Friday 11/13/20 Ride

 Fellow Riders,

• I think I'll take advantage of the above average temperatures and ride into the mountains.  We'll stop along the way for a brief break and return through Cashiers.  If a non-breakfast/lunch ride sounds good to you, we'll leave the Key Mart parking area at 9 am, and return between noon and 12:30.  Hope to see you there.   Steve

• This turned out to be the largest group we've had in a while. Riders joining me today were Len, Dan, Neil Ray, Rich, Russ, John, Terry and David D.  I modified the planned ride due to some lingering fog and rain in the mountains.  I took us east before we cruised up Hwy 176 and stopped in Rosman, NC for a break. As we were heading east, you could see the mountains and it seemed like a good idea to wait before heading north.  David was late getting to our departure site, but managed to catch us in Rosman.  It turned out to be another great day to be on two wheels.     Steve

Friday 11/06/20 Ride

 Fellow Riders,

• I plan on taking the route I was going to take last week and head south for a ride around Lake Hartwell.  We'll make a stop along the way for a short break.  If this non-breakfast/lunch ride works for you, we'll leave the Key Mart parking area at 9 am.  We should be back between noon and 12:30 pm.  Hope to see you there.   Steve

Lake Hartwell Dam - Georgia

• It was a beautiful fall day for a ride.  Joining me today were Len, Dan, John, and Neil.  Bill stopped by to deliver a couple issues of Full Throttle Magazine (his article is on page 36, of the November issue hard copy, page 38, of the e-zine.)  As we headed south, we could still see a lot of downed trees along the roads that Zeta had blown over last week, but the roads were clear for our bikes.  I wanted to avoid any less traveled roads that may still have debris, so we took familiar highways 187 and 29 toward Hartwell.  We made a stop for a brief break before proceeding through Hartwell.  The sun and temps were great as we meandered along Hwy 77 toward home.  When we were going through Seneca, you could still see a lot of the damage caused by the tornado back in April.  No doubt 2020 has been a crazy year, even with severe weather.  Overall though, it was another great day on two wheels.   Steve

Hurricane Zeta and some powerful winds

Friday 10/23/20 Ride

 Fellow Riders,

• We seem to be in a great fall weather pattern and I plan to ride this Friday.  It looks like some fog may hang around in the higher elevations, so I thought I would stay in the lower elevations and head toward Clayton.  If you're up for a non-breakfast/lunch ride, let's plan on leaving the Key Mart parking area at 9 am.  Hope to see you there.     Steve

• The skies looked a little suspect and radar had indicated some rain passed through Clayton earlier, but we still had seven riders today.  Those joining me included Dan, Gary, John, Terry, Neil, and Bob B.  I was getting more nervous about rain as we made our way west and the clouds seemed to be growing darker the farther we went.  I even had a few raindrops, or maybe drips from some overhanging trees, hit my windscreen.  We kept going and ultimately got onto Unity Church road to get back to Hwy 76.  After a stop at the Marathon Station in Long Creek, a couple of riders headed back toward home and some errands. The rest of us continued toward Clayton and veered left onto Seed Tick Road, which had some tricky hazards to navigate around - gravel in particular.  It's a scenic ride when you go this way and end up coming into Clayton from the west.  Of course, when you're in Clayton and want to head home, you really do have to take Warwoman Road.  This time of year is always great for seeing some spectacular colors while enjoying the many curves. Overall, it was another great day on two wheels.   Steve

Friday 10/16/20 Ride

Fellow Riders,

• I'm planning to ride this Friday, but haven't decided on a route yet.  A couple of the weather apps I use indicate a slight chance of precipitation in the mountains Friday morning.  I'm sure we can get a ride in, just not yet sure exactly where we'll go.  If a non-breakfast/lunch ride sounds good to you, we'll leave the Key Mart parking area at 9 am, and be back between noon and 12:30 pm. Hope to see you there.    Steve

• The mountains looked like there may be fog, so I went with the non-mountain option.  Joining me were Len, Dan, Gary, Steve (W), David D., Neil, and Rich.  I planned a route that paralleled Hwy 11 toward Campobello.  For newer riders, this route provided some exposure to the many varieties of riding you can have in this area.  We passed the Poinsett Bridge as we traveled through Greenville County. You cannot see it from the road, but the photo below shows it quite well.  The break may have been a little too far, but we did stop at Hwy 14 and Hwy 11 for a little relief before heading home.  It was another mostly overcast  Friday, but still a great day on two wheels.   Steve

Poinsett Bridge

Friday 10/09/20 Ride

 Fellow Riders,

• Another good day for a fall ride is coming up this Friday.  I plan to take a ride into the mountains that should have us home between noon and 12:30 pm.  If a non-breakfast/lunch ride works for you, we'll plan on leaving the Key Mart parking area at 9 am.  Hope to see you there.    Steve

Hoping for a mountain ride like this!

• Well, as often happens, the weather did not cooperate as well as I thought it would.  I heard sprinkles around 7 this morning, and so I checked the radar.  There seemed to be a line of rain running parallel to Hwy 64, so I decided to ride closer to Seneca in case something did pop up.  Joining me today were Gary, John, and first time rider Bob - welcome Bob.  As we headed out on our route, The skies did look fairly dark to the north.  We took Coffee Road to West Union and then Hwy 24 toward Anderson before taking Hwy 187 to meander through the Clemson experimental forest.  The ride lasted a little over 90 minutes, and the skies still were quite overcast and intimidating toward the north and west.  It was still a great day on two wheels.    Steve

This is what we got... 

Maybe next Friday will be better!