Blue Ridge Parkway Ride (October 25, 2014)

 To the Blue Ridge Parkway...told it was peak color and frankly hate those times I have not made this trip (the very few there have been). This was my second time this year to make this ride..got up early for a 7:30 am start time. It was a rousing 41 degrees, had to stop a few times to warm the hands (did a good job on clothing but the gloves could have been a bit warmer). Rode up I-64 to Exit 99. Was told the traffic would be bad, but frankly was a very pleasant ride, and riding on the Parkway was not bad at all...busier than the last ride there, but still could cruise. Photo at left was the first stop there.  

One of the stops was of a Mountain Farm....not really a replica though cause while brought from other places are all original buildings. There were a number of places to see there.
Up on the Parkway I rode a total distance of 60 miles...30 out and 30 back. Made a lot of stops to see the lookouts and some of the sights.
Must have been a Porsche rally there, passed a large number of large groups of cars there (going the other way) which was pretty neat.
At any case, was fun to ride down those roads...felt sort of like flying at ground level. Great curves, good pavement (had been repaved since my last visit) and views not to be believed.

 This was another shot, one of many. Headed back out after a few hours and back on I-64. Lots of dead deer on the side of the road-apparently they have been breeding a lot, but still have a lot of problems with that car/truck thing.
Ran at a pretty good clip, keeping up with traffic meant not running at the speed limit. I was not in a hurry, but everyone else seemed to be. Not being in a mood to get run over I ran along with them. Few police to be seen and if the semis went flying by...figured I was pretty safe.  

Stopped at Michie Tavern in Charlottsville to eat there (building dates to the late 1700's). Like that place, but there was a good line (found it was homecoming at Virginia...they lost to North Carolina in the football game that day) so ate at MickyD's (also in Charlottesville) and gassed up the bike for the ride back to Richmond.
Beautiful day, temperature in the 70's (a little cooler in the mountains) and a beautiful ride which covered a total of 258 miles beginning to end (thanks to the trip meter).I was so glad I did this..have been on a lot of rides since my last post but this was one of the longest in some time. I have more photos on my Richmond and me page.  

Riding with my Lady (August 16,2014)

 I like this photo. Took this lady on a motorcycle ride on a fine Saturday...74 miles in all down the very scenic Riverside drive, and down the Huganot Trail. Nice ride, and great company. Did not get a lot of photos, but did have a very good time. This was her first ride in many years, so cool that we got to do that. I am told there will be more, and I am looking forward to that. 

Went to Shockoe Bottom where I saw this very fine Harley (love the look of it) and the BMW (which is one of the best sport bikes out there.
It was a wonderful Saturday and I had a very, very good time.
Looking forward to the next one, and hope there are many more ahead!

A Ride with Purpose (August 10, 2014)

Good time today. Been a strange weekend, it was supposed to be a heavy rain weekend, at one time we had a 70% chance. Never got a drop. It was also supposed to be cool and less humid...that did not happen either. Oh well, a good day to ride. I got the bike out of the storage unit, for the last time...rates have been going up (and up, and up) and frankly looking at some of the bikes that stay out and under covers they look fine. Figure what the hell...be nicer at home. Stored it 1.3 miles from here, but be a lot better when all I have to do is walk outside and ride it. I also went out and got a parking sticker for work (at work) so can ride it in from time to time there.
I also then went out for lunch at Alamo BBQ in Church HIll...like that place and got the Cuban with some potato salad, and an Arnold Palmer (which is Lime-Aid with ice tea) and very good. Got to say, that is my second one.      

Got to wander some around Church Hill...a very old and very cool neighborhood. If you ever wanted to live in restored (for the most part) 100+ year houses, this is your place. Has a lot of history there (as does most of Richmond) and is one of my favorite places to explore. Also, and not just Alamo some very good places to eat.
Headed out later to roar around Richmond for a bit and then headed to Manchester for a stop at Legend Brewing for (one) Legend Brown Ale. I really enjoy that place a great deal.
After that got back, and waiting for the bike to cool down. I came in a bit early, as the skies took on a dark cloudy look, but that just passed over.
Cleaned up the bike after the ride, and its ready for the adventures to come ...  

To the Dentist...and beyond (July 29, 2014)

Had a dentist appointment....on top of that it was 81 degree day with low humidity. So....got my dental visit in (always better on a motorcycle, as are most everything) and then rode for a while. Photo here was the turn in ...A Harley Sportster is also waiting for the light to change on Midlothian Turnpike.
From there, rode back toward NC150 and then down I-95 to VA10. Rode that to Chester and then to Chesterfield....some interesting sights to see there, and visited a few. Went to a neat place..one of two I know of...which is a shopping area and apartments; a big one in NC was Birkdale Village.    

Here I am at the Chesterfield County Airport, which did not have much going on Tuesday morning. Still I like planes and saw a few (none really interesting though) and not a lot of flying going on either.
Rode out from there to Carytown and had lunch at Mellow Mushroom. They have a real good lunch special, have been there a few times this year (sadly, its only Monday thru Friday, so have not been there as often as I would like) but nice to do that.
Following that, headed downtown for a while, and did a bit of riding in Richmond. Always enjoy doing that, its a real fun place to explore.  

