MD | I JUST WANT 2 RIDE!!

Posts Tagged ‘MD’

Out and about on a motorcycle ride!

Posted: November 2, 2013 in Motorcycle Rides
Tags: Harley, Harley Davidson, HD, HOG, Maryland, MD, Motorcycle, Motorcycle Ride

Country store in Boyds, Md.

Motorcycle ride to Antietam Battlefield

Posted: August 29, 2013 in Motorcycle Rides
Tags: American Civil War, American Supreme Court, Antietam, Antietam Battlefield, Antietam National Battlefield, Battle of Antietam, Clara Barton, Frederick, Frederick Maryland, Harley, Harley Davidson, History of the United States, MarylandMartinsburg, MD, Motorcycle, Motorcycle Ride, national park service, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Red Cross, Sharpsburg, Sharpsburg Maryland, West Virginia, WV

Last weekend Debbie and I went for a motorcycle ride to Antietam Battlefield. The American Civil War battlefield is near Sharpsburg, Maryland about half way between Martinsburg, WV and Frederick, MD.

Ride to Antietam

This was the worst one day battle in American History. 23,000 soldier were killed, wounded or went missing in only 12 hours. After seeing the battlefield and understanding the tactics of the time I find it hard to understand how these men walked into the open for the cannons to…just wipe them out!

The battlefield itself is well maintained and there are monument to many of the units and men that fought and died on that day. The museum has a thirty minute movie covering the action, I suggest you see the film first as it will lay out what occurred in a broad scope so you will have some context as you move outside.

You may run across two, non-military, names that were unexpected to see in a place like this. Clara Barton, founder of the Red Cross and, then Captain, Oliver Wendell Holmes. Holmes, who was left for dead at Antietam, would later become a famous member of the American Supreme Court.

We also spent part of the day just wheeling around and by the time we arrived at home we had put nearly 120 miles on the bike. And for a great change, there was never even a threat of rain.

: Train Tunnel, Point of Rock, MD

: Ride to Antietam

: Ride to Antietam

: Ride to Antietam

: Ride to Antietam

: Ride to Antietam

: Brunswick, Md

: Brunswick, Md

: Brunswick, Md

: Brunswick, Md

: Brunswick, Md

: Brunswick, Md

: Ride to Antietam

: Potomac River and Harpers Ferry in the distance

: Boonsboro, MD (like it says)

: Boonsboro, MD

: Boonsboro, MD

: Boonsboro, MD

: Antietam National Battlefield

: Confederate Atillery Battery

: Dunkers Church

: Inside Dunkers Church

: Monument to Maryland Soldiers

: Bronze on the Maryland monument.

: Bronze on the Maryland monument.

: Bronze on the Maryland monument.

: Bronze on the Maryland monument.

: Monument to New York soldiers

The Bridges of Pennsylvania,,, A motorcycle ride.

Posted: July 29, 2013 in Motorcycle, Motorcycle Rides, motorcycle touring
Tags: Harley, Harley Davidson, Maryland, MD, meetup.com, Motorcycle, motorcycle blog, Motorcycle Ride, motorcycle touring, northern Virginia motorcycle club, NOVA MC, PA, PA Route 75, Pennsylvania, The Old Mountain Stone Inn, US Route 15, VA, Virginia

Foggy start to the day

This past weekend Debbie and I rode with the Northern Virginia Motorcycle Club (NOVA MC) to see and ride through a bunch of covered bridges in Pennsylvania. This was an all-day ride; we left the house on a foggy Saturday morning at a few minutes after six AM to get to the rally point. The club met up outside a Starbucks in Chantilly, VA before rolling out for the day.

Heading north on US Route 15 we crossed into Maryland at Point of Rocks passed through Frederick and quite soon entered Pennsylvania and the first stop. This bridge was literally just across the state line off of Route 15. I am not sure where we stopped or the name of the bridge but the picture is below. From that point on we attempted to capture a picture of the name or historical marker.

After a bit we rolled out to see the other bridges. About one o’clock we stopped for lunch at The Old Mountain Stone Inn in Bloomfield, PA. The food was good, the company better but the show was the best (LOL). About half way through our lunch a poker run arrived and they were having a lot of fun which made it a lot of fun for us to watch!!

