Carytown and Church Hill Ride (April 27, 2013)

 Something a little different....have more photos of the places I saw on my Richmond and Me blog...but this is The Byrd Theater in Carytown. Started out riding on River Road and then on Cary Street. Got off the bike and walked around here, it is one of the most interesting sections of Richmond more so for the food that can be found there than the shopping (though that is a big deal to some people). It is also a great place to check out some interesting people; a great people watching area. Usually is pretty busy and parking and driving can be a challenge, but if you are up for it...a lot of fun to find there. 

 Here I am from the bike leaving the area, coming up on The Boulevard. Interesting section from Cary Street..go left and you get to Monument Avenue and out to the Diamond (Richmond's minor league ballpark) and to the Right is Maymont and Byrd Park. I went straight through the section called "The Fan" and into downtown. Interesting ride as there are also many places to eat in the Fan, and downtown is also pretty interesting with some really great buildings to see, plus as an extra bonus traffic is lighter on weekends. It is, after all, the state capital and gets to be pretty busy, but as you almost would figure, they tend to take weekends off which makes it good for checking out the sights. Course you will also go past the various VCU buildings all through town and get to see a lot of the campus and students wandering around. The Fan and Downtown are some good areas to explore as there is a lot to see and do there, and can be really amazing what you can come across. These pages have a lot of sights from the Richmond area, and you can see many there.     

 Took this photo of a Triumph in Church Hill which is one of Richmond's oldest neighborhoods. I went there to eat at Alamo BBQ which is a really basic looking place, but happens to have some really good food. That again is a very interesting part of town with some unique and old buildings, and some really interesting parks. I especially suggest Libby Hill Park which is one of my absolute favorites. Richmond has a lot to see and do, and Church Hill has some interesting riding. Do note though that some of the streets can have some interesting surfaces...so be aware and keep alert. You can be on asphalt one minute and brick the next!  

Saw this Honda (which I believe is a Honda CB350) out near Manchester which is another section of Richmond. Fun to ride and to see some interesting motorcycles, especially classic ones. Like that part of town as well, which had seen better days, but is getting a major remake. That seems to happen a great deal; a section of a city will sort of decline, people move in and then so do investors (cause the people are there). This bike for instance was in front of the former Philip Morris tobacco factory which closed and then was turned into apartments. Lots of other cool places to see there. As I said, on my Richmond and Me page I will have some more photos of some of the places, but this ride got to see a number of interesting things !