Warm Sunday Ride in the RVA (October 30, 2016)

Amazingly temperature was close to 80 (in fact later got up to 83) on this beautiful Sunday. Got the bike out and ran to mail a bill, stopped at Stony Point Fashion Park to see the new changes going on there (will have photos of those soon as will be going to see Christmas tree lighting very soon now) and got out in the country. I rode out River Road past the beautiful houses, up six for a while and then back via 503 to Richmond. Nice to be out in the country for a good ride.
After that, rode out to Hull Street and up that way for a bit and then over to the Midlothian Turnpike. Stopped at Capital Ale House for a short visit and then rode back after a visit with some friends to the house. Entire ride was 67 miles on what was a beautiful day. I was not alone in that did a lot of waving at the other bikers who were also out and about on their motorcycles. It was just an outstanding day to ride.  

1000 and beyond (October 28, 2016)

Pretty good Friday. Weather was great....66 and sunny outside. Went for a short ride on the new bike....and this one after the ride to the mountains a few days before would put it over 1000 miles. So far so good.
Took this photo with the cell phone camera timer...did not plan to be out much (did a lot of work around the house before the ride) and it was cool early on. Was going to get into the 60's but was going to take awhile, and it did.

Dressed for the weather with the good coat, and gloves. It was not too bad either. Once again I hit it on the clothes to wear on a cool, day.
Rode up Midlothian Turnpike and like that ride. Not nearly as far as I did a few days before. This time just rode into Midlothian itself. I was watching the road and also watching the odometer. Had a rough idea what would get me to 1000 miles and seems I nailed it dead on when I finally hit the magic number.
Got to 1000 at..... Buffalo Wild Wings. Stopped there for a quick lunch and then went to the Bon Air area of Richmond.  It was a very good ride if a little on the short side. That photo is seen below. I do plan to get a better one in this Sunday coming up.

Back to the Parkway (October 23, 2016)

Beautiful fall day, very cool but was dressed for it. Headed up Midlothian Turnpike to the Lexington, Virginia area to get on the Blue Ridge Parkway. This is much like a previous trip and once again made a stop in Lexington. Interesting down with a lot of history (was founded in 1778) and the view at right was there. Made a short walking tour of the area after parking at the very nice Visitor Center. If you are ever in the area, well worth a stop.

Had a great ride on the Parkway. Love these stone walls, and a nice view of the area from here (Here being Raven's Roost Lookout). Driving the Parkway often feels like flying..when you go down the road and look out you see views like this (though most often with no walls). Not a great deal of fall color, which might get better but I don't think so. Mostly green with some yellow and orange and a real light touch of red in the leaves.

While there came across two other Triumph riders. Mine is at far left, a 2015 Bonneville is in the middle and at far right (green and while) is a 2002 Bonneville (with carbs). Rode with them (by invite )via a "better way" to Richmond, and they were right. Was a great deal of fun and sure as hell beat the highway. Slower but a whole lot more scenic and fun to ride than I-64. Think I am done with using the highway to get to the mountains. It was just a wonderful day, but that is not unusual for that road. I think its the best road in America. If you would like to see more photos from this ride, check out my "Richmond and Me" page,
     

Nothing like a wet one. (October 21, 2016)

Well, It was a warm Friday and I was off and after a few days of work, a ride sounded like a beautiful day. Not often in late October in Richmond temperatures were in the low 80s.
Coupled with sunny skies it seemed like a great time to ride and it was for quite a while.
Took this photo of this old church (it is on the National Historic Register) in Oregon Hill. Oregon Hill is an old neighborhood in Richmond, and is where Hollywood Cemetery is located.
Anyhow went out for a few miles just basically running around Richmond. I even got out a bit in quite a few of the other neighborhoods.
Stopped in Carytown for lunch at Zzaam which is a Korean restaurant. The founder was the man who started Sweet Frog. I love to eat there as the food is very, very good. It is also nicely priced (meaning it is affordable) and the parking is also excellent. I was looking forward to eating there again as it is has gotten to be one of my favorite places.
Anyhow I rode on....

