The ONE Picture Ride Report

[1911]

Va 311, opening up and capping off a good year of riding for the 1911s.

Virginia is a little special to me. Specifically the area around Jefferson National Forest. From home we can ride the best of western NC, northeast Ga and eastern Tn in a day ride. And that is some great riding. Va is great too, and different. Where WNC is tight and technical, Va opens up a little more. There’s more sweepers, more lean time, and longer views. To ride my favorite little “box” around Jefferson we make a two or three day ride out of it. The road numbers that make up the “box” are 42 as the bottom, 600/635/61 on the top, 311 and 16 as the sides. There is no road that makes me grin more than Va311. The ride getting there is pretty good too-Roan Mountain

. It’s with good cause that EOM was based out of Wytheville, twice.

Mrs1911 had recently become less interested in riding. My fault a little, maybe. Riding the same WNC twistys, at a spirited pace, over and over, wasn’t her cup of tea. When I mentioned riding out to YFO in 2017 she was re-interested. To make sure she was up for a long trip, we started the riding season off with a Va ride, as soon as weather allowed. It was a three day ride with two nights spent at Hungry Mother State Park. I practiced my sight-seeing, consider the pillion riding style. She must have liked it.

We took our big trip. It was good.

Then it was hot. Very little riding in the summer.

When the fall weather got here it was time for another ride. I didn’t have enough days off left for EOM, and the long range forecast showed that hurricane Maria had a chance of messing with EOM. We got our fall Hungry Mother trip in on the weekend before EOM. It was so good that I considered riding up to EOM Saturday afternoon (the hurricane stayed off the coast), just to ride back down with the fellows from upstate SC on Sunday. But after hearing about Petey………

 

[Uncle Hud]

Kelly and I rode a bunch of VA 311 this last EOM, during a day trip from Wytheville to the Greenbrier Resort and back. It was non-stop grinning, from just outside White Sulphur Springs, through Crows, Paint Bank, and a few more miles to VA 658 near Simmonsville.

FWIW, that stretch of highway taught me why cellphone nav systems aren't always reliable: there's not a lot of cell service in that neighborhood.

 

[bigjohnsd]

My Baja 2018

 

[Bugnatr]

My Baja 2018[img=[URL="https://photos.smugmug.com/Baja-2018/Trip/i-5swnkLd/0/53bae0f9/L/X63jdP6-0-X2-L.jpg%5D"]https://photos.smugmug.com/Baja-2018/Trip/i-5swnkLd/0/53bae0f9/L/X63jdP6-0-X2-L.jpg][/URL]

Adventure riding 101

 

[bigjohnsd]

<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote'data-author="Bugnatr" data-cid="1391016" data-time="1520105868"><p>

<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote'data-author="bigjohnsd" data-cid="1390978" data-time="1520056325"><p><br />

My Baja 2018[img=<a href='https://photos.smugmug.com/Baja-2018/Trip/i-5swnkLd/0/53bae0f9/L/X63jdP6-0-X2-L.jpg%5D'>https://photos.smugmug.com/Baja-2018/Trip/i-5swnkLd/0/53bae0f9/L/X63jdP6-0-X2-L.jpg]</a></p></blockquote>

Adventure riding 101</p></blockquote>

Despite all the troubleshooting and repair time it was a great trip.

 

[lonerider]

Took a short local ride today on the old Suzook. The Park Service has spent the last year or so refurbishing the Burnside bridge in the Antietam battlefield park; they have it looking great, IMHO:

Old stone walls like these are a common sight in the Catoctin Mountain area. I hate to think how much work it took to clear this ground for plowing:

Low to mid 40s today; ride was a mite chilly, but I didn't have clean any bugs off afterward. Come on, spring!

 

[Pterodactyl]

Good to see that preservation of such an important site is being done.

 

[lonerider]

Rode some favorite back roads in south central PA today on the old Suzook. Weicht Rd., near Artemus, PA:

Still waiting for spring...

