Big Mileage Weekend (by various means)

Very wild weekend, for the first time rode the motorcycle after coming from out of town. I spent my first week in Virginia, and spent the weekend in Concord, NC. Was great to see my wife Patty, my son Robby, and my two border collies Cassie and Mollie. It was a great visit, and I had a fantastic time.
We also were blessed with some good weather; blue skies and temperatures in the upper 50's. I was not the only motorcyclist out enjoying the weather either. Visited with my friend Keith (a riding buddy who sold his motorcycle, but we went on many great rides while he had one) and also while out saw this motorcycle.


The bike is a Ural, which has an interesting history. Ural Motorcycles started out as the BMW R-71 in WWII, the Russians reverse engineered the bike and called it the M-72. From 1941-1950 some 30,000 were built for the Soviet Army. The bikes are now made for the civilian market (mostly in Russia) but also also sold overseas (including the US). Over the years they have been greatly improved, and some 3.2 million have been built. I saw this motorcycle at a local business in Concord, NC (an Army surplus place on NC-3) while I stopped nearby for gasoline, and had to check it out.
At any case, while a short ride (family comes first on these trips), I did get out, and had a great time getting to roll down some roads in the area. Certainly, this commuting back home from Virginia is going to take some getting used to, but does look like it will be possible to pull this off. Great enjoyed the ride, and the visit home was wonderful!

Miles from the Motorcycle (Early Days In VA)

Got to Virginia on February 15; have been getting set up. With all the things going on with that move, have been doing little on this blog for some days now. Which would not be all that rare; it is after all February. While we did get some very good weather in Carolina a few days ago (see previous post) it is still winter. Learned today that there is even a chance of snow this weekend in the Concord area. In fact today in both Richmond, VA and Concord, NC we got rain which is also not conductive to motorcycling. Between that and temperatures this week in the 40's just would not be doing much (if any) riding at all even if I had my motorcycle here (and I don't).
Still though, have talked some with a few local bikers at my new job, who say this is a great place to have, and to ride, a motorcycle. I can believe that, and sure would be a great way to explore this area. Certainly that was the case in Carolina, from talking to people have been to and have seen more of the state than many of the people who live there. That is one of the great things about riding. Riding is so much fun that its easy to get lost in it, and to go further with a bigger grin on your face, than a person would ever imagine.
Miss my family, friends, (yes) the bike, and of course looking forward to getting back there this weekend. Will though get some good rides in; and still have a lot of pleasant memories to tide me over till I get back on it. A lot of good events coming up soon in Carolina. However, among the many things I plan to explore here, will also get out and see what the Virginia motorcycle scene is like (unfortunately here...sans bike). Still though, will be an interesting perspective, and should be a lot of fun.

Morrow Mountain Ride (February 8,2009)

Good days ride today, got one of those days that just don't happen that often in February.....lower 70's. Enjoyed it a great deal, and took advantage starting at noon. Sure its been a pretty rough weekend; got the transfer coming up soon to Virginia, and this weekend the furnace gave up the ghost. Thankfully, have a great wife, son and dogs..oh and a motorcycle. Today put the transfer and the furnace (its only money) behind me, and got out on the bike. Rode out on the backroads near my house to Albemarle, NC. Took this photo while I was out (and yes, its in black and white, thought it went well with the winter look around here, and enjoyed the twists and turns of the road. Lots of farms and animals; interesting sights and smells; those are some of my favorite roads. Good Carolina two lane roads with a lot of wonderful things to see around every corner.

I went to Morrow Mountain, it was full of cars and motorcycles at the top. Always a nice view up there and today was no exception. Not sure what it is about that place except maybe that its the closest "mountain" in this local area, and its a beautiful ride to get there, but at any case it draws motorcycles to it like flies to honey. I made a short stop at Harmanco's in Albemarle, a great place to get a quick bite to eat. It also helps that it is very biker friendly. I have been going there for years. Continued to ride around Albemarle, NC which is famous for being the home town of Kellie Pickler, the country singer on American Idol.

I finished my ride around the area with a visit to Baden Lake. Baden Lake is located in the town of Baden which was once famous for the Alcoa plant there. The plant is still there but employment is way down, if its still running at all (I am not quite sure to be honest).

That is my bike in the photo at the left, and the lake goes on for miles. Often sea gulls are there; bring a bunch of potato chips, toss them in the air, and you would not believe how popular you can be for a brief time. Often people swim there in the summer (which is the reason for the barricades out there) but warm as it was today, not so much in early February.

I headed back down the same roads I came up. As it was all day, passed a lot of motorcyclists all enjoying this very unique winter day. Winter days like this is one of the great parts of riding in the Carolinas, and certainly made the three hour ride today one I will remember. It was a very good time, and a most enjoyable day. Nothing left to do today but to wash some road salt (from the winter weather a few days ago) off the bike, and chill out with Patty the rest of the day. Certainly, it was a most relaxing and very enjoyable day out on two wheels today.

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.