Pennsylvania Amish country.

During lunch we also noticed that the incoming weather was getting much worse and decided to cut the ride a “bit” short. We decided to visit the longest covered bridge (271 feet) in PA, the Academia Bridge. From there we jumped on PA Route 75, which passed through the Pennsylvania Amish country.

Storm Chaser Powers ACTIVATE!

It was on Route 75 were we got the wettest! While we had experienced sprinkles and light rain we got a downpour, and of course nowhere to really pull over. We finally reached a gas station where Debbie and I did the group a big favor; we put on our rain suits, which normally guarantees the rain will stop. We split off from the main group to head home shortly after that stop and we might have had ten rain drops from that point on! I hope the others fared as well!

About Northern Virginia Motorcycle Club

NOVA MC is a “Meetup.com” group that “is for motorcycle enthusiasts who are interested in taking short jaunts, usually on weekends, around Virginia’s highways and byways.” Debbie and I discovered them about a year ago and this was our second ride with the club. I have to say that we have tried to ride more with them but life, schedules and other events have conspired to limit our experience with the club. BUT, I can say that without hesitation, if your live in Northern Virginia and want to ride in a motorcycle agnostic environment and want to have a good time, check them out!

: Setting out for the ride

: On the road!

: Covered Bridge #1

: Covered Bridge #1

: Covered Bridge #1

: Hanging around

: Children of the Corn

: Covered Bridge

: Covered Bridge

: Covered Bridge #2

: Covered Bridge #2

: Debbie and me at Covered Bridge #2

: Covered Bridge #2

: Covered Bridge #2

: Covered Bridge #2

: Covered Bridge #2

: Farm Country

: Covered Bridge #3

: Covered Bridge #4

: Covered Bridge #4

: Covered Bridge #4

: Covered Bridge #4

: Covered Bridge #4

: Covered Bridge #4

: Covered Bridge #5

: Covered Bridge #5

: Covered Bridge #5

: Covered Bridge #5

: Covered Bridge #5

: Covered Bridge #5

: Poker Run Bike

: Poker Run Motorcycle

: Poker Run Leaving

: Covered Bridge #6

: Covered Bridge #6

: Mill next to bridge #6

: Mill next to bridge #6

: Covered Bridge #7

: Me riding across Covered Bridge #7

: Motorcycle rest stop

: Not a covered bridge

: Covered Bridge #8

: Covered Bridge #8

: Covered Bridge #8

: PA Route 75 before the rain

: Amish Country

: Amish Country

: Amish Country

: Amish Country

: Amish Country

: Amish Country

: Amish Country

: Amish Country

: Bloomfield, PA

Weekend Motorcycle Ride To….

Posted: July 9, 2013 in Motorcycle Rides
Tags: Brunswick, C&O Canal, Camp David, Frederick, Frederick Harley Davidson, Harley Davidson, Lovettesville, Maryland, MD, Monocacy Aqueduct, Motorcycle Ride, point of rocks, Poolsville, presidential retreat, steel bridge, VA, Virginina

…nowhere in particular. We did not start out that way; we had intentions of riding to Camp David (the presidential retreat in Maryland). I know that we would not get in to Camp David but riding up to the gate would have been cool. But, speaking of cool, it was anything but, by 10AM it was 85 degrees with 95 the high. So we thought better and decided to run around with no particular destination in mind.

115 miles later we had passed through a dozen small towns in Maryland and Virginia including Lovettesville, Point of Rocks, Poolsville, Brunswick, and Frederick. We stopped at the Monocacy Aqueduct (part of the C&O Canal) and dipped our feet into the cool water of the Monocacy River while sitting in the shade of the aqueduct itself. It was a fascinating notion that we were, basically, setting under what use to be a river that flowed over a river to move goods to and from Washington DC in the 1800’s.

While we were in Frederick we stopped by Frederick Harley Davidson. At the dealership we bought a magnetic tank pouch (part number 76000193) to hold my phone to the tank. I wanted this in order to connect the phone, and its music, to the Aux input with more ease vice pulling the cord to my rear pocket.

