Sunday Ride in the RVA (November 27, 2016)

 Went for a ride on Sunday....just a short ride around Richmond. Stopped at the motorcycle shop where I purchased the bike which was closed just to take this photo (no cars in the lot) on my way to Church Hill. Rode around there a while and that is where I took the photo of Rocketts Landing seen below. Was a cool sunny day and enjoyed being out for a few hours on the bike. It was a bit chilly with temperatures in the low 50's. While out on this ride went over 1400 miles on the odometer.  Before the ride, and for the first time in 11 years (during which time I owned a shaft drive Vulcan classic often seen on these pages) I adjusted the chain on the motorcycle. Was no problem at all.

Saturday _A Tale of Two Rides (November 19, 2016)

A nice Saturday...once again the weather was warm (mid-70s actually) and sunny. Got out on the motorcycle and via a very different sort of route ended up once again at Sunday Park. Nice area on the lake and a good ride down some fine country roads. I enjoyed riding there and has been a favorite for a lot of years now. Good restaurant there called "The Boathouse" which I have eaten at a couple of times...as well as the other location at Rocketts Landing. The ride was real good and had fun getting there. After the stop there, rode out to Hull Street and made a stop at Buffalo Wild Wings. Visited there with some friend I ran into from work, and then headed back toward home.
By now it was Three PM and the breeze was really kicking up. Then the clouds started rolling in. At a few points actually thought I was going to take off...literally. Always thought that riding was much like flying, but this was a little too much like that. None the less beat the rain (which it never really did) and made it home without a problem. It was a fun ride. Good thing as work is coming up early during a week which will be much cooler. As I write this on Sunday the high is 30 degrees cooler than it was yesterday. Covered some 70 miles on a very fine Saturday,

Pre-freeze Ride One (I hope) on a Friday (November 18, 2016)

Was not a big ride....but with Sunday temperatures expected to reach a high of 40, wanted to get out for a while. So I did. Got this photo of the bike in the neighborhood with a bit of fall color. Was pretty out in the area and the temperature was close to 70 which was great. Made a stop along the way at Home Depot. I was looking for something I could not find, and they had it. Will go back for "them" in the car tomorrow (sometimes both are handy though I prefer the bike). Speaking of the bike still very happy with it, it is a lot of fun to ride. Sure I had the Vulcan for 11 years and yeah that was pretty amazing too. This Speedmaster is just fun on a much different level. Later on after that, rode up to Buffalo Wild Wings and got some...well wings. Was real good and had a good time there. Rode back and got off Midlothian Turnpike. Late afternoon traffic starts to get pretty busy in the early afternoon to around 6PM. So the total ride was around (give or take) 30 miles. Had a great time and HOPING to do that again tomorrow. Will depend if the forecast is right. They are saying that the cold front will come though around 3PM, but that could (and often is) off by a few hours either way. At any case, will see how it goes.

Night Ride to Christmas Lights (November 13, 2016)

Damn nice ride. They lit up Short Pump Mall out on West Broad Street this past Friday, and after a quick stop for dinner at Mom's Siam in Carytown, I rode out there. Always a good ride if a little thick traffic wise, but well worth the ride. Big mall out there (which like Stony Point Fashion Park has been redone...saw the tree lighting there last night) but got to say this is a beautiful tree. The mall is what you would call "tastefully decorated" but really nice. I enjoyed the tree and the reindeer there.
Rode back on West Broad Street and got to do my second ride at night on the Triumph. Very nice and enjoyed it a great deal. Mid-November it may be, but was very comfortable on the motorcycle and enjoyed it from beginning to end. Think it ended up being something like 38 miles. One night last year in December with night temperatures of 70 degrees went to see Christmas lights in Richmond and that was cool. This was also a very fun event.

Veterans Day Ride (November 11, 2017)

Veterans Day I made it a habit to visit the Virginia War Memorial which is not far from my house. A wonderful place and I have certainly met some amazing people there. This is a very nice place to remember those who served and especially those who gave all. I served in the US Navy from 1975-1979 and was very proud to have done that. It was a lot of fun and I met some remarkable people who I am proud to say are still many of my best friends.
After a visit there and a walk to see some of the amazing displays (and some photos from previous visits can be found in many of these pages) I got out and rode for a bit. Was running through town, it was a nice day to ride. Temperature was around 65 and is said to be the warmest day of the weekend (though Sunday should be close to that if a little cooler).
At any case, rode some around Richmond and then headed to Mechanicsville for a short bit. There are some really nice roads there and I enjoy riding in that area.
 One of the places I rode to was Cold Harbor Road. Lots of great roads there and also some notable battlefields. I did stop at Gaines Mill which is seen directly below.

After the ride went to the Triumph shop. Looked at some of the 2017 Triumph and Moto Guzzi motorcycles that have come in, but had to take a moment to see my old motorcycle. The Kawasaki Vulcan is looking pretty good...they got her all shined up. That bike was my ride for 11 wonderful years and I have to say no complaints. That said though, sure having a good time with the Triumph. Change is often good, and sure enjoying the rides I have been taking on the new bike. Seems like a good purchase. Taking me back to the things I loved about riding with this bike. Fun to try something with the Triumph name on it.

Riding around Richmond International Raceway. (November 6, 2016)

Much warmer than yesterday but another beautiful day in Richmond. On this Sunday rode out to Richmond International Raceway (aka RIR) for a little five lap session on the track. It was thanks to a $20 donation to charity that we got to do that. There was a good number of people there and had to wait a short while. Good though, as it was fun to look around and watch the cars and motorcycles running. Finally got to be our turn.  

Ride around the track was great. Adam had the Hayabusa at right, he flew around the track. Said he hit 110 and I believe it. I settled for 100 a couple of times. Surprised and pleased we got to go that fast, though the pace car did slow us down (all of us, we were sort of in the middle) after a couple of fast laps. Have done this sort of thing on the Vulcan when I lived in Charlotte, have to say as far as motorcycles on a racetrack, Richmond was a lot more fun. Course its also a lot smaller at Richmond, and a lot more intense. At any case had a great time, would certainly do it again and will I am sure down the road. After that we rode out to my house (Adam had never seen it) and I rode out to Chester, VA to his place and that was a nice ride out in the Country. First ride with Adam and it was pretty cool. This was a very fun day in the RVA.

Ashland Train Days (November 5, 2016)

Saturday got out on the motorcycle. Wanted to do a couple of things...first was to see some of the fall color in the Richmond area. Though a bit cool around 11am (I would guess getting close to 60 degrees) it was a good day to ride. Was not quite totally dressed for it but close enough. I got to ride around Monument Avenue and took this photo at the Jefferson Davis Memorial. Nice color and more then I got to see while I was in the mountains a couple of weeks ago.
After that rode to Ashland, Virginia where they were having their Train Days event. It was a nice thing and enjoyed wandering around there for a while. The mural seen in the photo below is new, and liked that. Lots of people, a lot of booths and many things to see and do. Enjoyed the time there. Later on, rode back to Richmond and around there for a bit before heading home. Ride only covered some 40 miles, but going to do better on Sunday...when I have something really unique and neat planned.