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October 21, 2015October 21, 2015

Big 60 Ride (Friday)

As I mentioned the other day, Mike turned 60 on October 4. We don’t usually make a huge deal over birthdays, but I thought hitting 60 was a milestone that deserved a celebration. And what better way to make merry than spending a long, three-day weekend riding our bikes through the mountains of Virginia and neighboring states?

I worked long and hard planning, and re-working, a route that would take us on some of our favorite roads and let us explore some new roads in the same general regions we’ve been enjoying recently.

One of Mike’s favorite roads is US-33 between Rawley Springs, Virginia and Brandywine, West Virginia. I like it, too, but we were both disappointed to discover recent road work left the pavement, especially in the turns, sprinkled with lots of fine, loose gravel. Not good at all for motorcycles. It was still nice — no traffic! — just not as much fun. That’s okay, though. The ride was just getting started. And it was a lovely day.

Looking at the mountains in Brandywine, West Virginia.

From there, we headed south WV-21/Sugar Grove Road, which becomes VA-614/Cowpasture River Road N after you cross into Virginia. We went west on US-250 then south on VA-678/Bullpasture River Road, which becomes Indian Draft Road before turning into VA-625 / River Road at some point.

Except for the stint on US-250, those are what I call putt-putt roads. They’re paved, but have no lines, and travel through scenic and very picturesque valleys. There’s not always a posted speed limit, but I tend to max-out at about 45 mph as there’s not a lot of signage and turns tend to sneak up on you.

River Road (we’d just crossed the Cowpasture River).

They’re not fast roads, but that combo is definitely going to be included on my official list of favorite roads (as opposed to the mental list, where they’ve been included for a while).

From there, we headed west on VA-39, a fast and fun road. After that long stretch of putt-putt roads, I was happy to roll on the throttle and enjoy some curves. I was a bit amazed to see a car in my rearview mirrors doing a pretty good job of keeping up with me as we zipped along. I laughed out loud then thought “uh oh” when I realized, after about five minutes, it was a Virginia State Police car. All was good, though. Either the officer hadn’t been watching the speedometer or they enjoyed seeing this “crazy frog lady” (as it says on my bumper sticker) have some fun.

From there, we headed south on US-220 through Warm Springs. By then, we needed gas, and Hubby was hungry, so we pulled into a gas station that was affiliated with or adjacent to Cucci’s Restaurant (pronounced like coochies).

After a quick, okay lunch, we filled up and continued south on US-220 to Hot Springs, veering west on VA-615 / Main Street then south on VA-687 / Jackson River Turnpike.

At some point, I realized I hadn’t re-started my tracker app when restarting the phone at Cucci’s, so we paused for a moment then pressed on. At Falling Spring, we headed back east on VA-640 / Falls Road, to rejoin US-220 just north of Covington. That stretch of US-220 into Covington was a repeat road, because it is delightfully curvaceous. There’s a lovely waterfall just south of where we met back up with 220, but, having seen it before, we didn’t stop.

Just south of Covington, we picked up VA-18 / Potts Creek Road, which was nice, but not as fun as I thought it might be. At Paint Bank, VA, we turned toward the east on VA-311 — a definite favorite road — and then headed south again on VA-658 / John’s Creek Road, continuing on VA-658 when it became Dicks Creek Road. (Both of the creek roads were excellent recommendations from my America Rides Map.)

Somewhere in Virginia. — Along Dicks Creek Road north of Maggie, VA.

After a brief stretch-break, we continued making our way south and west, hopping on VA-42 — always lovely — then took US-460 west to VA-730 / Eggleston Road (another excellent America Rides Maps recommendation). We re-joined VA-42 eventually, then took an intriguing-looking shortcut I’d noticed on the map — VA-738 / Robinson Tract Road — which would take us closer to Wytheville, our stop for the night.

OMG, what an odd road. It crosses Walker Creek then runs along the Pecker Branch for a little ways before going up and over the mountain. It was paved, thank goodness, but was little-used, as evidenced by the fact that the pavement was almost completely covered with fallen leaves in places. And there were stacked switchbacks, steep enough that I could see Hubby making his way down the mountain a few turns below me.

It was definitely one of those “why is this road here” moments.

We continued making our way south and west towards Wytheville. The roads were lovely, but the sun was brutal. Both of us were practically blinded by the light as we wound our way along VA-601 / Little Creek Highway. Hubby had a close encounter with a fast-moving deer we’re convinced was goaded by his buddies into playing chicken with Mike. I watched that crazy critter angle at full speed alongside then across the road in front of Hubby. The deer could have easily crossed between us. Hubby said there were inches to spare between him and the deer. And, thanks to the glaring sun, he hadn’t seen it until it was right in front of him.

