Lynchburg Ride (July 20, 2013)

Rode with Kaye (who rode her Harley) to Appomattox on June 20 (more photos on my Richmond and Me page) and took this photo at Appomattox. That is the site where the Civil War ended - this photo is said to be where the last shots were fired. Nice place with a small charge, and we explored it on a very hot and humid day. Nice that this place still exists so that all that happened during that time can be remembered, and we can see what happened back then. It is a remarkable thing to stand on that ground, and to see what they saw without of course all the carnage.

This is the War Memorial (WW1 with others added later) in Lynchburg, VA. Had not been to either of these places in a while, but sure was good to be back and after a quick lunch stop on a place near the James River, and a nice walk we got back on the bikes. I took this photo from the seat of the Vulcan. It was a great ride with Kaye, we covered some 260 miles in all, and sure felt good moving. I am looking forward to returning to this area and to seeing it again very soon.
On the negative side though, when I went to get on the bike, the oil leak is back...apparently it was never fixed. I put the bike back in the shop on Tuesday where they promised me this time it will be fixed! These things happen, but still sucks So for a while will be just enjoying motorcycles from a distance...but sure to have some fun things to do in the meantime.

Repaired and Ridden (July 13-14, 2013)

 So....had an oil leak on the Vulcan; a slow one, but a leak nonetheless out of the left engine cover. I put the bike in the shop on Tuesday July 9. Just like the inspection drove to where I keep the bike, rode it to Ultimate Cycle on Midlothian Turnpike and walked back. Did not think based on other shops (and was sort of told) it would not be back soon. However, got a surprise. The bike was done early....got a call on July 18 that it was done. In fact, I had them do a little more maintenance work on it, cause the price was lower than I expected. On Saturday July 13 Kaye took me to get the motorcycle. 

It was done, paid for the repairs, and got the bike. I also took the photo of the C90T by Suzuki at top (a very cool touring bike) and the photo of the bikes at the bottom photo.
I got a good feeling that when I am in the market for a new motorcycle that Ultimate Cycle is right at the top of the list. They were fast, the work was done right (in fact I think they cleaned the bike and also made a few other adjustments at no charge), and glad to be back on the streets of Richmond again. I did not get to ride much on Saturday, took it from the shop to storage due to weather.   

On Sunday July 14 though I did get a ride in. Here is the Vulcan on Midlothian Turnpike. It was a hot and humid day, but a real good ride. Went to visit a friend (Keith by name) down on Hull Street (we went to  Buffalo Wild Wings and also Guitar Center) and then I rode down some different roads to my neighborhood (got a smoothie at Crossroads Coffee) and then into Richmond.
Rode to Church Hill, around there for a bit, back into downtown before crossing the bridge and back to where I store the bike. It was a great ride considering...and came real close to 50 miles. Looking for some real interesting rides in the days to come, once the weather gets a little bit better...which is hopefully not far down the road!

Motorcycle Date (July 6, 2013)

 Something different....started July 6 out visiting HondaHouse in Richmond, VA. They now also carry Yamaha Motorcycles, and got my first up close look at the Bolt which is new for 2013. Cool bike which is to me a copy of the Harley-Davidson Sportster but (I am told) with better performance. I think its a neat bike; really liked the LED tail lights on it. Going to have to check this out later on, there are a number of really good motorcycles out this year. I also saw the adventure bike version of the new Honda 500 line, and of course checked out the Can-Am trikes.  

 This is Kaye who rides a Harley-Davidson Heritage (2006). As dates go, this was a good one, first time motorcycle date. We went riding to lunch at Alabma BBQ (one of my favorite places) and then went down Highway 5 to Yorktown, VA. Had not been there via that route...very, very scenic. I liked the ride on what was a very hot and humid day. Yorktown has a lot of very historic buildings many of which date to the 1700's. One of the cool things about Virginia is the history of this place, and also how well they have protected it over the years. Not just there, but also in Richmond.    

