Post by Enduro on May 24, 2018 17:36:56 GMT -5
Riders:
I attended the 2018 KTM Snowshoe Mountain “500” ADV Rally and it was a blast! In spite of the weather, this rugged Appalachian mountain adventure ride turned out to be one of the most thrilling of my life! And I have previously traveled to and ridden in some very cool places.
The Snowshoe resort itself was 4900’ elevation, so the “spring conditions” on the mountain were quite inhospitable (pea soup fog, cloudbursts with pouring rain and hail, high winds, and chilly temps). As a result, the demo rides were called off on Friday and the overall turnout was lighter than I expected. For the hard core ADV riders though, it was a gem of a course to ride all three days, as the weather was generally more favorable in the lower elevations we rode on Saturday and Sunday.
Both the paved and off-road sections were amazing, made more challenging yet by the eyeball flattening speeds we were traveling. Sadly, for most of the ride, the beautiful scenery was just a blur. But this was no sight-seeing tour for us. Dozens of contiguous miles of groomed off-road gravel and tacky and mildly rocky dirt two-track terrain with 180 degree switchbacks having rapid elevation changes and no dust. The breathtaking roads had many high banked corkscrew elevator sections where steep leaning right and left at 80 plus mph was an ear-popping thrill. These extremes were sensationally linked together using GPS tracks, one after another, after another. Stitching this all together must have taken considerable time, study and talent.
Six extremely capable riders (somehow including myself) hooked up Saturday afternoon and freight-trained the remaining 300 or so miles through Sunday. We passed with impunity and never got passed; two days later I find myself still dish-ragged from the speed-related mental fatigue. To sum up this ride in a few words: Utterly terrifying - and you would have positively loved it. It was a rush.
The accommodations were fantastic at Allegheny Springs Lodge where I stayed in the resort and the provided food was delicious and plentiful. I want to compliment the KTM Professionals onsite supporting the ride, among them Mike Lafferty and Russell Bobbitt, who were very approachable and friendly to the attendees. Not your typical athlete personalities, but true ambassadors for the sport and the KTM brand. I expect to see more riders involved with ADV as time goes on. It is an evolution of the Dual Sport rides we already do, with the bikes featuring greater fuel range, true off-road capability coupled with the street cred of a bad-ass sport-bike. Because of their comfort and luggage and gear carrying capability, many of the rally attendants had ridden there from home, some many hundreds of miles away. Still others rode smaller dual sport bikes with extended range tanks, affording 120 miles between re-fuels. Find out what Overland expedition riding the BDR routes and TAT is all about. Some others are here.
The powerful KTM 1190R I ride was up to the task, with this ride being exactly what they designed my bike for. For Overlanding and Off-Road, I would also recommend the current 1290 Super Adventure R, the new 1090 R or the venerable KTM 690 R to anyone interested. Other interesting ADV options are also available from virtually every other manufacturer especially suited for this purpose. Unsurprisingly, this is the fastest growing segment of the motorcycle market. Everyone wants a piece of it. Expect to see the bikes, gear and riding opportunities continue to proliferate into the future. If you’re further interested, look into www.pinebarrensadventures.com and www.gnarlyroutes.com and www.rawhyde-offroad.com to get more information on rides and training. It’s totally different hauling ass off-road on a big bike.
Summing it up, I can’t wait until next year, so be on the lookout for more news to come!
Jeffrey R Shaw
President
Jeff Shaw's Collision Craft, Inc.
"Expert Collision Service You Can Trust"
tel: 410-342-1560
www.collisioncraft.net
![Jeff Shaw on the trail]()
I attended the 2018 KTM Snowshoe Mountain “500” ADV Rally and it was a blast! In spite of the weather, this rugged Appalachian mountain adventure ride turned out to be one of the most thrilling of my life! And I have previously traveled to and ridden in some very cool places.
The Snowshoe resort itself was 4900’ elevation, so the “spring conditions” on the mountain were quite inhospitable (pea soup fog, cloudbursts with pouring rain and hail, high winds, and chilly temps). As a result, the demo rides were called off on Friday and the overall turnout was lighter than I expected. For the hard core ADV riders though, it was a gem of a course to ride all three days, as the weather was generally more favorable in the lower elevations we rode on Saturday and Sunday.
Both the paved and off-road sections were amazing, made more challenging yet by the eyeball flattening speeds we were traveling. Sadly, for most of the ride, the beautiful scenery was just a blur. But this was no sight-seeing tour for us. Dozens of contiguous miles of groomed off-road gravel and tacky and mildly rocky dirt two-track terrain with 180 degree switchbacks having rapid elevation changes and no dust. The breathtaking roads had many high banked corkscrew elevator sections where steep leaning right and left at 80 plus mph was an ear-popping thrill. These extremes were sensationally linked together using GPS tracks, one after another, after another. Stitching this all together must have taken considerable time, study and talent.
Six extremely capable riders (somehow including myself) hooked up Saturday afternoon and freight-trained the remaining 300 or so miles through Sunday. We passed with impunity and never got passed; two days later I find myself still dish-ragged from the speed-related mental fatigue. To sum up this ride in a few words: Utterly terrifying - and you would have positively loved it. It was a rush.
The accommodations were fantastic at Allegheny Springs Lodge where I stayed in the resort and the provided food was delicious and plentiful. I want to compliment the KTM Professionals onsite supporting the ride, among them Mike Lafferty and Russell Bobbitt, who were very approachable and friendly to the attendees. Not your typical athlete personalities, but true ambassadors for the sport and the KTM brand. I expect to see more riders involved with ADV as time goes on. It is an evolution of the Dual Sport rides we already do, with the bikes featuring greater fuel range, true off-road capability coupled with the street cred of a bad-ass sport-bike. Because of their comfort and luggage and gear carrying capability, many of the rally attendants had ridden there from home, some many hundreds of miles away. Still others rode smaller dual sport bikes with extended range tanks, affording 120 miles between re-fuels. Find out what Overland expedition riding the BDR routes and TAT is all about. Some others are here.
The powerful KTM 1190R I ride was up to the task, with this ride being exactly what they designed my bike for. For Overlanding and Off-Road, I would also recommend the current 1290 Super Adventure R, the new 1090 R or the venerable KTM 690 R to anyone interested. Other interesting ADV options are also available from virtually every other manufacturer especially suited for this purpose. Unsurprisingly, this is the fastest growing segment of the motorcycle market. Everyone wants a piece of it. Expect to see the bikes, gear and riding opportunities continue to proliferate into the future. If you’re further interested, look into www.pinebarrensadventures.com and www.gnarlyroutes.com and www.rawhyde-offroad.com to get more information on rides and training. It’s totally different hauling ass off-road on a big bike.
Summing it up, I can’t wait until next year, so be on the lookout for more news to come!
Jeffrey R Shaw
President
Jeff Shaw's Collision Craft, Inc.
"Expert Collision Service You Can Trust"
tel: 410-342-1560
www.collisioncraft.net