36 replies to this topic

[jwaynetska TT Member]

Well I am in the final stages of negotiating for my new job in Fredericksburg VA. I am moving from Boise, ID where we (Idahoans) have more OHV trails than any other state in this beautiful nation. Trouble is while i have been researching my new residence one thing seems to be a little lacking, riding! I'm sure its there but not anywhere as accessible as my hometown. Granted i have been spoiled as there are 5 different great riding areas within 40 minutes of my front door :ride:

Here in ID my 300 was the perfect weapon. we do a lot of fast desert style riding with some good 2-4th gear trail riding as well. I am concerned that my 300 will be a bit much in the tighter east coast woods. But to be totally honest i fear being able to find places to ride:eek: Around here we have endless miles of public land to ride on whenever i feel the notion. I was in VA a week ago to check out the area and I ran into a group of younger guys wearing Fox and FMF apparel and i thought "Hey I could get the scoop on riding from these guys" from what i got from them you really need to know someone with private property to be able to ride. Those poor boys couldn't even understand the concept of "BLM Land" :thumbsup:

So i guess I'm hoping there are some VA guys on here that can tell me to relax a little. I don't mind driving an hour or even two if i have to, I just want to know that the riding is indeed there:applause:

PLEASE tell me it will be ok.......the thought of leaving all my friends and family behind is hard enough, but no riding?!? :cry:

[Wrfrk TT Addict]

From what I've seen on KTM Talk there seems to be some good riding out there but you will be making quite a drive to get to it. I moved away from Boise almost 2yrs ago and it's been somewhat torturous even though I'm in Utah now. Living in Boise spoils a person so bad it's not even funny, most of the free world will never understand what's there and it's probably for the better. Having the best and loosing it is a painful process, but sometimes u just have to let go to move forward!

[gmoss357 Get Help Now]

this would be a better question for the SE forum.

No, we don't have large expanses of public land to ride. But, depending on what part of the state you will be moving to, there are places to ride, very good places to ride. Yes, you will have to drive further, but that is the nature of the beast on the east coast. The land is simply more populated here than it is out west.

Most of the riding areas are located toward the western half of the states, close to the mountains where there isn't as much growth.

Visit the SE forum, there is a VA riders connection thread, jump in and see what's up.

As far as bike goes. The 300 will work well here. Make the decision if you need to change or not once you are here. I really like the 200 for the tighter eastern woods, but there are plenty of 250/300's here as well. My 200 simply doesn't tire me out allowing me to enjoy my passion longer than I would otherwise.

[MotoX178 TT Gold Member]

Here is the VCHSS web site. http://www.vchss.org/vchss_text3.htm They have a forum and can answer some questions for you. I actually just picked up a KTM 300 and it is perfect for the trails out here.

The kids you talked to were correct though, you really need to know someone to find a place to ride. I moved down here from CT and it was 10x easier to find a place to ride up north than it is here in VA. We actually drive out to WV to ride all the time.

[SpED66 TT Silver Member]

A good way to find your way onto private land is to frequent whatever public riding area that's closest to you. Ask other riders if it's ok to tag along with their group. You'll make friends in no time & find yourself getting invited to private areas. :thumbsup:

[Chaconne TT Bronze Member]

SpED66 said:

A good way to find your way onto private land is to frequent whatever public riding area that's closest to you. Ask other riders if it's ok to tag along with their group. You'll make friends in no time & find yourself getting invited to private areas. :thumbsup:

I agree. Another possibility is to keep your eye out for ATVers and where they ride and chat with them about access. In my area(N.E.) there is not really a lot of public riding space so some work is required to find and use the good available areas.

BTW regarding the use of private property: Since I usually don't tag along or get invited to private land with other riders, I usually approach private landowners directly for permission myself. I always offer private landowners something and make sure I follow any requests/requirements they might have (including questions about liability).

A sure way to ruin things is to go on to someone's land and trash the place, or ride in areas or in ways they have asked you not to.

[Gizler00 TT Bronze Member]

There are tons of places to ride out east. I grew up in Pittsburgh, PA and there is a TON of riding out there. Gmoss is right, there is alot of riding in VA just gonna have to search for it.

[ASR-4 TT Member]

When you move into Virginia, hook up with the local club they can show you all the ins and outs around the area,

they have a good many riders that would be local to help you

www.nvtr.org

[jar944 TT Silver Member]

PA and WV have a lot of riding, Southern VA seems to as well. As long as you dont try to ride in Northern VA you should be able to find places within a reasonable driving distance.

As for the 300 it's fine here.

