When Life Hands you Lemons.....(January 20, 2012)

 Photographed this guy riding on Riverside Drive in Richmond, VA. Got that photo while taking a walk to see the James River after four inches of rain over the previous week. Nice road there, one of the many in the area. Apparently I will be getting the chance to do some motorcycling in the Richmond area; my wife and I are going to part ways, the house in Carolina will be sold, and I will be remaining in the Richmond area. Over the past four years during the back and forth thing due to my job, the city has really grown on me. Now I will experience it the best way one can...on two wheels.

Saw this BMW at Crossroads Coffee while I was out wandering. It is a difficult time, my wife and I have had a lot of good years. Hope is that when it is all over that we part as friends. As for me, hanging in there, and hoping that once all this is over, and that I pick up the pieces, that the good times will roll once again. For now, these are difficult days, but it is always darkest before the dawn.
Hope all of you have good and safe rides. Thanks to all my friends in Carolina who have been so supportive. I will be continuing to keep the news, and adventures from the road (though as noted, new roads) coming here in the months to come. Thanks for visiting my page!  

A Warm Winter Day in the RVA (January 13, 2013)

 Nice day indeed, on Sunday finally got some of those promised 70 degree temperatures (did not quite pan out Saturday) and got out for a while. Of course did not have the motorcycle in Richmond (it lives in Carolina where I heard a number of "I went riding" stories) but I did get out to Buz and Ned's Barbecue in Richmond, VA. As places go, it is one of my favorite places to eat and not just because the owner (aka "Buz") is a rider....that is his Harley-Davidson V-Rod behind my dinner. His food did win a throwdown with cooking legend Bobby Flay though, and its some damn fine good food. Made a good start to my day, cause I figure that if I can't ride might as well enjoy watching some people riding.  Too nice to stay in all day, even with some outstanding football (which I made sure to follow) going on this Sunday. Good playoffs so far for sure, nice cap to a pretty good season (Bears and Panthers did not make it, so that is why I have to just rate this season as "Pretty Good".  

 Saw this guy riding his (believe it is an 800) Vulcan in the Church Hill neighborhood. There were a lot of big groups riding today, saw groups of sport bikes, cruisers...Harley and Japanese together and solo....just a lot of motorcycles taking advantage of this weather.
Not all that unusual to get 70s this time of year, rare for sure, but seems to happen sometime or even sometimes during the winter. Nice to see everyone out, even if I had to grit my teeth sometimes. Living in two places means some of the things I enjoy will be at either one or the other.  

While in Church Hill, saw this old BMW R75/6 which is a classic motorcycle. The old Boxer engine (and they go way back) has really only been updated twice; once with oil cooling some years ago (also all versions are air cooled, the oil is supplemental) and now this year they are adding water-cooling (but again in sort of a supplemental role). BMW's are just well engineered German motorcycles, with a very long history. I read a while back that the Boxer engine was developed by an aircraft engineer, BMW had a long history as an aircraft engine company, and made some great motors during the history of that company.
As I said, nice to get out, enjoyed seeing the motorcycles in this very interesting city. I also have some photos at my "Richmond and Me" page of some of the sights that I saw on this warm January 13.   

Chilly Ride to Morrow Mountain (January 5, 2013

 Another chilly but sunny day (at least at the start) and went to meet up with Phil and Tim at RideNow in Concord. Phil could not make it , but Tim rode in, and we checked out some of the bikes there. That included this 2013 Yamaha R1. The MotoGP version of this bike will be ridden this year by Valentino Rossi, and looking for some great things from The Doctor this year after a lackluster year with Ducati. At any case, nice to see some of the newer bikes, though some of the really good ones I am looking forward to seeing will not be out until later this Spring.   

These are our bikes getting ready for the ride, in the background is my Vulcan, in the foreground is Tim's HD. It is the 100th anniversary edition, which is one of my favorite schemes from The Motor Company.

