took a ride to roanoke this weekend... what a great ride, what a great weekend...
an informal reunion with college friends was the reason for riding to roanoke. it seems every couple of years we seem to get together - sometimes it's a happy occasion, other times it's sad... the last time we got together as a group was probably four years ago to celebrate a wedding... i guess we were due for a get together - this time it was possible because of the efforts of frank, russell and chief. i'm not sure who, but someone had the idea of getting robbin thompson. the robbin thompson band was a big part of our college lives - i can't remember how many times we saw him... i know it was a lot... as usual, it was great seeing the gang again - catching up on what's going on in everyone's lives... the only thing that could have made it better for me was to have my wife there - i really missed her...
okay, so i rode the bike to roanoke... i think i left around 9:30 in the morning... took some back roads up to danville, caught 58 to martinsville and 220 up to roanoke. it was a nice ride, the morning was a little cooler than i expected - which basically means i wasn't sweating like i was when i was packing my bike. i stopped outside of danville to fill up the tank, stretch my legs and call my wife. about 15 minutes later i was back on my way to roanoke. don't know why, but roanoke was closer than i thought - took me about three and a half hours total. the second half of the trip was a bit warmer - i started feeling the heat. still, i'd rather be on the bike than in a cage.
the trip back was good too... after having breakfast (thanks frank) with some of the gang, it was time to roll back home... i was thinking of taking the blue ridge parkway south into nc and then cutting east back home. but since my wife wasn't feeling great, i decided to cut a trail home... took the same route home - stopping on the other side of danville this time. it was a good trip except for the damn cage that wouldn't stay off my ass from roanoke to martinsville. i couldn't figure it out - there was hardly any traffic, this guy could have passed at any time (hell, we were on a four lane road - two lanes in each direction!!). no, he had to ride up on my ass, stay there for a bit. then he'd drop back to a reasonable distance for about thirty seconds and then back on my ass... i tried slowing down to force him to pass - did he?? no... i sped up, nope - must have had a rubber band on my ass keeping him close... it wasn't until i picked up 58 that he went in a difference direction... once he was gone - the rest of the trip was nice...
just a quick note to you cage drivers - please have some courtesy around bikes. give them some room - riding on their asses isn't going to make them ride faster. either pass them of back off - i don't care, but do something other than stay on their ass...
i've passed through a couple towns on this trip and an earlier one that i want to go back and visit with my wife - oxford, milton, hyco lake. although i didn't hit it this time, i'd also like to go back to yanceyville. it's amazing how much more you see when you're out on a bike than when you're in a cage... if you've ridden a bike before, you know what i'm talking about...
as always this trip would have been nicer if my wife was with me... i love her so much and miss her when i'm gone. no matter how great it is while i'm out riding, it's always better getting home and seeing her... one of these days we're going to take a trip together - i can't wait...
Aug 15, 2005
Jul 20, 2005
national ride to work day
today is national ride to work day... the goals of the effort are:
so i decided to ride to lunch today. had lunch in durham with a some guys i used to work with... it was a nice ride, a little warm but still better than being in a cage... didn't see many bikes on the road - maybe everyone was at work!!!
- The number of motorcyclists to the general public and politicians
- That motorcyclists are from all occupations and walks of life
- That motorcyclists can reduce traffic and parking congestion in large cities
- That motorcycles are for transportation as well as recreation
- That motorcycling is a social good
so i decided to ride to lunch today. had lunch in durham with a some guys i used to work with... it was a nice ride, a little warm but still better than being in a cage... didn't see many bikes on the road - maybe everyone was at work!!!
