Halloween Ride (October 31, 2015)

Halloween fell on a Saturday this year, so took a ride on a pretty nice day, least it was sunny if a little cool. Due to the holiday rode out to Hollywood Cemetery. It is a scenic and cool place in Richmond with two and a half US Presidents buried there (James Monroe, John Tyler and Jeff Davis...Davis being the half) and a number of Generals (all Confederate). This is the grave of JEB Stuart, who was a Cavalry leader for the Confederacy. Sure he would have admired my Kawasaki...know I do.
Rode there and also to Church Hill. Got some lunch there at Alamo BBQ. Was not a big mileage ride but was fun. Traffic was not real bad, and it was not a bad days ride. Even stopped at first at the Vets office in my neighborhood to get monthly medicine for my dog. It was also a good ride around the Oregon Hill neighborhood, all local but a fun ride.  

Got a photo while at Alamo of these two 1988 Honda Hawk motorcycles. Nice bikes back in the day, and good to see them. I would imagine that one is for parts, but both are (expired) tagged. I rode a Honda Hawk (did not own it, but got to ride from a friend who did) and it was a good motorcycle. Have been on some good rides since my last post, but most have been really local. As Fall goes on toward winter the rides tend to get shorter. That may change expecting some warmer weather next weekend. Working a lot of 12 hour days at work, so after work rides have been few and far between. Of note this year, last weekend went to the Blue Ridge Parkway. New girlfriend does not like motorcycles, so we went there in the car. Was a rainy day so that is not a bad thing, but did miss being there on the bike. While the trees did change, was not a popping year for color there.

Last Ride Summer 2015 (September 20, 2015)

Last official Summer Sunday (Fall starts Wednesday) and it was a beautiful day. Took a ride starting with Riverside Drive, one of my favorite Sunday rides. Very peaceful with light traffic though along the river a lot of joggers, walkers and bikers (in this case bicycle would be the operative term). They are nice though and the views are remarkable. Also nice, was cool enough to wear a light jacket. As you can see at left it was a nice day to ride.

Rode out onto Old Gun Road (which runs right off of Riverside. I assume these are the "old guns"....well one is a Civil War cannon, and the other is a "gun mold". They did make cannon in Richmond, not sure how this ended up in the James River where it was found over 100 years later, sure there would be a good story. No way to ever know though. At any case, another neat part of riding in the area of the river. Just a fun area to be in.  

Ended up down on Midlothian, where I got this photo of the Awful Arthur's Seafood. Its a good place to eat, Richmond has a few good sea food places though they tend to be rather high dollar or else places like Captain D's/Long John Silver (not that there is anything wrong with that...have eaten at those last two many times in the past, and will in the future). Lunch though was at Firehouse Subs not far from my apartment. A short ride and the last ride of Summer was over after 42 miles. It was a fantastic summer of some good riding. Nothing to be sad over though, Fall is one of my favorite times of the year to ride. Looking forward to the roads ahead.  

Labor Day Ride (September 7, 2015)

 Labor Day took another ride. This was Cary Street on that day...this ride was around 8AM. Pretty much everyone was still in bed, a good time to ride. This is a fun section of Richmond with a lot of stores and restaurants. Some of the best food in the city can be found here.
I love early rides, and Labor Day was a beautiful day to do so.
Rode around this area a bit, and even got off the motorcycle and rode around for a bit.

This was taken on Monument Avenue, is my motorcycle in front of The Robert E. Lee statue. He is on Traveler his horse, and I was on mine that day.
Monument Avenue is very interesting, in that there are a lot of Civil War statues and even one of Arthur Ashe who was from Richmond,
There are also some very old houses and it is a very beautiful street.

Finally made a stop at Tredegar where I got a photo of the old armory and the cannon in front. I am not a fan of the Southern cause, but I do enjoy history.
Richmond is a great historic town with not just Civil War but a lot of Revolutionary War history. I love to explore it, and see the sights to be found here.

Test Rides Post Repairs (September 5-6, 2015)

Excellent ride on September 5...had gotten the bike back from the shop a few days before. They had fixed the overheating problem (which happens more often than I realized...in fact there was another bike in the shop with the same problem, and talked to someone on the Vulcan Riders Forum today who had the temperature light flash. Told him (as did others) to check it out.
Anyhow the ride started with a stop at Richmond International Raceway, which was getting ready for the race (which happened on September 12)...always a nice place to visit.