Went down to Shiplock Park in Shockoe Bottom. Noticed the skies were really clouding up, we had a good chance of early evening storms. Turned out to be "early afternoon storms" as the rains came with a fury. I got home soaked to the bone. In fact had planned on Saturday washing the bike, but the rains did a great job so dried it off in the storage building, polished the pipes, and cleaned the mirrors. Actually worked out pretty good as the bike was clean and I did not need a shower later either!

Day Ride...and first Triumph Night ride/Rocket Launch (October 17, 2016)

Took a ride to Malvern Hill....old Civil War battlefield. First time on the Triumph to be there.  

Another stop was to Tredegar which was the Armory for the Confederacy in the Civil War, and is now a museum in Richmond., VA.  

Day rides (two photos above) were short but was a very nice ride. Made my first night ride on the Triumph (same day just a few hours later)..which is seen here at the Virginia War Museum. Reason I went there was that it was said to be the best place to see a rocket launch. Orbital was launching a supply rocket to the International Space Station at 740 (scheduled) and I rode out to see it. Was surprised to see I was not alone. There were a number of people without cameras and some with impressive set ups to see the launch. The rocket was launching from Wallops Island, VA

Had read (and heard from some of the old hands) that it would come up between the two buildings. Though I have a pair of good cameras due to time I left without either of them, so this and the night bike photo above were taken with my cell phone. Right on time it showed up (the Island is around 100 miles away) but if you look and see the dot between the two buildings (sort of center left) that is it. Live it was better as we could see flames coming out of the engines and saw the staging of the second stage. I had never seen a rocket launch live and got to see...it was pretty damn cool. Always wanted to see one from Kennedy Space Center. Closest I ever came was once during a visit there the Space Shuttle Atlantis was on the launch pad. Unfortunately it was days away from flying. So this was pretty cool.  

Fall Ride to 600 miles (October 14, 2016)

Went out on a ride on a cool Friday. First real ride after the post "600 mile' maintenance, Actually according to Triumph it was due at 500...the shop said 600, so I ended up in the middle at just under 550 miles. When I brought it home from the shop had exactly 550 miles on it.  Was a good time with vacation this week to get it done. Debbie has been visiting so have not been out much, but got a short one in. So saw this scene at Stony Point Fashion Park...fall color at last!

 The new owners of the mall are redoing Stony Point...going to improve it to bring more people there. Hope so, for it is (among other things) the most dog friendly mall in the area.
Rode a bit more on my quest for 50 miles, and stopped at this church. Many of the churches in the area sell pumpkins...was not equipped to carry one but like a good fall scene and this made for a good photo....so I took it. Love this time of year a great deal, and it is probably my favorite time to ride.

Ride was real good. I think the temperature was around 60, had on my coat and gloves. Probably when I am dressed safest for motorcycle riding (except for probably winter when I am almost armored with all the layers I have on).
Came to the train tracks near my house and got this photo.  I was pretty impressed with this one though it was mostly luck in that I snapped it as the train was coming.
Bike now is officially broke in...the only warning from the manual from 500-1000 is to "limit full throttle operation" which is probably always good -not just for the motorcycle but to keep from having close relationships with the police.
Runs real good though. I enjoy riding the curvy roads a lot better and with more horsepower over the Vulcan as well as a lot less weight it s a lot more motorcycle feeling than my very good former bike was. That said very happy and grateful to Kawasaki for building me a very awesome machine that served me so very well for 11 wonderful years. Looking forward to the next ride on the bike in the very near future.

Triumph -First Service (October 7, 2016)

Friday October 7 got the first service done on the Triumph Speedmaster at Scoot Richmond. Total cost was $232.78. Got the oil change and they also went over the motorcycle. Mechanic told me they "did some work" on the throttle bodies. So far no issues with the motorcycle and I have no complaints.
 The service did take a while, though I had a two PM appointment it was much later due to problems with a previous motorcycle that was there before me. I went to Legend's for a bit, had a couple of frosty beverages while I waited and then hung out at the shop. Was no big deal, as I did not have much planned for the day.
Good to get this done and I am set for the next 7,000 miles.

