Motoring Along

Scenic Route

In case anyone is wondering, Hubby and I are still riding together. It’s just that it is summertime, which means it gets hot. It’s worse for Hubby on his big-ass Victory with it’s 1,740-cc engine. I’m usually fine up until the thermometer his 85 degrees (~29.4 C), then I start to get really uncomfortable.

The other day, Thursday (?) maybe, I needed a prescription from Costco. The store closest to us (Manassas) didn’t have the med in stock. The next-closest stores are in places like Chantilly, Fairfax, Woodbridge, and other places in the dreaded Northern Virginia metropolis (one giant, heavily populated suburb of Washington, DC). Since I have spare time on my hands, I chose to go to the Winchester store because I knew it would make for a much-nicer ride. Plus, it would make it super-convenient to visit the unlisted LOVEwork I’d recently driven past on I-81 southbound near Clear Brook.

LOVEwork at I-81 SB Welcome Center

It actually made for a very nice ride. I didn’t leave early enough, though, because it started getting hot during the ride back. By the time I got into our garage, I was READY to get all that gear off. So ready, in fact, that I didn’t fully extend the kickstand. That meant that, when I got off of the bike, it fell over. It didn’t fall all of the way to the floor, it just leaned right up against Hubby’s pretty red Victory. Due to the angle, I could not get the thing standing up, so I had to ask Hubby for help.

It was embarrassing, but he didn’t give me a hard time. Luckily, it didn’t even scratch the Victory.

Yesterday, Saturday, we went for a nice little loop ride together. I planned a route to include four LOVEworks, so now I’m up to 81 visited!

LOVE in Stanardsville

Stanardsville is in Greene County. Within about the last year, a barn quilt trail was established there, which is why the LOVEwork has a quilt theme. One day, when we both have time, my friend Kelly and I are going to spend a day following the Blue Ridge Barn Quilt Tour. At the time of this writing, there are 59 barn quilts listed in the brochure! That’s a lot. Trails usually start small, maybe 10-20 barn quilts, and then slowly grow. To have that many so soon after establishing the trail is quite impressive! You can read more about it here.

The Stanardsville site was the last on the list. Temps were hovering around 80 at that point, so I adjusted the route on the fly and we headed home. Just in time, too. It was 83.3 degrees (28.5 C) when I pulled into the garage.

I made absolutely sure the kickstand was fully extended before I got off of the bike.

5 Replies to “Motoring Along”

  1. I agree, hot is not fun … but then I complain about the cold in the winter too. Oopsie on the topple, but glad it didn’t scratch the Victory. Hot and tired, that’s when the chips fall!

    1. Karen, I complain about extended periods of extreme cold, but really prefer cold to heat. One can always add layers to get warm in the cold, but cooling off can be a challenge at times.

  2. Forgetting to put the side stand down. I hadn’t had that problem for years. In fact, I sold the side stand from the BMW to another Airhead as the aftermarket ones work so much better than the stock version. Anything above 80°F really is too hot. Above 90°F is unbearable. Above 100°F is ….

    1. Richard, I can’t remember the last time I forgot to put it down/fully extend it, but the bike has never fallen over as a result. In the garage, it’s only on the stand long enough for me to get off and get the bike into the center stand so Hubby’s bike can fit/be accessed. Our garage is too small (or we have too many toys).

      I’m not sure I’ve ever ridden in temps above 100. That would be horrible.

  3. I definitely share your aversion to riding in the heat. We have ridden in temps over 100 a couple of times on long trips, and it was miserable. One of the reasons we are in Colorado for the summer! Actually the temps you have mentioned are not too bad for East Coast in July.

    That barn quilt trail sounds awesome! Be sure to take lots of pics… 😉

Comments are closed.