took them to our terrace across the street. Barely any exposure to others at all. Back on the road we were on ...Read More

    6 of 9
    Yermo
    3 years ago
    Blog Article (87554)

    RONA RIDE Day 7 - Masks Up!

    As previously described the Selinsgrove Inn offered little risk. Even more so that there was no breakfast available with the restaurant closed.  We packed up early and hit the road north. Our morning sustenance was found in Williamsport, PA at a coffee shop with take out. The "Masks required for entry" sign was reassuring though once seated outside (no inside dining) we observed several people including a local cop just stroll in bare faced. Whatever. Our takeout breakfast was in disposable ...Read More

    Blog Article (87618)

    RONA RIDE Day 8 - Emptiness

    Breakfast was in an empty room but for one other couple on the far wall. The Country Inn at Berkley Springs was quiet early in the morning and we were out without any human exposures. Again, the day on the road was of no issue. Arriving in Staunton, VA one of the first things I noticed was nearly everyone I saw on the streets was masked. Mostly young people. Checking in to the Hotel there were a few guests in the cavernous lobby sitting without masks but we just went on up to our room. ...Read More

    Blog Article (87661)

    RONA RIDE Day 9 - Masks Mandatory

    We left the Stonewall Jackson Hotel in Staunton unscathed this morning as there was no chance to dine on site. Zero risk. So far so good. The bikes loaded we hit the road for the first leg of our return trip home on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Stopping to fuel up before we hit the isolation of the park road I located a coffee shop nearby in Waynesboro. It was nearly empty when we arrived and ordered our coffee and light breakfast to eat inside. Turns out it was the place to be Sunday morning and ...Read More

    7 of 9
    Yermo
    3 years ago
    Blog Article (87701)

    RONA RIDE Day 10 - The Safety of Home

    The greatest risk at breakfast at Primland was the number of servers tending to our needs and whims. We were there when the restaurant opened for breakfast at 7, the only ones in the whole place up that early. Just one big empty room. Out on the road it was as usual. A stop for gas, a stop at the Northwest Trading Post on the Blue Ridge Parkway. People were masked, exposures brief. Nothing but blissful riding. Arriving home all was in order. Our house sitter likes to leave before we return, we n ...Read More

    9 of 9
    Yermo
    3 years ago
    America.Rides.Maps has put together a video log of their latest ride, which I was supposed to join them on.
    Video #88458
    Yermo
    3 years ago

    ARM VLOG Episode 3 - RONA RIDE Day 1 - Up the Blue Ridge Parkway

    When our big New England motorcycle ride is cancelled by Coronavirus closures, Wayne from America Rides Maps quickly pulls together an alternative - RONA RID...