Archive for the ‘Motorcycle Rides’ Category

Harley Owners Group Rolling Rally: History in the Hills Day 5

Posted: June 26, 2016 in Motorcycle, Motorcycle news, Motorcycle Rides, motorcycle touring
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Tuesday morning we had to be at Roanoke Harley Davidson bright and early, the local Harley Owners Group chapter were providing breakfast! So we were kickstands up and riding the motorcycle at about 7AM.  Once again, the dang Dealership location feature of the GPS was screwed up! (you can read more on my thoughts about this thing from a post more than a year old here…not much has changed).

After thanking the HOG and dealership employees we got back on the road.  Hopping on the Blue Ridge Parkway (we were on and off the parkway about aIjustwant2ride.com dozen times it seems) we arrived at out second destination Mabry Mill.  Now I have been to dozens of mills over the years and this one was no different except for the story behind.  If you have time check the link for the story.  Also they have a working blacksmith forge, the gentleman working the forge makes several different items. He was just starting the heat the forge when were there so he was not working iron.

ijustwant2ride.comNow start whistling the theme for the Andy Griffith show while thinking about the song Rain Drops Kept Falling on my Head.  Because both of those fit our stop in Mount Airy, NC.  A short(ish) ride from the Mill, Mt. Airy was the home of Andy Griffith and the town has become Mayberry as a result.  The main street is a neat little “kitsch” with county/Mayberry themed stores.  But the real “Floyd’s” Barber Shop and Snappy Lunch stand are there.  We had a nice lunch at Snappy and if I had needed a haircut I would have stopped in Floyd’s.

A large part of stay in Mt. Airy was in the rain.  Riding the motorcycles in it was a hit and miss sprinkle, walking around it was a light rain but most of the stores had awnings that kept us covered but for about 5 minutes there was a downpour.  One of our new friends (Don of Don and Torri 🙂 ) made the rain stop by running down to their bikes and putting covers on their luggage.

After visiting the Andy Griffith Museum and Siamese Twins exhibit we were back on the road headed to Winston-Salem, NC.  This next stop was at the Winston Cup Museum. If you are into NASCAR this small museum will be right up your pit-lane (see what I did there LOL).  Holding 20+ race cars the museum tells the story NASCAR when RJ Reynolds was the primary sponsor.

After this it was a sprint to our hotel, a shower, beer/sprits, dinner and fun with new friends and sleep… or and air conditioning!!  Not sure what is the most important invention of the modern era… Motorcycles or air conditioning!

To see what happened on day one check out that post!

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Harley Owners Group Rolling Rally: History in the Hills Day 4

Posted: June 21, 2016 in Motorcycle, Motorcycle Rides, motorcycle touring, Rally
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WP_20160619_18_06_53_Rich

Today’s HOG motorcycle tour started early.  We were on the road a couple minutes after 7AM (tomorrow will be earlier).  Pulling out of the motel parking lot we headed towards Natural Chimneys State Park, the first stop of the day.  

It took us a few days to figure this out but this HOG event is really an unstructured structured event.  You can go to as many of the stops as you want or none of the stops. You can follow the pre-planned routes or set your own.  We all just start and stop at the same location each day.  This day we chose to skip the State Park and go directly to the second stop the Museum of the Confederacy. 

On the way we had multiple animals try to kill themselves by throwing themselves at our motorcycle.  A rabbit, a squirrel, a blue bird, yellow bird, robins and a couple other critters all threw themselves at us, luckily they all missed by quite a bit.  

WP_20160620_10_45_40_RichThe Museum of the Confederacy is laid out in a fashion that walks you through from what leads up to the succession to the aftermath of the civil war.  In addition to the main museum there are several outdoor features including a “log cabin” built in 1832 and used as a home up until the 1960s. 

From there we headed to Lynchburg Harley Davison.  The Lynchburg HOG chapterWP_20160620_23_08_39_Rich was hosting us for lunch and we had to be there between 12 and 1.  I enjoyed the brat’s and thanked the HOG crew for their hospitality.  By the way, I now have yet another dealer pin for my collection. 

After lunch we remounted the Ultra and headed towards the National D-Day WP_20160620_13_18_32_RichMemorial.  The memorial honors all the soldiers, from twelve nations, that participated in the invasion of Europe in WWII.  As a retired soldier I can say the memorial was quite impressive and provide a poignant reminder of the cost of that invasion.  If you are in the area a few minutes of your time to visit this site would be a good idea. 

