Riverside Drive/Midlothian

 A very fine second day of riding. This time started out on Riverside Drive. Much of what I see there along the river is hidden by the trees but this long section is clear and some great views. That is the Z-Dam on the James River at left. Nice ride with some great curves to enjoy and yes...some tree lined sections. All in all though a very fine ride and one of my favorites in the City of Richmond. Best time to ride is during the early mornings such as I did today.
It was a great time!
After that headed to Midlothian Turnpike. Had a brunch I guess at Chick Fil A (very good Cobb Salad) and then rolled back toward my house via a very different route. Finally once again stumbled upon the Midlothian Mines. Area was one of the first sites in the US to mine coal which started in the 1700's. Many people died in the mines over the years until mining was abandoned. This is a replica structure seen in the photo behind my motorcycle but there are some ruins from back in the day at the "Grove Shaft" which was mined from 1835-1870.  That is a walk up a trail that I did not make today, but have photos of it in past posts during previous visits.  After the visit there, headed back to the house. Ride was once again like 47 miles which makes close to 100 miles in the past two days. Basically heat and humidity brought me home again today, but had a very good time!  

Thursday Ride (June 29, 2017)

While out today among places I explored went to Monument Avenue. Got this photo of the statue of  Arthur Robert Ashe who was one of the great tennis players of history. Arthur won Wimbleton, the US Open and the Australian Open along with many other matches. He lived from 1943-1993 and was born in Richmond, VA where he is also buried (next to his mother at Woodland Cemetery). Many athletic sites are named after him in the city.

The other statue, also in Richmond on Monument Avenue is Matthew Fontaine Maury who was known as "The Pathfinder of the Seas" and was a member of the US Navy until he joined the Confederate Navy. He was famous for his study of winds and ocean currents. After the Civil War he taught at VMI in Lexington, VA where he died in 1873. He is buried at Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, VA.
In addition to these sites rode out to the Short Pump section where I had lunch at Carolina Ale House. Rode back to my house after a short detour through The Fan section of Richmond. Not a huge ride as I covered some 47 miles. Left the house fairly early (after checking the motorcycle's tire pressures which is good to do often) and it felt good, but unlike the last few days the heat and humidity are building. By the weekend it will feel like the upper 90's. Still, it was a fun ride and I enjoyed it a great deal today!  

Sunday Morning Ride (June 25, 2017)

 Ended up being a good ride. Stopped to take this photo on Sunday morning on one of my favorite roads which is Riverside Drive. There is a river beyond the trees (which can be seen from time to time) and a lot of curves which I love. Fun road to ride on and though it is broken there is a good section (often featured here) where you can see the River. This route though takes me to Richmond. Took some time riding around there and enjoying the calm and quiet

Rode out to VA 6 and down that for a bit and then got on the highway to Midlothian after my spell of city and country roads. Stopped at Westchester Village and got this photo. Like the malls when they are quiet. Sunday is a great time to ride with little and in some cases no traffic. A real bonus was that the heat and humidity of the past few days has abated for a few days at least...and it started this morning.
According to my trusty trip meter on the bike, I did a total of 47.5 miles from door to door today.

Test Rides 1 and 2 (June 23-24)

Have been having a bit of a problem with the motorcycle on the past few rides. The bike tended to just die,...sometimes under throttle, sometimes at idle. One thing about summer time, if it has to go into the shop (any motorcycle shop it seems) its going to be in there awhile.
Checked with the Triumph forum and seems this has come up with this model. They said to check the idle speed which should be at 1000 rpm. Mine was at 700-800. So I raised it.
Then took it out for the first ride of Summer. It was not a long ride as I was going to the baseball game at The Diamond later that night but it was not only fixed but the bike was a lot more fun to ride again. I love it when a plan comes together. Very simple solution to the problem and a great deal of relief.  

The short Friday ride was followed by a much longer Saturday ride. Rode to Ashland where I had brunch at Kreggers which was very good (my second visit to that restaurant) and then wandered around Ashland for a bit. One of my favorite towns and a good place to do a bit of exploring. One thing though is the heat was going up rapidly from the day...we have been dealing with high heat and humidity and today was no exception. Still it was great to get out.  

From Ashland went to Hanover. This is the Hanover County Court House which dates to 1735. Yeah, prior to the American Revolution. Also in Hanover is the Hanover Tavern which is about as old.
I rode back to Richmond via the backroads and enjoyed that a great deal. The bike was back to its very fun ways and the problems of the last few rides are gone. The Friday ride covered around 11 miles I think, the Saturday ride was 57. Would have stayed out even longer if not for the 97 degree heat index. Just was getting to the point with the heat and humidity that it was like riding into a furnace. It is that time of year!

Riding in the Heat on Sunday (June 18, 2017)

 Interesting day which started with some work around the house. Yesterday took a ride to Chatilly, Va to the National Air and Space Museum and also (for the first time) saw the National Museum of the Marine Corps. Had a great time at both. Went to Stony Point Fashion Park for their Motorcycle Show. Not a lot of bikes there but some very nice ones. I think these stole the show...some amazing restoration work on these fine motorcycles.  

