2005 Ride Log

October 19th, 2005. Nothing really to update, just that I have continued to ride the bike to work each day.  We've had beautiful weather.  Of course, I ride right on through the cold weather too.  Absolutely zero rides just for the fun of it though.  I've had the bike serviced in the last month and it has always ran great when the air temp turns cool, so I'm ready for a nice back road ride with the leaves curling up behind the bike.

September 15th, 2005.  166 mile ride to Marion, Virginia.  I took Highway 52 for most of the ride north, but rode  interstates 81 and 77 home.  The day was absolutely miserable, save for the time spent on the road.  The weather was perfect and it was nice to let the wind clear some of the cobwebs out.  Before heading home I discovered a flat rear tire with two nails in it.  I used an air compressor to fill the tire, then found a local tire shop willing to remove the nails and plug the tire. Circumstance made my return to Mayberry critical, so I didn't have time to see if the plugs would hold.  I just hit the highway and let the miles click by. 

August 1st, 2005.  All of my big blocks of time this summer have been spent in the kayak, which has so far has meant a summer with no really long rides on the bike.  But I have commuted on the bike every day.  Who wants to wait for an air conditioner to cool your car off when you can just crank up the bike, hop on and go?

July 8th, 2005. Rode a nice forty mile loop that ran up Piper's Gap, east along the Blue Ridge Parkway, then south on Highway 52.  The weather was perfect, especially on the mountain where it felt ten degrees cooler.  I used my full lunch hour and rode back into the parking lot with bugs splattered all over my face.

July 6th, 2005. Made a thirty-five mile lunchtime ride on 89-East with a back-road loop on Asbury Road and Jessup Road.  My goal was to find a Dan River access-point for my kayak at Joyce's Mill, but the road turned to dirt before getting near the river.

June 16th, 2005. The Virago tripped 21000 while riding across town this morning.  Speaking of old bikes, does anyone else think that the new black and white Harley-Davidson Softail Deluxe is just absolutely awesome.  Beautiful, detachable backrest and saddle bags, sweet whitewalls, the perfect bike for me.

June 15th, 2005. Rode my favorite quick loop, measuring only 55 miles or so.  I go up Highway 52 to Hillsville, take a short ride on 58 going East before going South on Snake Creek Road, quick dog leg on Keno Road before crossing the Parkway to drop off the mountain at Orchard Gap.  Click on the map for more details.

June 13th, 2005. I'm still commuting on the bike every sunny day.

May 9th, 2005. Rode to Hillsville and back on 52 this afternoon.  The eighty degree weather had bikes out all along the way; cruisers, touring bikes, sport bikes, everything.  Now that I'm riding with my no dubbya sticker on the helmet, if I get ran over, you'll know that it was somebody swerving from the far right to do it - ha ha.

May 1st, 2005. I've commuted on the bike solidly all Spring, but haven't taken any joy rides recently. 

March 29th, 2005. Sunny and windy.  35 miles/56km.  Raced to the top of the mountain and back during my lunch hour.  Great ride, really fast, had a blast.

March 28th, 2005.  I took a twenty-five mile early evening ride through the foothills west of town following two days of rain.  I've been riding my bike for almost ten years and enjoy it as much now as the day I started.  Man it's fun to be out on the road, the new just never wears off.

March 21st, 2005.  I went for a nice cool moonlit cruise around town.