Between the Handlebars: November 2010

Fall riding is some of the best out there; enjoyed a great pair of rides in early November (see previous post). Great to get out during the change of seasons, though warm clothing is a must. Luckily there is a good amount of quality gear out there. Also a good idea to watch out for wet leaves in the road (they can be slick), and especially watch for cagers....distractions such as cell phones are always a danger, but as fewer of us ride in the colder weather, we can be more "out of mind" than normal. So ride defensively! This is also a good time to check maintenance on your bike; give it a good pre and post ride check before every ride, and make sure its in top condition. Tire pressures are important, as they can change with the changing temperatures. As the saying goes; "Ride to Live, but Live to Ride"!
Speaking of rides, this time of year is great for big charity rides. Nothing like the sound of a big group of bikes riding together to do something good. Many groups (such as the Charlotte branch of the VRA) have already done some rides, which is especially appreciated this time of year with so much need out there. One really fun ride is the "8th Annual Arzie Rogers Toy Run" which will be held this year on November 21. It will leave from Cannon Stadium at 1pm, with registration starting at 10am. The cost is just a new unwrapped toy. For that you get to go on a great ride which is police escorted from beginning to end (and the police are a hoot, believe me!). The ride ends at Pat Rogers Harley-Davidson. I went last year, had a meal there, and a lot of giveaways. It is a really great time for a great cause.
At Full Throttle Magazine (I have a link on this page) there are a number of rides listed all over the state. At Thunder Road, the rides are fewer, but you might check with local motorcycle dealers for a ride near you. Bundle up, and have a great time!

Air Show Ride, Monroe, NC (November 7, 2010)

Actually took this photo as part of the previous days ride (see previous post) but liked the last little hint of fall. It was not really a great fall season; some color and some moments of really nice rides, but overall the colors were sort of bland to be honest. Probably due to the lack of rain, and the heat of summer; both of which were hard on trees. This year for the first time in a long time, did not make a ride to the NC Mountains, but there it did look pretty nice from photos that I saw.
At any case, on Sunday November 7, rode once again to Monroe, NC to the "Warbirds and Warriors" Air Show. I did not have a great deal of time, and it was a "brisk" day when I headed out in the morning, but a cold ride is better than no ride at all. With my new (and very warm) motorcycle coat from the Ride Now Open House the day before, I was warm as I hit the quiet open road which was NC-601 to Monroe. It was a day much like the previous day with clear skies, and temperatures slightly south or at 40 degrees! It was a nice day for an air show!
I did not have a great deal of time to stay there. They gave a discount for prior military service (I liked that) and wandered around a bit. Basically went to see this plane; the Curtiss Helldiver. A WWII carrier plane, it was a divebomber late in the war against the Japanese. This is the only one still flying (believe that is true, though information does change from time to time). I like history and cool to see these great old planes. I was disappointed that they roped off the area of the vast majority of the planes; so could not get "up close and personal" to them. Still, it was a neat thing to see history outside of a museum, and ready to fly!
I also took this photo of the T-6, a trainer (the type also saw some combat during Vietnam) and saw a number of other aircraft. The Tora Tora Tora group was going to fly later (they put on a hell of a show, have seen them before) in replica Japanese aircraft, and I did get to see the Black Daggers US Army Parachute Team and "some" flying before heading back out. The smallest of the three (!!!) air shows I have been able to see in the past few weeks, it was a nice event nonetheless. Liked the growth of it, and have a few more photos on my photo page if you are interested in seeing them. There is always some amazing things to see at air shows, and all have something interesting to offer.
As for the ride back, enjoyed rolling down some of my favorite roads on my return. Went back via Rocky River Road which is very scenic, though Lawyers Road with its twists and turns to NC-51 just past Mint Hill, NC and then on to home. Nice ride if short, but a short cold ride is better than no ride at all. Normally it would have been around 65, but the weekend was a cold spell. Due to my situation with Richmond (where I work) have to get rides in when I can. Motorcycles and aircraft for me are a perfect combination, and this was a very nice day out on the bike.