Rode out after that to Gaines Mill Battlefield. Like that for a couple of reasons; one is that the history of the place is  just amazing..the Civil War is our bloodiest war, and two...the roads out there are just remarkable. Twisty country roads...other than the asphalt the soldiers would probably find this place, as well as very nearby Cold Harbor, to be familiar. Much of the earthworks remain. In fact at Gaines Mill there is a photo of one of the scenes from back then where you are looking...very little if any change.
From there rode back into Richmond and back to Velocity. Thanked again my mechanic for the job she did on the bike. Did cost quite a bit but as noted she did some extra and the motorcycle runs like new. I really, really am happy with the work done.

The following day took a short ride out to Riverside Drive (and parts of Richmond) but love this place on a Sunday morning. Very peaceful with runners and boaters and just quiet out there. Beautiful road as well...and the James is always nice to see.
Nice to have the motorcycle back. Writing this a week later...this weekend has been pretty wet...had big storms on Friday, Saturday and even a bit of rain on Sunday. So did not ride this weekend, but it is there waiting for me. Even got a bit of a touch of fall, looking forward to the rides coming up.

Back in the Saddle Again (September 3, 2015)

Well here is the scorecard....$332,52 in parts, $369 in labor...tax and antifreeze....comes to $729.26. Pricey but first real mechanical problem in the 10 years I have had this bike. I like Velocity who also fixed my taillight problem a while back, and did tires and brakes last year.
I still feel lucky as it could have been worse. Did some other work...said the bike needed new spark plug wires and for sure it does feel a lot stronger now and smoother. So that was a good call.
Sure felt good to be back on the bike again. I did not ride it very long, This was mainly to the weather forecast (which it did not rain) and the fact the really hard day at work was today.
Hoping to take the bike out on a good test ride tomorrow as that will be the start of the four day Labor Day weekend. Plan to start with some short rides and gradually make them longer as I go to see how this motorcycle is doing after its problem. That though will sure be a lot of fun...have missed this.

Under Repair (August 19, 2015)

 Well, something I had not planned on seeing, my bike in Velocity...awaiting parts,.which are being ordered from Kawasaki. Apparently during the ride yesterday the thermostat went out.This mostly melted the housing and that has to be ordered...plus the thermostat.
Lucky in that there was plunty of coolant in it, and that protected it. I noted no damage to the engine, and should have it back in a few days.
Not exactly how I planned to spend my vacation, but things like this are never planned. This is the first real mechanical problem I have had in the 10 years of ownership of the motorcycle.

Strangely this Vulcan 750 (which like my bike is no longer made) is also in for a coolant problem. While mine is an 05 not sure what year this is. They made them for a long time though. The Vulcan 750 was actually known as a really good motorcycle with rather dated styling. It was replaced by the Vulcan 800 which was more updated and that has been replaced by the current Vulcan 900.
At any case, hoping for a quick return of the Vulcan....looking forward to getting in some good late Summer and hopefully some remarkable Fall rides very soon.

Charlottesville, VA (August 17, 2015)

 A good day...though ended sort of sad. Rode out to Charlottesville, VA a favorite place where I planned to do some exploring. However had a problem (a leak) on the motorcycle and decided to cut the ride short. I headed back to Richmond after getting a few photos from an apple orchard which offered scenic views. Indeed they were.

Took the motorcycle to Velocity Motorcycles which to me is one of the best shops in Richmond. After 10 years of ownership this is the first real problem I have had with my Vulcan and it looks to be a leaking hose at this time. I should have a better answer tomorrow, they are currently working on it. Once again though the motorcycle at least got me to the shop, it has never (knock on wood) left me stranded on the side of the road.
Even with that, was a very good ride. Noted that they are doing a lot of work on I-64 heading toward the Blue Ridge Parkway, and that is a good thing.  

Two Days - Four Rides (August 15-16, 2015)

 Did some riding on my first vacation weekend...Saturday went to Chester, VA and then rode out to Buffalo Wild Wings near Woodlake on Hull Street Road. While there a pair of Harley Davidson motorcycles joined mine. To me, some of the best hot wings in the RVA (though its a chain) and got to see some of the preseason Carolina/Buffalo game from the night before.
It was a good day to ride, not all that hot, low humidity and traffic was not all that heavy for some reason. I enjoyed it a great deal.  