Jul 12, 2005
sometimes you never know where you're going to end up...
got an e-mail friday night talking about a ride on sunday to the easyriders rodeo event in wilson, nc. thought about it and decided to go...
so we're supposed to leave from o'malley's at 12:30 on sunday... as usual, i get there a little early. a couple bikes were parked in the lot and there were three people standing outside. after confirming they were riding to the easyrider rodeo, i introduced myself to moose, harry and dana. since it was hot outside, it didn't take long for us to move inside o'malley's. soon, others start arriving for the ride - still no one i know... a guy by the name of mark sits next to me and we start talking. we talk about bikes, riding and family. it's nice to talk to other people about their bikes. you get ideas about what changes you might want to make to your bike... or maybe, more importantly, what you don't want to do to your bike!!!
soon enough, it's time to leave. we walk out of the bar and head for our bikes. outside i see jim, susan and ken - people i have ridden with before. i also see a group of about sixteen to eighteen riders - this will be one of the bigger rides i've been on, outside of charity events like toys-for-tots. i walk over to say hi to jim and susan. jim introduces me to dave. we all strap on our helmets, jump on our bikes and head out...
we don't take the most direct route to wilson - we take scenic back roads. as i'm riding, i usually try to remember which roads we're on, just in case i need to get back by myself. about 30-45 minutes into the ride, i have no idea where we are... i do see some familiar roads, 70, 39, 96, 42. it doesn't matter, it's a great day for a ride. okay, maybe a little warm, but i'll take it. now we start making more turns - we must be getting close... yeah, i think that until we pull into the empty parking lot of a church. the leader admits it's been a little while since he's been out this way and made a wrong turn. one of the other guys chimes up - he knows how to get there... cool, he'll lead...
we get started and about five minutes later, we pull over. where are we?? i'm not sure, but there's this crazy windmill stuff around... a couple of the guys hop off their bikes and go talk to this older guy, vollis simpson, who turns out to be the owner/artist. he opens up his field and lets us in, tells us to stay as long as we want. what is this place?? he's created all these windmills and whirligigs. and apparently he's famous in his genre. it was amazing to see all this stuff in the middle of no where...
this is a little bit of what we saw:
real neat stuff - you can find more here: from windmills to whirligigs
after spending some time here, we decide to head out... as we leave, i'm five from the back - four people behind me - i think... i look back and there are two bikes, a car and at least one bike behind the car... now i'm not sure where i was in the order. soon, i can't see the bike behind the car, but we're on twisty roads and there's space between us... a little bit later, there's only one bike behind me - and the car has turned off... i start slowing down, hoping the rest of the riders behind me will catch up. a little bit later, the rider behind me, moose, passes me - leaving me at the back... that's fine. but i'm in a dilemma - should i keep up with the pack or should i slow down to let the rest of the riders catch up?? if they catch up?? well, we turn onto another road and moose pulls over to the side. i pull over with him. we talk about what's been happening. moose says the road king disappeared first. then the big dog turned around. then the vrod turned around. i knew jim was on the big dog and susan was on the vrod - didn't know who was on the road king. we wait about five minutes. moose says he's given them enough time to group together and he's heading on. i ask him for directions to the place we're heading, telling him i'm going back to make sure everyone is okay.
now, can i remember the roads we were on?? thankfully most of it was one road, but we did have to make a turn - would i be able to find it?? would i be able to find the other riders?? it's amazing how much slower time goes when you're thinking of things like this... after some time, we pass each other - the three of them are on the road and going in the other direction. we wave, but did they know it was me?? will they slow down and give me a chance to catch up?? i turn around and do my darnedest to catch up. i'm making progress, but i won't feel better until i catch them... luckily they were within eyeshot when they turned off. it was obvious that they were on their way back home instead of trying to meet up with everyone else. i follow them, eventually catching up.
we pull over at some small country gas station/country store to get some beverages. i learn that it was dave who was having problems with his bike. his air cleaner had come loose and fell off. as if it wasn't bad enough for dave to see his air cleaner bouncing down the road, some local had to run it over. apparently they were able to find one of the bolts and were able to remount it with susan's tool kit. but now when dave road, he had to hold the air cleaner with his leg - not the most comfortable riding... dave was thankful we came back for him...