Debbie and I skipped the next stop, Foamhenge.  Turns out I wish we had not. Apparently the display will be removed in a couple months.  Oh, well. 

The last stop on this leg of the motorcycle rally, and our hotel, is the Natural Bridge Park and Historic Hotel.  The Natural Bridge is really a bridge with traffic running across the top.  Down below you can hike under the bridge and admire the vista in the same manner as George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.  As part of our package we also got to view a light show projected upon the face of the cliffs.  About 10PM we were in our bed with dreams of the  next day.  

To see what happened on day one check out that post!

Harley Owners Group Rolling Rally: History in the Hills Day 3

Posted: June 20, 2016 in custom motorcycle, Motorcycle, Motorcycle Rides, motorcycle touring, Rally, Uncategorized
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larDay three actually started at dinner because I was able to pass on the crazy hillbilly hat.  It was an ambush style pass off and was a lot of fun for everyone around, except Larry, Larry was not very happy.

ijustwant2ride.comThe next day started with an early 5:30 morning rise with the intent to be on the road by 6:45.  The reason for the early rise is that the Emmitsburg, Md Fire Department (Vigilant Hose Company) was providing the ride with a pancake breakfast.  This Fire Department started in 1757 and it was an honor to be associated with them!

ijustwant2ride.comAfter the breakfast stop we rode about a mile or so to the National Firefighters Memorial. The memorial was quite sobering. The names of all the firefighters killed on duty are engraved on pavers and there is a special section dedicated to NYFD killed on duty including those killed during 9/11.  The oldest documented casualty that I noticed was from the late 1700’s.

From there we were to ride to Groves Harley Davidson in Winchester, VA for lunch.  But, Debbie and I had a slight change of plans, we ran by our home to drop off dirty clothes and pack some clean clothes.  This was one of the benefits of a ride that is less than 20 minutes from your home. Groves had BBQ ready for us when we arrived and boy was it good.

From there we rode to the Luray Caverns.  Even though it is not far from home we had never been there before.  The cave tour came with a free pass to their car museum we had a good time.  The 54 degree cave was a pleasant break from the 85 degree temps outside.  If you decided to try the caverns please note that it is 1.2 mile trek with about a 160 foot elevation change….if you go down you got to come back up 🙂

Leaving Luray we traveled up a mountain with a lot of great twists and turns. Dropping down the other side we were just a few miles from our hotel, a shower and dinner.  It was another good day of travel, sites and riding!

Harley Owners Group Rolling Rally: History in the Hills Day 2

Posted: June 18, 2016 in Motorcycle Rides, motorcycle touring, Rally, Uncategorized
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WP_20160618_09_14_54_Rich

Day 2 started with breakfast in the Hotel (Gettysburg Country Inn and Suites).  The eggs were……weird, all uniformly round and the same thickness. It was if they had come out of one of those automatic pancake machines.  The taste???…well with the three scopes of salsa I applied they were barley ok (Debbie did not like them at all). 

Our ride around the Gettysburg area started with a trip to the Jennie Wade house. ijustwant2ride.com Jennie was the only civilian who was killed during the battle.  She was shot dead while baking bread for the Union soldiers encamped around the home.  It was a stray shot that went through two doors and killed her instantly.  Her story was quite inspiring during and after the war, I highly recommend you take a few minutes to check it out.  

After our docent led tour of the Jennie Wade house we rode back to the Seminary Ridge Museum.  We did not get a chance to see the entire museum on day one and wanted to finish the tour.  There was a lot of neat history on display. 

Debbie wanted to have taco pizza for lunch but the local Pizza Hut does not make that kind of pizza so she was quite disappointed.  Subway was her second choice so that is where we went. 

ijustwant2ride.comAfter lunch we rolled out to Mr. Ed’s Elephant Museum.  If there is an elephant toy, figurine, picture, painting of any size it is likely in Mr. Ed’s collection.  In addition to the elephant museum, Mr. Ed’s is also a candy store with a large selection of old school and newer candy as well as homemade fudge. 

From Mr. Ed’s we decided to ride to Jack’s Mountain Bridge. It is your typically ijustwant2ride.comstandard covered bridge but, the ride up and over the mountain was a lot of fun.  Nice cruiser style riding with sweeping turns and quick elevation changes.  It was short but a lot of fun, we rode it twice! Make sure to check out the video of our ride over Jack’s Mountain.  

Oh and I got a lot of comments about my hat from day one.  I was able to come up with a selection of statements for anyone that mentioned the hat (all in good fun), such as: 

Be careful or I will let the flying monkeys loose!

I have my eye out for my replacement.

