decided to take a ride sunday afternoon... actually, hemmed and hawed long enough sunday morning, that i couldn't take a longer ride. was originally thinking of riding out to one of the lighthouses - by the time i figured out where i wanted to go, it was too late to head out and get back at a reasonable hour... so i decided to make the usual loop around the lake. that would give me a couple hours out and still get me home at a reasonable time...
also decided to take one of the kids with me. was thinking about how nice it would be to be able to take the whole family out riding - unfortunately that's not an option when there's one passenger seat on the bike. i was thinking even if my wife starts riding, we won't have enough seats. but, maybe by the time she starts riding, the oldest will have his own bike and he'll be able to ride with us... add in my father-in-law, brother and his crew and we'll have our own poker run!!!
so, with son on back, we head out... didn't get too far before making our first stop - at a neighbor's house. husband was mowing the lawn and wife was cleaning the gutters. it didn't take them long to decide they'd rather be riding.
off we went... i usually make a counter-clockwise loop around the lake. decided to mix it up a little and go clockwise... it's amazing how different the sites are in the other direction. i saw buildings i've passed many times before but never noticed. and even though i've ridden these particular roads many times, it was like a new ride this time.
we stopped at a new place my neighbor's discovered on their last trip out. on past rides, i've always wanted to stop in virgilina to see what's there - i've just never taken the time. well, this was going to be the time. we decided to stop and grab a bit to eat at gatrell's. not really sure how to describe the place... it seems to have an odd collection of items available - a restaurant/bar, a tack and feed store, looks like they also sell western wear. it definitely looks like it could be a fun place. they have live bands, the have a classic car event the first saturday of each month (as i recall) and they're already planning their christmas party - what's not too like??
we grabbed a quick bite to eat - the food was very good. then again, i had a hot dog - how can you screw that up?? everyone seemed to enjoy their food. i can definitely see myself coming back to this place...
after eat, we jumped back on the bikes and headed home - the long way of course. what a beautiful day for a ride. temps were perfect, skies were an awesome blue with big puffy white clouds. what a great day... most of all, it was particularly nice to ride along with my son. we had a good time and i look forward to more rides with him... i've been talking to him about taking a couple days and riding along the blue ridge parkway - maybe he'll take me up on the offer one day...
until next time...
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