While in Richmond, did a bit of the Floodwall Walk which is in the Manchester section of Richmond.
Ride took me around some 80 miles...a good time out and enjoyed the day a great deal. For the first time since Spring, wore a jacket, as it was closer to 70 in the morning when I first started riding.
Glad I got out, as the weekend forecast for the first week of August calls for rain, and starting as I write this on Friday...that sure looks to be the case.
At any case though, this was a very fun ride and enjoyed it a great deal.

Thataway Ride (July 26, 2014)

 Turned out to be a good day for a ride. Sure was hot and humid, but one of those rare days when it felt good riding...was not that "hot air" feeling. Headed up VA60 (aka "The Midlothian Turnpike"). Did make a stop at Ultimate Cycle, which moved from close to my apartment (relatively) to much further away (some 21 miles to be exact). Nice dealership though not real impressed with the service department. Took them three times to replace a leaky seal.
All that said, nice to visit, and did enjoy getting there, and the points beyond....    

Saw a sign to Historic Powhatan, so ended up on VA13 (first time on that road) and stopped here at the historic courthouse (dates to before the Civil War). In fact, the Confederate Army came through here following the fall of Richmond on their way to surrender to the Union Army. Was a very neat town....also passed thru Tobaccoville and a few other little towns (including the very interesting one in the bottom photo). Nice road, passed a lot of nice houses, lots of corn and (of all things) Sunflowers in huge groves, and the road itself was very fun to ride. Lots of hills, curves and the road was (mostly) tree lined.  

Total ride on this day was some 92 miles, headed back the way I came (13 came off of 60 and ran back on it further down) with a lunch stop at Chick Fil A (had not had that in a long, long time.
It was a whole lot of fun, which got even better on Sunday when it rained buckets. Did go to the Redskin Training Camp though, that is on my Richmond and Me blog page.

BBQ Road (July 20, 2014)

 Nice Sunday ride-a little warmer than the day before, and a little more humid, with a lot more cloud cover, but a good day to ride.
Took this photo in Church Hill (a section of Richmond, VA) and one of my favorite views of the city (though in this case, blocked a bit by my bike). Headed out around 11am and the goal was to get a bit of lunch. Liked that idea, made a last minute charge. Been going to Moe's Southwest Grill, but this time decided some BBQ was in order. Had not been to Alamo BBQ in some time.

This is Alamo, which is in Church Hill also. You can either take it home or eat outside (I went with the eat outside option) and got the BBQ sandwich with texas beans (with bbq is how they make those). They don't have alcohol so had an Arnold Palmer-tea with lime juice (and very tasty) as was the food. One of my favorite places to eat and had not been there for a while, so enjoyed it a great deal.
Church Hill is a very interesting place, going through a lot of changes, but a lot of fun things there to see, eat, and explore. One of the largest civil war hospitals (North or South) is located there (though the buildings are all gone) .  

While at Alamo saw this Honda Shadow (think its a 750). I have a great fondness for these bikes...my previous bike was a Honda 600 Shadow and rode it for 36,000 trouble free miles.
Ride Sunday was not real far, though did finish up with a ride down Midlothian Turnpike. Clouds were building and thought parking it for the day was a good idea..as well as winding down to get ready for the workweek ahead. For the weekend got a total of 95 miles, most of which was Saturday, but some really great time on the Vulcan this weekend. Been lucky on those...so far weather wise for quite a few weeks in a row.  

Battlefield Ride (July 19, 2014)

 Very interesting ride....got out today to some favorite places; three Civil War battlefields in the Richmond, VA area. Got to say there are a lot of them here; some of them minor, and many major (as these are). Had not been there in some time, and got to travel some new roads...some great riding. VA 33 and VA156 were remarkable roads...hilly, curvy and scenic. Went past horse farms, farms, and just country.
It was one of the best rides in Virginia...if I had known this (or remembered would have done this sooner...but nonetheless on to the sights.   This first was taken at Malvern Hill which happened on July 1, 1862. It was one of the best uses of artillery in the war, Union forces defeated a confederate attack with some 40 cannon and 8,000 men. No one entrenched...they just stood and fought. It was the last battle of the Campaign called the Seven Days Battles.

This is my motorcycle at the second of the three battlefields I visited. The battle at Cold Harbor lasted for a couple of weeks with the major action on  June 3, 1864. Unlike The Seven Days Battles, where the Union Army was under the command of General McClellan, this time they were under the command of US Grant. Once again the Rebels were under General RE Lee. Lee stood behind 6 miles of earthworks and the Union Army charged them on June 3 in an early morning attack. Some 6,000 union were killed or wounded in something like 30 minutes. Over two weeks both armies suffered around 16,000 killed or wounded.
Grant later said,  "I have always regretted that the last assault at Cold Harbor was ever made...no advantage was gained to compensate for the heavy loss we sustained".    

Very near Cold Harbor, is the Gaines Mill battlefield, which goes back to the first set of Seven Days Battles. June 27, 1862 McClellan met Lee and by nightfall both armies had suffered some 15,000 casualties. The house there was the HQ for the Union Army, now privately owned, it was built in 1820.
The battles can be found in a lot of US history, and also there are some videos on YouTube with some more information. All in all I rode some 80 miles on a very fine day, with low humidity and normal heat for this time of year. I had a remarkable time indeed!