 

[hppants]

April 2018

Happy Hour

The old people say that the older you get, the faster it goes. I’m starting to believe them. When I was a kid, sometimes the time took forever. I remember telling Santa Claus what I wanted for Christmas, and those last 2 weeks seemed to take 2 years. In spite of that, I always remember getting most of what I asked for and indeed, good things do come to those who wait.

As a young adult, with young kids, I remember never having enough time to do everything. Looking back, my wife and I were trying way too hard. We had this vision of everything just right. Everything in its place, and a place for everything. We ran around like headless chickens. How ridiculous we must have looked to our parents. Hell – we didn’t know any better. We had all kinds of time back then.

But just like that, things start to change. The kids grow up and move out. Now you start to think about the bigger picture a bit more and all of a sudden, life finds another gear and things start moving pretty fast. You read the newspaper every morning and when you get to the obituaries, things start to get even more surreal. Holy crap, I knew that lady from up the street in the old neighborhood. OMG – that dude was just 10 years older than I am.

It hits you and it hits you hard and you realize that there is a lot left to do. And then you wonder the inevitable – is there enough time left to do what you want to do?

Well, there’s no telling what the answer to that question is. But this much is undeniable – I’ve got to stop wasting time on things that just don’t matter anymore. It’s time to get selfish. Take time to do what is really important. Take time to live your dreams. Take time to be with the ones you are closest to. Take time to think about your life. Take time to rejoice in your successes and the conquest of your demons. Take time to listen to the birds and the wind. Take time to laugh from your belly. Take time to adventure and to wander.

But above all, and at all cost….take time.

I’ve had another wonderful week on the road with my motorcycle. I’ve taken time to spend it with old friends, and made some new friends as well. I’ve taken time to cook. I’ve taken time to walk in the forest and smell the cleanness of the trees and the water falling. I’ve taken time to ride some of my favorite roads. Tomorrow, I’ll resist the urge to fly home. Rather, I’ll take my time and look for something new and interesting. Eventually, I’ll get home.

But this evening, I think I’ll take an hour to sit here and think. I’ll think about my countless blessings. I’ll think about how delicious this Kentucky Bourbon is after a few hundred miles in the saddle. I’ll think about how lucky I am to be alive and to have lived and to have much life left to live. The contentment and peacefulness of that warms my heart.

Right now, I think I’ll just take an hour and be happy.

Stay Thirsty, My Friends….

 

[Niehart]

+1

 

[QuebexicanFJR]

First ride of the year in Quebexico.. What a great day..

https://drive.google.com/file/d/102vU4xsq1tosrjrsS7IeRSzEwZvUnS0J/view?usp=sharing

 

[Niehart]

440 Miles to look at a cherry blossom, heck yes.

Of course we had to cross 3 mountain passes and get a good look at Mr. Rainier to do it.

 

[marcusorelius]

Yesterday we did our traditional ride to Oatman for the start of the Laughlin River Run!

 

[lonerider]

Indian Springs WMA today. The redbud is blooming everywhere and the trees are in the light shade of green they have when first leafing out. Spring is finally here and the weather was just right today for riding.

 

[Bugnatr]

Yesterday we did our traditional ride to Oatman for the start of the Laughlin River Run!

Now that's a ride report. Well done Mark!

 

[ekiM]

Finishing my 100 mile loop to the coast for some mother's day artichoke bread...
Doing "freeway speed" on the interstate back into town, I hit a bump on our wonderful California freeway. A SUV honked and pointed. I looped around the off ramp and dodged traffic to grab the trunk. To it's credit it remained locked and the bread survived.

 

[hppants]

Garauld to the rescue, I suppose. He can paint that thing for a fraction of the cost to replace, good as new.

I'm kind of relieved to read the actual story. When I first saw the picture, I feared MUCH worse for you.

 

[rbentnail]

Bounce it down the road a few more times- I think the cross-hatching look is kinda nice. Glad it wasn't you!!

 

[Uncle Hud]

Yeah, road rash is like distressed blue jeans: fashionable and "with-it".

 

[ekiM]

Pre-roadrash style is what I think of when I see the new trendy matte paints.

Prefer the classics, now get off my lawn!



My $0.019999

And thanks for the kind thoughts!