[samuelross13 TT Newbie]

There are several areas to ride in VA, as said before you will have to look for them. I'm in Roanoke so I am quite a distance from where you are moving and am not familiar with any areas there, there should be a few. The closest areas I know of to you would be some the the Nation Forest ATV/Motorcycle trials like South Pedler near Big Island, VA. You can find them listed on-line if you search for them. There are also some areas near Staunton and Harrisonburg, both part of National Forests. Other than that I would suggest checking with the local dealers.

[Farmer72 TT Bronze Member]

i like the private areas best, especially when it's tight.

[jwaynetska TT Member]

I just want to say thanks to everyone. I already feel MUCH better about the move. Cant wait for some tight eastern riding!

[grayfox TT Bronze Member]

Look this guy up. I know him personally . This place is 30 minutes from Fredericksburg. He defines "liking it tight" and know every woods rider in Virginia - he can hook ya up!

http://vchss.net/viewtopic.php?t=14027

[bluethumper98 TT Bronze Member]

Wow it's a small world. I was a volunteer many years ago when I was a young runt and helped build the south pedlar trail system. It's a neat place to ride and I wouldn't mind sending a bike to my moms out there so I can still ride it. There are places to ride there but not much. I used to race the va bare scrambles for years. If you get that ktm street legal there is lots and lots of wilderness to ride but that's the only way. I would street title it now in Idaho and then transfer the tags later that way you already have a street legal bike. Being street legal in VA makes life good.

[tripferguson TT Member]

Yep. Head out Rt 3 west towards Culpeper and over to Harrisonburg, Rt 33.
Those mountains have great fire roads that comb the mountains; hundreds of miles of them.

[mattyw TT Member]

I dont think that you will find anywhere near what you have to ride but its not that bad here. I am from PA originally but have been here for the last 10 years in Richmond (50 minutes south of you). Riding no where near what was to be had in PA that I have seen. Western part of the state is better. Lots of land i just dont know the people and dont have much time to travel and ride. Im dual sported which helps. The contact for King George you were given may be your best bet. Im going to check it out myself. Thats close to you in relative terms. There is a northern VA group in culpepper that has private land also. outside of that there is some private land near king george i think in MD actually. Only open on weekends. Think they are geared more towards ATVs. Closest forest land OHV access is due west in Taskers Gap / Peters Mill. Some of it isnt bad, but can get really rocky. Need good suspension out there. Im running an EXC 400 out here and love it for what its worth. Look me up when you get out here and I would like to go ride sometime if you want. Weekdays better for me due to family...

[wlfdgs TT Bronze Member]

I live in Orange, about 30 minutes from F-burg- we have our own tight arena-cross based track and some small trails thru 50 acres of woods for riding and there are dozens of other private tracks and trail systems within an hours drive.

Look up the 540 Riders once you get moved in, they're your local riding club and should be able to introduce you to those you'll want to know. Give me a shout as well if you want to run some tight track work.

[jwaynetska TT Member]

http://www.thumperta...ght=plate+idaho

[jwaynetska TT Member]

Well I got my official marching papers (finally....) and am hitting the road this weekend. I ran down to my DMV and was able to get both my bikes plated here in ID within 15 minutes with no inspection of any kind, gotta love this place :) . I am concerned as to how the plate transfer process works though. I am hoping that since it is officially street legal in ID that it will be nothing more than a trip to a VA DMV office and some money? Truth be told there isnt a single thing about either of my bikes that is street legal so I am hoping VA wont want to do their own inspection. Both bikes are owned outright and equipped with a street title in my name so I should be good right?

Anyone have any opinions on this?

Cant wait to get there and try some of your east side riding!

[Gotlabs TT Silver Member]

jwaynetska said:

Well I got my official marching papers (finally....) and am hitting the road this weekend. I ran down to my DMV and was able to get both my bikes plated here in ID within 15 minutes with no inspection of any kind, gotta love this place :) . I am concerned as to how the plate transfer process works though. I am hoping that since it is officially street legal in ID that it will be nothing more than a trip to a VA DMV office and some money? Truth be told there isnt a single thing about either of my bikes that is street legal so I am hoping VA wont want to do their own inspection. Both bikes are owned outright and equipped with a street title in my name so I should be good right?

Anyone have any opinions on this?

Cant wait to get there and try some of your east side riding!

In VA, you'll have to have them inspected at a local inspection station. There they will issue you an inspection sticker....it has to have all the VA required equipment to pass inspection. I wouldn't sweat getting them plated just yet, just hang on to those street titles like they are gold.