We had a good ride to Morrow Mountain. It did get pretty chilly as the clouds built up during the day, and we missed the sunlight. Did see a Bald Eagle while we were there, and a few motorcycles did brave the conditions. Route we took was really good; NC 200 to NC 24/27 and then into the park. Morrow Mountain is one of my favorite destinations.
This will be my last ride for a couple of weeks at least (at least depending on weather) as I will be heading back to Richmond Sunday afternoon. Over the holiday break rode a total of 259.6 miles; not bad considering that its winter. I enjoyed some great rides with some very fine people, and I appreciate getting to ride with both of them. Looking forward to some more adventures on two wheels, very soon!

The First Ride of 2013, January 4, 2013

 First thing I did on the first ride of the year (as with every ride) is to check tire pressure, oil level, and also just give the bike a good "pre-flight". That is always a must do before a motorcycle ride. A bit chilly at first (but got warmer later) and took a stop at McGill Baptist Church for some hot dogs. Always fun, and that is where I met up with Phil for this Friday afternoon ride. Beautiful day to be out after a few days of some badly needed rain (area is currently under a drought), gray skies, and some really cold temperatures. We were off from here to Hendrick Motorsports.  Neat to get out and check out those race shops.
Bike seen here was awarded to Jimmie Johnson, and is a Yamaha but very customized. Most of the drivers who win championships get motorcycles, and this is a nice one. Had a great time at Hendrick and have some photos posted on my "Richmond and Me" blog as well as on my Photo Page.

Photo here is a 2013 Harley-Davidson Wide Glide.Made a stop there before we headed back to our homes. Nice to see some of the new bikes from HD, they are certainly classic designs. Of the Harley line the one I am most fond of would be the V-Rod types, just a big fan of water cooled engines - and the Revolution engine in the V-Rod is the most powerful one they make.
It was a very good ride today, Hendrick is only open during the weekdays, so nice to have a chance to get in and see some of the stuff. I have been there before, but its been awhile. Looking forward to the ride tomorrow-looks like I will get one more in! 

Chilly Ride to Charlotte (December 23, 2012)

Made a ride to Charlotte, NC on December 23, the day before Christmas Eve. Due to upcoming weather, will probably be the last ride I get in 2012, going to be out of town right after Christmas though will have a few days back after the first of the year. It was in the low 50's, mostly sunny, but chilly nonetheless. Still, it was a good ride. Made a stop at Mac's Speed Shop on South Blvd where I snapped this photo. I took a few more which will be on my "Richmond and Me" page, but it was not a big day for photography. I also saw a few bikes out - but not very many on this cold afternoon. Still, it was a good ride, and I enjoyed it!  

Last day in Richmond/day of Fall (December 19-20, 2012)

Headed out of  Richmond on December 19, but made a stop at Velocity Motorcycles which is located on Marshall Street in Richmond. Very fine motorcycle shop which sells a number of older motorcycles - and also sells Royal Enfield. It is one of my favorite stops in the RVA, and liked seeing this Royal Enfield Cafe Racer which is going to be a new motorcycle for that brand in 2013 (as a 2014 model). The bike is based on the Royal Enfield Bullet but is punched out to 535cc (pretty sure I have the engine size right on that). This is the prototype model, and it was at a motorcycle show (according to the owner) and will make a stop for a few days at Velocity before heading out to another show in Washington, DC. Royal Enfield is an old brand, was once made by the British (and was a noted rifle maker, hence the "Bullet" designation) but sold to India (part of the old British empire). Hard to find dealers for this bike, but Velocity is one of them.  

I went by The Diamond (baseball park for the Richmond Flying Squirrels) and saw that the Richmond Police Department was holding classes or training on their Harley-Davidson's. I see them often in Richmond doing traffic control, if I had to be a cop, riding one of these would not be too bad I would guess. Police in NC seem to be equipped on either Harley-Davidson or BMW motorcycles, I have seen both used there. Not so sure about the Harley models, but I have seen the BMW's flat out flying down the road. I do appreciate what the police do, and wish them a Merry Christmas.

