BMW RA Rally 2004 — Canaan Valley, WV


The 2004 BMW RA National Rally was held Sept 16 to 19 at Canaan Valley, West Virginia. Although there was about a day of heavy rain, don't let anyone tell you that the entire 4-day event was rained out!

We rented the entire State Park and the hotel and lodge (with restaurants and bar).

Does this look like a rainout? Saturday was mostly clear a lot of folks opted to miss the closing ceremonies to enjoy the local roads.

The attraction for motorcyclists is the roads. This is one of the least populated areas, east of the Mississippi river. High curving mountain roads, open vistas and very little traffic for street riders.

For riders of GS motorcycles, there were hundreds, maybe thousands of miles of dirt and off-road riding opportunities. At least five published off-road rides were available.

When I was visiting there, I drove along one mountain top for almost 20 miles, with no others cars, houses, shopping areas or anything.

Because this area is a popular ski area, in the towns there are all amenities, including local art and craft galleries.