We were both quite happy to reach our hotel in Wytheville. That sun really had been brutal. And we were both tired after a long, fabulous day. The roads had been amazing. But I knew some of the best were yet to come.

If you’d like to see the Spotwalla tracker map, CLICK HERE.

October 20, 2015October 20, 2015

Complete Opposites

I’ve said here before that my Hubby, Mike, doesn’t share my appreciation for roadside oddities. He doesn’t really “get” my signature selfie pose either. Or my need to take pictures to support this blog habit of mine. All of those things together are what make this picture so absolutely perfect. Even down to that grumpy look on the background owl’s face!

The awesome OWLFIE was posted to IMGUR.com by ShadowBun (PsBattle: Burrowing Owls spot a camera).

Oddly enough, it was Mike who found the picture. He visits some unique Web sites.

He and I are very different people, but we’ve managed to stay married for 22+ years. Every couple needs to have a normal and not-so-normal partner, right?

I just have to keep reminding myself of one very important thing. It isn’t his fault that he’s not-so-normal.

I had to laugh the other day when we stopped for lunch. I’d really been enjoying the ride, especially seeing all the different-colored leaves. So when he said, “It’s really been a great ride,” I responded with an excited, sorta lengthy bit of chat/rant that went something like this…

“Oh my GOD, I know! It’s been so pretty, with the beautiful clear, blue sky. And all the different-colored leaves. It’s like we’re riding through a tunnel of color. And the sun is so bright, I just love it when the sun comes through the trees and hits the red leaves and the yellow leaves. You know, so they’re like backlit and sort of glow or shine or whatever as they hang down over the road. It’s like a kaleidoscope or something. Amazing. It really has been fabulous. I’ve picked some awesome roads.”

He looked at me with a very subtle smirk on his face and said…

“I just meant because the roads are smooth and curvy.”

Remember… he can’t help it.

I think it was during that same conversation when I asked him if he didn’t have me to ride with, whether he’d join a motorcycle club/riding group. Not a biker gang, just a club like those folks who have regular ride-to-eat meet-ups or maybe a Victory Owners Group. (He could be a VOG! If there is such a thing.) You know, so he wasn’t riding alone all the time.

Want to know what he said?

“I don’t do that whole ‘people’ thing.”

He didn’t actually use air quotes, but he did emphasize people, with a look of distaste on his face as he spoke. Cracked. Me. Up.

I HAD to type that quote on my Notepad IMMEDIATELY so I’d remember it exactly.

Mike is a nice enough guy, once you get to know him, but he’s shy (I refuse to use that over-abused “i” word.). He can be moody, too, especially when hungry. Oh, and I can’t forget opinionated. He’s a smart-ass, too. And not very patient when it comes to certain things, e.g., character traits like self-centeredness and laziness, and loud/rude behavior(s).

Yes, despite all of that, I still love him. He has lots of good qualities, too.

I'd asked him to pose by the statue for a picture with Shannon. — I’d asked him to “pose by the statue for a picture with Shannon.”

We laugh a lot, that’s for sure.

Are you and your significant other very much alike? Only a little? Or complete opposites like us?

October 19, 2015October 19, 2015

Missing the Point

My Hubby turned 60 on October 4. Sixty! We don’t usually make a huge deal over birthdays, but I thought hitting 60 was a milestone that deserved a celebration. And what better way to make merry than spending a long, three-day weekend riding our bikes through the mountains of Virginia and neighboring states?

I worked long and hard planning a ride. It’s not as easy a you might think. Why? Because it’s not about the destination, it’s about the roads. The roads are what make the trip fun. Really.

I still get a chuckle at the look of confusion on people’s faces after I tell them I don’t really have a destination in mind for a three-day excursion into the mountains. I mean, I had planned overnight spots, but they were just convenient resting places.

After a couple weeks of sporadic research and planning, I settled on a route. Then the East Coast region was hit by a crazy combination of storms — a nor’easter AND tropical storm/hurricane — which made us cancel our plans.

A lot can change in two weeks. Fall has arrived. Each day we have fewer hours of sunlight. AND temps have been dropping. So, once we settled on make-up dates, I had to re-work the route. Remember, celebrating Hubby’s birthday was the point of this trip, so I couldn’t plan many stops to see goofy stuff, which I enjoy but he doesn’t.

He knows I like roadside oddities, but he also knows that I know he thinks that’s all sorta silly. Still. He knows if I see some roadside awesomeness, I’m gonna stop. Which is why we both had a good chuckle over breakfast on Saturday.

