September 4th-8th 2024
Wailing Wayne Weekend...???
From Host: Chad Warner
I bought my BMW R1200 GSA in March of 2014... It was my attempt to combine my old Motocross Racing days back in high school to my love of riding on the best twisty country roads I could find on my Harley... I would take my GSA to our first rally together that same month, the March Moto Madness rally in Tellico Plains TN.
When I returned home I decided to do some online searching for places in Ohio that allowed ATV trail riding. That's when I came across Wayne National Forest. From all the online searches I did, Wayne National Forest (WNF) looked like the perfect place to ride my GSA. It was pretty close, a little more then 1 hour away from home, and it had plenty of trails to ride. But out of all the pictures and images posted, I never saw a Big GS Bike riding the trails. I asked as few friends what they thought about riding through WNF... All the reactions were pretty much the same... "You're Crazy"... "You Can't Ride Big Bikes In Wayne"... "Those Are Just Not Trails For GS Bikes"
So after considering my friends points of views about WNF, I simply just ignored them, went to Iron Pony and bought a season's pass. I had no idea if I was even going to be able to ride the trails that day, never mind ride them throughout the season, but I was determined to Go Big or Go Home. An hour later I arrived at the New Straitsville Trailhead... As I approached the entrance to the Main Corridor Trail I thought, DAMN... I should have taken off my panniers... VERY rookie mistake that would catch up to me on the trail... (Panniers, Meet Trees, Trees, Meet Panniers)... They got to know one another a few times that day ;-)
Since that first day I have hit the trails both literally & figuratively more than 2 dozen times this year... I wanted to share the great adventure riding I had found in WNF, so I posted some pictures and videos on Facebook. That's when friends started suggesting I should organize a weekend of riding through WNF. The idea sounded great, a bunch of like minded friends having a riding adventure together, but when and what to call the event. I thought September was a good month, it's not too hot and you can usually start seeing the fall colors beginning, which always makes riding in southeast Ohio that much more enjoyable. I also wanted to try and keep the theme of the 3 Ms from March Moto Madness. So from the sound of my bike's engine "wailing" through the trails of WNF, Wailin Wayne Weekend was born.
Wailing Wayne Weekend combines 3 different styles of Adventure Riding. There are Challenging Trail Rides through WNF, both for advanced and intermediate riders... Endless miles of great county gravel roads... Hairpin twisties and woops on Ohio's Route 555, better known as The Triple Nickel, plus nearly 1,000 miles of Ohio's best road riding on the famous Windy 9.
I am looking forward to sharing all these Adventures with you, Hope To See You At Wailin Wayne Weekend!!!