New Helmet Test Ride (June 7, 2014)

 Got a new helmet this week (gives me three of them, like to rotate them. They also are best, each in their own way, under different conditions. Wore the half helmet today. Anyhow, went to Ashland, VA which is not real far from Richmond. Got there via VA1 and part of I-95...was a real good ride early on (started the ride at 10am).
This is the old train station, now used for a info and tourist center (though the trains do stop there, and you can buy tickets on the train). Believe this dates to  the 1920's. Cool town, have been there before and will be back again.

This is the Strawberry Faire Festival in Ashland...figured since I was there...and enjoyed it. Was packed to the gills with booths,and had a big crowd. Much larger in both areas than I thought it would be...and had a good time.
From the festival, rode back toward Richmond via VA1 this time all the way. Riding that road is a lot of fun and have been a good distance over the years on it. Fun road south and a fun road north as well.
    

Stopped at Richmond International Raceway where I took this photo of the sign (and my bike). Like going  by the track, and got a few photos there and checked out the things going on.
Seems to get a lot of use, as there was some sort of thing going on with firemen, a racing sort of event (involving drifting which I have done in a car...that is wild) and that was neat.
In fact there were also a number of motorcycles there, in the photo below. I also have a few more photos on my Photo Page and there is a link to that on this page. 

These are the motorcycles I mentioned at RIR.From here went into Richmond where I had lunch at Buz and Ned's, and then rode around Monument Avenue and even some on Riverside Drive before heading home. It was a very good ride (and some good walking as well) though only covered some 60 miles, I enjoyed it and was a nice sunny day for it with low heat and humidity.
Looking forward to the next ride!

Richmond Greek Fest Ride (May 31,2014)

Wonderful Saturday, and one of the two big food fests called for a visit this weekend. Went to the Richmond Greek Festival on Malvern Ave....always a good time. It is also always packed to the gills...but not so much at 11am when I took this...opened the event. Shortly after lines were longer than one could believe. Great time though and a fun place with fun people.
I have some photos posted on the Photo Page, taking the car to the next event (on June 1) and will have that one on my Richmond and me page.  

Here at Mellow Mushroom in nearby Carytown, stopped in for some refreshment a bit after noon. Good restaurant (but did not eat, as I did that at the Greek Fest) but love eating there...some of the best pizza in Richmond in my opinion. Ate at the first one (its a chain) in Asheville, NC and also always visit the one in Louisville, Kentucky when I am there.
Good pizza can be found in Richmond there also at Bottoms Up and Mary Angeloes (both local chains) with some very good pizza. A week without pizza is a long seven days in my opinion.  

This caught my eye while riding, stopped and got a photo of this Kawasaki 90. Not this one, but had one as my first motorcycle back (way back) when I was 16. My Dad got it for me for Christmas. It was the start of something big.
Bike is a two-cycle, single. As far as top speed it did not have much, but sure had some great times on it. Did not take long to upgrade to a bigger bike...was the first of three two cycles I owned, but sure were good bikes. EPA pretty much ended those engines, but they were reliable and in bigger versions also fast and always fun.   

 Made a stop at the Virginia State Capital, just a beautiful building, and it was designed by Thomas Jefferson. Dates to way before the Civil War, which it survived, and there are tours of the building (which I have taken) and its very, very interesting as well on the inside.
From the visit there, went down to Highway 5 again (was there on a recent ride) but not so far. Wanted to see some Civil War sites.
This ride was not a big huge one, mileage wise but sure was a lot of fun. Wanted to see some sights and have some food and fun....sure did that.  

Last stop was at the Ft Harrison and Ft Gilmer sites on VA5, very nice forts (mostly Earthworks now) from the era. Union troops captured Ft Harrison, Ft Gilmer (which is where I am here) was abandoned when the lines were broke and Richmond fell.
Wonderful day for all the riding. Before done, cleaned the bike up and cleaned the air filter (got a K+N filter for it when the old one needed changing...a great purchase). As noted was not a big long ride, but a good day for it, with low heat and humidity a big plus. Looking forward to the next ride in the area soon.      

Ride to City Point (May 26, 2014)

 On the last day of Memorial Day weekend I got out on the motorcycle heading for a shorter ride than the amazing last one to a place I had been before...City Point. It is a section of Hopewell, VA but back in the Civil War and before it was a city apart. It has a long history, having been shelled a few times both by the English and the British. It was a major port in fact one of the largest in the world during the Civil War when it was the point of supply for the Union Army in the capture of Petersburg and Richmond - which brought an end to the Civil War.