Something I don't do much is ride at night, but that on Saturday night was wonderful. Sweet coolness and just nice seeing the city with a different look. I rode to Church Hill where I got this photo of Richmond from up there, and that was really nice.
It was fun to get out, and enjoyed seeing all the people out having fun. Shockoe Bottom was really busy with a lot of things going on..and just loved the ride. Before dark really fell I had ridden the motorcycle to Crossroads Coffee where I checked out the band playing there and had some...coffee. A nice night.  

Sunday rode to breakfast at Galley, and rode around a bit. I was going to go the BBQ and Brew Festival at the 17th Street Farmers Market in Shockoe Bottom, but it was SLAMMED. Instead went down Nine Mile Road and for the first time visited The Dobbs House. It is a museum from the Civil War and once was the headquarters of Robert E. Lee. This was his room, the furniture is period but not original to his time, but it is much as he would have known..least his part of it. Much of the house has been added to over the years.    

Had a good time on Saturday night, so on Sunday night did it again. Once more to Church Hill (after a visit to a friend's house) and took this photo from Libby Hill Park. Actually talked to some people in cars while driving when stopped at red lights, and once again had a wonderful time riding in the coolness of the air. Love taking night photos and got some good ones both Saturday night and Sunday.
For the two days covered some 115 miles and all the rides were a lot of fun. On Monday going to Charlottesville for a look at that city.  

Filipino Festival Ride (August 8, 2015)

 Rain stopped and went to the Filipino Festival. Have been to this event before, I was based there for a time while in the US Navy and the culture, food and the beer for that matter are a treat to return to now at this event. I think it is the 10th year and I had a great time.


Morning rains cleared and so to go to the event I got to ride the motorcycle. As with last weekend it was a short ride...I went to the festival and rode around a bit. The festival was held at a Catholic church in the Lakeside section of Richmond..I took I-85 there and went back via the back way. It was a very nice ride. I am planning some bigger rides during the upcoming week, as I will be on vacation and that will be a great time to get some good rides in.  

Sunday "Football" Ride (August 2, 2015)

 I went on Sunday August 2 to the Redskins Training Camp, and have that post on my "Richmond and Me" page.
Visited with these Richmond police officers just outside the camp and asked if I could take this photo. Was real impressed with their motorcycles, as the police use Harley Davidson's (many police departments do, but many don't...BMW is also popular as are some Japanese models).
They said they have very little trouble with the motorcycles, and they are pretty reliable. Harley to me is sort of a mixed bag...I have heard some good and bad about them. I do know the Japanese motorcycles I have had (and do have now) are stone cold reliable. This photo was taken on Grace Street, have been there a lot lately. No real reason other than its a very fun road to ride, with some interesting sights. Went there after the training camp, just wanted to get a few miles in. Was mostly doing things this weekend  as I also went to the Dragon Boat Races on Saturday and wanted to get out for a bit and just ride.

One thing cool about Richmond is art like this, which I photographed on Broad Street. It is amazing the things you see on the walls of buildings and some of them are really neat and fun to see.
It was a great day to ride though did start getting a little warm under the helmet later in the ride. I think it was a bit after 1pm when I parked the motorcycle  for the day. |
Not a lot of miles either Saturday or Sunday but I sure had a very good time.
More good rides to come and looking forward to seeing more of the interesting sights and riding the roads Richmond and also Virginia have to offer.

Dragon Boat Ride (August 1, 2015)

 Rode to the Dragon Boat races at Rockett's Landing, this being the 6th year for it and went to this last year. Good event with races, food, beverages and big crowds. I enjoyed it on a hot but less humid day then it was last week. It is an international competition and there were a lot of teams there. Glad I went and had a really great time.  

