
Get up and ride on the 16th!!!

Get up and ride on the 16th!!!
My daughter and I rode in a charity ride supporting Neurofibromatosis (NF). The ride was hosted by NFmidatlantic.org and the Baltimore Ramblers Motorcycle Club.
NF is the most common of the “rare” diseases. Neurofibromatosis is extraordinarily complicated. It comes in many forms, is often undiagnosed or misdiagnosed, and presents in a myriad of forms. Read more about the different types of NF here.
The event began with a pancake breakfast at Applebee’s in Timonium, MD. After everyone had their fill of pancakes the riders, about 50 or so, broke into smaller groups for the ride.
Members of the Ramblers guided us through the back country of Maryland for about an hour and a half before we finished at their clubhouse. The ride itself was quite nice, we only had to dodge giant farm tractors twice! 🙂
There were a few vendors and food available at the clubhouse along with door prizes and 50/50 draws. There was also several vintage motorcycle to look at including an old Indian and a 1953 BMW. After hanging out for a while and talking with the volunteers from the Mid-Atlantic NF and the Ramblers Eryn and I headed for home. BTW the Ramblers are one of the oldest AMA motorcycle clubs in America, founded in 1929.
Much to my worry, the sky started to darken and the closer to Leesburg the more rain drops we felt. Luckily we missed the down poor by a bit and made it to the garage dry.

Whites Ferry C&O Canal Stop
Location – Whites Ferry
Mile Marker – 35.5
Historical Comments –This stop on the canal is named for the actual ferry with which it shares the location. The ferry predates the canal by more than half a century and is still in operation today as the only ferry on the Potomac River. You can read more about the Whites Ferry ferry here.
Ride to Site – Riding to Whites Ferry requires you ride through farm land. Be on the lookout for slow moving farm equipment. Pay attention as well for deer and other wildlife crossing the road. There are multiple speed cameras in and around the nearby town of Poolsville.
Amenities – The ferry operates a small grocery/deli during the summer months, the area has picnic tables, boat ramp, restrooms.
Road Conditions (from main road) – All paved and in decent condition
Railway Situation – None
Parking Lot Conditions – Hard packed gravel, use a kickstand puck.
Main Attraction – Whites Ferry, $3 for motorcycles to cross the river.
My Thoughts – The canal site itself is interesting. After crossing the river you can, at the traffic light, turn left and head into Leesburg or turn right and head back towards Point of Rocks, MD (another stop on the canal tour).
Map
I was asked back to guest host on the DWAGHOUSE motorcycle radio again. That make two weeks in a rows! The show is broadcast live on the internet Tuesday 6-8PM EST.
This past weeks show is now up in podcast form (available at the link above and iTunes). So if you have time check it out and drop me a note if you like it…if you don’t like it well, grandma said if you can’t say something nice don’t say anything! 🙂
You can also get linked to the podcast on the DawgHouse Facebook page.
The History Channel now has a website for their new series. The Biker Battleground Phoenix website does not yet have much but, there is a “Sneak Peak” video available.
According to the site the show is about….
“Phoenix, Arizona—where the country’s top motorcycle builders compete day and night. It’s a dog-eat-dog world, where buyers are willing to pay upwards of $150,000 for a fully-customized, one-of-a-kind ride. Biker Battleground Phoenix follows the temperamental and talented bad boys of the bike business. In their world, showcases are for pride and bragging rights, competition is cutthroat and money talks. When egos and passion collide, the aftershocks echo across town.
They don’t follow trends–they set them. No tactic is off limits and no move is too corrupt. From stealing ideas and poaching employees to public bashing on social media, these guys will do whatever it takes to give themselves and their shops the ultimate edge over the rest.”
After reading this I hope this is not a “The Devil’s Ride” show for builders!
Additionally, History is sponsoring a contest to support the new show. You can register here to win a custom bike built by Dirty Bird Concepts, one of the shops on the show.
I am sure there are more but here are a few Northern Virginia and surrounding area events of which I am aware. If you know of any others please add them in the comments.
Ride for NF – June 8th
Back of the Dragon Days – June 13th – 15th
Ride your bike to work day – June 16th
Maryland/Delaware HOG Rally – June 19th-22nd
ABATE of Virginia Rally – June 20th – 22nd
HOG Worldwide Ride – June 22nd – 23rd
Virginia HOG Rally – June 26th – 28th
Debbie had to work Saturday so I was out on the motorcycle by myself. I rode the Army bike as I was planning on entering a bike show that afternoon (see Part Deux).
The first stop of the day was the HOG Pin Stop at Washington HD. Getting there from Leesburg takes a while and it involves some of the most trafficked roads in the DC Metro area; I495 and I95.
With Rolling Thunder the next day I was surprised that there were so few bikes out and about. From home to exit for the dealership I counted 17 bikes, much much fewer than I have noticed in the past.
I arrived at the dealership about a little before 10 and was surprised again at the number of bikes. In the past, at about the same time, the parking lots were packed and the vendor areas were standing room only. Not this year, I had no issue what so ever getting a parking spot and had a leisurely stool through the vendors. I saw nothing I could live without among the tents, although I am becoming intrigued with center stands, and decided to go inside and check out the remodeled digs.
The dealership has been in this building for a long time and was looking very “long in tooth”. The remodeling was, I have to say, was underwhelming. IMHO there was no real improvement at all. The one area of the store that I though was better was a display of older bikes with large period photos behind them.
I did speak to a person, who claimed to be an employee, stated that the dealership was about to change hands and that the new owner was going to build a new building. In the DC area, and especially Maryland, that can be an expensive proposition (hey, Maryland even taxes the rain).
Mounting my bike I was back on the road in less than a minute, still no heavy bike traffic.
After leaving Washington HD I rode over to Hardcore Choppers for their Freedom Fest. The proceeds for this event were to benefit Able Forces.
They had multiple bands all day including Sam Tate and Gypsy Sons. There were a several vendors, a bike show (which I entered) and the Fairfax County Police motor patrol drill team among other things.
One of the funnier items occurred when the police were giving a demonstration of how to pick up fallen bike. When they asked for volunteers to try picking up the bike a 70+ year old lady jumped out to give it a go! Check out the video Old Lady picks up police motorcycle!
As for the bike show I took first place in my class!
Late Saturday evening Debbie and I rode the new bike to our friends (Tim and Karma) home. We were spending the night there with the plans to take a long ride Sunday.
We have all done the Rolling Thunder event multiple times and decided to take a break this year from this year’s festivities. We had no particular destination in mind until we were ready to pull out, then we decided to cruse to Solomon Island (which has an interesting history).
While Tim and Karma had both been to the Island in the past this was the first for Debbie and I. The ride out was outstanding, not much traffic (by DC standards anyway), warm but not hot and clear sky’s made the ride out very pleasant. When we made it to the island we had lunch at Stoney’s Solomons Pier restaurant.
After lunch we rode to the end of the island took some pictures and headed back out on our ride. Heading south towards Frederick, VA we crossed the Governor Harry Nice toll bridge ($6, really Maryland, for a bridge) and then up US Route 1. We stopped in Dumfries at Baylor’s Ice Cream shop which was very tasty and just right as the asphalt and concrete was warming us up.
By the time we made it home we were ready for a good shower. At over 275 miles we had quite a day on the bike with great weather and good friends.