Here is one of the gun emplacements (preserved over the years) but once there were cannon and soldiers here. On Memorial Day it is here that I remember one of the many wars the troops fought  and died in. As a fellow veteran I salute all of them in all branches of service and thank them for their service. I think it is good that this nation takes time to remember those who gave some, and those who gave all.
Really a fun place to explore, and I have a few more photos on my Photo Page.

This house dates in City Point to before the Civil War (and was said to be the oldest house in the area). There are a lot of such places (one building was one of the tree taverns during the war) as Virginia does a great job of preserving its history.
For me, the ride covered a total of 63 miles, somewhat less than my 311 of two days before, but it was a good ride if a bit on the hot and humid side. Used sunscreen today and it seems to have worked plus the smell of the beach was a nice touch also. The ocean...well that is going to be a future ride, but got a big weekend coming up in the City of Richmond, will be the subject of my next post. 

Riding the Blue Ridge Parkway...Virginia side (May 24, 2014)

It is one of my favorite roads in North Carolina, but luckily it also runs through Virginia. Got a few photos today from the Blue Ridge Parkway ride. Got up at 4:30am (coffee and some breakfast) before hitting the road at 7am. That road was I-64 which on this sunny Saturday was....not very busy. Pleased I covered the 100 miles (seeing a lot of police as its a holiday weekend, and they were working the roads) and just before 8:30 arrived at this point...Mile Marker one on the Parkway. The road starts in Virginia, virtually at this point. The views as you can see here are remarkable.  

 This is a shot of the Parkway, taken at an overlook. There are a lot of those. Also remarkable views, smaller critters, a small replica mountain farm (which is possible to see in my Photo Page, or in my Richmond and Me blog where I will have some more photos) . Rock formations, curves, views and sunshine....I could not ask for more. Passed a lot of motorcycles, and a few cars but the road was not very busy which was another pleasant surprise. Needing fuel though after some 160 miles I headed off the Parkway and got some gas in a small town on VA60. Pleasantly it was a very twisty road at that point.  

Continued on VA60 toward Lynchburg. Diverted from there to VA29 and went to Lynchburg where I had lunch. It was pretty crowded and a lot of things were going on downtown...which everytime I have been there has always been a busy place. A very neat and fun town.
Stopped (as I always do) to the War Memorial and thought on this day of my fellow Veterans who have paid the ultimate price in defense of this country, and of course of the wounded who are reminded of their time in the services ever day. Thanks from a brother in arms.  

At the end, headed back on NC60 (after a short tour of Lynchburg both on foot, and on the bike) which again was not a very busy road. In fact for most of the ride (until I got closer to Richmond) there was no one behind me and few in front. It was a great ride which covered (as you can see) 311.8 miles. A long ride, and tiring (though I took a lot of stops all through the trip) to see things and just to relax.
It was a remarkable trip, amazes me at times to think how lucky I am to have a very fine motorcycle and a very interesting place to ride it. Had a great time on my Vulcan in Virginia today.   

VA5 to Yorktown, VA May 18, 2014)

 Nice day for a long ride....headed out via VA5 which is a great road...lots of twists and turns, past farms and plantations (one was the home of President John Tyler) and a number of Civil War battlefields. It is some 60 miles to Yorktown from my apartment, and it was a great ride.
This photo at left though is from the Colonial Parkway, and that is a great road. Reminds me somewhat of the Blue Ridge Parkway except the views are the thick woods and soon in rather dramatic fashion....the York River. Three cool places are there...Yorktown, Jamestown and Williamsburg.    

Yorktown was my destination though, and I have a lot of photos on my Photo Page, Richmond and me blog and also photos such as this one. This is the monument to the victory of the Continental Army under General George Washington over the British Army under the command of General Conwallis in the Revolutionary War. I have in the past toured the battlefield-it is a very interesting place.
This monument is very old, it was built shortly after the war ended and it is a rather imposing statue. I have been to Yorktown four times but this was my first time to see it up close (got a quick look on my last trip there).
One thing about Yorktown is there is a lot of things to see and do there, history is one, food is another (some great places to eat) and many of the buildings are original and very, very old (one church was built in 1697). I always have a great time there, and this was no exception.  

 Course I mentioned the beach, which (considering it was around 70 degrees) was not packed but nonetheless had a good crowd. It is about 60 miles closer than Virginia Beach and also tends not to be quite as packed even in the summer. Sure it is not on the ocean, but the York is a very big river and...well, its got sand.
Fun to walk along it and check out the sights (some of those are very pretty) and there is also a pair of sailing ships to get out on if that is something on your list. Have a great time just exploring the area, and in four trips always see new things to check out.   