There was a Bojangles’ in Wytheville, which I love, so it was my job to get us there from the hotel. After checking in on Yelp, which also posts to Facebook, my friend, Rachael (aka Fuzzy), commented, “Home of the big pencil!” Fuzzy likes roadside oddities even more than I do.

Her comment made me laugh out loud. Of course, Hubby wondered why I was laughing, so I had to explain Rachael’s comment.

“She said that about your Bojangles’ check-in?” Hubby asked, with a look of confusion.

“Yes, because it said Bojangles’ in Wytheville. And she knows Wytheville’s the home of the big pencil. I’m not sure where it is though,” I told him.

“What? I saw it. You didn’t see it?” he asked. “I thought for sure that’s why you were turning when you turned.”

“Wait… you saw the big pencil and didn’t say anything?!?” I asked.

“I thought you saw it,” he insisted, sheepishly, because he and I both knew he was really hoping I hadn’t seen it, ’cause that would have meant stopping for a photo, which would have delayed breakfast. Plus, we were already a tad later than we would’ve liked.

He tried explaining the location, saying how I could just follow the GPS route backwards or plot a return trip to our hotel or some other scheme that would’ve required far too much thought at that early hour.

“I’ll just plug in the address. Finding it will take two seconds,” I told him. The look of confusion on his face was priceless.

How does one quickly find the address for a business with a very large pencil as a sign? With the RoadsideAmerica.com phone app of course (Fuzzy told me about that one years ago). All I had to do was enter “Wytheville, VA” to get a list of local oddities. The Big Pencil was at the top of the list.

Since he was probably feeling a teeny bit guilty for not having said, “Oh my God, did you see the big pencil?” as we’d passed, he didn’t complain about retracing our steps. And he was happy to take this pic for me.

It really is a pretty impressive pencil. Thanks for that timely reminder, Fuzzy!

I’ll tell y’all more about the ride in future posts. It was awesome. Here are a few teaser pics for you.

And y’all wonder why I don’t post more pics of myself.

September 8, 2015

Loving Virginia’s Diversity

Virginia is a large and diverse state. The longer we live here and the more we explore, the more I appreciate that diversity.

Geographically speaking, Virginia has five regions. I live in the Virginia Piedmont.

The image above comes from a sorta simplistic educational blog that has a concise breakdown/explanation of those regions.

Culturally speaking, according to this web page, which belongs to VirginiaPlaces.org, “there are multiple interpretations of distinctive cultural regions of Virginia, with inconsistent terms and boundaries.”

The map on the Piedmont section of the VirginiaPlaces.org site, shown below, breaks Virginia down into only three regions. (I like this map because it also includes the counties.)

I’m telling you all of this because I’d hoped to find a simple explanation/definition of the geographic line separating the Piedmont from the Coastal Plain. The coastal region just has a different feel to it. The land is flatter. The trees–more evergreen trees than deciduous hardwoods– are taller and seem to grow closer together.

I’ve been aware of the different feel for years. My brother and his family live in the Hampton Roads region–Suffolk County, I believe–at the lower right-hand corner of the map. Always, when driving from Central Maryland for visits, I could always tell that we were getting closer just by the look and feel of the landscape.

Hubby and I went for a ride on Saturday that was out of character for us. We headed south and east, away from the mountains, to the town of Spotsylvania, which is just east of central Spotsylvania County. Our route took us through the center of Culpeper County and then east and south. We reached Spotsylvania County west of Fredericksburg (sorry if all of these directions are confusing), and that’s about when things started to change.

We were on VA-3 / Germanna Highway for only a few miles. We left Va-3 on VA-647/Revercomb Road, then quickly turned onto VA-610/Eley’s Ford Road. That’s the road that delivered us into Spotsylvania County. It was much more heavily forested than I expected, and although the road was on the flat side, there were a goodly amount of twists and turns, which made for a very pleasant ride.

I didn’t have my tracker app running, so there’s no way for you to zoom in for detail. If you want or need a more-detailed look, let me know.

I’d planned this shortish route because Hubby had gone for a long solo ride on Friday AND was coming down with a cold. I figured I’d take advantage of the rare occasion that he didn’t really care how fun the roads were and head to this area that I knew would be flatter and less interesting to capture this one elusive LOVEwork I’d missed on a couple of previous trips.

The sign itself was sort of plain. At least the weather was nice.

We both agreed that the ride to Spotsylvania was fabulous, but the roads were all suprisingly pleasant. Spotsylvania County may be in the Piedmont region, but there are definitely portions which feel like the Coastal Plain.

