Kings Mountain Battlefield Ride (April 16, 2012)

A nice day out with Phil, we took the motorcycles to Kings Mountain, SC. Met up around 11:30AM at RideNow in Concord. Saw this row of Yamaha R1 motorcycles-these 1000cc in-line fours have a long history in motorcycle racing, and Yamaha in fact has a long, long history of success in roadracing (AMA and MotoGP) which continues today. Over the years some great riders (some of which I was lucky enough to see) have crossed the finish line on Yamaha motorcycles. Way back when (during my high school days) I even had one of the more legendary ones-an RD-350.     

We headed out to Kings Mountain National Battlefield, which we got to via I-85. Road construction was pretty wild with a lot of dirt being moved; both by construction equipment and by the wind which was fairly well raging. Took a tight grip on the bars and soldiered on. Pretty much an epic ride to Exit 2 in South Carolina, and a short ride to the battlefield. It was the site of a major victory by American forces over the British forces on October 7, 1780. The commander of the English was killed on the battle. Col Patrick Ferguson was buried on the field, and this is his grave. We walked the battlefield trail of some 1.5 miles while there.   

Due to the wind, decided NOT to go back via I-85, but instead took NC74/NC29 though some interesting cities and towns. That road also took us into Charlotte, NC. Being rather hungry we stopped at The Burger Company for food and beverage. Nice place, had not been there before, it is not very far from Bank of America Stadium in Uptown Charlotte. A bit on the pricy side, but the food was very good, and certainly an interesting place. There is a lot of inside dining, but with the temperature being close to 80, and especially with the wind, decided to eat inside. For the day, with some other trips I made via my bike, rode a total of 145 miles-and enjoyed every one of them, even the windy ones! It was a very damn fine day indeed!  

University and Concord (April 15, 2012)

 Nice day to ride, sunny and warm on a beautiful Sunday. Actually did more visiting then riding, spent some time seeing some good friends-but did get out to Boardwalk Billy's in University. Not only does it have a good beer selection, but also some free peanuts in the shell (and free is good, peanuts is better). Nice area there, its near UNCC so generally has a good sports crowd there. Watched some hockey on one tv, and the truck race at Rockingham (Nascar is back there are taking a few years off) and enjoyed the visit as always. A nice friendly place to spend a little time.  

I rode out by Charlotte Motor Speedway, the Z-Max Four Wide Drag Race was going on. I did not want to get too close, cause the crowds were pretty impressive (and I had places to go) but love visiting the big track. Will be just a few weeks until the All-Star Race and the Coca-Cola 600 is going on there. It is a very impressive place to visit though, with a nice gift shop and a lot of things to see and do. In addition to the big track there is also The Dirt Track (went there a few times for the Flat Track Motorcycle races, unfortunately no longer held there) and of course Z-Max. That is one remarkable place and the sounds from the track of dragsters running four at a time was something to hear even from a distance. I really enjoyed the visit there, as I always do. That is my trusty Kawasaki Vulcan 1500 in the foreground, which has over the years taken me on many outstanding rides, and April 15 though a short one (around 26 miles in all) was a good one. It was just a great day to be out on two wheels!   

Wanted to get a photo of this, as has been noted I am a big fan of aviation, and thought this was really a cool thing. It is the DirecTV blimp which was a big sight over the skies of Concord over the weekend. Got this photo as it made a pass overhead. Looks like a fun thing to fly-kind of goes low and slow, but that would be fun. Never have been in one, though would not turn down the chance to get up in one of them.
Sure is nice to be back in North Carolina. Have quite a few days here, and plan to get in some really good rides while I have the chance. This is a very interesting area to explore, and I plan to do some while I am in the area.
Be looking for some of those posts in the next few days, hope to bring some interesting sights your way.

