Late February Ride (Feb 24, 2014)

 Damn! Was a remarkable 70 degrees yesterday, but as I found moments ago (looking at my previous blog post, last ride was in late January. When I went to start the bike, it was dead...battery. Took it out, charged it up, and got in a ride today on a much cooler day though. Oh well, glad to ride anyhow, and glad that it came back to life. Here is the motorcycle in Carytown. Though the temperature outside was 51 degrees, I was dressed for it, and it was fine. Put in a good couple of highway rides, and kept it running, when I stopped for fuel it started right up again. 

This is the bell tower in Maymont Park, which is one of my favorite places to visit. Like going there, but sure was a lot of road work going on there, and in fact virtually everywhere I went today. Good though as winter has been hard on Richmond area roads. Glad to see them getting the attention.
I rode as I noted highways, also got out on Monument Ave, and quite a few different roads...was out near Ginter Park even not far from Richmond International Raceway (though did not stop by there this time) as I was in Florida a few days ago and got to see the qualifying races (aka The Budweiser Duel). 

This is at Dogwood Dell, also at Maymont....they have a number of events there. Rode down Jefferson Davis Highway and back up 150 before putting the motorcycle up for the day. Came to a 50 mile ride, nothing fantastic but hopefully I will be able to get out sooner next time...waited far too long for this ride...both in regards to the battery and to myself as well...for I enjoyed the hell out of this ride. Nice to be out in the breeze and did see a number of other motorcycles out there. Spring is getting ever closer, and sure looking forward to one of the best times of the year to ride coming up soon. 

MLK Day Ride (January 20, 2014)

 Martin Luther King day (he was a great man) was a fine day, temperatures got to 61 and it was sunny (the following day it snowed here, and temps fell to -3 on Wednesday morning, go figure) but it was a great day to ride. Took this photo in Shockoe Bottom, traincars (actually two) and it was running on the inside (some sort of heater or motor) not sure what they were there for but made for a good photo. Actually went to a friends house in Church Hill, we visited a few places, with lunch and some other sights in that very interesting area.  

 Took this photo from a lookout at Church Hill, as you can see was a very good day for a ride. I waited until it was later in the day for the ride, so got to enjoy the warm temperatures. Nice view of Richmond from here, like the Church Hill area which is one of the most interesting parts of the city.
Lots of cool things to see there, and have a great time. It was good riding and frankly with the snow currently on the ground will be a while before I get to get back on the bike again. Wish I had ridden more did not cover a lot of ground due to the visit with Tony.  

 Did ride out to The Diamond, which is the baseball park in Richmond. They are planning to build a new one (in Church Hill) as this is a very old facility, but still pretty cool. Went to the shop in there, but did not get any baseball items this trip (was just looking). Charlotte Hornets (MJ is changing the Bobcats to the Hornets) will have some new stuff, sort of saving up for that...saw the Hornets a few times when I lived in North Carolina.
At any case, was a nice ride out there. Being sort of late in the day traffic on I-95 was pretty heavy so got off and got into town for a bit.  

Liked this last photo, its of the Stonewall Jackson monument on Monument Ave (though I am on the Boulevard coming up to Monument at a red light). You see some of the traffic I was talking about previously.
Nice as I said to get out....and will soon have some photos from the first snowstorm of the year here. It was a good ride, glad to do some visiting, and glad to get a few miles in. Wish I had been able to do more, was sure a wonderful day for it...especially in late January. Looking forward to some serious riding in the next few weeks.

Mid-January Ride (January 13, 2014)

I often talk to this guy, he lives in the apartment complex next to me...rides a Honda Shadow 600. I had one of those, consider it one of the best motorcycles I ever had....other than routine maintenance and fuel never cost me an extra dime. I put some 38,000 miles on that bike, and got a good price for it when I sold it. Course it was well cared for.
I store my Vulcan in a storage unit, he keeps his under a tarp. We talked about that, and yes...his bike has some corrosion from that method of storage, but not too bad.

Still, the Vulcan is a very fine motorcycle also. Was in the upper 50's on this day, and took the bike for a ride. Took a stop at nearby Forest Hill Park, which is one of my favorite places....thought this would make a good photo. Took a photo there with the bike by The Stone House last year I think.
From there went into Richmond and out on the ride. Kind  of got lost, as this place is still sort of new to me, and was out someplace (but it was nice) in Glen Allen. Without having all day to ride (had to go to work later on) headed back toward what I thought was "To Richmond".  

