No really…. There is a recall on training wheels!
If your child rides a Honda XR/CRF 50, Kawasaki KDX/Suzuki JR 50, KTM 50, Suzuki DRZ 70, Yamaha PW50 or Yamaha TTR 50 with “Moose Racing” training wheels from Cambridge Metal and Plastics you need to check the recall.
See I told you training wheels 😉
The ride occurred, as you know, yesterday amid controversy.
While I did not participate I did watch the TV news coverage throughout the day. I was quite dismayed by the reporting early in the day. Several of the local DC news stations continually portrayed the event as “angry” (showing one of the organizers, mid-sentence, saying he was angry but with no context), and “anti-Muslim” (the reporter making that statement juxtaposed with a biker wearing a Confederate flag patch).
BUT, as the day went on there was a surprising twist to the reporting. Angry and Muslim was dropped nearly completely replaced by “patriotic”. By the end of day, the reporting was much like this from ABC Channel 7. Read in the change in reporting tone what you will.
Yesterday was the biggest day ever for this motorcycle blog. There were 226 views with over 129 unique visitors. People from six countries visited Ijustwant2ride!
Thanks everyone!!!!!
There are a couple of bike events taking place in York this month.
First is the Harley Davidson York Vehicle Operations Open House the 19th-21st. The York plant assembles the Softail, Touring, CVO and Trike motorcycles and the open house allow you to conduct a self-escorted tour of the operations. You can see the bikes being birthed (the VIN # applied to the frame) to rolling out the door. The plant open house is different from the Steel Toe Tour (which I have not done) in that there is no charge, it is unescorted and you do not get the swag.
I visited the open house two years ago and it was a cool event. In addition to the walk through of the plant there were demo bikes available to ride and a bunch of the nearby dealerships had setup merchandise tents on the plant’s grounds. I am considering going again this year. The open house has been a “Pin Stop” for HOG members in the past.
The other event is the White Rose Thunder Motorcycle Event. The event has bike shows, vendors, stunt teams, motorcycle racing, a bike night, concerts, swap meet and many other activities. I have never attended this event, if you are interested take a look at the website.
Permit or not it is happening.
FOX 5 TV has covered the ride on their website. The still pictures are the riders outside of Fort Washington Harley Davidson, which is just outside Washington DC.
The Facebook page for the rides sponsor, 2 Million Bikers to DC, is also being updated.
I rode in the Rattle The Runway Ride on the 8th of September. Below are photos from the event.
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.
This is another great ride (I just said that, right)! The Battlefield Run is about 110 miles long and rides through four states (Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania) ending at Battlefield Harley Davidson in Gettysburg.
The name comes from, I think, the fact that it rolls through several Civil War Battlefields including Antietam, Charles Town, Shepherdstown, and Gettysburg. The name is also representative of the charity it supports, the Special Operations Warrior Foundation. Which provides college scholarships the surviving children of fallen Special Operations Forces.
Debbie and I only discovered this ride two years ago. It is a cause close to our hearts (I spent 10 years in the Army Special Operations Command) and is a great ride (I said that, right?). If you can attend, please do!
The “Rattle The Runway Ride”, which began in 2003, commemorates the events of September 11th. In particular it honors the memory of Flight 77 which began at Dulles International Airport and ended when it crashed into the Pentagon.
This year’s event will be held on the 8th of September, with the ride staging at the National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center. If the event holds to form, the museum will open for about an hour before the run begins. To me, this is one of the best parts of this event, you get to view the museum with a, relatively, small group.
Once the opening ceremonies, which begin at 9AM, are completed the ride will pass in front of the Dulles Main Terminal, move onto VA 267 and end at the Pentagon 9-11 Memorial. There are no registrations or fees involved with this event. Any donations and money from the sales of event memorabilia goes to the Pentagon Memorial Fund.
The event draws about 1000 bikes each year. You can expect the standard accordion affects during the ride as you would with any group of this size. Debbie and I have participated in this event in the past and plan to do so again this year.
Well, Paw Paw, West Virginia was not the intended destination, in fact, we just went out to ride.
We pulled out about ten in the morning (on the Ultra Limited) and head west on Route 7. I noticed the exit for Virginia State Route 9 and decided, what the heck let’s see where Route 9 goes. We knew it went north to Martinsburg, WV but that was about it.
Route 9 in Virginia is also known as Charles Town Pike and passes through rolling farmland and the towns of Paeonian Springs (which has a historic district) and Hillsboro. Hillsboro sets in the middle of a gap in the Blue Ridge Mountains. A short climb out of Hillsboro and you have a great view of Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia.
RT 9 at WV/VA boarder
At this point VA Route 9 becomes WV Route 9 and also becomes a four line highway. While we did not take the road, by the looks of the area I can image that “old 9” down the mountain would be full of twistiness! Crossing the Shenandoah River we scooted through Charles Town and Martinsburg, we did not stop to look around, today was just about riding. A little after Martinsburg the road becomes a 2 lane again.
When we reached Berkeley Springs we did stop. Right in the middle of the town is the Berkeley Springs State Park. The town (its real name is Bath) was considered the country’s first spa and resort area because of the mineral spring producing 2,000 gallons a minute. George Washington even visited the springs. Heck the town even has a castle!
Continuing on Route 9, up the mountain out of Berkeley Springs we summited to a spectacular view of the Potomac River in the valley below. We decided to have lunch across the street from the fabulous view at Panorama at the Peak restaurant. This is a farm to table, organic, restaurant and the food was awesome!
Back on the bike we rode down the mountain and into the Cacapon River Valley. This stretch of road from Berkeley Springs to Paw Paw was very lightly traveled, I doubt that we passed a dozen cars. It undulates along the Cacapon River and was just a very nice ride!
Riding in the Cacapon River valley
We reached the end of WV 9 when we hit Paw Paw. It is a very small town at the intersection of WV 9 and 29 and was the point where we began our return trip. We did not retrace our route instead we zigged and zagged through a variety of roads until we reached Route 7 at Winchester, VA. After stopping at the Winchester Sonic restaurant for ice cream (I love there coconut milkshakes) we quickly made it back home.
We put in 198 miles on this trip with only a few stops….it was a great day with the wife and the bike!
I JUST WANT 2 RIDE!! 