so, it was quite a day... we didn't end up where i thought we were going - although i think where we did end up was better. i would have never known vollis and his windmills were out here if the ride had gone as planned. i also learned the value in watching for the rider behind you and going back to help. i didn't really do anything to help dave - he was already on the road when i caught up to them. i just hope that if i am ever in that situation, someone does the same for me...
so - that was my day... great ride, great day... and, as always, thanks to my beautiful wife for allowing me to be selfish, shirk my responsibilities and go out riding. boo, you're the best and i'm the luckiest...
so we're supposed to leave from o'malley's at 12:30 on sunday... as usual, i get there a little early. a couple bikes were parked in the lot and there were three people standing outside. after confirming they were riding to the easyrider rodeo, i introduced myself to moose, harry and dana. since it was hot outside, it didn't take long for us to move inside o'malley's. soon, others start arriving for the ride - still no one i know... a guy by the name of mark sits next to me and we start talking. we talk about bikes, riding and family. it's nice to talk to other people about their bikes. you get ideas about what changes you might want to make to your bike... or maybe, more importantly, what you don't want to do to your bike!!!
soon enough, it's time to leave. we walk out of the bar and head for our bikes. outside i see jim, susan and ken - people i have ridden with before. i also see a group of about sixteen to eighteen riders - this will be one of the bigger rides i've been on, outside of charity events like toys-for-tots. i walk over to say hi to jim and susan. jim introduces me to dave. we all strap on our helmets, jump on our bikes and head out...
we don't take the most direct route to wilson - we take scenic back roads. as i'm riding, i usually try to remember which roads we're on, just in case i need to get back by myself. about 30-45 minutes into the ride, i have no idea where we are... i do see some familiar roads, 70, 39, 96, 42. it doesn't matter, it's a great day for a ride. okay, maybe a little warm, but i'll take it. now we start making more turns - we must be getting close... yeah, i think that until we pull into the empty parking lot of a church. the leader admits it's been a little while since he's been out this way and made a wrong turn. one of the other guys chimes up - he knows how to get there... cool, he'll lead...
we get started and about five minutes later, we pull over. where are we?? i'm not sure, but there's this crazy windmill stuff around... a couple of the guys hop off their bikes and go talk to this older guy, vollis simpson, who turns out to be the owner/artist. he opens up his field and lets us in, tells us to stay as long as we want. what is this place?? he's created all these windmills and whirligigs. and apparently he's famous in his genre. it was amazing to see all this stuff in the middle of no where...
this is a little bit of what we saw:
real neat stuff - you can find more here: from windmills to whirligigs
after spending some time here, we decide to head out... as we leave, i'm five from the back - four people behind me - i think... i look back and there are two bikes, a car and at least one bike behind the car... now i'm not sure where i was in the order. soon, i can't see the bike behind the car, but we're on twisty roads and there's space between us... a little bit later, there's only one bike behind me - and the car has turned off... i start slowing down, hoping the rest of the riders behind me will catch up. a little bit later, the rider behind me, moose, passes me - leaving me at the back... that's fine. but i'm in a dilemma - should i keep up with the pack or should i slow down to let the rest of the riders catch up?? if they catch up?? well, we turn onto another road and moose pulls over to the side. i pull over with him. we talk about what's been happening. moose says the road king disappeared first. then the big dog turned around. then the vrod turned around. i knew jim was on the big dog and susan was on the vrod - didn't know who was on the road king. we wait about five minutes. moose says he's given them enough time to group together and he's heading on. i ask him for directions to the place we're heading, telling him i'm going back to make sure everyone is okay.
now, can i remember the roads we were on?? thankfully most of it was one road, but we did have to make a turn - would i be able to find it?? would i be able to find the other riders?? it's amazing how much slower time goes when you're thinking of things like this... after some time, we pass each other - the three of them are on the road and going in the other direction. we wave, but did they know it was me?? will they slow down and give me a chance to catch up?? i turn around and do my darnedest to catch up. i'm making progress, but i won't feel better until i catch them... luckily they were within eyeshot when they turned off. it was obvious that they were on their way back home instead of trying to meet up with everyone else. i follow them, eventually catching up.