Turned out it was, found Highway 1 and on the way back came across Richmond International Raceway. Neat to find that, and took a stop there to get a few photos. Love Nascar and it was fun to revisit this place. Its not very long until the season starts up again. Likewise for better motorcycle days (could be a bit warmer) though it was not bad. Did around 40 something miles, did not pay a lot of attention to the distance but just went out to enjoy the ride. Very nice to get out this time of year.

Bikes in Colonial Heights (January 4, 2014)

 Did not get to ride, my girlfriend got a Harley-Davidson gift certificate over Christmas (from yours truly) and we went to redeem it at Colonial Harley-Davidson at Colonial Heights, VA. Nice Harley dealer, though a lot of the bikes have that usual Harley pricetag. Pretty expensive (though it tends to vary from shop to shop) but some remarkable motorcycles. This is one of the CVO models, with the bigger engine and a fantastic paint job, plus a lot of bells and whistles. A beautiful thing, and they have a lot of bikes like that at the dealer. I do like to check them out.

Went to Commonwealth Powersports (within sight of Colonial Harley-Davidson) and took a look at some of the Victory Motorcycles. Interesting brand, in that they are also made in the USA. Last year Victory brought out three new Indian Motorcycles to rave reviews from their purchase of that brand. I have ridden Victory bikes (they have an aggressive test ride program) and they are impressive motorcycles. Tend to be priced between the Japanese bikes and the Harley-Davidson's. I find the to be a bit clunky sounding shifting (least the ones I have ridden) but said to be reliable.     

This is a Yamaha (aka Star) FZ-9, an improvement (again according to the reviews) of the FZ-8 of last year. Priced at a remarkable $7,990 it has 106 horsepower and weighs 417 pounds. Engine is a water cooled 847cc triple. Not a bad deal. Some of the Japanese manufacturers (Yamaha and Honda especially) are really lowering the price of motorcycles. Commonwealth also had some Vulcan motorcycles (from 2011 and 2012) with zero miles at prices way below normal.
Had a great time checking out the new rides. Very happy with my motorcycle, and not in  the market right now, but always interesting to see what is out there, and happening in the amazing world of motorcycling. 

So ends 2013 (December 31, 2013)

 So ends 2013, not the best year of my life (in fact in some respects the worst hands down) but it also had some high spots. Lost a wife, but gained a really good girlfriend who rides, got though thanks to family and friends, and of course have this very good dog. I am looking very forward to 2014, doubt it could be worse (and sure hope it wont). Went on some good rides, plan to do more of that in 2014. Hope you all have a very good 2014 as well.
As for Dec 31, weather was good, sunny and temperature was in the 50's. I dressed for it, and was quite comfortable as I rode into Richmond.

Made a stop at Buz and Ned's, one of my favorite places to eat in the Richmond area, and some of the best BBQ I have ever had. They have two locations in the city, one in Short Pump and one on the Boulevard (which is where I went to today). Good BBQ and a (as in one, Im riding) Cold beer. It was a good idea, and some good food. Traffic was not too bad getting into Richmond, which was real good.
I like riding in Richmond, lots of old buildings and some interesting stuff to see. Do have to keep your eyes on the road, as traffic can do some interesting stuff, plus the road itself can be filled with potholes.
Still, its a lot of fun riding around here, fun on a cool sort of day. While I dress warm, speed can really up the wind chill factor, so not a day to get out on the highway, but around town and up to day 50mph it was not bad at all.  

 This is the building to the Washington Redskins training camp, Next year they will have a new coach. My two favorite teams are the Chicago Bears and the Carolina Panthers, but I went to the training camp last year and will go again in 2014. 
Football is my favorite sport and the training camp is fun. They did have a huge crowd last year, I think they will be here at least for a total of 8 years (something like that) but will see them there in the summer.
Sure is cool having that in the RVA....Carolina camp was in South Carolina, never got to go there.

This is the Confederate White House, lots of Civil War things in Richmond, and this one is one of the interesting things to be seen Jefferson Davis lived here, and when he left as Richmond fell, Abraham Lincoln took it over during his visit to the recaptured American city. This is part of a museum there, one of many in the Richmond area. There are also a number of nearby battlefields. Sure I will revisit some in 2014, also planning to get out to the mountains in 2014, plus...well sure there will be some fun and interesting rides. Have ridden in Richmond less than a year and for me its all new motorcycle wise. Did all my motorcycling on the Vulcan prior to this in the Charlotte, NC area. At any case, hope all of you have a great 2014, and enjoy many great rides, or adventures of your own if you don't ride. Thanks as always for visiting my page, look forward to hearing from some of you, and wish you all the best in the upcoming year. May 2014 be your best year ever!     

