End of May (May 30-31,2015)

Another two days of riding as I went to The Greek Festival on Malvern Avenue. They have been having that for the last 40 years, I have been going for something like five of them. It is a great event as I love Greek Food and big crowds, plus that is a good area to ride in. I enjoyed the meal and had a good time running around that area. I also took a short ride though downtown and through Church Hill and on Route 5. Did not get in a great many miles but it was a lot of fun.
Sunday went to Chester, VA where I did some exploring seeing some old things and also a few new ones...as there is a lot of development down in that area. For the two days got in some 80 miles total, and even made a stop at the Chesterfield Airport. Both days were really hot and humid with temperatures well into the 90s.

Post Mountain Rides (May 24-25,2015)

Took a ride to Hardywood Park which is a brewery in Richmond. We have a few of them here, and this is one of the better ones (though all are pretty good).
Stopped in there on Sunday and it was a pretty hot day so a beer (never too many) sounded like a good idea.
It was, and so was the ride around that area. It was a hot day and the ride felt good. Nice to be out in the breeze and being a Sunday traffic was not too bad (though it did pick up later on, but never really bad).
Rode around the area for a while...Redskins Training camp in that area also.  

This is crossing Broad Street  heading to Monument Avenue. One of the most interesting streets in Richmond, there is a statue of Stonewall Jackson in the distance. There are a lot of Confederate Generals on that street...and a statue of tennis great (and Richmond native) Arthur Ashe.
At any case, Sunday was a good if short ride.

 Memorial Day took a ride to Powhatan which is a neat city. Lots of country out there, some really neat back roads.
There also are some old historic buildings..such as this one at left. It is a fun area to ride too and had a good visit there and on the backroads.
It was another hot day but a good day for a ride.As noted this ride was a shorter one than the mountain ride. Sure was fun though.  

Finished the ride with a cruise up Riverside Drive along the James River. It is a beautiful river and that was a nice ride. Being Memorial Day though, there were a lot of people there, this was one of the rare photos without a bunch of them in it.
At any case, good two days of riding after a great Saturday ride. For the three days, ended up real close to 400 miles, the bulk of which was the previous ride to the Blue Ridge Parkway. Not a bad four day weekend (could not ride Friday due to rain here). Looking forward to the next ride ahead!

Return to the Blue Ridge Parkway (May 23, 2015)

If I have one favorite ride, the Blue Ridge Parkway is it. I loved it in North Carolina and went there many times in the 14 years I lived there. Now that I am in Virginia the love continues.
Getting here is easy...just get on I-64 West and head up the road to Exit 99. Takes a bit over an hour though I did stop for fuel in the (also interesting) Charlottesville. Once there was rewarded with views such as at left.      

Being the Memorial Day weekend, there were a lot of police pulling over a lot of cars as well as Rangers clocking cars on the Parkway. On the Parkway the speed limit is 45. Actually not bad though cause you don't want to miss the views. I believe that is Spy Mountain in the distance. I was at 99 miles from the apartment to the start of the Parkway, I rode on it for some some 50 miles. Was actually sort of cool, which was wonderful with temperatures in the low 70s and low humidity. Being a holiday weekend there was quite a crowd there and on the highway getting there but it was not all that bad for the most part.

This was one of the last photos I took up there, There are lots of pulloffs and a lot of special things to see and do. As I noted saw a turnoff to VA60 which I knew runs to Richmond, so got off and headed on that. For the first few miles that mountain road was quite a twisty challenge and a lot of fun. Was from where I started at the Parkway to Richmond a total of 122 miles. So the total ride was some 261 miles to Richmond and then another few to the apartment. At the end the trip meter said 276 which I think was a pretty good days ride. I could not have asked for a better day, or a better place to ride. Looking forward to my next visit there.

Rides in March 2015 (March 2 and 8)

 Got in a good ride on March 2; rode out on VA 5 to Malvern Hill, a very historic battlefield in Richmond, VA (actually just outside of it). Here Union Forces retreating from the first effort to take the city of Richmond engaged forces under Confederate General Robert E. Lee. The Confederate forces were repelled and the Union Army retreated.
It was one of the many battles in the Richmond area which was one of the major centers of the Civil War.
I am very impressed how these sites have been preserved for over 150 years since the war ended.   Made a short stop the same day to the Virginia Aviation Museum to see the SR-71 Blackbird. They have a nice collection of aircraft at the museum, and fun to see these amazing machines.

Took a ride also to Short Pump love this area with both shops and apartments...had lunch there. Prior to that went to Hanover, Virginia (the Hanover ride and the Short Pump visit were both on March 8. The Hanover Courthouse dates to the pre-Revolutionary War period...Patrick Henry argued cases in this court house. Photos from these rides and others can be found on my Richmond and Me page as well.
Been lucky to have some very good rides this month, weather has been sunny for the most part and temperatures have been very nice. Spring is one of the favorite times to ride!  

Return to Petersburg National Battlefield...and a Sunday ride (April 18-19, 2015)

Have been able to ride the last two weekends..last week was a ride around the Richmond area. On the warmest day (so far) of the year rode to Petersburg to the Battlefield. It is my third visit, but an amazing place. Actions here basically ended the Civil War. This site was where an early breakthru occurred. A part of General Grant's army took this position but did not press on. Only 3,000 troops were in Petersburg but during the delay Lee sent more troops and the war drug on. All the earthworks are the original fortifications. There were also wood works around them, but they are all gone.    

