Virginia Trip #3 (Moving Day)

Spent the weekend moving in to Richmond, VA where I will be working for the next three years. Had a great time, and met some nice people. Patty (my wife) and I explored some on Sunday February 1. Went down the Midlothian Turnpike near the house. Pretty much anything and everything you might need is there. While there, I found two bike shops near the apartment; one with an interesting twist. The first was Virginia Yamaha, which looks to be a nice shop, but is closed on Sunday.

The other was Ultimate Cycle which you see here. It was also closed, but the owner, who was Pete Daniel had opened the shop on a Sunday to work on a customers bike. I thought that was pretty neat, and also thought it was neat that I got a tour of the inside. The dealer has Kawasaki and Suzuki, also some Moto Guzzi and Aprilia motorcycles.

Though not planning to bring my bike down there as I will be living in an apartment complex, do hope to check out the local scene, and bike shops are a good place to find out what is going on motorcycle wise in an area. Enjoyed my visit to Ultimate Cycle.

Great weather in Richmond, and in fact all the way home on February 1, and a lot of motorcycles were out and about taking full advantage of the sun and warmer temperatures. I read this morning that some bikers were protesting the various bans at Myrtle Beach this year concerning motorcycles. Myrtle Beach is passing some laws to try to get the rallies out of town. I did read many of the residents comments in the article comment section (article was in the Charlotte Observer by the way); and have to admit some are valid. The rallies though old (The MB Bike Rally was held for 69 years, Atlantic Beach Rally since 1980) do run for a long time being some 20 days in total in May. I think the motorcycle community sometimes misses the impact that wild behavior has on locals. Riding in defiance of the laws of the community, and of course making your bikes as loud as they can be does not endear us to local people. To me though, the whole thing comes down to not being wanted; and frankly I can pass on Myrtle Beach as easy as they can pass laws to keep me away. I have no intention of going to the rally this year, and in fact will not be going to Myrtle Beach with or without my motorcycle (and I have done both in the past). Of course, thats easy for me to say, as I will be spending time exploring Virginia this year, and in my Carolina rides, have plans to visit some old favorite places and some new ones. Went with two friends to Wilmington, NC last summer on a motorcycle ride, and had a great time. Plunty of new Carolina sea side places to explore. In fact have made more vacations to the very interesting town of Charleston, SC than I have to Myrtle Beach over the years here. To those who do go, be careful and be aware they have many new laws at Myrtle Beach, be aware of them before you head to the rally.