Early Christmas Gift #2 (December 20, 2013)

 Another great day, got in a good ride, though cloudy the temperatures were even warmer than the day before-and it was a very good ride. Went to where the new Ultimate Cycle location is going to be-its up the Midlothian Turnpike some 20 miles from the old location. Kind of a drive though a pretty area, its out in the country and they have a lot of land for things. Will make it more difficult to get the bike serviced there; as it is a bit of a drive and seems you always have to leave the bike. Miss RideNow in Concord, NC for instance where they would do tires or inspections while you wait.  

This is the bike and that is Midlothian Turnpike. Got a good ride out there, for the two days got a total of 95 miles. As with the previous days ride did some sightseeing, and some Christmas shopping, but sure felt good to ride. A nice gift as the temps for the days were record setting. Continued to Dec 23 (with 70s-80s) but also came the rain, and of course the traffic got even worse as it is Christmas season. Still it was great to ride.
I will still get some in this winter, but doubt few will be anywhere as warm. Spring is some 87 days away, will be looking forward to that motorcycle wise, though winter is a lot of fun.

Early Christmas Gift #1 (December 19, 2013)

Just a beautiful thing...December 19, a bright sunny day, first day of my vacation and it was 65 degrees in Richmond, six days before Christmas (normal high around 50). On a bright sunny day, got the bike out of where I store it and took it on a ride around Richmond. Stopped here at left at Hull Street Outlet (which is actually on Jefferson Davis Highway) to get a photo of my bike by this rocket....cause I love both things! Could not get over this, was grinning from ear to ear for the three and a half hours I was out. Did a little Christmas shopping on the bike (another cool thing) getting a gift for my Harley-Davidson riding girlfriend and a little lunch, plus rode out to a Civil War battle site (Navy this time, though I had been there before, but not for quite a while). Wanted to rotate the tires and light the fires and I certainly did that on the motorcycle and on me.  

This is Colonial Harley Davidson in Colonial Heights, VA which is just outside of Petersburg. Not a huge Harley person (that is my Kawasaki Vulcan on the far right) but from what I have seen this is the biggest and best equipped HD dealer in the area. Have been to a few things there (the state HOG rally was there a few years ago, that was a lot of fun with all the bikes) and like dropping in there.
They have some remarkable motorcycles - though have had really good luck with the Japanese bikes. I like the water cooled engines on the big Japanese cruisers, though they do have the V-Rod and a new sort of water cooled engine.

 This is a Super Glide, sort of the classic sort of thing from HD. Has the air-cooled engine, belt drive and hydraulic lifters (as does my Vulcan) which means no valve adjustments.
Pretty bike, and is one of the bikes that actually fits me. Funny to me that the Japanese bikes tend to be big (for taller riders such as me) while the Harley-Davidsons tend to be smaller (I look like a loon on a Sportster). Sure a lot of history there, and I think motorcycling is better thanks to Harley being there. They are though getting some US competition from Victory Motorcycles and now Indian.   

This is the Breakout, I like the paint on this one a lot. Again, the standard air cooled engine, but that paint is something to see. The other type of paint on the Breakout can be seen on the bike behind it. Nice motorcycle!
Liked being there, good place to stop with some very friendly people, and as I have noted there is usually a lot going on there. Harley shops tend to have a lot of things to do, and a lot of events are held there. It was the same at Speedway Harley Davidson in Concord, NC, which is a fine shop as well.  
This photo was taken at Commonwealth Powersports, which sells Honda, Kawasaki, Yamaha (Star), Suzuki and Victory, and is within sight of Colonial Harley-Davidson. Like that shop too, and also very friendly people. A Tilted Kilt bar is right next door, nice place to visit, though I had lunch at Buffalo Wild Wings, just up the road. Love those Wings!  

Finally, made a stop on the way home (got to Colonial Heights via I-95, but back on Jefferson Davis Highway) to Fort Darling. This was a Confederate fort during the Civil War on the James River which repelled a Union fleet (including the Ironclad USS Monitor) which planned to shell Richmond. That battle stopped that threat.
All in all, a remarkable day on the bike, three and a half wonderful hours with the stops at the bike shops, lunch and the battlefield. Got in 55 miles, not a whole lot, but more than I expected in late December. Best thing is that the forecast is for more of the same...tomorrow. I plan to take advantage!