I am a big believer in equal rights, there is a good chance a women will get the hat!

Whomever gets the hat next will have a hard time looking this good!

The highlight of the evening was being able to get rid of the hat! 

 

To see what happened on day one check out that post!

Harley Owners Group Rolling Rally: History in the Hills Day 1

Posted: June 18, 2016 in Motorcycle, Motorcycle Rides, motorcycle touring
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Ijustwant2ride.com

This year Debbie and I decided to try out the national Harley Davidson HOG Rolling Rally.  It has been occurring for the last seven years and this year it is close to home. The theme for this year is “History in the Hills”. 

The start of the rally is Gettysburg, PA and it end a week later in Oak Ridge, TN.  In between there will be the chance to stop at numerous points to fulfill the title of “History in the Hills”. 

Today was the rally registration sign in, a trip to a special event at the Seminary Ridge Museum and the kickoff diner. Our sign in point was Battlefield Harley Davison. It was well organized and took us know time to get signed in, collect our kit of items and talk with some of the folks who are participating in the ride. 

I do have something negative to say about Battlefield HD.  When have been here several times over the years and have always found the folks polite and friendly, willing to go give a hand.  Today that promise of the past did not hold course.  I had forgotten to check the preload on my motorcycles rear shocks and could use a pound or two of additional air to get a better ride.  In the trip from the house to Gettysburg I realized that I needed the additional air and thought I would be able to borrow a pump to add the additional pressure.  NOPE, the service representative said that someone had “borrowed” their pump in the past and did not bring it back thus they did not have a pump for me to use.  Hummm, a complete service center did not have a pump to add air to a motorcycle shock. 

After that we road over to our hotel to check-in.  NOPE, the room is not read, come back after 3PM. Oh and do not park your motorcycle in front of the hotel. We reminded not to park out front at least 3 times.  OK Country Inns and Suites of Gettysburg, I get it you don’t want us to park out front. 

So onto Seminary Ridge and the museum.  We have been to Gettysburg many times and have never been to this museum and plan to take the full tour on day two.  Today the HOG folks (the tour is run my RUSH LLC) had arraigned a special presentation for the group.  We were broke in 4 groups of about 40-50 people and had a round robin education on Civil War soldiers backgrounds and the 1st day of the battle, ambulance wagons, the Seminary itself and a demonstration of how Civil War soldiers formed and marched.  It was quite nice. 

After the presentation were over we rolled over to the Pike Restaurant for the welcome dinner.  The food was good and the folks we shared our table with were awesome.  We had two highlights during the dinner, I was chosen (because I pulled a small prank) to be the first to wear the “HAT”.  The hat is the stereotypical “hillbilly” had from the comics and shows like “Hew Haw”.  I was told that last year the hat was a lobster, so at least I do not have to wear seafood.  I get to pass the hat on to someone else tomorrow….. Let’s see who that will be. 

The other highlight was that we won a $25 Harley Davison gift certificate.  All said we have had a great day and are looking forward to tomorrow’s events.

Motorcycle Riding in Paradise; Costa Rica (Guest Post by Jason Mueller)

Posted: June 9, 2016 in Motorcycle, Motorcycle Rides, motorcycle touring
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sloth road

One of the road hazards in Costa Rica… don’t expect them to sprint out of your way!

Costa Rica is well known for its white sandy beaches, laid back atmosphere, heaps of wildlife and pleasant climates.  It is no wonder that many want to take a vacation and ride across Costa Rica.  If you are one of those this is a guide to help you make your dreams a reality in paradise.

The first question to ask yourself is, what to ride? Should I ship my motorcycle to Costa Rica? Should I rent a bike in Costa Rica? Should I ride to Costa Rica?  Most likely shipping is out of the question but we are talking about riding your own personal bike so get a quote, you never know and you might decide to never go home.  Riding from USA to Costa Rica can be dangerous, despite what you have probably heard about Mexico it is an amazing country to ride and mostly safe just like Guatemala and Nicaragua but Honduras is the country that you mostly have to worry about.

Many people have made the overland trip with no problems and if you’re the adventurous type then it can be a challenge to accept.  But for many people this may be out of the question, especially if you don’t speak Spanish.   Renting a bike is a great option, you can find many different makes and models, from touring motorcycles to street legal dirt bikes.

costarica_roadmapThe most dangerous part about riding a motorcycle in Costa Rica is dealing with the bad drivers, especially in the capital San Jose (which is no different then most capitals).  Other than that and the odd sloth on the road the country is incredibly safe.  The dry season is the best time to ride, between mid-November thru April the climate is perfect for riding.  You definitely won’t need any under layers along the coast and cruising in your t-shirt will feel so refreshing.  During the day the temperatures in the mountains will be around 68 degrees F.

