Friday 6/26/15 Ride

Fellow Riders,

• Because it is so hot I’m thinking earlier will provide some heat relief and more fun on the Harley so I am planning to do a BREAKFAST RIDE, this time to the Sunrise Café in Brevard, NC.  They usually do a pretty good breakfast.  In order to be a true breakfast ride I plan to go as directly as possible (11 to 178 to 64) and probably take a less than direct route home.  If that sounds like something you might enjoy than plan to join me leaving the Key Mart parking area about 8:30 AM this Friday.  Hope to see you there.   Dan

The Sunrise Café

• Just another gorgeous Friday morning in the Upstate of South Carolina and a perfect time to ride up into the mountains for some breakfast.  Eight riders joined Dan for a cool and refreshing ride to The Sunrise Cafe in Brevard.  The riders included Lesley, me, David D., Jim (wing), Rob, Steve G., Bob, and Ed.  There really is no quick way to Brevard, but Dan did stick to his plan to get us there while breakfast was still being served.  They have really good food and the menu always has some great selections.  The only challenge is being able to read the colorful, but high on the wall menu board.  We arrived just ahead of a lot of customers so we had plenty of seat selection.  Even with the many seats to choose from, we managed to take a table from a very nice grandmotherly woman who then had to find another table.  The ride back was a little longer and took us on some roads we had not traveled previously.  Dan chose a route that took full advantage of the many winding and curvy roads between Hwy 276 and 178.  We could definitely feel the heat by the time we made our stop at Durham's to fill up.  It was another great day on two wheels.   Steve

A hard to read menu, but some great food and friendly service.

Trip Advisor - The Sunrise Café

Always interesting art on the walls of the cafe.

Friday 6/19/15 Ride

Fellow Riders,

• It looks like Dan will be burning up the golf course and not the roads this Friday, but I still want to ride.  Based on the heat and potential for afternoon rain, I think I'll head out from Key Mart at 8:30, Friday morning.  I was thinking of heading up to the Highlands area for some breakfast.  Maybe I'll see you in the parking lot tomorrow.   Steve

You just have to find the right prescription !!!!

• Six riders, including me, decided an early morning ride was a good choice today.  Joining me were Lesley, Gadget, Jim (wing), Pat, and Bob.  I led the group today, but unlike Dan, I guess I left before everyone was ready.  In the words of Rick Perry, "oops!"  Lacking the deep knowledge of the many Oconee back roads, I took familiar roads over to Hwy 28 so we could make our way to Highlands.  The temps were great on the way up the mountain as we zigged and zagged through the curves.  I was looking for The Sports Page Sandwich Shoppe and their big blue awning.  However, as you can see in the photo below, there is no awning at this time.  This caused me to make an embarrassing turn around, but oh well.  The breakfast was good and so was the service.  It was not crowded, but you could tell a lot of locals frequented the place.  For the ride back we opted to head toward Cashiers and head down the mountain.  Some of us made the left onto Wigington, while others continued on toward Walhalla.  We were turned back when we got to Hwy130 due to a big accident south of the intersection that involved some heavy equipment, according to a worker blocking traffic.  Hope no one was hurt, but he said there were all kinds of vehicles at the scene.  By the time we got back to Walhalla, the temps and humidity were on the rise.  Also, as I write this, the rain is starting to fall.  Fortunately, an early departure made this another great day on two wheels.   Steve

Website version of how the place looks...

Actual photo of how it looked today...  I can see how I missed it.

Friday 6/4/15 Ride

Fellow Riders,

• I plan to try another breakfast ride this Friday and scoot on over to Clayton, GA for some breakfast at the Clayton Café.  Wednesday’s breakfast ride worked out pretty good and those of us that went were able to just miss the mountain rain storms and make it back to KK totally dry.  The forecast for Friday is calling for PM storms again (what’s new?) and I’m hoping that by doing a breakfast ride we can beat it back to KK before any bad stuff happens.  If you would like to join me let’s plan to leave the Key Mart parking area about 8:30 AM this Friday and beat the heat.  Hopefully, the roads are dry at that time and I see you then.   Dan

Facebook - Clayton Cafe

• A morning breakfast ride was welcomed by 10 riders on a clear and comfortable South Carolina morning.  I'm not sure if the appeal was breakfast, or avoiding the threat of afternoon showers that brought out Dan, Lesley, Len, Rob, Jim, Bill (US Rider News), me, Pat, Dave D., and Ed, but everyone seemed eager for the ride.  We made our way west to Hwy 28 and headed for Clayton.  Dan took us onto Whetston from 28 to make it over to 76, passing by orchards as we motored along.  Just like the movies, we pulled up in front of the Cafe, and there was plenty of parking for our 10 bikes.  We placed our drink and food orders fairly quickly and sat back waiting for our coffee.  Egg dishes were quite popular with the group, and I tried something new - sweet potato pancakes.  They tasted good and quite a lot like pumpkin pancakes I've had before.  Once through with our breakfast, we headed for an old favorite - Warwoman Road. We got off to a slow start behind a pick-up that was in no hurry at all.  We finally hit an open stretch and made our way around the truck, picking up the pace through the curves.  Once we got onto Playground near Walhalla, the group broke up and headed in different directions.  The rains did eventually come, but we were all dry and had another great day on two wheels.   Steve

Trip Advisor - Clayton Cafe

A version of this was on the wall in the restroom......