Short Cool Fall Ride (November 6, 2010)

Saturday November 6, 2010 was cool and overcast at first (later the sun came out) when I took off for the first ride in a couple of weeks. Dressed for the ride with helmet with face shield, heavy gloves, leather jacket, lined jeans and boots to deal with the below 50 degree temperature. Knew it was not going to be a great distance ride, nor very fast, as going far and fast adds to the effect of wind chill on the bike. However, even a short ride is better than no ride at all, and this was a very good one indeed. Made a early stop to visit my riding buddy Steve Dixon. Been on many great adventures with him; his latest has been fighting Cancer but he is giving it his all.
Ride Now in Concord was having an Open House. I saw a number of interesting motorcycles there including this Honda Fury with a very neat paint job. They had a lot of very fine motorcycles on display, including a number from Kawasaki, Yamaha and Star, Honda, and of course the Victory Motorcycles. Victory was having its test ride program; people were riding every model they had, as they had every model out there to ride. It was a pretty neat event. They also had a lot of giveaway and good deals. In fact I picked up a motorcycle riding coat (with protection built in for arms, shoulders, and back ) with a zip out liner for $25 (normally an $80 jacket). I will enjoy that.
This was the view of the Victory Motorcycles that everyone could ride (with a valid MC license). They also had a dyno trailer and some other fine things to check out. I
enjoyed the ride a great deal, finished the three hour ride with a quick stop at Onemor and got back to the house at 1pm. A short ride indeed distance wise, but very enjoyable.

Late October Carolina Ride (October 24, 2010)

On a beautiful Carolina Sunday, not as cool as normal either (I guess there might just well be something to that global warming thing) went out on the motorcycle for a ride. First time in two weeks, it was good time to get out. I rode for a while around Union Street, but off the beaten path got this photo of my Vulcan in front of a red tree. Fall is coming, though slowly to the Carolinas. Not sure how the drought of the past few months will impact the trees, but will see in a few weeks for sure. Still, I love seeing the fall colors, and enjoy riding this time of year. Nothing like a fall ride anyhow, love the colors and the weather. Sunday mornings are a great time to ride as well as the traffic is light: some go to church to hear of the glory of God, I like to ride to see the world he has created. It was a beautiful day, and the ride was a soul-cleansing experience. Nothing like being out on a fine motorcycle on a Sunday in Carolina. Went to a lot of interesting places, and had a fantastic time on the motorcycle on a very remarkable day indeed.

Being close to Halloween, there were a number of decorated houses such as this one, on Union Street. A nice tree lined street with the old downtown in the middle, it has a lot of fine houses, and some neat displays as well. I will have a few more photos on my Flickr page, and also some in my "Richmond and Me" blog. It was hoot seeing what some of the people have done, and some of them were really creative. What I am really looking forward to is Union Street at Christmas, that is always something remarkable to see, and will be bringing that in just a few weeks, because Christmas will be here before we know it.
I rode down some great backroads, visited a friend of mine (a former co-worker who did not make the move to Richmond) and saw some great sights. This old house is a favorite of mine and next to it is a cotton field. Those are in full bloom, and they will soon be picking the cotton. That is done mechanically now, and cotton is bailed into giant bales before being hauled off by trucks. I also rode out on NC-200, which is a really great road which I enjoy a great deal with its gentle hills and curves. I was out on the bike close to four hours, not sure how many miles I went (frankly, forgot to check) but it was a very outstanding time on the bike.
Patty and I went out to Three Monkeys (her reason was work related) but got to see some of the game ( did some errands with her after that) but got to see some of the Carolina/49ers game (they won their first game this year!) and the Bears/Washington game (Chicago lost) and also got to check out this fine looking motorcycle while I was there. neat looking custom in the bobber style; thought it was a very good looking motorcycle.
A great visit home, and a fine time with family and friends, as well as a great ride...can't ask for much else. Looking forward to the next adventure on two wheels soon!

Bikers at Malvern Hill! (October 16, 2010)