The pouch held very tightly to the tank and the neoprene like surface between the tank and the magnets gives me faith that the pouch will not mare the paint. The clear face of the pouch allows the user interact with the device. The only draw back is that in the heat of that day the phone got very hot, which killed the battery quite fast. Now I need to get a USB port to push into the cigarette lighter and a cord to charge the phone while it is playing.

After visiting the dealership we had lunch at the Mariachi restaurant. We have eaten there in the past and the food has been good today, maybe because we were so hot, it was only ok.

In the end Debbie and I had a nice day out on the bike going

: Road to nowhere in particular

: Point of Rocks Bridge

: Monocacy Aqueduct C&O Canal

: Riding to nowhere

: The river over the river

: Dipping our toes in the Monocacy River

: Wood Plank Bridge Over Railway

: Steel Bridge Over Monocacy River

: Steel Bridge Over Monocacy River

: Saint Paul’s Church

: We were in the Shire?

nowhere in particular.

A weekend ride…close call!

Posted: July 1, 2013 in Motorcycle Rides
Tags: Downtown Saloon, Georgia, Leesburg, Maryland, MD, middleburg, Motorcycle, motorcycle rides, motorcycle riding, Payne’s Biker Bar, point of rocks, red horse tavern, Route 7, snickersville road, US Route 15, US route 50, VA, Virginia, Virginia byway

I slipped in two afternoon motorcycle rides in this past weekend. I was hoping for longer rides but the weather was very fickle with strong thunderstorms projected for both days. Counter to what is typical for my rides….we did not get wet.

On Saturday I rode with guys from the neighborhood (Don, Charles, and Don’s brother-in-law Gordon who is visiting from Georgia). We pulled out of Leesburg, VA about 11AM headed south on US Route 15. It was not long before we had our first exciting moment of the day!

We were less than five miles south of town when an accident occurred right next to us. Two motorcycles were stopped to make a left hand turn with a SUV stopped behind them. A car, whose driver must have not have been paying attention, skidded hard into the SUV, which, luckily, did not hit the motorcycles. The car began skidding as it passed Don (on the lead bike) and hit the SUV as I passed (I was the trail bike). I pulled hard to the right to distance myself from the shrapnel from the collision. There had to have been less than two seconds from skid to crash.

The folks on the motorcycles stopped to turn left were very lucky the SUV was behind them it was a close call. The silver car would have hit and killed them; there is no doubt in my mind! We thought about stopping to help but the location really prohibited stopping on the right and Route 15 North had dozens of cars backed up immediately so we rode on.

Red Horse Tavern

At the intersection of Route 15 and US Route 50 we turned west and headed to our lunch stop in Middleburg (established in 1787). This part of Route 50 passes through “serious” horse country, it is nothing to see Polo matches, jumping competitions and such as you ride along. In Middleburg we had lunch at the Red Horse Tavern, which was ok and reasonably priced.

From the Tavern we left Middleburg and traveled through multiple back roads finally ending up on Snickersville Road (a Virginia Byway). We followed this road to its intersection of Route 7 where we turned east back to Leesburg and Payne’s Biker Bar then back to home.

On Sunday Debbie and I rode one of the local “loop” rides we like to take. It is a 45 mile ride that essentially begins and ends at Point of Rocks, Md. I will write about this particular route at a later date.

Red Horse Tavern

Motorcycle Ride on the George Washington Parkway

Posted: June 6, 2013 in Motorcycle Rides
Tags: Alexandria, Arlington Memorial Bridge, Army, C&O Canal, Chesapeake & Ohio Canal, Clara Barton Parkway, DC, Fairfax County Parkway, Fort Belvoir, Fort Hunt, Ft. Belvoir, Ft. Hunt, George Washington Parkway, Harley, Harley Davidson, HD, I-495, I495, Jefferson Monument, LBJ Memorial Grove, Lincoln Memorial, Maryland, MD, Motorcycle, motorcycle blog, motorcycle rides, Mount Vernon, Navy and Marine Memorial, Old Anglers Inn, Old Town, Old Town Alexandria, Potomac River, Regan National Airport, Riding, Roosevelt Island, Theodore Roosevelt Memorial, Torpedo Factory, US Army, VA, Virginia, Washington DC, Washington Monument, White’s Ferry

This past weekend the wife and I took a short ride. We have several “reoccurring” circuits that we enjoy some go north into Maryland, others west into West Virginia but this ride features the George Washington Parkway.

