catching up...

time to do a little catching up from the summer. i had a number of good rides this summer but two really stand out. one i took with my wife to the mountains of north carolina and one with my son to rolling thunder in dc. i'll start with the ride to dc.

my son has been riding with me for a couple years now. most of the trips been short rides around town and around the lake. nothing more than maybe an hour in the seat or a hundred miles. earlier in the year, when i was returning my uncle's bike, he attempted to ride up to northern virginia. he didn't last long on that trip. i think that was mostly due to being a little tired and knowing he could hop in the car and be a little more comfortable.

the trip to northern virginia was considerably longer than any he has experienced before. and there was really no turning back once we hit the road. i talked to him about it, trying to prepare him but not discourage him from going on the trip.

the plan was to leave friday, take backroads and stop every hour. we'd stop long enough to stretch our legs, snack and rehydrate but not so long that we would lose too much time. luckily there were convenient stops along the way.

friday arrive and we started our journey. as planned, we stopped every hour. we played leap-frog with a club heading the same direction. we saw sights that you only see from a motorcycle. we did some smoke chasing. we stopped at 7-11 to get slurpees. we ended up having an awesome trip. and my son has already staked him claim to ride with me next year!!

pictures from our trip...

the end...

well, seemed like i made it tougher than it needed to be, but i finished up the smoke chasing grand tour. barely! only needed twenty stops to qualify for the minimum finishing level - which i did. as mentioned before, i added an extra stop in case one of them didn't count.

as always, i had fun, wish i would have made more stops and wish i would have eaten at a lot more of them. maybe next year...

check out all my stops on my smoke chasing map...

first ride...

my son had a writing assignment at school last week to write about a time he was nervous... i don't know that i would have ever guessed it was his first motorcycle ride. here's his story...

"One time I was scare was the first time I rode a motorcycle. I was in a ton of gear, a helmet, I had jeans on and a jacket. You couldn't even recognize who I was. My mom had a camera taking video of me. My dad on the bike, he was waiting on me. I got on and my mom smiled. My dad said are you ready. I said yes. Then the bike started. As we went down the drive way and my stomache went in. When we got home my dad said good job. I am no longer nervous about riding a bike."

the mentioned video of the first ride:

we've enjoyed many great adventures since then and are looking forward to more.

getting closer...

took off sunday to finish off my smoke chasing grand tour... only had five, maybe six stops to get, how hard can that be?? well, when i get involved, harder than it needs to be!!

first, i should only have five stops to complete the minimum finishing level of twenty stops. i'm thinking of throwing in an additional stop because i'm not sure if one of the stops will count...

i decide on six stops to complete my mission. heading out the door, i opt to take a route that will keep me a little closer to home so that i'm not gone so long. it also reduces the number of barbecue places available. disadvantage me!!

the first two stops were give-mes. if i had set out on my mission to complete the tour earlier, i would have had another stop between the two. but waiting gave the place a chance to close and remove all the signs. i've never seen signs removed from a building so fast. then again, i've had months. again, my loss.

next stop shane's rib shack, in hopes that it might have the word bbq or smoke somewhere on/in the building. nope. i think it's in one of those socialist places where all the buildings/businesses have to conform. so no additional signage here. third stop a bust.

on to jd's grill and bbq catering... first, the sign on the building only has jd's grill. but, luckily, in a side window, they have a huge bbq sign. unluckily the window is tinted and it's bright outside, so i can't get a picture without a reflection washing out the sign. well, unless i pull my motorcycle up on the sidewalk next to the building. it is sunday, places are closed and there's not many people around. i decide not to because i can see the police wanting something to do and me becoming their object of affection. fourth stop another bust.

next is johnny's barbecue in louisburg. that place has been there as long as we've been living here. it's got to still be there. right? after a few busts, it was nice to get another stop.

before leaving, i punch up bbq on the gps and my phone to see what's closeby. nothing... i decide to call it a day only getting half of what i need. but also getting closer to the end, both in terms of how many i need and in the deadline. i think i have one more free weekend to finish this off. watch it pour down rain that weekend!!!

check out all my smoke chasing stops...