we pull over at some small country gas station/country store to get some beverages. i learn that it was dave who was having problems with his bike. his air cleaner had come loose and fell off. as if it wasn't bad enough for dave to see his air cleaner bouncing down the road, some local had to run it over. apparently they were able to find one of the bolts and were able to remount it with susan's tool kit. but now when dave road, he had to hold the air cleaner with his leg - not the most comfortable riding... dave was thankful we came back for him...
so, it was quite a day... we didn't end up where i thought we were going - although i think where we did end up was better. i would have never known vollis and his windmills were out here if the ride had gone as planned. i also learned the value in watching for the rider behind you and going back to help. i didn't really do anything to help dave - he was already on the road when i caught up to them. i just hope that if i am ever in that situation, someone does the same for me...
so - that was my day... great ride, great day... and, as always, thanks to my beautiful wife for allowing me to be selfish, shirk my responsibilities and go out riding. boo, you're the best and i'm the luckiest...
Jul 3, 2005
it's the little things in life...
i was very honored to be able to take my father-in-law out for a ride today...
some history first... as far as i know, my father-in-law has been riding bikes forever. a couple years ago he was pushed off the road by a truck and wrecked his bike - he was fine, thankfully. the bike is in pieces in his shed and he hasn't ridden since the wreck. i know he's had offers to ride other people's bike, but he just won't - and i don't know that i blame him. every time i see him, i offer for him to take my bike out for a spin...
so today i asked him if he wanted me to take him out for a ride... he lit up like a christmas tree and couldn't get in the house fast enough to get his helmet... so off we went - tooled over to his friends house and spent a couple minutes there. we were getting ready to leave and he comes over to me and requests a favor with that please, please, please look in his eyes. sure, what do you need?? he asks if we can take the long way home. hell yeah!!! anything for a longer ride.
anyway, what an honor it was to ride around with my father-in-law... he's a man i respect and look up to (most of the time). and i got to take him for a ride around town -0 how cool is that??
here we are as we're heading out...
i think it's motivated him to either fix up his bike or buy a new one. or both... i did tell him next time i want him riding next to me, not behind me!!!
some history first... as far as i know, my father-in-law has been riding bikes forever. a couple years ago he was pushed off the road by a truck and wrecked his bike - he was fine, thankfully. the bike is in pieces in his shed and he hasn't ridden since the wreck. i know he's had offers to ride other people's bike, but he just won't - and i don't know that i blame him. every time i see him, i offer for him to take my bike out for a spin...
so today i asked him if he wanted me to take him out for a ride... he lit up like a christmas tree and couldn't get in the house fast enough to get his helmet... so off we went - tooled over to his friends house and spent a couple minutes there. we were getting ready to leave and he comes over to me and requests a favor with that please, please, please look in his eyes. sure, what do you need?? he asks if we can take the long way home. hell yeah!!! anything for a longer ride.
anyway, what an honor it was to ride around with my father-in-law... he's a man i respect and look up to (most of the time). and i got to take him for a ride around town -0 how cool is that??
here we are as we're heading out...
i think it's motivated him to either fix up his bike or buy a new one. or both... i did tell him next time i want him riding next to me, not behind me!!!
Jul 1, 2005
'bout time
guess it's better late than never... i've decided to start using this forum to document my travels and observations on my bike... i'm a new rider - i've had my bike for a year now... i haven't put as many miles on my bike as i would like - although i do have to admit that my wife has been very generous in letting me slack on my family/household duties to go riding!!! (thanks, boo, you're the best!!!)
so, stay tuned and we'll see where this goes...
so, stay tuned and we'll see where this goes...
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