Winter Ride in the Piedmont (December 27, 2009)

Have been out twice this visit so far, first time was a surprise ride. Found the motorcycle battery started fine (after being charged and even after sitting a month) and got a good ride on Thursday around the area for around an hour. Chilly and overcast but fun to be out for the first time since the Thanksgiving weekend. I continued that today, after a nice morning, headed out around noon for a ride around Concord. I headed out to Dale Earnhardt, Inc which was founded by the man himself, and enjoyed the ride cool as it was. Think it got pretty close to 50 while I was out, and did have nice looking skies.

Ride took me out to Davidson College in the town of Davidson on NC-115. I like that road, passed through Huntersville, Cornelius and Davidson. Many of the buildings in the town and at the school are old. Hell, Woodrow Wilson went to school there. It is a nice school; the church at left, and the building below are just a couple of the buildings on campus. Davidson itself is very neat; a small college town with a lot of interesting places to eat, as well as some friendly people. That area makes for a good ride, though good idea to always follow the posted speed limits. No tickets there (knock on wood) but the Davidson Police I am told do not fool around. I did get off the bike and walk around the campus a bit, like to do that from time to time. There was a family with a lot of dogs, and they were taking photos of the family and dogs. That is notable cause I did not see a lot of people; usually light early on Sunday rides, and this one was no exception. Sunday is often the best time of the week to ride, if you like a little peace and calm.

I rode back to Concord on NC-73 and as I got close traffic picked up (but never really bad) as I got back on NC-29. Rode out past the former Philip Morris factory in Concord, and finally saw a few bikers here and there in town. Good to see there were a few hardy souls (some of which were women riders) out as well as myself. I rode back to my house a little before 3pm following my noon start, and had covered some 85 miles in that three hours on the bike (though one hour was spent visiting with Ray, a former co-worker at the old factory). It was, as always, a good ride on two wheels on a Sunday.
Oh one other thing comes to mind...almost forgot. Did some maintenance checks, added a little oil (though not below the low line) but due to the cold temperatures did also check the air in the tires before the Thursday ride. Found the front tire was at 22 pounds (usually at 28) and the rear at 32 (usually at 38). With the cold temperatures, be sure to check your tires often. Proper inflation helps fuel mileage, handling, and also improves the ride. Ride safe always!