MSTA FlyBy Week 2024- August 19-25, Marietta, Ohio

Sport Touring Corner

By Norm Kern with contributions by Tom Blake

FlyBy Week is the largest regional rally in the Motorcycle Sport Touring Association (MSTA) calendar, with about 180 attendees this year, though not everyone stayed the entire week. 

The hills and mountains of southeast Ohio and West Virginia offer some of the most thrilling riding you can find anywhere east of the Rockies.  The routes are almost entirely through rural countryside.  With few exceptions on a handful of routes, the towns you encounter are very small.

There were 27 road routes and another 11 ADV routes, fanning out in all directions, each with detailed descriptions ready for downloading onto your GPS from the event website.  Some featured destinations such as the Big Muskie, the New River Bridge and gorge, a ferryboat crossing of the Ohio River and covered bridges – to name just a few.  Choosing which route to ride each day was based upon its length, attractions, riding ease or difficulty and direction from Marietta (in case of localized inclement weather). 

With so many routes available, one could ride a different one each day for over a month without doing the same route twice. 

  The Marietta Comfort Inn and Suites was the host hotel once again.  And this year, the Fairfield Inn immediately next door was added as an overflow option.  For campers there were two options available.

After a fun day of riding, what could be better than a delicious meal at a nice restaurant,  and downtown Marietta has some really nice ones.  Norm arranged for passenger vans to transport attendees downtown and back on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. 

On top of all that, there are other aspects of Marietta which make it unique and interesting.  For example, there’s just something really relaxing and magical about being next to the storied Ohio River. Unlike some, this river is wide, unhurried and not at all muddy.  And watching barges being slowly and masterfully pushed upriver or down is just sort of spellbinding.  Marietta is one of the oldest towns west of the Appalachians and has some really nice old homes.   Then there’s the Mound Cemetery which includes at its center a prehistoric Adena burial mound – 47 steps, I believe it is, to the top.  Many who fought in our War of Independence later lived in Marietta and are interred in that cemetery.

This year, morning and late evening temperatures in Marietta were in the 50’s and 60’s.  Mesh with a jacket rain liner was needed in the morning until maybe 10 o’clock or so.  A light jacket or long-sleeved shirt worked great for late evening socializing outdoors.  The first part of the week never got into the 80’s.  Then by Friday and Saturday, it was in the low 90’s in the afternoon.

The Outdoor Lounge behind the hotel opened on Wednesday. It’s a fun and convenient place to dine and hang out and includes a nice patio with comfortable chairs and sofas. There was supposed to be a food truck in the parking lot of the hotel Wednesday, Friday and Saturday but the owners had an emergency and had to cancel. Fortunately there is a Wings Etc  sports bar and an IHOP right across the street plus plenty of pizza and food places with delivery options.

Hopefully the food truck will return next year, but by then the new Texas Roadhouse restaurant will be open, which is located less than 500 feet away from the hotel.

Jeremy Riffle had the bike wash set up on Monday and it was very popular all week with three nice shaded bike wash stalls. Jeremy even gave out micro fiber towels in a nice zippered pouch as gifts for everyone.

To Sum Up
This was one of the best FlyBy Weeks ever! Next year’s event will be held from August 18-24, 2025, once again at the Comfort Suites Marietta hotel. The new flybyweek.com website will go live and registration will open on January 1. We would like to thank all who attended and we look forward to seeing everyone again next year!

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Connect with local Ohio Motorcycle Sport Touring Association riders at these monthly breakfasts:

Southwest Ohio Breakfast, Saturday 9AM, October 19

Village Family Restaurant
144 S. Main St.
Waynesville, OH 45068

Central Ohio Breakfast, Sunday 8AM, November 3

Portside Cafe
6515 S High St
Lockbourne, OH 43137