Glad I rode my motorcycle...parking was rather difficult but easier with a bike. I did not ride with this group but since I was riding and saw these three got this photo. One in the back is a Honda 600 Shadow which is of the type I had before I got the Vulcan. Always nice to see those as I have some happy and good memories.
Unlike last weekend did not get a whole lot of miles in. Did take a short post event ride and had lunch at the newly opened Firehouse Subs on Forest Hill Avenue. Love that restaurant as it is sort of a Subway on steroids. Good sandwiches and just like eating at those.
Tomorrow plan to ride again, this time going to the Washington Redskins training camp which is held in Richmond. Not a big fan of the team but am a big fan of football...and I do think its cool they are here. I also plan to get a ride in, should be another very nice day. Later this week rain chances and humidity ramp up again..go figure. Good to be in August though.  

Tappahannock and the RVA (July 25-26)

Nice ride on Saturday the 25th. Humidity was nice and low while temperatures were not too bad. Got in a good ride to Tappahannock which is where the Rappahannock River is. Saw some of the old buildings, had lunch and enjoyed views like at left of the river. I also made a stop at the airport there. Riding down 360 was really nice and the traffic was mostly (except for a section up and back of Mechanicsville) light. I have been there before and it is a fun town to visit. I could not have asked for a better day or a nicer ride. Have had to deal with traffic of late while riding..nice to get a break.  

Sunday ride was not the 115 miles of the previous day but got in a good ride mostly around Richmond. I took this photo on Grace Street across from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts...this is a very cool house (and the motorcycle is my very fine ride).
I love to ride on Sunday mornings....for one thing the traffic is really light and the town is for the most part just waking up. I think Richmond is either in church or sleeping in.
I rode around Grace, downtown and then in the Carver section of the city. Went back by GWAR Bar which was not open (never have been by it when it is) but still there and seems to be doing well as they have added to it some since it opened.
At any case, was a very good couple of days and could not have asked for better weather. Nice thing was that after this it got real hot and humid for the rest of the week. We also had some showers during the week but at least the weekends have been good of late. I count my blessings.  

A Few Good Rides (July 10, 12, 18-19, 2015)

 Some very good rides this month. On July 10 rode with a friend (who rides a Honda 600 Shadow, the type of bike that I rode previous to my Vulcan) to Roseland, VA. Nice ride....went from Richmond via VA 6 which was a fun road. Had ridden part of it in the past , but this time got up to this place. Nice brew pub with a very nice (sort of hunting lodge) interior and of course I like the beer (which I had one of). Went also though Scottsville, VA on the way...liked that town. We stopped for gas on the way up, coffee and a break on the way back. Looking forward to checking out more in this area in the weeks to come.  
  Sunday July 12 took my normal Sunday ride. Headed to Galley for brunch and rode out to the Midlothian mines, site of the first coal mines in North America. Unlike the previous ride was not much for distance, but was a very fun ride. Heat and humidity were very bad that day so did not make it a long trip, but was very nice. Plus this was the last day of vacation, had been on some really good motorcycle rides over the period and wanted to get back to relax a bit since I assumed Monday would be a hard day after being off for a week (and it was, but that is another story).  

Saturday July 18 made some cool stops. I rode the bike to Church Hill to look at some houses, which were nice. I am not quite sure where I am going to settle when I (can) retire some three years from now....got a few places in mind and Richmond is one of them. I also rode to the Virginia Railway Museum on Hull Street...they had an open house. Not quite the NC Transportation Museum in Spencer, NC which is my favorite train museum, but I enjoyed it. I also walked around an abandoned building in Richmond, and had lunch at Legends after a look around Scoot Richmond (which sells Triumph and Moto Guzzi Motorcycles. Nice Saturday.  

Sunday was a bigger ride than usual. Went rolling toward Ashland (just for the hell of it) and came across a huge backup on I-95. Got off the highway and via some backroads came across Hanover. I was there a few weeks ago, but again this is Hanover Tavern. Both this and the courthouse across the street date to the early 1700's. I did make it to Ashland on this very hot and humid day and then rode back to Richmond via VA 1. That is much cooler road than I-95 anyhow. As for lunch...went to McDonalds and skipped the brunch at Galley this week. Covered a lot more miles than I did the day before, which was sort of unusual. Been some good rides over the last few weeks.  

Two Rides in July (July 3 and 7, 2015)

From the previous ride, I did some work on the motorcycle.  As a sort of test ride on Friday July 3 rode around the Richmond area. Not a lot of big miles but did go to some nice areas such as being on Grace Street here at left. A lot of old and very cool houses can be found there. I also rode around the Rocketts Landing
The ride was around some 30 miles, and I had zero problems with the Vulcan. I was concerned about the weather forecast for the day and in fact at the fireworks later that evening watched them under an umbrella while standing in the rain. However, it was a nice celebration of the Fourth of July in Richmond...a day early.