The country is relatively small, only 19,730 square miles and there is a mere 155 miles of road separating the Caribbean coast from the Pacific.  The prices of gasoline are known to be some of highest in Central America but not out of reason.  The roads are mostly windy with the speed limit is set to around 40 miles per hour, but there are some straight stretches where you can hold back on that throttle.

The government in Costa Rica is doing a very good job of improving the out dated roads but like most things in Latin America it is a slow process, some of the new roads are outstanding but you will definitely have some potholes to dodge.  It is important to know that you do need a motorcycle driver’s license in Costa Rica, your out of country  license is good but will only be valid for 90 days.  If you are willing to rock a scooter under 50cc you don’t need a bike license, just a regular driver’s license.

If you spend 2 weeks in Costa Rica you can visit all sides of the country but once get here you will want to take some time to relax at each destination so plan for a longer trip if possible.

jaco

The view of Jaco

From the bright blue Caribbean waters of Puerto Viejo de Talamanca to the small party beach town of Jaco this must do trip will offer a little bit of everything within 200 miles. The Caribbean side is much like Jamaica where you will find Rasta men smoking on the beach mon. No matter where you go in Costa Rica you will notice that everyone is so laid back and happy, in fact it is known to be the happiest place to live in the world.  The mountains between these two beach towns will be a nice break from the heat of the coast and the views will take your breath away.  Once you get to Jaco you can unwind with a little party and hit the casino if that’s your thing.  You can find many adventure tours in Jaco and there is even a motocross track to ride.  You will want to make your way up Miro Mountain to enjoy the views from the abandoned hotel/restaurant project up on the hill.

From Jaco head south to the bio diverse secluded nature land called Osa Peninsula and be sure to stop by at Manuel Antonio National Park and hang out with the monkeys on the beach, this is the most visited park in Costa Rica for good reasons.

When most people visit Costa Rica they think about the beaches but if the cooler mountain climates are more your style then you will have many options for mountain rides.  From Dominical head up to the fastest growing city in central America San Isidro de General and beyond up to Chirripó the highest peak in the country at 12,533 feet, you will only be able to ride your bike to about 3300 feet and if you want to make your way to the peak you will need to hike.  From San Isidro the back route # 2 towards San Jose will test your abilities with steep grades and sharp switchback corners.

Arenal Volcano

Arenal Volcano

Within 2 hours on San Jose you can ride to several other beautiful mountain escapes such as Poas Volcano, Monteverde, La Fortuna where you can visit the Arenal Volcano and make your way around the splendid Lake Arenal.  Atenas is known to have the best climate in the world but don’t forget to escape to the northern beach towns of Playa Del Coco and Tamarindo.

Most people never think of Costa Rica as a riding destination but with all there is to offer, maybe they should!  The often used quote “I don’t ride a bike to add days to my life. I ride a bike to add life to my days” truly applies to Costa Rica!

Jason Mueller is an entrepreneur living in Costa Rica with family from Canada. After graduating from high school and getting his pilot’s licence he lived to travel the world looking for adventure.  He is currently working with A-1 Auto and is the owner of Jaco Ropes.

Rolling Thunder 2016

Posted: June 5, 2016 in custom motorcycle, Motorcycle, Motorcycle Rides, Rally
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2016 DAV Rolling Thunder Raffle Motorcycle

2016 DAV Rolling Thunder Raffle Motorcycle

I am not sure, as I have never heard any official numbers, but from my perspective attendance was way down over Rolling Thunder 2015.

Normally, starting from the Wednesday before the event, I would start seeing motorcycles headed inbound to Washington.  This year, even through Saturday afternoon, there was little thunder in the area.

Almost every motorcycle dealership in the Washington metro area has some form of pre-event the Saturday before the actual Rolling Thunder parade. Debbie and I attended the pre-event at Fort Washington Harley Davidson.  This dealership is also the Harley Owners Group (HOG) “pin stop” which leads one to believe that there would be a large crowd, as there has been in the past.  Not this year, I was very surprised at the lack of numbers at the dealership.

I make it a point to wonder around the parking lot to check out the bikes and license plates.  This year there were, of course, a lot of motorcycles from the east coast nearly every state from Maine to Florida were present. A couple plates from Texas and one from Montana were the furthest western representatives.  On the international front Canada contributed bikes from Quebec and Newfoundland.