This bike is at Stewart Hass Racing, and was built by Orange County Choppers a few years ago. I got a feeling it would be a handful to ride, and not sure that anyone ever rides it, but it is a neat looking motorcycle nonetheless. OCC was on tv for a lot of years and it was a fun show to watch - one of the more interesting families on tv in my opinion. The show has ended its run with the last episode just a few days ago, I for one will miss it, was a great deal of fun. I have seen a few of their bikes in the Concord area over the years, and they certainly made some interesting motorcycles. 

Rode out to Kannapolis, NC where I got this photo of the NC Research Center. Interesting place, was built on the site of the massive textile mills. Everyone had great hope for the bio-technology center, but the promised slew of jobs pretty much never came to be. They are some impressive buildings, and it seems that they are still building on to it, but employment levels never really matched the hope. Still, perhaps in the future something good will come out of all of it, and I suppose it is better to have somewhat empty new buildings than totally empty factory buildings. Sure is an interesting idea though.    

Finally, a last look at the Vulcan in front of Stewart Haas. Kind of made this ride to see some sights to check out tonight on Christmas lights. While not on the level of Tacky Light Tour in Richmond, we do have some interesting sights to see. On my next post at Richmond and Me (my other blog) will have some photos from inside the shop, and also some of the Christmas Lights I plan to see tonight, for tis the season after all.
Felt good today to be out, as I noted has been a while since my last ride. Sure enjoy that motorcycle, has taken me over the last few years on some great rides and adventures. Many more are to come, I remain well pleased with this bike. For one thing, it has been trouble free since I got it in 2005, for another having no payment is a very fine thing as well. Nothing like a fine ride on a cool fall day, looking forward to many more during winter, which will officially start tomorrow. Hope its a good season for all of us, no matter where you are.  

Riding in my backyard (November 26, 2012)

Something rare for this page...guy said, "I will take your photo" and I took the photo at left of me in front of Charlotte Motor Speedway. That is the tree (a tree shaped collection of lights) in the background. Charlotte Motor Speedway is the big attraction in the area (along with the massive Concord Mills complex, which is actually the number one tourist attraction in North Carolina- so I have read) but it is one massive race track. It is all decorated for the season, and you can drive inside the track and see all sorts of lights (for a price per carload) for the next few weeks. I had a great ride today; went to Speedway Harley-Davidson, Concord Mills, Concord Regional Airport and Roush-Fenway Racing. I have a few photos from that on my "Richmond and Me" page, but here I have a few photos from Speedway Harley-Davidson which is near Concord Mills Mall. It was a great day to ride with temps around 60, and as you can see it was a bright and sunny day. I love days like this in late November.     

Seen at left is a Harley-Davidson "Muscle" which is part of the V-Rod line for 2013. Nice motorcycle with the 1250 cc (60 cubic inches) v-twin engine, and one of the few Harley's that fit a taller rider such as myself. It is also part of the only line that is water-cooled: most of the Harley-Davidson's still being air cooled. Water cooled engines to me are better, got to figure because how many people still drive air-cooled cars. Makes for better more dependable performance, plus makes for longer maintenance periods, and frankly the engine lasts a lot longer as it does not get so hot.      

Seen below are two Screaming Eagle versions of the Harley-Davidson Line, in the foreground is a CVO Electra Glide, and in the background a CVO Road King. Something like $70,000-80,000 would get you the pair. I talked about air cooled bikes, well these are both air cooled. Beautiful and iconic for sure but you pay a good price to get that nametag on your gas tank (but these are special editions of what are somewhat cheaper bikes in the basic versions). I enjoyed seeing some of the new Harley-Davidson motorcycles, but unless I win the lottery sometime soon will be riding Japanese motorcycles for some time to come!