Took a motorcycle ride to Charlotte, NC on Easter Sunday, got a few sights here and will have a few more on my Photo Page (there is a link to that on this site). Great ride, enjoyed the day which was very sunny, and frankly very warm; unseasonable upper 80s for most of the weekend. Seen at left is Bank of America Stadium, which is the home of the Carolina Panthers. Nice stadium and I have spent many hours there with my son Robby enjoying the wins and dealing with the losses that come with having a professional football team in your city. Hopefully the Panthers will have a season this year, right now its not real sure.
Opened last year, this is the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Uptown Charlotte. Charlotte is quite a sports town; there is also the Charlotte Checkers Hockey Team and the Charlotte Bobcats (both play at Time Warner Cable Arena which is also Uptown). Plans are to move the AAA baseball team (The Charlotte Knights) which play in South Carolina right now to a new stadium to be built near the Bank of America Stadium. That though will not happen any sooner than 2013. Looking more and more like it will happen though, and will be watching for that. There is a lot to do downtown and not just sports events. Area has a pretty good nightlife too.
This is the Shoppes of University (actually the lake there) which has a lot of places to shop and also some good places to eat. University City is the home to nearby UNCC (University of North Carolina at Charlotte) which is a really nice campus, and is part of the UNC system. Charlotte has a pretty good college basketball team, and will start playing Division I football in (I believe) 2013. For the time being they will play in a stadium (though not Bank of America Stadium) in Uptown Charlotte. The school is really nice, and has been greatly added on in the last few years. It is a first rate educational institution and a nice place to visit.
Speaking of nice places to visit, this is Charlotte (formerly Lowes) Motor Speedway which is actually in Concord, NC. Home of a number of NASCAR races AND the All-Star Race, it also has near by a Dirt Track, and the Z-Max Dragstrip as part of what can only be described as a massive racing complex. A number of other racing, and also many auto related events are held at this track. It will soon be home (this year) to the largest television screen outdoors in use; Bruton Smith who runs the track constantly makes improvements and additions to this facility. Though he has had some issues with the City of Concord, he is a real plus for the city and the area.
Finally, since this is a motorcycle blog, here is the motorcycle that took me to a number of places on April 24. Got the new helmet on the seat (seen in previous post) and I have to say I really liked it. Liked the aviation style, but found the half face shield (for lack of a better term) really functional. Can ride with it up or down, but on a bright sunny day such as this, it was really, really nice. I also liked the way it attached, uses a military type fastener instead of a D-ring for the chin strap. Nice fit and very comfortable. I can say the same about my 2005 Kawasaki Vulcan. Enjoyed some 85 miles of riding this weekend; the long trip seen above and a short ride before heading back to Richmond on April 25 to Kannapolis, NC. Like those morning rides and I miss them during my time in Richmond, but the rides this weekend will keep me smiling until the next time.
Took a motorcycle ride to Charlotte, NC on Easter Sunday, got a few sights here and will have a few more on my Photo Page (there is a link to that on this site). Great ride, enjoyed the day which was very sunny, and frankly very warm; unseasonable upper 80s for most of the weekend. Seen at left is Bank of America Stadium, which is the home of the Carolina Panthers. Nice stadium and I have spent many hours there with my son Robby enjoying the wins and dealing with the losses that come with having a professional football team in your city. Hopefully the Panthers will have a season this year, right now its not real sure. 
Opened last year, this is the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Uptown Charlotte. Charlotte is quite a sports town; there is also the Charlotte Checkers Hockey Team and the Charlotte Bobcats (both play at Time Warner Cable Arena which is also Uptown). Plans are to move the AAA baseball team (The Charlotte Knights) which play in South Carolina right now to a new stadium to be built near the Bank of America Stadium. That though will not happen any sooner than 2013. Looking more and more like it will happen though, and will be watching for that. There is a lot to do downtown and not just sports events. Area has a pretty good nightlife too. 
This is the Shoppes of University (actually the lake there) which has a lot of places to shop and also some good places to eat. University City is the home to nearby UNCC (University of North Carolina at Charlotte) which is a really nice campus, and is part of the UNC system. Charlotte has a pretty good college basketball team, and will start playing Division I football in (I believe) 2013. For the time being they will play in a stadium (though not Bank of America Stadium) in Uptown Charlotte. The school is really nice, and has been greatly added on in the last few years. It is a first rate educational institution and a nice place to visit.
Speaking of nice places to visit, this is Charlotte (formerly Lowes) Motor Speedway which is actually in Concord, NC. Home of a number of NASCAR races AND the All-Star Race, it also has near by a Dirt Track, and the Z-Max Dragstrip as part of what can only be described as a massive racing complex. A number of other racing, and also many auto related events are held at this track. It will soon be home (this year) to the largest television screen outdoors in use; Bruton Smith who runs the track constantly makes improvements and additions to this facility. Though he has had some issues with the City of Concord, he is a real plus for the city and the area.
Finally, since this is a motorcycle blog, here is the motorcycle that took me to a number of places on April 24. Got the new helmet on the seat (seen in previous post) and I have to say I really liked it. Liked the aviation style, but found the half face shield (for lack of a better term) really functional. Can ride with it up or down, but on a bright sunny day such as this, it was really, really nice. I also liked the way it attached, uses a military type fastener instead of a D-ring for the chin strap. Nice fit and very comfortable. I can say the same about my 2005 Kawasaki Vulcan. Enjoyed some 85 miles of riding this weekend; the long trip seen above and a short ride before heading back to Richmond on April 25 to Kannapolis, NC. Like those morning rides and I miss them during my time in Richmond, but the rides this weekend will keep me smiling until the next time.
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