On the way home we stopped at the Jukebox Diner in Sterling, Va.  It was a quite enjoyable meal.  The restaurant is a hat-tip to 1950s in theme and our server, Erich, was having a lot fun with his customers.

Sunday morning, the day of the Rolling Thunder parade, I decided to support my local HOG chapter with the staging for the ride to the Pentagon.  We parked 373 motorcycles in Frederick Harley Davidson parking lot. That was down from 2015 and way off the 750 staged during the 25th anniversary of Rolling Thunder.

Next year is the 30th anniversary so maybe the numbers will return to the norm.

Motorcyclist Safety: Open letter to the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration & Department of Transportation (subtitled) “Worst decision EVER!”

Posted: June 1, 2016 in Motorcycle advocacy, Motorcycle Rides, motorcycle safety, motorcycle touring
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First thing—–   I looked at your website and if there is a link for a motorcycle rider to report unsafe conditions it sure does not stand out.  If you really support motorcycle safety, add a link for us to quickly alert you to conditions that affect us.

NOW my problem —— This past Memorial Day (2016) I was out for a nice morning ride on one of the favorite roads of motorcyclist in the area (MD, WV, VA), Harpers Ferry Road. Always a classic, always a go to road to enjoy the ride, the view and road.  NOT SO MUCH NOW!

A very large (10+ miles) of this formally nice, paved road is now covered in GRAVEL. Small, pea sized gravel.  While there may be a study somewhere about how putting TONS OF GRAVEL on a paved road will improve conditions it DOES NOT IMPROVE SAFTY FOR MOTORCYCLIST.

Every turn I had to concentrate on my approach to ensure I was in the wheel path with the least amount of gravel.  Every oncoming car I had to worry about taking a face full of gravel.  Every time I came to a stop I had to slow well ahead and make sure my feet were firmly placed.  Harpers Ferry road is (was) supposed to be a great relaxing ride through the Maryland countryside.  Instead it became a gruesome exercise on how to torture the safety of motorcyclist.  I can only imagine how terrible this road will become in the rain!

Leaving this to nature to resolve will result in no resolution.  There is simply too much gravel splayed across this paved surface.  The turns, of which there is a lot, will never be completely safe for motorcyclist without mechanical intervention.  The Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration must get this road cleaned up before someone is killed!!!  I typed that properly … BEFORE SOMEONE IS KILLED!

While I am at it—- The round-about at the intersection of Route 15 and 464 is now unsafe to motorcycles as well.  Not nearly as bad Harpers Ferry road but just as unsafe. One of your road crews used tar to seal road cracks, motorcyclist call these “tar snakes”.  Tar snakes are mostly just a pain in the backside type of road repair as they are easily ridden over.  Not so in a round-about, the slow speed, coupled with the higher lean angle, combined with cross traffic and cars to the left and right this is another area where road conditions will result in an accident.  At this particular intersection, the VERY high traffic volume will result in a gruesome accident.

5 Motorcycle Things that interested me this week!

Posted: May 24, 2016 in custom motorcycle, Motorcycle, Motorcycle racing, Motorcycle Rides, motorcycle touring
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Britain’s First Female Motorcycle Wall of Death Star Yvonne Stagg

Smallest motorcycle in the world?

Bike Shed Motorcycle Club Paris 2016

A town’s forgotten motorcycle history!

Ride 50 at 50! 3 Amigos from Britain go to the US to ride the Lonely Road!

Motorcycle TV: Ride with Norman Reedus

Posted: April 26, 2016 in Motorcycle, Motorcycle Rides, Motorcycle TV
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norman

The “Walking Dead” star gets his own motorcycle themed show on AMC this summer.  The show will premier June the 12th at 10PM (EST).

If you did not know it by the way he has built and rode motorcycles on the Walking Dead Norman is a fan of the two wheel life.  So much so he was able to get AMC to produce a six episode series titled “Ride with Norman Reedus”.

Norman states this is not going to be a gearhead show but on where he and friends “explore local biker culture and celebrate the best and brightest collectors, mechanics and craftsmen around the country. Each episode will feature Reedus and a riding companion – a fellow actor, musician, friend or local chopper fanatic – as they journey to custom bike shops, tattoo parlors, collector’s warehouses, or a roadside smokehouse… with plenty of time for unplanned detours and tire changes”

But unlike us average joes Norman’s friends include Peter Fonda, Robert Rodriguez and Balthazar Getty. Guess I will have to wait for my own TV show to ride with those guys!

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