This was the mine tunnel entrance at The Crater. During the siege General Burnside (and yes, that is the guy Sideburns were named for) had the idea of building a tunnel , packing it with explosives and blasting a hole in the Confederate defenses. To everyones surprise...it worked. However, they went down in "The Crater" and no one had ladders to scale the now 30 foot walls. The Confederates rallied and captured or killed the attackers. Burnside and another General were "retired" after this.
Amazing place and a wild story. There are a lot of them at this battlefield, it is a remarkable place to visit.  

I also stopped at nearby Blandford Church which has a lot of Civil War dead. In fact it has a lot of dead as it dates to 1735. There are even graves dating to the Revolution. Amazing place and it is right next to the battlefield and played a role in it.
The ride was a lot of fun, went down I-95. Got a new helmet earlier that day, and got to say it is one of the most comfortable I have ever worn. A bit of luck there, but like it! Stopped by a tavern in Chester, VA on the way back, where there were a slew of motorcycles...it was the end of a Poker Run. Tavern was "I dont know sports grille" and I will be back (was there a few years ago under different ownership). On an 83 degree day went some 75 miles and had a very fun time. Made a local ride on Sunday morning to some places in Richmond, but due to the gathering clouds cut that ride short giving me just under 100 miles for the weekend. The rains came around 3PM.    

Back on the Road Again (March 21-22, 2015)

As noted from the last post....most of February was for the most part a hard blast of winter, as was early March....with a number of days of snow, rain and some brutal cold. I think after the ride to Williamsburg (last post) it barely got over freezing. Plus all the salt and sand, and overall all I got to do was look at my covered bike.
Saturday though, the first full day of Spring it was in the 60s (upper 60's at that) and spent the morning working on the motorcycle. Got in the oil change, changed spark plugs and rear gear oil. Cleaned it up, checked the air in the tires and got out on a ride. Wanted to make sure everything was good so was more of a test ride, but had a great time and covered some 30 miles.
The next day (today actually) I took the photo at left in Shockoe Bottom (a part of Richmond) headed to the Church Hill Irish Festival. Was supposed to be a much cooler day but turned out to be just about as warm as yesterday (Saturday) was and a good day for a ride.

The Festival was a lot of fun, and enjoyed checking out the band(s) there. Even ran into a local weather caster (Carrie Rose on WTVR). Made her laugh when I told her I get up with you every morning. There were bands there, beer and good food, it was a lot of fun.
After the event I went out a bit more, everything running perfect. I took the battery out of the motorcycle when the really cold weather came, I think (and really hope) that should help prolong the life of the battery.
At any case though not a lot of riding, it was a fantastic day to be out.  

Strange time of year, forecast for the rest of the week is sort of up and down temperature wise, but still will be some warm days with one day in the 70's....though that day also looks to be pretty wet.
At any case though, with some curves sure to come its the start of riding season and I for one am ready to get out and do some exploring on this two wheeled wonder as we have done together now for some 10 years. Hope all are also out and enjoying this, and hope to meet up with some of you out on the highways and byways of this great country.

Winter Miracle....Feb 8 Ride

Actually should say there were two really remarkable rides. On Saturday temperatures got into the 60's and got in a good ride around Richmond, VA. Sunday though was even more special, with temperatures close to or at 70...and I took full advantage!

It was a great day to ride. As I headed out toward Yorktown, VA I noted that a LOT of motorcycles were also taking advantage. In fact at stops during the ride talked with a lot of fellow motorcyclists, and did a lot of waving as I passed a number of them.Everyone was grinning from ear to ear too. It was a remarkable day to ride.

I rode up VA5 which is a beautiful road past a number of plantations (one which was owned by President John Tyler), James River views, farms, trees (lots of trees), curves, and just a great two lane road to Yorktown.
To get to Yorktown got there via the Colonial Parkway. Its a great road...sort of (to me) like the Blue Ridge Parkway but without the mountains (damn the luck). What it does have is remarkable views of the York River, these stone bridges (pulled over to get this shot) and it connects Yorktown, Williamsburg and Jamestown. I have in the past been to all three places...all are remarkable and in fact I am sure there are earlier posts from my rides there in this blog.
The road is concrete and kind of rough in spots but well maintained. Going into the Yorktown Battlefield there is a really neat and old Yorktown Victory Monument..plus a lot of really old houses which date to Colonial days. Though the off season it is a lot of fun, and had quite a crowd there...again a lot of which were bikers.
 

This is a view of the York River, amazing in that there used to be Naval battles on it. Just a big beautiful river and Yorktown has a beach (though I believe it is fresh water) and tends to have a lot of jelly fish (as there are warning signs in the area).
Lot of neat shops to see, and also some really good restaurants. I ate at the Yorktown Pub at Yorktown beach...very nice place to dine. Usually can't hardly get into it, as Yorktown Beach gets packed...but was just able to squeeze into a spot at the bar and get some lunch. Price was not bad and the service was excellent !This is Grace Church which dates to 1697. One of the signers of the Declaration of Independence is buried there. I will put that grave photo on my Richmond and me page with some more photos from the ride.

 Rode back down the Colonial Parkway to Jamestown and rode the Jamestown Ferry (which is free) to VA10 and that is route I took back to Richmond. The ride is known as "The Five and Dime" and was my second time to do this. First time was on a date with a woman biker and we rode our bikes on this route (but not in February).
Total ride was some 165 miles (though I did a little extra riding around Yorktown) and just could not believe I was able to do this. Has been a moderate winter (have been able to get a few rides in) but nothing for a lot of weeks quite like this!