Three Rides Around Thanksgiving

Blessed over the Thanksgiving holiday with some remarkable weather-sunny (for the most part) and very warm. Did a quick ride on Black Friday to do a quick bit of shopping via motorcycle (first time to do that on the bike, and first Black Friday in a long time) during the morning of the 25th, and later took a ride just for fun. One of the first stops in the afternoon ride was to Stewart Hass Racing in Kannapolis, NC which is seen at left. Unfortunately, the shop was closed for the holiday weekend, but it is a very impressive operation. I made a previous visit some time ago, and will do so again.   

During the course of the day rode around China Grove, NC and also visited Landis, NC. This is Landis in the photo at left, just before sunset. The white building is the original post office, not sure how old it is, but it dates back quite a way. Landis is a very neat old city, and there are some great roads in that area, which makes for some excellent motorcycling. As this was also during Black Friday I tried (with the exception of the morning ride) to avoid the malls, and especially the highways which were packed with shoppers and travelers. I had really nice ride though, and along with the morning ride was very happy.    

 Sunday, November 27, I took a ride around Concord. Visited the Concord Regional Airport which was decorated for Christmas. I like aircraft and it was near some other sights I wanted to check out such as Charlotte Speedway (which is set up for one of the biggest light displays in the region for the next few weeks) and Bruton Smith Boulevard which is also lined with light displays. I love this time of year, and although I will not be able to see the lights for some time, as it will be awhile before my next visit, it all looks fantastic. It is pretty nice being in Carolina over the holidays-they do a good job celebrating the season.

 Hard to believe in some respects, but the #1 tourist attraction (with so much to see in NC, this always amazes me) is Concord Mills Mall. The massive mall is partly seen here, from the seat of my Vulcan, and going off in the distance. Not only is the mall massive, but there are also a number of other smaller malls all around it. Going by there on a Sunday morning (this was taken as was the previous photo) on November 27) it is quite, but will be for the next few weeks especially the site of massive traffic backups, and huge crowds. Of course, that is not all that different on any other weekend.

Finally, a Sunday morning look at downtown Concord, NC, once again before crowds come calling. I like Concord, it has a lot of character in its downtown, and some very interesting stores. They also have some very good places to eat, and even a very impressive craft beer store. Like with Virginia, craft beer is getting to be pretty good, and to think that it is also doing so in Concord is pretty impressive. Not that long ago, Concord was a "dry" town, and you could not even get a beer there. It has changed a great deal in the years that I have been there. I do enjoy the region, and I certainly did enjoy some great rides...covered 130 miles in the three rides I took over the three days. Some clouds kept it overcast on Sunday, but both days temperatures were close to 70 and never saw a drop of rain. Looking forward to the next rides on the Vulcan very soon!