While out on a day of exploring Richmond and the area, at the Malvern Hill battlefield, met an interesting trio of bikers. First one (they all rode in together) was riding this classic Honda GL-1000. Originally the GL-1000 was designed as a bike in the "Honda 750/4" model; sort of a punched out version. However, it quickly got popular as a touring bike. Gradually, features were added such as saddlebags, fairings and the like. This model has a classic Vetter faring (his most famous creation was the "Windjammer". In fact Craig Vetter is a most interesting person to check out. This old motorcycle had some 30,000 miles on it according to the owner seen on the bike. It looked to be in outstanding shape, with little wear or tear. Also of note, the engine is an opposed four; the current 1800cc Gold Wing uses an opposed six.
The Star Motorcycle (I believe it is a Venture if memory serves me right) has some 10,000 miles on this bike. I am pretty sure this is a V-4 engine; sort of Yamaha's (aka Star in this case) answer to the Gold Wing. Bike has a lot of bells and whistles, and also a very interesting almost automobile like speedometer. Owner was riding with his wife, and they were also a lot of fun. One of my riding buddies in Concord is a big fan of Star Motorcycles, and rides one of the newer models.
A quick note on Malvern Hill, was the site of one of the major Richmond area Civil War battles, it is a very nice battlefield which has been very well preserved. Richmond is real good at doing that, and enjoyed walking around the area. There are a slew of great Civil War sites and museums to check out in the Richmond area.

Return Visit to Velocty Motorcycles (October 16, 2010)

In Richmond today, made a visit to Velocity Motorcycles, which is located on the Boulevard in Richmond, Va. Easily the most interesting motorcycle shop in the city, they have a number of different sort of motorcycles (including the all-electric Zero) to check out; including some very old models. One such model is this Royal Enfield. I BELIEVE it is a Bullet, which has a 350 cc Engine. If it is, the Royal Enfield Bullet was the longest produced motorcycle (according to the Wikipedia web site, where I got most of the information on the company). Royal Enfield was produced in England; making motorcycles since 1899!

The company went out of business in England in 1967. However, "Enfield of India" made Bullets under license (using some British parts) starting in 1956 and then made complete bikes on their own in 1962. They purchased the naming rights in 1995; and are the oldest motorcycle manufacturer (thanks to the British history) still in production. New models include bikes such as this Royal Enfield Classic 500. The company also made rifles which gave the motorcycle company the slogan "Made like a gun, goes like a bullet". The bikes though having a classic look, have been greatly modernized over the years. Though low in power, they are also very low in price.
Green bike seen here is a Ural, made in Russia. The bike is based on the BMW R-71 which was (apparently) copied as saw heavy use in WWII by the Russian Army. Called the M-72 the reverse engineered bike saw some 9,799 built during the war, and by 1950 some 30,000 were built. The bike went into both military and civilian production, and has also been sold (as seen here) in many nations around the world. In fact, in Russia and around the world something over 3.2 million (again thanks to Wikipedia for the info) have been built! Again, the design has been modernized over the years, though not a high performance bike, it now has modern features.
I always find something interesting to check out at Velocity Motorcycles, which is a very nice shop filled with some very friendly people. If you are in the Richmond area, be sure to check out this fine motorcycle shop. They also service bikes of all types, and have a number of bikes you can rent and take out on the wild streets of Richmond, VA...and beyond.

131 on NC-49 (October 9,2010)

It had been nearly a month since my last motorcycle ride; but had a beautiful Carolina day on October 9 to get out. Rode up NC-49 toward Asheboro, NC. Made a short stop at Tuckertown Lake, and another (seen at left) at Asheboro Airport where I saw this very cool plane behind my bike. Great smells along the way; wood stacked at Mt. Pleasant at the lumber yard, the reek of skunks, the smell of water, and the clear, clean Carolina air. Cool when I first headed out at 9am, wore for the first time in a long time my leather jacket and gloves, but it got warmer near the end of the ride. Enjoyed the horses and cows I passed in farms along the way.

I stopped in downtown Asheboro, where a farm show was going on; saw a lot of very nice farm equipment (though very old, most of it looked brand new), and also wandered around town a bit. Heading out, took a different road and went by the Pisgah Covered Bridge. A replica bridge (the original was washed out in a flood of the creek below) but still really cool. Also nice was the backroads there, a very scenic ride and very peaceful. Did not pass a car as I rode along. Came back via NC-49 where I saw once again the Mustang on the pole. Just a great time, and too long since I had been down that route. It is a really great ride.
Stopped at Steve's house before going back shortly after 1pm. Rode his bike, which is a 1996 Harley Wide Glide (somewhat customized). Liked the bike, nothing quite feels like a Harley...a bit rougher than my very smooth Vulcan, but loved the sound, and nice performance wise for a cruiser too. It was a great ride, long anticipated and very well enjoyed on a fantastic Saturday in the Carolinas. Until I get to ride again, will keep me smiling during my upcoming days in Richmond, VA...far from my home!