On July 7, a ride to Yorktown Beach. This is one of my favorite places to go to. Took the ride there via Route 5 which is a two lane road from Richmond with a lot of curves, tree lined sections, and best of all no traffic backups. Learning that riding anyplace on I-64 toward Williamsburg often means huge backups and stop and go traffic. Route 5 has none of those.
Rode past a number of Civil War Battlefields, Plantations, and then up the beautiful Colonial Parkway past a Revolutionary War battlefield to Yorktown Beach. Walked around a bit, seeing the beach, some shops, a few historic buildings and sights and stopped in the Yorktown Pub.

On the way back, again via Route 5 passed through Williamsburg after a bit longer ride on the Colonial Parkway (that is a great road)  where I stopped at the College of William and Mary there. While there saw this building which just happens to be the oldest college building in the US. Still in use and has been since the 1600's. That to me is remarkable, but there is a lot of that sort of thing in Virginia. As noted also saw some buildings from the 1700's in Yorktown  and there is a building that old in Richmond for that matter. A lot of history can be found in this state. At any case got back after being out some five hours (riding and walking around areas of interest) and a total of 158 miles of riding. It was a hot day at the end, but a good day for a ride. Much better than the previous trip this year which put me via I-64 in a number of traffic jams. Currently on vacation which is in this period of these two rides and will be doing some more while I have the time off with some more upcoming rides planned.      

Ride to Sunday Park (June 28, 2015)

Got in a Sunday ride...and the first stop I made was Sunday Park. There is a small lake there (used for water) and there were some sailboats and a pontoon boat on it. There is also a restaurant there called The Boathouse which is very good (also very pricey) with two other locations in Richmond. Good place to eat though. Ride was real nice, temperature was around 78 and humidity was not a concern. Yesterday was a full day of storms and showers so this was really nice to get out and enjoy the road a bit. I was glad to have the one day to ride. There are times that it is impossible to get even that.

Stopped at Steel House Harley Davidson on what was an out and back ride. Down Rt 360 and back. This was on the way back. Nice dealer and they have some good motorcycles. Problem I have with Harley-Davidson is reliability and the cost is amazingly high. Looked at that survey at Consumer Reports...Harley reliability was about in the middle...way worse than the Japanese bikes, but better than Triumph, Ducati, BMW and especially Can-Am. I want to ride my motorcycle not work on it, or have it spend time in the shop.
Anyhow, did that riding today, and it was a wonderful day on two wheels. Got quite a few more rides coming up -will be on vacation in four days. My plan is to explore Virginia, for a change not going out of the state to Carolina, or Kentucky. No plans to even go to other places...going to see some of the sights in this amazing state.

End of Spring/Start of Summer (June 20-21,2015)

 Went riding on June 20, the last official day of Spring. Was a good day though the heat was in the upper 90's so went for an early ride along the James River. Beautiful ride and had a great time being out in the "cool" of the day.
I also rode to Goochland, VA for the first time..not much there; an old courthouse and an old Stone Jail (seems to be a lot of that here) and some really nice roads. Some were roads I have been on, some of them were really new.
Got home around noon, had big storms later that night which killed a lot of power in the area, but thankfully not my place.

Went out on Sunday which was Father's Day; I am a Dad but one son lives in Louisville and the other in North Carolina. Went to Galley (its the old Navy man in me, like the food and the theme of the place) and road around some after a very good brunch.
A lot of streets had lights out (no power) and were four ways stops, a lot of trees were down from the storms which were pretty impressive the night before. Once again the temperatures were up even early, and I rode around Richmond before coming in. Before coming back went by Advance and got some SeaFoam (tune up in a can) and added some of that with fuel. Bike running great but that stuff really cleans fuel injectors. All the Vulcan riders swear by it, and have used it for the past few years. That and a quality motorcycle have made the past 10 years with it wonderful. One funny story - salesman at the auto parts store told me he had a Harley Sportster (new one) and in the first year it broke down 3 times. Told him (knock on wood) in ten years mine has never left me sitting. Part luck (could always pick up a nail, etc) but she has sure been one reliable ride.      