Easter Weekend Rides in NC (April 7-8, 2012)

 Enjoyed some great riding over the Easter weekend. On Saturday April 7 I rode out to Goose Creek Airport off of Lawyers Road near Stallings, NC. Lawyers is one of my favorite roads, twisty and very scenic. The airport is one of many and is one of my favorite stops.
On Easter Sunday  went through Concord, Kannapolis, Landis, and China Grove, NC...some really cool small towns. Have spent the last few weeks in Charlotte, and wanted to get out "in the country" a bit. I got some great photos during the ride(s) and have those on my Photo Page (link at the top of this page).

I love aviation, always have. In fact both the Wright Brothers and Glenn Curtiss (two of the pioneers of aviation in the US) learned a lot from "two wheels"-the Wrights from bicycles, Glenn from motorcycles. Like a plane we turn and bank, and certainly both ride the wind though in different forms. Part of the fun of riding is to check out different things- and watching some takeoffs and landings from a number of interesting planes was a great deal of fun.
Got some great rides coming up, and will be going to some interesting places this month-I hope you can come back and see some of them here in the next few posts.
Also of note, the MotoGP season got underway Easter Sunday, and those races are being covered again this year on Speed Channel, be sure to check their web site for those and other upcoming races.    

Motorcycles in the RVA

Went for a walk on the last day in March, but did get this photo of this biker (and a friendly wave) as he and a friend (on another bike not seen here) rode past me at Forest Hill Park in Richmond, Va. Have to do the four wheeled (or on foot) thing here in Richmond, but I do enjoy seeing motorcycles out and checking out some of the motorcycle events and the shops here in this city. Colonial Harley Davidson, Universal Cycle on Midlothian, Honda House, and especially Velocity Motorcycles are some of my favorite shops to check in on. I also enjoyed last years Hog Rally and always liked the start of the Childsavers Ride (which I don;t think was held this year.    

Saw this fine looking Honda 600 Shadow while out walking at well (also on March 31). A Honda 600 (mine was black) was my previous ride before getting my current Kawasaki Vulcan. The 600 was a great bike; had mine from 1998-2005 and in all that time never had any sort of mechanical problem in some 36,000 miles (of course the Vulcan is closing in on 24,000 and I can also say it has been stone cold reliable). I always have been big on preventative maintenance and it has really paid off.
Spring is a really remarkable time to ride, and there are going to be some fun rides coming up. I will see you on the road very soon!    

News of Note (March)

Photo at left is from the Sunday March 18 ride in Charlotte, NC. Wanted to share some news of note. First part concerns Virginia-my other home. Some good news from the legislative front. The Governor of Virginia signed two laws of note- the first which is HB187 outlaws "Motorcycle Only" checkpoints. Be advised though, that checkpoints for all vehicles are still legal. Second, Virginia now allows (or will when both of these laws take effect as of July 1, 2012) motorcycles to ride side by side, which was previously illegal, with the passage of HB97 and the Governors ok., Second, I ride a Kawasaki, you can check them all out at the Kawasaki Test Ride which will be held April 14-15 at Westchester Commons (near the Regal Cinemas) in Midlothian, VA. Go to Kawasaki.com to register to ride. If not in Virginia, there are other events to be found around the country at the web site. Its a good chance to check out a variety of motorcycles. There are some requirements (a motorcycle endorsement to your license being one of them) before you can ride.

This is worth noting. Read in American Motorcyclist in the April 2012 issue that Lake Lure, NC almost required EPA labels on all exhaust systems. The Lake Lure Town Council voted to change to a "92 decibel limit  for any type of motor vehicle."    Loud pipes may save lives (as the myth goes) but certainly the noise is resulting in many more restrictive rules, and even outright bans on ALL motorcycles in many areas-both street and trail.

Check out the AMA web site for some competition events, as well as some interesting group rides in your area of the counrty. Many are listed in NC, SC and VA. I also have links to some events in North Carolina via Full Throttle Magazine, and also a site which tells of rides in Virginia at the top of this web site. However some events of note don't make those sites and I will be bringing them here as riding season gets into full swing.

Many of the bike nights are firing up. Coming in May is Bike Night at Quaker Steak and Lube in Concord, NC (one of my favorites), and many other places will be cranking up those events in the next few weeks. Great way to come out, check out some other motorcycles and their riders, and enjoy some great food and drink specials as well as (usually) some live music. I plan to make some of those events this year. They have many in North Carolina, and also in Virginia as well as some other places in the US of A.

