Friday Ride to Varina, VA (June 29, 2018)

 Finally here the endless rain has, well ended. Course to replace it now we are expecting a week of 90 degree temperatures with a heat index thanks to humidity approaching 100 degrees. So it is early morning rides for a few days anyhow. Riding a motorcycle in heat like that is like driving into a furnace.
It was not bad though at 9am when I headed out down Highway 5, which remains one of my favorite roads. Made this stop at Rocketts Landing which is a fast growing, and high dollar, section of Richmond, VA. Neat though to see what has been built there and what is going up. It is located along the James River and is a popular location both to live and to have fun. Always have done a lot of things there during different times of the year. So made a quick stop to get this photo before heading on down the road.   

Riding down five there is a lot of Civil War battlefields. Some of the forts were Union held and some were Confederate (they were all Union at the End). Here is one of them with a cannon at the site, my motorcycle behind the cannon and the "Fort" can be seen along the upper right as a grass sort of hill. Back in the day they were a lot more different but still a great part of history.
As for the ride it was really good. I also got in different parts of Richmond and a rough total of around 40 miles. Even made a stop at Wal-Mart before getting back. It was a fun morning on two wheels.     

First Ride of Summer (June 26, 2018)

 Another short ride...first time since June 15. It has been a period of amazing rain. We  set a historic record for rain in June, which by the way we set a historic  record in May as well. Literally came down in buckets, and there was also massive flooding in the city of Richmond. One day flooding even closed the Richmond International Airport for a few hours.
However on this day no rain (at least not nearby) and I decided due to that and the lower heat/ humidity to get the motorcycle out.
In my area there are a lot of bunnies and got a kick out of this little guy checking out my motorcycle. They get quite used to me since Debbie and me don't bother them, so walked up, started it up and headed down the road. First stop was Byrd Park where I checked out the lake and a few other sights. Lots of road work going on in the city...lots of detours.

Wandered down Monument Avenue and due to detours again headed through some new parts of Richmond. It was pretty cool some nice places out there.
Stopped in Calvary Cemetery where I got the photo of this very interesting grave. Lots of Priests and Nuns buried in that location, plus a lot of people who came from Ireland according to the grave stones. Very beautiful and peaceful place which I have seen before.
Headed back in what was a short but very nice 16 mile ride. Looking forward to the next one as summer is here and this was the first ride of the season. 

Stoney Point Motorcycle Show (June 16,2018)

 Took my wife Debbie to the motorcycle show at Stoney Point Fashion Park in Richmond. Its not a huge show but always one of my favorites because there are a few amazing motorcycles there. For instance check this out....its a Henderson Motorcycle.. Henderson was made from 1912-1931. They had merged with Excelsior at the end (owned by Schwinn Bicycles)

Motorcycle above is simply amazing. It is a very early version of the Excelsior. You can see in this photo the bicycle roots of the motorcycle, even with pedals here and even the earliest belt drive...not carbon fiber though but leather! The motorcycles were made from 1907-1931.

Beautiful motorcycle here is a 1930 era BMW with the classic air cooled Boxer twin. That trype engine is still used to this day in some BMW models. I loved the design of the bike, and thought it was a real show stopper.
The motorcycle show had a number of really fine motorcycles, and I enjoyed visiting it again. It is a nice thing for the mall to do, and look forward to being back there next year.   

City Ride (june15,2018)

 Has been a while, thanks to trips here and there out of town, and also some unreal weather. Richmond set new records for weather after the Ohio trip (and before for that matter) for the month of May. That continued into June.
Pre-ride I checked the tire pressure on the motorcycle, and also lubed the chain. Day was fantastic, not blazing hot early and sunny. It turned out to be a good day to ride. 

Went to some fun places. I visited Riverside Drive, went to part of the the Canal Walk (where a guy asked about my bike, had a Triumph back in this day), visited the Richmond Military Cemetery, went to the airport to see if some favorite war planes from the old aviation museum were finally gone (they were) and out in the country on Highway 5. Stopped for this photo before getting home. Another short ride of just 32 miles but had a great time being out.

Ohio Motorcycle Ride #2 (June 1, 2018)

 Great time on June 1. Lori, Debbie's cousin had me get on the spare Suzuki Marauder for a ride around Ohio. Was a short time to do it as Debbie and I had a lot of things to do but it was a good time and a fine day to explore.
We rolled down a number of backroads in the area and passed a large number of motorcycles along the way.
While Richmond is already feeling summertime type weather, the Dayton area is still largely in Spring. We rode out to this site and stopped for a short while before heading back. On the way and beyond saw some really neat farms and just beautiful conditions. While there is no helmet law in Ohio I wore one, thinking that is the one part of your body in a crash that does not really heal.
Lots of really fun roads and as always got some points to see in a future visit. Other than perhaps by flying, no better way to see an area...really see it...than by motorcycle.         

This was actually the start of the ride. The motorcycles date to 1991 and were very fun to get down the road on. Unlike my Triumph Speedmaster they are water cooled (the current production model is water cooled of the Speedmaster). They are 800 cc V-twin engines, and  have really good performance.
It was a great time and was my second ride in Ohio on these motorcycles, the last was a little while back on a previous visit.
Oho is a great place to ride and saw many fine bikes and people along the way during the visit and the ride. 

Friday Ride into Spring (May 25, 2018)

 Turned out to be a good day to get out on the motorcycle, following a week of some of the heaviest rain I have seen in the Richmond, VA area. Estimated rain was between 8-10 inches officially. Lots of roads were flooded but by May 25 the waters had receded.
Here is a photo of my two vehicles. I find it interesting that the British owned and designed Triumph Speedmaster was built in Thailand, while the Japanese Honda Civic was built in England (the motor in Thailand). Got that last info from the cars window sticker. 

Ride was outstanding. I headed out of the city and rolled down VA 6. A very scenic road it rolls into the city of Goochland. That city was named for Sir William Gooch who founded it in 1728. Small but interesting city. What is at left is the Old Jail. There was an older one apparently but i was burned down during the Civil War.
Ride I took covered 63 miles and on the way to Goochland I saw two deers run into the road but they quickly ran back. Ahead of me at the time was a truck. It was a hot humid day but a nice ride with zero problems. I enjoyed it a great deal. 

Pre-Storm Ride (May 14, 2018)

Weather forecast for the week was calling for big storms pretty much all week. Considering that being a real chance got the motorcycle out on a Monday morning for a ride. Also a factor has been early 90 degree heat for this time of year.
Ride was nice, another short one of 23 miles this time. I rode down Riverside Drive (where I took this photo using the camera auto feature) and then into Richmond. I rode to Tredegar Iron Works to see the work they are doing there on the old Civil War cite, and then to Bryan Park. That park which has been in some disrepair is getting some badly needed update and restoration.
It was a very nice ride though near the end of it the heat was already starting to build up. By the end of the ride it was a good time to get home.
As expected by early afternoon big storms with high winds rolled in. As I write this the next day, more are on the way.