Yorktown Ride ( June 13, 2015)

Good Saturday ride again, this time went to Yorktown Beach...cause it seemed like a really good idea..and it was. Have a great time there everytime I go.
This monument in Yorktown is very cool....is for the victory of the Colonials under George Washington over the British Forces under Lord Cornwallis. This battle effectively ended the Revolutionary War. The battlefield is right before the town of Yorktown, and I have been to it on a past visit (and pretty sure I have photos here).
To get to Yorktown Beach I took Route 5 and then got in the Colonial Parkway and basically followed the signs. Colonial Parkway is a fun road to ride.

This is a view of the beach, on the bank of the York River. There are a number of stores and restaurants there, and its a great place to cool off and get something to eat and even explore some of the old places in the town (all of which is in walking distance).
Did make one mistake...tried to get back to Richmond via I-64. In the summer that is Not the way to travel to either this area (which included near by Williamsburg, Jamestown and not too far away Virginia Beach. If you want to go in the summer, explore some alternate routes. I will be doing so on my next visit to Virginia Beach. Other than the stop and go highway traffic, it was a fantastic trip.

Saturday Ride (June 6, 2015)

 Interesting ride on a Saturday. Rode out in what is the Northside of Richmond..went down some interesting rides in this city, and this covered some new roads.
I liked this area though think some of these places had seen better days. Still it was fun to run around the area.
Was a real nice day, was not real warm either which was nice. This was an early sort of ride, took off in the late morning and was back in the early afternoon.
This time of year nice to beat the late afternoon heat,

This restaurant is the Dog and Pig Show in Church Hill (a section of Richmond that is very cool). First time I have eaten there and it was very, very good. Had a Pork Poorboy which was really different and melt in your mouth good.
They don't have places to sit in there but there is a park right across from St. John's Church which is almost next door (that is where Patrick Henry gave his famous "Give me Liberty or Give me Death Speech") that was a fine place to enjoy the food.
As for this ride was not huge but was a great time.

End of May (May 30-31,2015)

Another two days of riding as I went to The Greek Festival on Malvern Avenue. They have been having that for the last 40 years, I have been going for something like five of them. It is a great event as I love Greek Food and big crowds, plus that is a good area to ride in. I enjoyed the meal and had a good time running around that area. I also took a short ride though downtown and through Church Hill and on Route 5. Did not get in a great many miles but it was a lot of fun.
Sunday went to Chester, VA where I did some exploring seeing some old things and also a few new ones...as there is a lot of development down in that area. For the two days got in some 80 miles total, and even made a stop at the Chesterfield Airport. Both days were really hot and humid with temperatures well into the 90s.

Post Mountain Rides (May 24-25,2015)

Took a ride to Hardywood Park which is a brewery in Richmond. We have a few of them here, and this is one of the better ones (though all are pretty good).
Stopped in there on Sunday and it was a pretty hot day so a beer (never too many) sounded like a good idea.
It was, and so was the ride around that area. It was a hot day and the ride felt good. Nice to be out in the breeze and being a Sunday traffic was not too bad (though it did pick up later on, but never really bad).
Rode around the area for a while...Redskins Training camp in that area also.  

This is crossing Broad Street  heading to Monument Avenue. One of the most interesting streets in Richmond, there is a statue of Stonewall Jackson in the distance. There are a lot of Confederate Generals on that street...and a statue of tennis great (and Richmond native) Arthur Ashe.
At any case, Sunday was a good if short ride.

 Memorial Day took a ride to Powhatan which is a neat city. Lots of country out there, some really neat back roads.
There also are some old historic buildings..such as this one at left. It is a fun area to ride too and had a good visit there and on the backroads.
It was another hot day but a good day for a ride.As noted this ride was a shorter one than the mountain ride. Sure was fun though.  

Finished the ride with a cruise up Riverside Drive along the James River. It is a beautiful river and that was a nice ride. Being Memorial Day though, there were a lot of people there, this was one of the rare photos without a bunch of them in it.
At any case, good two days of riding after a great Saturday ride. For the three days, ended up real close to 400 miles, the bulk of which was the previous ride to the Blue Ridge Parkway. Not a bad four day weekend (could not ride Friday due to rain here). Looking forward to the next ride ahead!