Last ride of "Winter"

Enjoyed the best ride of the year (weather wise) on March 17 (St. Patrick's Day). Temperatures in the 80's and blue skies made for a great ride to Charlotte. Photo seen here is the Duke Power Building, which stands tall in the background in front of my Kawasaki Vulcan. I find what is known as "Uptown Charlotte" a very interesting city which always seems to have a lot going on. There was a big crowd downtown for the day which celebrates all things Irish-and it was a lot of fun to see it all.
Charlotte has a lot to offer with an interesting city, and some really fun neighborhoods on the outskirts of the city-it is many different cities. For St. Patrick's Day it was packed pretty much wall to wall and the bars had people standing in the outside areas like sardines. It was both fun and funny to check it all out (and I have a photo of one crowd scene on my "Richmond and Me" page). Nothing like a great motorcycle ride on a beautiful day, and this certainly filled the bill. It had been a while since I had been on the bike-too long in fact.

  Above photo was taken directly across from Bank of America Stadium, and I took the photo at left of one of the "big cats" that flank the entrances to the big complex. With my son, have spent many happy hours inside the stadium; nice to have the NFL so nearby, as well as many other sports in the area. Charlotte is a really good sports town.
As for the motorcycles, it is really good for that, and there were a slew of riders out enjoying the weather during the day. They were riding a great variety of motorcycles and everyone had some huge grins on their faces.
I roared into Charlotte via I-85 (which is getting some serious road construction between Concord and University), but took a calmer route back via NC-29. I like that, as it runs me through University City and to NC-49 past the University of North Carolina. Ride lasted a few hours, and was a really great time. I got back home in the early afternoon.

  Sunday was overcast most of the day, and looked like rain until later in the day, the dark clouds broke, and I once again got out on the bike. Ride was shorter than the day before, but did stop to take this photo of Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, NC. The big race track will be jumping with two events coming up in May: the All-Star Race first, followed the following week by the Coca-Cola 600. Like with Bank of America Stadium, have spent some remarkable hours in that facility watching some great racing.
I have a few upcoming events and items of note in VA and NC motorcycling that I will be sharing in my next post. Be sure to ride safe!

First Sunday in March

 Came into Carolina on a very rainy March 3, and made a stop at RideNow in Concord, NC. Still looking at the new motorcycles out there, and there I saw this 2012 Super Tenere by Yamaha. It is what is known as an "Adventure Tourer"-though big and heavy it is designed to be ridden on both pavement and dirt. The bike is powered by a 1200 cc twin and is a cheaper alternative to such bikes by BMW and Ducati. Of course it also comes with Yamaha quality, I have owned a few of the brand over the years, and frankly never had a bad one in the bunch. It is a very interesting motorcycle.

Course, my current ride (since 2005) is my Kawasaki 1500 Vulcan Classic, seen here during the Sunday morning ride in Concord, NC on Sunday March 4. After the rains of Saturday, it was a beautiful day, if slightly chilly, to ride. I was not alone as many took advantage of the sunny skies to get the motorcycles out. The bike was photographed on Union Street in Concord. Concord is located some 20 miles NE of Charlotte, NC and is home to many NASCAR teams (most of them are located in or just outside of Concord, NC) and it is also home to Charlotte Motor Speedway. It is also where the number one tourist attraction in the state is found-the giant Concord Mills Mall. Frankly my favorite tourist attraction is The Blue Ridge Parkway, but to each their own I guess. In 2010 Concord was listed as the 12th largest city in North Carolina. It is a fun place to live, and a nice city to ride a motorcycle in. There is a lot to see and do there, and being close to Charlotte is really nice as well. It is also not far from South Carolina- which is fun to ride in as well. I feel pretty lucky living here, and enjoy the time I spend in this city, and the surrounding area. Being a resident of North Carolina, and a part time resident of Richmond, VA tends to make my days pretty interesting.