 Had this photo in Yorktown. It was really lively due to the heat, there were a lot of people there, and I got a photo of this bus. Sort of hilly but we walked around....think you can see a place better on foot.
After the visit to the city, walked to the bikes and rode along the amazing Colonial Parkway. It is a unique road and this time we rode all the way to Jamestown. Along the route is some great scenery but also a very cool tunnel that we went though. I think as with much of the area Yorktown is very old and very unique as well. Been a lot of places but there is nothing quite like it. 

Finally, got this photo from the Jamestown Ferry. First time to ride that, we crossed the water (to be honest, not sure what water) and headed back to Richmond via Highway 10. Once again a very scenic road...had a good time riding that one.
For the day, the entire ride covered 195 miles in total, one of my biggest days on the bike in some time. On the bad side have an oil leak; first problem on the 1500 since I got it in 2005....going to see if I can fix it, if not...its going into the shop later this week. That will be my Sunday project later on in the day. For now, I have a lot of happy memories and a really great time!

First VA Registered Rides (June 22+June 28)

 Been on two rides. The first was Saturday June 22, and did not cover a lot of miles. Went to get the bike from Ultimate Cycle where it had been for a day getting the state motorcycle inspection (which it passed) and took a short ride around Richmond.
The second ride was today, went down Midlothian Turnpike to 288 and off that at Patterson Avenue. Rode up Patterson Avenue into Richmond, which is a very neat road with a lot of things to see. Very hot and humid today though.
This photo at left was taken on the 28th on Midlothian Turnpike. 

 Saw this Triumph in Richmond, while just riding around a bit. Richmond is a very interesting city to ride but does well to pay attention both to the traffic and also to the road conditions. To be honest, many of the streets are not in the best of shape, and there can be a number of bone jarring places.
I do like riding it though, there are an awful lot of interesting places to see, a number of really cool buildings, and just some interesting old places. Plus any city with a river is a fun city to ride, and the James is a mighty fine river indeed. As for Triumph Motorcycles...lets just say I am a fan of the brand!

Made a stop at Legend Brewing Company...which is a Richmond made beer. They have a number of types, and they are all tasty. I make it a point though during stops to enjoy the beer responsibly...I had one (the Legend Brown Ale). Had it inside too, as the heat index was pushing 100 and the humidity was pretty high too. Still fun to ride even in those conditions, but not as much fun as some other days.
For the two days not a lot of miles, a total of close to 80 in the two....but hopeful that in the next week I will be able to get some serious mileage in. Summertime in the RVA and I am now an official Richmond resident!  

Just outside of I-85 (June 16,2013)

 Good ride today. Actually going next week to get Virginia plates for my North Carolina registered motorcycle and while I was there...got it out and headed to Petersburg, VA. Went via I-95 on the way down, got there from Richmond in just a few minutes. Being Sunday morning it was pretty quiet with not a lot of people out though some were eating in a nearby outdoor restaurant. This is the "Old Petersburg" section..read on one of these buildings that some of the filming for the Steven Spielburg film "Lincoln" was done there I don't doubt it, and for sure check out that street!

 Lots of history here, this is the South Depot which was the staging area for trains that came to supply the Confederate Army during the Civil War. Petersburg has a lot of Civil War history and there is a lot of things to see there. Will have some more photos on both my Photo Page and also Richmond and Me blog.
After wandering around a bit, got back on the road but this time ran up Jefferson Davis Highway. I have been on quite a bit of it, but this was a new section, and rode though Colonial Heights before getting after a while in more familiar sections of the road.   

Rode down Jefferson Davis Highway (rode down a few weeks ago to Richmond from Ashland, VA that is talked of in a previous post, those had a different name there for that section) to Shockoe Bottom. Got this photo of the old (and still used) train station there. This is a really impressive old building and always enjoy checking it out.
Stopped in Shockoe Bottom for a beer and some wings at Buffalo Wild Wings...both were excellent (the beer was Summer Shanty - very good!) and a short cool stop before heading back out.
Headed back to put the bike away...unlike yesterday it was a lot more hot and humid, though also put in some 55 miles, which is damn near double of what I was able to get yesterday. I also got back to the apartment an hour sooner than yesterday. I have had two good days of riding, and some really fine weather which was a very good thing, and looking forward to the next ride! 

