Friday 09/02/16 Ride

Fellow Riders,

• It seems I missed a good ride last Friday.  Fortunately, a member of the wedding party was a Harley rider, so I had someone to commiserate with.  Definitely not the same as riding one’s cycle.  This Friday I figured it would be OK to get back to our traditional lunch schedule.  Speaking of traditions, we usually do a jaunt on the Blue Ridge Parkway so I would like to try that again by going to LuLu’s on Main in Sylva, NC.  Hope you can join me for this one.    Dan

Lulu's on Main

Trip Advisor - Lulu's on Main

• Six riders came to Key Mart for a ride to Sylva, NC today.  However, Dan called an "audible" and we headed to Clayton, GA instead.  Although the upstate, north of I85, seemed to be outside the projected cone of the storm track, I believe Dan was looking at the skies and radar, guessing the storm may be headed our way in spite of the forecasts.  There was no disagreement among the other riders which included Gadget, Lesley (great to have her back after many weeks away, and many miles away from her home on the coast), Len, me, Bob B., and OG Bob.  Rumor Hazit is always a good choice and gives us an opportunity to take a ride on War Woman.  Sue had called in and a table was waiting for us when we arrived.  They have great sandwiches and the grouper ruben is always my favorite.   Lesley made an early exit to get back home, and Bob B. went to visit a friend in the area after we finished lunch.  The remaining four of us left Clayton and worked our way through the flashing red light at Hwy 441 (no fun when trying to cross a 4 lane highway this busy).  There was some mist on the windshield as we rode east on Hwy 76, but no other rain was encountered.  It was a good call to not get on the Parkway which certainly would have cloudy vistas that are not that impressive.  Even with the gray skies, it was another great day on two wheels.     Steve

http://www.rumorhazit.us/

Friday 08/26/16 Ride

Fellow Riders,

• Dan will be out of town again this week, so I thought I would head to Anderson for breakfast at Eggs Up Grill.  Although the heat isn't quite as bad in the afternoon as it has been, there still seems to be a moderate threat of rain around noon.  If you can make it, I'll see you in the Key Mart parking lot for an 8:30 am departure.     Steve

Eggs Up Grill

• Clear skies, temps on the rise, and a definite dose of humidity in the air greeted the dozen riders that came for a ride to Anderson today.  Along with me were Gadget, Len, Russ, Steve G., Bill, Pat, David D., Charley and his buddy John from Michigan, Ed, and O.G. Bob.  We managed to try some new and interesting roads as we drove through Anderson County on our way to Eggs Up Grill.  When we arrived at the restaurant they set us up quickly with a table for 12.  The menu actually had a sub-menu of French Toast.  This was just too overwhelming for an unnamed rider,  so he went with a full waffle instead.  It did have a sliver of fruit.  The server used an app on his phone to take our orders - he plugged in what we wanted and "sent" it to the kitchen after every four orders.  It worked well and I didn't hear any complaints about an incorrect order.   They did a great job and the good food came quickly.  After breakfast, Charley and John were off to the Harley Dealer and the rest of us went west on Hwy 24.  We had a bonus stop on our route home when Gadget took us to his place so we could see whats going on in his enormous garage. He's proven you really can put a lot of stuff in a 40 x 60 garage.  Gadget also gave us a demo of his plasma cutting machine.  He can make some pretty interesting cuts.  Outside, the heat was continuing to build, so the rest of us made our way home and to get into our air conditioned cribs.  It was another great day on two wheels.   Steve

Why get the little waffle when you can have a whole waffle.......

Friday 08/19/16 Ride

Fellow Riders,

• I finally got back and I’m mostly glad, not much improvement in the weather but I do get to ride.  Thanks to Steve Davis for keeping the rubber rolling while I was gone.   Since the afternoons continue to be hot and stormy I plan to continue the ride to breakfast trend.  This Friday I figured I would get some breakfast at BJ’s Family Restaurant in Toccoa, GA, going mostly straight there then taking the back roads to get home before it gets too hot.  I’m hoping you all can join me.      Dan