One of those was the Yorktown Pub which is popular with motorcyclists (as you can see here) but also has some nice prices in food and drink (I did check out a local beer....though the local beer was from Richmond, VA).
During the ride down I passed a lot of motorcycles, had a pair of BMW's I followed most of the way, and was passed by a number of bikes including a few large groups of motorcycles. Got to do a lot of waving. VA5 is a great motorcycle road.
The entire trip covered very close to 150 miles though a lot of that was on the Colonial Parkway as it is a fun road to ride, and the 60 miles each way to and from Yorktown. It is a great trip and one that I am sure to make again in the near future.   

Mother's Day Ride (May 11, 2014)

 Pouring rain on Saturday, but Sunday was sunny and pretty warm (upper 80's) and a great day for a ride. Wanted to get a backroad ride. Starting on VA 1 I headed up through Petersburg (where I found this monument on the Bermuda Hundred Civil War campaign) and on up VA360 all the way to Stony Creek, VA where I had lunch.
After that, which was about 30 miles from the North Carolina State Line, turned back toward Richmond, going up VA165 (think that was the road). Was not sure where I was going for sure, as this was a real "thataway" ride. Like those, and was fun exploring some new routes, roads and sights.
Got back into Petersburg when I came across VA460. All those were two lane roads, with a few twists and turns. I ran along side of I-95/I-85 for much of it, but for parts of it was just out in the country seeing what I came across. It was a nice way to get out on a very fine motorcycle.  

 This is the bike, here at Blandford Cemetery, very cool, very big and very old. Dates all the way back to the Revolutionary War but a lot of Confederates are also buried there. The Petersburg National Battlefield is not far from there. Think this is the site also of the first Memorial Day.
Nice place to take a break and check out some history. The old church there is on the National Historic Cemetery and is something to see. I have some photos of that on my photo page. As far as history goes, Petersburg's history goes all the way to the Revolutionary War.   

This is Old Town Petersburg, love the cobblestone streets, and the old buildings. Much of the movie "Lincoln" was filmed here. There are a lot of good places to eat there...one of them "Croakers Spot" ( a very good fish restaurant) had people lined up out the door to get in.
Nice ride, a little closer to home in comparison to the last few weeks, but just a real good ride. Fun to see some new places, as well as some favorite old places. I enjoyed this a great deal.
After that, got the bike put up and relaxed for a bit. Went to a concert at Forest Hill Park that night.

There I saw these bikes. Red bike is a Honda ST1100, the one in the middle in a Kawasaki Vulcan 750 (no longer made but a really, really good motorcycle...those who still have them think the world of them) and the green bike is a Honda with a 50cc engine.
I talked the owner who built it for his dog (a boxer) which he put in with a harness and went motoring off. I have that photo (which I took with my cell phone camera on my photo page).
All said, it was a very good day (and the concert was good too) /  

Hollywood Cemetery Ride (May 4, 2014)

 Beautiful day today for a ride, second in two days. This time out on the motorcycle in Richmond to see the famous Hollywood Cemetery. Founded in 1849 the cemetery holds a number of famous people including two US Presidents, the only President of the Confederacy, and two famous generals...George Pickett (who has been on this page in the past) and JEB Stuart who rests in the site seen here.
JEB was not his name...that was James Ewell Brown Stuart, but his friends called him Jeb. He was perhaps the leading Cavalry commander of the war....working in the Army of Northern Virginia under Robert E. Lee. However, he did get the blame (for the cavalry also did collect info on enemy troop movements for the army) at Gettysburg. General Stuart was killed late in the war and was buried here. There is also a statue to the general on Monument Ave in Richmond, Virginia. 

This is the Pyramid (seen by it is my trusty motorcycle) which is a monument to the over 18,000 Confederate soldiers buried in the  Cemetery. As is the case with most Civil War cemetery sites, most of the dead are unknown. Often it was difficult to collect the dead, and as (at least until the battle at Cold Harbor which is located just outside of Richmond, VA) soldiers did not wear name tags it was often impossible to tell who they were.
The cemetery is just a beautiful place and is one of the nicest cemeteries I have seen (also of note is the beautiful Cave Hill Cemetery in Louisville, Kentucky). I have visited here often and it is a favorite place in Richmond to see, and one I really recommend if you come to the city.
It is also a popular place to have picnics and there are tours of the grounds that are worth doing. On June 2 Jefferson Davis birthday usually is celebrated with cannon and a few hundred motorcycles I am told...might have to check that out.

Good view of the James River from up there, nice view of it here, still flooded (though less than Friday's peak) from the rains of last week.
I did get a few more miles in, did a little tour of the area around Richmond though had to avoid the blocked roads downtown from the bicycle race going on over the weekend.
With the visit the ride today was a lot shorter then the 124 miles of yesterday...today was around 25 miles, but the shorter and closer to home ride was a lot of fun and a nice way to spend an early Sunday morning in the RVA.