24
The Carolinas’ Full Throttle Magazine
11th Annual Kanawha Valley Bike Rally By: Lincoln Infield estled into the
mountains of southern Virginia is the biker haven that you have been looking for. The Kanawha Valley Arena is home to year-round events like mud bogs, karaoke competitions, live music festivals, biker appreciation days, and once a year, they throw a little party called the Kanawha Valley Bike Rally. This year was the 11th Annual Kanawha Valley Bike Rally and was dedicated to the memory of Tommy Brown, the owner of Kanawha Valley Arena, who passed away late last year. Brooke, one of Tommy’s daughters, also an owner of KVA continued the tradition and threw one helluva party! As motorcyclists, we all know half the fun is the ride to the destination. The ride up to Dugspur, VA where the KVA is located is no exception to this unwritten rule. Riding up from Thomasville was great. I wanted
to get there fast and then take it slow, so I headed up 52 which doesn’t suck after you get out of Winston-Salem. I passed by the always beautiful Pilot Mountain, NC Hwy 52 gives you a great view for miles. I hit the GPS once I crossed the VA state line and hit the ‘avoid highways’ option. I rode on the Blue Ridge Parkway and several other interstate highways before I popped out on Kanawha Ride Rd. I came around a corner and the landscape opened up to reveal the Arena. It was a beautiful site. You ride in through a covered bridge over Burks Fork that had a few ladies in bikinis taking a leisurely float down the creek. There was tent and RV camping to the right and the 2 story, 12 room hotel on the right. Camping seems to be the best bet as I hear the hotel is booked way in advance! The main congregation area was in front of the Carriage House Saloon. Now with everything with the “pandemic,” the Carriage House and other attractions were not open, but business carried on out on the porches, with social distancing being advised. The bike show was going on in front of the Carriage House Saloon and it was a sweet group of bikes. Bobbers, big wheel baggers, and choppers all up for people’s choice voting, or one helluva cool photo op! Across from Carriage House was the Carriage House Saloon, also closed to entry, but with ice cold beer and a good-looking gal slingin’ it , so there was no loss of love there! It was a hot day, even in the mountains, but there was a big canopy set up outside the saloon with tables and tall boys set up for patrons to sit around and enjoy the constant stream of bikes rolling in and out, folks strolling the property and jacked up four wheelers that were a site as well! I grabbed an ice-cold drink and headed to the Arena that