Trip Advisor - BJ's Restaurant

• It was an overcast morning when 12 riders arrived at the Key Mart parking area for a ride to Georgia.  The temps were good, and the lack of sun was just fine.  It made for a very comfortable ride to BJ's.  The riders following Dan's lead were Gadget, Len, David D., Steve G., Rob, me, Russ, Pat, Bill (he brought along the latest edition of Full Throttle Magazine), Ed, and O.G. Bob.  Lesley stopped by to say hello, but once again, she wasn't able to ride along.  Sounds like things are good in Hilton Head.  Interesting to note, when I led the past two weeks, there were six riders.  When Dan returns, there are 12..... Hmmmm.... I'm sure it's just the restaurant choice. Dan kept to his plan and we took a fairly direct route to Toccoa and as usual, Sue did us proud and a table for 12 was all set and the servers were waiting for us.   They even allowed us in the main dining room instead of our usual spot in the back.  We determined they may only be able to cook six meals at a time.  Half the table was nearly done by the time the rest of the group was served.  The good food and the friendly servers made the wait tolerable.  One unnamed  rider was trying to convince us his French toast with a blueberry compote was vegan and free of gluten, fat, and sugar.  You can always trust a Jersey guy, right?  The ride home turned out to be more scenic than expected when a couple of bikini-clad girls were spotted sunning along a bridge. When they heard the Harley's they gave us a big wave.   Fortunately, it was a one-lane bridge and there were no mishaps, or heart attacks.   It really was another great day on two wheels.     Steve  

Vegan and free of gluten, fat, and sugar???

These could be the girls we saw from the bridge.....

Friday 08/12/16 Ride

Fellow Riders,

• Dan's still away, so I thought I would head over to The Starving Artist Cafe in Easley.  The chance of rain starts to increase around noon, so Easley should be close enough to get a ride in before any rain arrives.  For those that can make it, I'll see you at the Key Mart parking area for an 8:30 am departure on Friday.  If the forecast deteriorates by Friday morning, I'll send an email out around 7:30 am.  It's hard to trust those weather forecasters.    Steve

ps, their French Toast does come with fruit.......

Trip Advisor - The Starving Artist Cafe

• It was a little like dancing around the rain today for the six of us that made the ride to Easley. Those joining me were Gadget, Len, Rob, Ed, and O. G. Bob.  It was very humid, but the radar did not indicate any rain would interfere with the ride, so we made our way over to The Starving Artist Cafe.  We took some familiar roads, like Belle Schoals, and wound our way through the countryside.  The restaurant was not busy.  They saw us coming in and put together a table for the six of us.  The server did an okay job, and may have been new, but we did get the drinks we wanted and they got all the orders correct.  Midway through the breakfast, we noticed the rain was really coming down outside.  By the time we finished, the rain had stopped and we were left with some wet bikes.  O. G. Bob was the only one glad to see the rain because he now considered his bike to be "washed" instead of dirty.  We headed north on Hwy 135, and only encountered a few sprinkles as we tried to avoid the really dark clouds.  The route worked out well, and by the time we made it to Durhams for gas, the sky was getting blue. Not a lot of miles covered today, but we did stay prettydry.  Even with a dirty bike, it was another great day on two wheels.    Steve

Lyle Lovett and his Large Band..
Enjoy the show Rob....

Lyle Lovett & His Large Band - That´s Right You´re Not From Texas

Friday 8/05/16 Ride

Fellow Riders,

• Dan will be out of town this week, so I thought I would take a ride to The Village Bakery and Cafe in Pendleton for breakfast.  After looking at the weather.com crystal ball, it seems the rain may be coming earlier to the mountains this week so heading south may work out better.  Meet me at 8:30 am, at the Key Mart Parking area if you can make it.    Steve

The Village Bakery & Cafe

• The skies were gray and the air was heavy, but no immediate rain threat meant there were six riders to make a trip to Pendleton.  Those riding along with me included Len, Rob, Russ, Ed, and O.G. Bob.  As we were about to leave, Lesley drove up to wish us a good ride.  She said she just didn't have a minute to spare to go along.  Hopefully, she'll be able to join us on a ride in the near future.  The ride to Pendleton was on some back roads through Pickens and Anderson County and it was not long before we were there.  When we walked in, it was as if someone had called Sue to make arrangements like she always does.  A table for six was set up and waiting for us.  The server was friendly and got us coffee right away.  What we didn't know, was the kitchen was backed up and it took over 45 minutes to get our food.  When we got the food, as usual, it was great and very filling.  To make up for the slow service, our server brought us a tray of lemon and peach pastry "appetizers" and also did not charge us for our coffee.  No one likes to wait, but they did try to make it up to us.  With no sign of imminent rain, we took a route through the Clemson Experimental Forest and headed to Hwy 24.  I made one turn too early, and ended up on a road that would have eventually taken us across the water.  Since we were on bikes and not wave runners, Len (he has an internal GPS) baled me out and got me back on track.  The skies got a little dark a couple times, but no rain.  This helped make it another great day on two wheels.    Steve

A popular choice today by some unnamed riders.  Note - it does include fruit.