From there, we continued south/southwest across Lake Anna to the town of Mineral (very close to the epicenter of the big 2011 earthquake) and then headed west and north to make our way back home.

As we got deeper into Louisa County on the southwestern side of Lake Anna, which is quite a large and busy lake, it started to feel like the Piedmont again. The town of Gordonsville, which is in Orange County, definitely has the look and attitude of a population center in the Piedmont.

From Gordonsville, we hopped onto VA-231/Blue Ridge Turnpike, which carried us north and through the foothills, roughly paralleling the Blue Ridge Mountains, thus the road is aptly named. That 41-mile stretch of road — the Blue Ridge Turnpike — never disappoints, and is another of my favorite rides in Virginia. One day, I’m going to have to make a list.

Saturday was the first time I’d ridden the entire length of VA-231 from Gordonsville to Sperryville. I’m sorry I didn’t take more pics to share with you all. You’ll just have to trust me when I say that, if you’re in the area, it’s a road worth riding as it winds gently up and over hills, through vast tracts of farmland in the foothills of Blue Ridge, which makes for some amazing scenery.

An older picture captured along VA-231 / Blue Ridge Turnpike

All in all, it was a LOVEly day with Hubby.

September 3, 2015

Best Turnpike Ever

Is there such a thing as a good turnpike? You betcha! And, surprise surprise, it’s not too terribly far from my house.

The Snickersville Turnpike, which runs between Bluemont and Aldie in Virginia is the best turnpike ever. Really.

It’s not a highway. It’s a road dating back to the late 18th century that some very smart folks have elected to preserve.

The road surface is a bit rough. It’s relatively straight, too. So what makes it so great? The scenery.

It’s only about 14 miles from Aldie to Bluemont (about 25 minutes) along the road, which is also known as VA-734. I prefer to follow it in an east to west direction, heading toward the mountains, which is part of what makes it special. Plus, The Bluemont Store is a great place to store for a drink, snack, and/or lunch.

I was really kinda hungry and should have had some soup, but Hubby wasn’t quite ready for lunch. So I just got some cookies (okay), a brownie (yum!), and a mini sandwich to hold me over.

From there, we hopped onto VA-7 for a brief bit, then headed south on VA-601 / Blue Ridge Mountain Road for a short but fun jaunt to Paris. (Our founding fathers apparently struggled to come up with unique place names.)

My favorite road in Fauquier County — VA-688 / Leeds Manor Road — begins/ends along US-17 just south of Paris, so we took that west and south to VA-647 / Crest Hill Road for a spirited ride into Flint Hill, which is where we decided to grab lunch.

We’ve actually eaten at the Griffin Tavern & Restaurant quite a few times. The food is always good, there’s not usually a wait, and the property is pretty. Yes, there are other eateries in Flint Hill, but we haven’t tried them.

That was actually the first time Hubby and I had dined there on a day other than Sunday. We were actually surprised to see that it was much busier than usual, but there was still plenty of room for us, and the service was just as good.

Hubby got the “bar burger” he’d been craving, and I had a Cuban sandwich. I was a bit disappointed at the lack of care that went into the preparation of my sandwich — the contents were all lopsided and spilling out one end of the bread — but it still tasted good. I guess the kitchen staff were feeling rushed?

I’m sort of particular about my sandwiches. The innards ahould always be evenly distributed, not lumped haphazardly in the middle or spilling out the sides. In my opinion.

We were surprised to see this in the parking lot…

Foyer at the Griffin Tavern & Restaurant

See how sloppy this sandwich looks? Eating it was a messy challenge.

Hubby was pleased, as usual, with my picture-taking.

He was actually quite a good sport about giving me a disgusted/impatient look on command for that shot.

By the time we’d finished lunch, it was getting a bit warm. We continued on my planned route, which took us west on VA-641 / Fodderstack Road (becomes VA-606 not far west of town and later turns into VA-628) through Little Washington to US-211. We hung a right there, continuing west toward Sperryville. That’s where we headed south and back east on US-522.

Spotwalla Route — Our actual trip track.

If you’d like to zoom in on the Spotwalla map, CLICK HERE.

The scenery along US-522 is quite lovely as the road undulates across the low foothills east of the ridge.

I’d actually planned to go a bit further east, but since it was getting hot, I opted to head north from Culpeper toward home.

All in all, it was a good day. The girls weren’t at all disappointed that we got home a little sooner than planned. And I still had time to get to the local farm market before it closed to buy some fresh corn on the cob.

We’re both looking forward to the upcoming three-day weekend. Monday is the Labor Day holiday here in the US. Although I do hope to get some chores done and may have a little doggie rescue driving to do, I am hopeful that we’ll get in at least a couple of good rides.