Oil that went into it is Synthetic, and that is really good. Always wanted to use this on the Vulcan (but never did). This bike was my previous (if you have been following this page you would know that) and traded it in on the Triumph. Actually think I got a good trade on it price wise. This bike will be the one by which the Triumph is judged...only one problem with it in 11 years of ownership. That was a thermostat that went out in the cooling system. The Vulcan ALWAYS got me home. Was never left stranded.

Interesting motorcycle here. Moto Guzzi "Flying Fortress". I imagine though not sure it is named for the WW2 Boing B-17 bomber flown by the US Army Air Force. Great plane and this is certainly and interesting motorcycle. Big heavy thing by the look of it.
Moto Guzzi uses a interesting engine arrangement on their V-twin...coming out of each side. Made in Italy and not a lot of US dealers, though what can I say...I have a Triumph now.  

This bike caught my eye. It is a Yamaha RD350. I had one back in 1973-74 and got to say that was a fantastic motorcycle though I did not have it very long. Replaced it with a Kawasaki H2 and sold the Yamaha to a friend (who tore it up in no time. It was quick and fast...a twin two cycle engine powered it. Was for the day one of the quickest and fastest things out there. Shocked the crap out of many a Harley owner who made fun of the engine sound, came away a believer when the light changed. Also defeated many bigger bikes when raced on the AMA circuit back in the day. Many of the National Champions rode these bikes.
Oil change and service happened a little short of 600 miles, and when I got it home mileage on the clock was 550. Essentally broke in (only supposed to limit full throttle operation until I hit the 1000 mile mark). Will be interesting to see what the fall brings...hope to get some good rides in and will document those rides here. Hope you get to come along for the ride!

Monday: The Way Its Meant to Be (October 3, 2016)

Very nice day. As you can see from the photo, awoke to Sunshine. That has been a while to be sure. In fact clouds did not even show up until later. I had a dentist appointment and that was my first stop. That went well, and then rode to lunch. Tried something new at The Pub which is part of Wegmans. That is a heck of a grocery store (though just looked around) Ate at The Pub though which is also really nice and some very tasty food.

Noted there had been a lot of rain, and that was reflected in a ride on Riverside Drive. The James River is really up, and in fact was much higher a couple of days ago. Surprised it has not overrun its banks (and perhaps it did though nothing showing on the side so perhaps not too) but it is way up there.
Nice ride along it though and for sure the rapids on the river would have been a real adventure. Did not see anyone trying them out though.    

Today was not a big huge ride...just a little short of 50 miles. The motorcycle is in this photo and at 545 miles I think I have maybe one more 50 mile ride before taking it in for its first service (at 600 miles). So far have had zero problems and it has been a real hoot. Sure is a lot of fun on a curvy road. Taking it easy on the engine and sticking real close to the break in on it. Having a great time and looking forward to a whole lot more fun further down the road.    

Sunday Airport Brunch (October 2, 2016)

 Well...been one rainy week. I mean to say the vast majority of the week. Wanted to ride some on Saturday and did get out in the car but still a whole lot of standing water on Saturday. We got this amazing set of storms- something like 7 inches from Tuesday to Friday.
Saturday in Carolina (where the rain has been less) group of my friends rode to an airport for dinner. Got to see a P-40 Warhawk (from WWII) painted in "Flying Tigers" colors. Inspired me, and made a trip to the Chesterfield County Airport. Skies were supposed to clear which they did (much much later) and there was supposed (being the operative word) to be no rain. That was not the case. Still, it was good to get out and enjoyed the dinner there. I had eaten there before and the staff was really good and the food was too. I enjoyed the brunch there.  

From the restaurant this was the view (well some of it) and that was really nice. Plus got to see planes take off and land. Hey, I like aircraft so what can I say? At any case was sure good to get out and enjoy a bit of time out in the breeze. That said I am off on Monday and HOPING for a bit longer ride. Course the new bike is due for its first service in 102 miles (as it stands now). That may be tough to get with news of a possible hurricane coming this way as it looks right now over the weekend. Will see how that turns out in a few days.