Visit to RIR (June 15,2013)

 Actually this was NOT part of the ride, but was part of my morning...took the dog on a walk to the South of the James Farmers Market in Forest Hill Park, Richmond, VA...and got a photo of this bike along the way. It is a Russian made Ural Motorcycle with side car. Read a good review on this bike and setup in Motorcyclist Magazine a few months ago, and have seen quite a few of them. It is not clear if the Germans gave the Russians the plans to the bike during the war, or if the Russian's copied it from the German Army, but at any case it is a modern version of a 1930s BMW motorcycle.  

Again, saw this at the Market, but a very nice looking Ducati Monster. Ducati makes some amazing motorcycles, and I think if I ever was to have one would get one of these. Just a beautiful design and they come in a number of engine sizes. Amazing machines!
I DID get a ride in, after this got the Vulcan and went riding across the Nickle Bridge (actually takes 7 of them to cross it now) and to Carytown. Went to Mellow Mushroom and a short walk about that very interesting part of Richmond, always some cool stuff to see there.

 Continued on The Boulevard and followed the road to Richmond International Raceway. Looks like they are adding on to the grandstands there. Have been to the track for a race only once, it was a few years ago to the (no longer held) Indy Car race, but had a really good time there. Those are some amazing cars. Now it is pretty much only used for racing with NASCAR, though there is a lot of things going on there all the time. In fact there was a flea market and a really big looking car and bike show going on there. A few weeks ago they had a concert there. Oh and today there was something else.... 

Richard Petty Driving Experience was in town, and they were giving rides around the race track. In this photo you can see one of the cars in the foreground and one in the background running on the track. I have done in twice (in Charlotte on Charlotte Motor Speedway) and got to say it is a hell of a thing.
Anyhow, got in a good ride, though mileage wise was not a big riding day....around 30 miles of all things. Did a lot of walking and looking on this day. Did finish up with a ride around Richmond and stopped at Legend Brewing Company for (one) Legend Brown Ale. It was a very fine day!   

Bacon Ride (June 9, 2013)

 Something interesting today was a festival I wanted to go to (plus, it was not raining much of the day as it did yesterday) so I headed out early to avoid much of the heat and humidity. Took a nice ride downtown along Grace Street and Three Chopt Road to West Broad Street. Took a short walk around this area...its a mixed retail/residential development. These are very popular in Charlotte....Birkdale Village in Huntersville, NC is very well developed. This one on West Broad Street in the RVA is not so far along...but it is certainly much bigger. Had a lot of those same type of features; a cool place!

Seen here is a Harley Davidson Road King, downtown Richmond in the background. I was in Shockoe Bottom here, parked the bike (which sure beats parking a car down there) as there were a lot of people on hand for the festival. I had rode up West Broad Street, certainly an interesting road. As the ride progressed the heat and the humidity were rapidly building, and it was quite toasty as I walked to the festival. The ride though was fun, felt pretty good as long as you kept moving.      

Got to the festival, which was flat slammed. Beer lines went forever so did the food. Fun to see it, but the stay at the 1st Annual Bacon Festival was real short..I got a couple of photos, and headed back down the road. I went to Alamo BBQ in Church Hill but even they were packed and finally checked out the new Quarter Pounder (one of them anyhow) at the Micky D on Hull Street. Finished off with a quick visit to Legend Brewing Company for a Golden Ale. Enjoyed that though it was way too hot to even get out on the deck to enjoy the view of the river and city seen from there. It was a good time though, and soon got the motorcycle headed back to call it another day. As far as mileage, did not get far...something like 45 miles, spent some time walking around at a couple of places during my 3 hours "riding"...but it was a good day for it. Looking forward to next weekend, they are calling for cooler temperatures and dry next weekend - with a bunch of rain in the middle of the week. We shall see, but at any case a good time riding on a hot, hazy and humid Sunday in early June.