August 30, 2015

Good Eats

Last Sunday, August 23, Hubby planned a ride for us. We’d discussed it briefly the night before, so I knew it would involve a jaunt across the mountains to Luray (pronounced LOO-ray, by the way) for a Hardee’s breakfast. I had no idea where we’d be going after that. But, as many of you know, when you’re on a motorcycle, it’s not usually about the destination, it’s about the ride.

Before we left, he did tell me the route plan included breakfast AND lunch, but that was it. He also mentioned that our route would cover about 200 miles (~322 km), and he may have mentioned it would take about five hours. But I didn’t really care. I was willing to just follow along.

Sometimes, it’s good to just follow with no conscious thought required. Of course, there’s always thought required when riding, but there’s a huge difference between thinking about where you’re going/when your next turn is coming up and letting your mind just sorta wander.

Those of you who don’t ride and wonder whether thought’s required to operate the motorcycle, not really. I’ve been riding for quite a few years, which means it’s all become sort of intuitive. Kind of like driving a car with a manual transmission. You just sorta know when to switch gears, which gear is required, what gear you’re in when you’re moving, etc. My eyes are always scanning the road, shoulders, and vehicles up ahead AND checking the mirrors to see what’s to my rear, but that doesn’t require thought either. It’s all rather automatic.

Sometimes, letting your mind wander is good. That day, I was having a very hard time getting into the zone. In fact, what I’d really wanted to do was hole-up in a dark room and just sleep the day away. The days leading up to Hubby’s Food Ride had been challenging, to say the least. But that’s not me. I know I’m much better off wrenching myself out of the depressive depths — it’s what’s best for me — so I rode along.

On Wednesday, I’d gotten word from Carol, one of my besties since childhood, that her sister had died. Only a year or two shy of her 60th birthday, this sister had struggled with horrible substance abuse issues, compounded by anxiety and depression, for just about all of the 35+ years that I’d known her and her family. I didn’t know the sister well personally, since she was about 10 years older than Carol and I, but I’ve been around her many times over the years and I knew of the havoc and turmoil her family experienced as a result of the sister’s struggle with her many demons.

It’s a tight-knit family, though, and despite the struggles and pain she’d caused, that sister was much loved by Carol, her Mom, her brothers, son, husband, nieces and nephews, friends, extended family, etc. That list goes on and on. It was heartbreaking, to say the least, seeing the family trying to cope in the wake of the sister’s tragic, accidental death. Friday night, I went to the viewing. The funeral was on Saturday. One day I might write about the complex swirl of emotions tied to those events. But there’s a whole lot that goes with it, well beyond the death of someone I didn’t really know personally, but whose family are all as close to me as my own family. For now, just trust me when I say that mentally, on Sunday, I wasn’t in a very good place.

We were HOURS into the ride before I even took my first picture, a scene which Hubby actually said he’d like to have captured. Imagine that!

Hubby had to see The Dyke Store for himself.

Yep, that’s the place I’d visited the prior weekend. I didn’t mind doing a repeat road so soon, though, since Dyke Road is awesome.

From there, we continued meandering through the lovely Virginia Piedmont. And, much to might delight, we stopped in Culpeper for linner (late lunch-early dinner) at Uncle Elder’s BBQ.

I may have mentioned this place before. I even took all of these other pics months ago, but never got around to sharing them with you.

Uncle Elder’s is a small place. There’s an outdoor seating area, but we’ve always dined indoors. The pulled pork BBQ is quite good, but my favorite menu offering is the fried pickle appetizer.

I know I’ve mentioned that here before. I think Dar was even brave enough to try it for herself. My friend Annelies says Americans will fry anything, and she’s right.

If you like pickles, try them fried. They’re best when the pickles are cut into chips, as opposed to spears, and the pickles have to be the really tart kosher dills.

Inside Uncle Elder's — Inside Uncle Elder’s

Hubby likes them just as much as me, but he’d never say, “OMG, we HAVE to go to Uncle Elder’s for some fried pickles.” He’d be more like, “I’m hungry for BBQ.”

I keep forgetting to check and see if they serve beer, which wouldn’t matter if traveling to and fro by bike, but I’ve been telling my local friends that we need to go there for dinner.

It turned out to be a decent day. Riding is great therapy. Truly.

These two are good for helping lift spirits, too.

They don’t look particularly sympathetic, do they? This is their “is it time for our walk” look. But that always makes me smile. I enjoy our walks almost as much as they do.

We went for another ride yesterday, which was awesome, but I’ll save that for another post.