Sport Touring Corner By Norm Kern, MSTA Editor / ReasonsToRide.com Contributor
“Should I buy heated grips or heated
Latest news on FlyBy Week and Other MSTA Events MSTA Red River Gorge Rally at Mt Sterling, Kentucky, was held the weekend of July 11. Event coordinator Pat Mogavero put together a package of five great routes through the mountains and back roads of Eastern Kentucky. Many of us rode the popular Hillbilly Triangle route on Friday, that included over 260 miles of great technical mountain roads, including the well-known NADA tunnel near Red River Gorge. It's an old railroad tunnel bored through solid rock, with a one lane roadbed and no internal lighting. Another popular route for Friday was the Four Parks Ride that visited four state parks along its path.
If the photos don't seem to show much social distancing, understand that it was quite breezy all weekend, reducing risk. Dining at the nearby Cattlemen's Steakhouse was quite good. They had both indoor spread out seating and outdoor seating. There were additional tables outside where you could sit while waiting for indoor seating. The food was good, but the most interesting thing was the salad bar. How can they have a salad bar in the age of COVID? Simple. They had it completely glassed in. You just walk by, tell the server what you want and they fix your dish to order. Fantastic!
There was quite a collection of interesting bikes at the rally, including several Moto Guzzis, a BMW K1600 cruiser and a new 650 Royal Enfield.
Saturday, Pat led a Group Ride on a route that was a bit easier than some of the others. It was intended for attendees new to MSTA rallies, but some regular members who wanted a day off from doing their own navigating joined in as well. Seventeen riders participated- almost a third of the attendees- and all had a great time. Coming up this month MSTA FlyBy Week, Marietta, Ohio, August 24-30, is still a go. Fortunately, Washington county, where Marietta is located, continues to be one of the Ohio counties least affected by COVID. That said, some normal event activities will still be modified or eliminated. Riding activities for FlyBy Week, especially in the smaller groups typical of the MSTA sport touring style, are unaffected. This will be the best year ever for FlyBy Week routes, with twenty five available. Riders, can choose from Destination routes which feature parks, landmarks, outstanding places to eat etc. Touring Bike-Friendly routes are designed for big bikes and two-up riding, Easy
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