Since 2019, life has had a firm hand on the wheel so I rode when I could and adjusted riding plans based on what opportunities presented themselves. For the time being, things have been stable, and I want to get back to putting targets on the calendar and making firmer plans to go out and tackle challenges I’ve had my eyes on.

Birch Knob Observation Tower (VA KY line)

Social media is a wild place these days, and while I’m getting inundated with AI garbage, I did catch a cool post featuring photos of the Birch Knob observation tower in the Kentucky-Virginia state line. Having ridden to Black Mountain and along the Virginia border on my way to the Triumph Dragon Raid, I’m looking forward to a return trip. There are 300 road miles from my place to the tower along the least remarkable route. 600 miles round trip would be a big investment, even Moreso after I plan exclusive to and from routes to tie in the best ribbons of mountain asphalt. It’ll be a long ride, but definitely in reach for a long day trip.

Valley View Ferry in KY

Undoubtedly motorcyclists have one foot in the past. If you talk to enough of them, you’ll find no shortage of history buffs, including bridge hunters. No stranger to those interests, I enjoy the occasional amphibious assault on rural backroads thanks to a local ferry. As it turns out, the oldest operating business in the commonwealth of Kentucky is the Valley View Ferry, connecting commuters from Richmond and Lexington. With operations dating back to the 1780’s, it’s said Daniel Boone, Henry Clay, and Ulysses S. Grant all crossed the Kentucky river aboard a Valley View Ferry. Open 12 hours a day, 7 days a week, 364 days a year, the Valley View ferry can now transport 3 vehicles at a time along Kentucky Highway 169 across the river thanks to its upgrade in 2000 when there was only room for 2 cars. Only 3 hours from home, Richmond is any easy day trip on the highway… however I expect this to rapidly turn into a bridge and ferry tour considering there are 2 other ferries on either end of a ride to that location.

Switzer Covered Bridge

Speaking of bridges, the Switzer Covered Bridge is the last of the 11 historic covered bridges left standing in Kentucky that I’ve not seen. When I started this silly motorcycle journey of exploring the forgotten bluegrass backroads, there were 13 historic covered bridges. Weather and the owner claimed one, while arson claimed the longest span in the state in 2021 (after millions were just spent to restore it). Just like Valley View Ferry, if you’re a history nerd and want to peel back the veil of modernity, you’d be wise to do so. Between Frankfurt and Lexington, it’ll be easy to pick up Valley View Ferry and the Switzer bridge in the same ride. Let’s hope I have all the Pins on the map at the same time when I lay out that route.

Lockegee Rock (outside cave run lake)

Scurrying along cliff lines and exploring rock shelters has been a favorite pastime of mine for as long as I can remember. I probably visit at least one Red River Gorge staples once a year but somehow have not ventured far enough east to see Lockegee rock up to this point. I actually went right past it last year while working on updates to the BRAP) but didn’t have time to stop. A scenic ride across the gravel of Clark Mountain Road, Lockegee rock is yet another eastern Kentucky Appalachian overlook just outside Morehead, KY. Albeit, this is an easy “bucket list” item, but a theme I want to become recurring. Is there a perfect view hidden in the mountains? If I may steal a movie line from “The Last Samurai”, “You could spend a lifetime looking for one, and it would not be a wasted life.”

Expand the BRAP

For the past two springs I’ve spent the warming months shaping up the Bluegrass Regional Adventure Passageway (BRAP) between South Portsmouth and Slade, Kentucky. While looking around for more dirt I stumbled on a network of county roads near Grayson I want to add to the BRAP as a “Bonus Loop”. Hopefully spring of 2026 will be equally productive, and I’ll get a chance to add almost 200 miles to the existing 600 miles adventure loop connecting Ohio and Kentucky’s existing adventure routes.

DBBB expansions x2

Last spring the Daniel Boone Backcountry Byway (DBBB) launched a new expansion southeast of Booneville adding almost 200 miles to the existing multi-purpose overland route. This spring I expect to see a similar expansion get launched further south from the recent addition. It’s almost a 4-hour commute from Dayton to Booneville, making a recon ride around a 200 mile loop a challenging endeavor in a day, let alone if the starting point moves further south and away from the interstate. Despite commute, I’m hopeful I can ride both extensions in completeness, even if it’s broken up in sections before the first snow falls next winter.

Adventure speed run

Longtime readers know I’m a sucker to endurance challenges. I hate riding the highway (I’m bored), but I enjoy a good Iron Butt challenge, and while I’ve participated in a 24-hour off-road team race, I’ve yet to tackle a mixed terrain endurance challenge. The Southern Ohio Adventure Loop (SOAL) is in my backyard and where I’ve been cutting my teeth on ADV riding since day one. The SOAL is over 200 miles in length, more if you include challenge sections. I’ve circumnavigated the SOAL main loop in a day in the past, now I want to throw in some challenge sections and tackle the loop at (mostly) legal speeds in a non-stop ride to and from the driveway to see what’s possible.

The SOAL speedrun is the first step stone toward a larger challenge of completing the entire 600-mile main loop around the BRAP in a day.  Including commuting from home, the trip to and from Portsmouth adds an additional 200 miles to the grand total. It took me 18 hours to ride 1015 miles on the pavement, but is 800 miles of mixed surface backroad riding even possible in 24 hours? Only one way to find out.

From there the ultimate challenge is signing up to compete in a 24-Hours-of-Appalachia (24HoA) challenge. As a fundraiser for an Appalachian focused charity, Jedediah Smith organizes several regional overland challenge routes intended to be completed in 24 hours or less. Smitten with the idea from the moment I heard about it, after shooting some trail photos of their final round this year I’m really keen to attempt one this year if I can swing it. After seeing their rain photos from this spring I’m very concerned about fitness, but as most folks can relate, ultimately time flexibility is the biggest challenge.

Brent’s back door

After wandering around the SOAL since 2016, I figured most of the challenge sections were relatively tame. Emboldened by my ignorance, I turned down a challenge section named “Brent’s Back Door” on my T7 in the fall of 2024. I was in for a rude awakening. A forgotten doubletrack trace hidden in unmarked state land, the track was tough to follow, and the challenges increased as I ventured deeper in the holler. Losing sight of the track, and quickly losing daylight, I turned my pig around to escape back to paved safety. That was the wiser decision, considering I got stuck at least twice trying to fight by way back out. Similar to the Spaas Creek challenge that gave birth to Appalachian overland fever (LINK), I’ve since seen “Brent’s Backdoor” in its entirety on a little bike; Kaida San (my T7) is ready for a rematch in 2026.

Hare Scramble the T7

With over 12,000 miles on the Tenny’s odometer…  I’ve yet to line up for a competitive event. The last couple years have been “rebuilding” and growth chapters in my motorcycle journey, but I want to take the T7 to a local hare scramble and see how it goes after competing on the less capable Triumph for two seasons. Last year I found myself trapped under the bike after taking a bad line; fitness is going to be critical this year if I want to race alongside dirtbikes safely. With KXCR currently on hiatus, it means racing in the local Ohio or Indiana cross country series thus far have been less than big bike friendly. Here’s to surviving another battle with mother nature on an inappropriate machine; bonus if we can influence local race series to add a big bike class.