 I took the car to the motorcycle show but after some rest decided to get out on the Triumph for a ride around the area. It is a blazing hot day though the temperature is in the low 90's the humidity is very high. It was toasty and a bit breezy when I got out for a short while. I rode down Riverside Drive and then just rode around Richmond for a bit.
I ended up by Mosby Court which is not the best place in Richmond to be, so got out of there and headed down into The Fan section of Richmond.
I like riding past those old houses and enjoyed being in that area. I ended up from there riding as far as Carytown and looked around there for a little bit before heading back down to the Boulevard.
Noticed that there were a lot of people on the river as I once again crossed over the James River. Got to say it was a very good day for that.
Once across there I was not far from home...

Once more came back via Riverside Drive which is always a nice ride. Quiet and curvy with very light traffic and just a fun ride on that road.
As far as mileage was not a lot, as far as speed was not a lot. It was just a nice day for a ride. Weather has been really rainy of late and just have not had a lot of chances to get out, so this ride today was much appreciated.
Looking forward to getting out and getting some miles in again very soon.

Morning Ride on an RVA Saturday (June 10, 2017)

Expecting this week to be amazingly hot and very dry also. Temperatures in the mid-week will feel like the triple digits. So this morning I was up early pounding down the coffee and for the ride was heading out at 7:30am. Here is the bike stopped (note the speedo at zero) while I snapped this photo a little bit from my house. Got a little breakfast at Micky D's and then continued riding up Midlothian Turnpike. Nice riding along that road.  

Traffic was light that early, and the temperatures were very cool. I turned off at "Historic Powhatan, VA" and got this photo of the old courthouse. Wandered around there for a bit and then headed back. This time a different route with a ride through some beautiful country past farms and fields. Came across Highway 6 and then turned off that to River Road. I love that road with a whole lot of very fine houses and other buildings.

Strange that section of River Road has very few views of the River. In that area is the University of Richmond and I stopped there to take a photo of the football field and drove around the school. Nice school and enjoyed that. From there, headed back into Richmond and rode around a bit in The Fan area of the city before heading back to the house which I reached around 11:00 PM. Total ride was just a hair (less than a mile) under 80 miles. I enjoyed this ride a great deal!

A Ride on a Friday afternoon (June 9. 2017)

Nice ride today. Temperatures were in the low 80's and sunny. Took a ride to Malvern Hill Battlefield and some country roads in that area. Nice to get out and enjoyed the views there. Rolled on to Williamsburg Road (not quite sure how I got there and headed back toward Richmond.

While heading out that way, saw this at the airport off Williamsburg Road. Had to check it out which is a Russian transport aircraft. Have seen a lot of Russian planes but this is the first actual transport I have seen. Was kind of thinking that is what it was. Words on the plane and the flag confirmed it. Got home after a meal stop at Bottoms Up Pizza. Total ride was some 45 miles!

Greek Festival Ride (June 3, 2017)

Another beautiful day and another fantastic ride on this Saturday. Rode out to the Richmond Greek Festival which is always a favorite of mine. Don't think I've missed a year since I have been in Richmond. I was surprised at parking as the festival was jammed but saw an open space right across from the festival next to this Ducati and took advantage. Got the bike parked and crossed the street to get to the festival. Parking lots all looked full and so did most street parking.    

Inside a very good crowd, lots of lines for the awesome food but they moved really quickly. I got a few (well, actually quite a few favorite items. Very appreciated! After that, listened to some of the music and enjoyed some of the dancing, and took a tour of the very beautiful Greek Orthodox Church. Stayed around 90 minutes and then hit the road. Rode out around Richmond. Cruised around The Fan, Monument Avenue, and then down to Chester, VA.

Came out of Chester, and rolled around a bit more. I saw this at left during the ride at Oregon Hill and always get a kick out of the art work on the buildings here in Richmond. This is a fun place (and that part of town is very interesting to visit).
Unlike yesterday's over 200 mile ride, this was more of a nice cruise of 56 miles. Could not ask for better weather or in the case of this one...better food. A beautiful day indeed!

Going to the Country (June 2, 2017)

Beautiful day to ride. Went on an adventure down VA6 which is a favorite road. Made a stop at Scottsville, Va. Went to the Canal Boat display of which this photo is just part. Have been to that town before and nice to explore it some more today. Continued up VA6 to its end, and then turned toward Charlottesville, VA Stopped there in the old downtown for a very good lunch and then rolled on though it. Wanted to visit the University of Virginia but traffic was really heavy.

Rolled a bit more down some wonderful country roads past fields ,farms and lots of horses. Stopped for the first time in Louisa, VA which was a very nice town. Explored a few places there including this old courthouse. As is typical had the Civil War monument, and also what I think was an old jail in the back (no signs though the bars in the window were a dead giveaway). after that headed back toward Richmond via the fast way...on I-64.
I did though get off the highway at Short Pump and took Broad Street back to the house. I had left in the morning (at 11;30am) and was back here at 6PM. Was a good long ride which covered a total of 205 miles. I also went over (by a few miles ) 3000 on the odometer. Having a great time with this motorcycle and this was a very fine ride on a absolutely wonderful day.