We left the house and traveled east on Route 7 until we reached the Fairfax County Parkway (for this road “Parkway” is derived from the fact there are over 50 stoplights between where we got on and the end of the road). Luckily, we hit very few lights and reached US Route 1 quickly.

From the Fairfax County Parkway to the turn for the GW Parkway Route 1 runs though Fort Belvoir. Ft. Belvoir was the last posting (4 years) my wife and I had before I retired from the Army after 25 years. The Fort holds a lot of special memories for us.

Mount Vernon Visitor’s Center

View from the GW

The GW actually starts at the Washington’s home Mount Vernon and heads north along the Potomac River. There are many overlooks and scenic stops along way all of which have great views or historic importance. On this trip we did not stop but I would highly recommend (beside Mount Vernon) a quick look at Fort Hunt.

Shortly past Fort Hunt you will enter the city of Alexandria and the first thing you will notice is the very old cemetery on the right. The cemetery (St. Paul’s) holds the “Grave of the Female Stranger” which is one of the more interesting stories of old Alexandria. If you are riding the GW you need to make time to visit “Old Town” Alexandria. There are lots of small shops, taverns,

Torpedo Factory

restaurants and art galleries. The largest gallery is the “Torpedo Factory”, named that way because during WWII it was a Torpedo Factory!

The next major landmark on the GW is Regan National Airport, while not a tourist destination for bikers, it does make for interesting views as large jetliners fly just a couple hundred feet

View from the GW

overhead! Almost as soon as you see the airport you will catch a glimpse of the Washington Monument over the trees. A few moments and a left hand curve later you will see not only the Washington Monument but the Jefferson and Lincoln monuments across the Potomac. But, because your eyes will be drawn to those major attractions, you will miss the Navy and Marine Memorial,

Another GW Pic

LBJ Memorial Grove, and Lady Bird Johnson Park!

Now is the time to decide if you want to go downtown DC or not, if you get in the left lane you will be directed towards the Arlington Memorial Bridge and the back of the Lincoln Memorial. Stay in the right lane and you will pass under the bridge and continue upriver along the parkway. As I mentioned

Arlington Memorial Bridge

earlier we were out for a scoot and did not stop very often nor did we go into the city on this trip.

One of the most invisible but one of the most powerful presidential monuments is the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial on Roosevelt Island. This is my favorite monument in the National Capitol Region but it is a bit of a hike from the parking lot (which is right off the GW), to the park at the center of the island. If you have the time I think this is well worth the stop.

While there are several minor attractions and overlooks the remainder of the GW is just a smooth tree lined ride…..until it ends on I495 exit 14! The GW basically throws you out on 5 lanes of beltway traffic that is normally bumper to bumper at any time of day.

Luckily our route leaves us in the right hand lane and exits within a ½ mile onto the Clara Barton Parkway. We normally turn left and continue to follow the river upstream but there is good reason to head down river and visit the home of Clara Barton (founder of the Red Cross) and take in parts of the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal.

Debbie at the Old Angler’s Inn

Rolling past the US Nave Surface Warfare the parkway soon ends and we decided to have a light lunch at the Old Anglers Inn. The Inn is Zaggat rated and the service was spectacular!

Old Angler’s Inn

After our meal we followed several different roads ending up at White’s Ferry. White’s Ferry is the only ferry currently operating on the Potomac River, having started in the early 1800’s. One of the interesting parts to note about the ferry is how deep the flood waters have been over the years. With different flood stages marked on the building, it is remarkable sight to realize you are a dozen or more feet below the surface!

Taking the Ferry across the Potomac to VA puts us about four miles from home and is a fun way to cap this ride. As we were nearing home I got an idea for another ride…tracing the route of the C&O Canal, maybe we will be able to slip this one in sometime in the near future.