Friday 06/30/17 Ride

Fellow Riders,

• Sorry to be such a candy ass but the weather forecast for Friday does not look good, therefore I am not planning a ride.  I suspect I shall spend the day pouting because I don’t like riding in the rain.  Those who thumb their nose at Mother Nature or need a bike wash can still meet at the Key Mart parking area and select a destination and ride leader at that time.     Dan

OG Bob demonstrates his technique to ensure underside of bike gets clean.....
Maybe there will be one rider after all.......

Friday 06/23/17 Ride

Fellow Riders,

• Friday it seems the best weather for riding will be mid-day so I plan to ride on up to Brevard, NC and try to get into Mayberry’s Soups and Sandwiches for some lunch.  I know Steve did a great job starting the breakfast trend but I’m thinking the roads may still be wet if we go too early so I’m going to hold off a bit.  If you can join me let’s plan to leave the Key Mart parking area about 10:30 AM this Friday.  Hope to see you there.     Dan

Mayberry's Menu

• Per Dan's plan, the roads had pretty much dried out for the ride today, and nine riders joined in for the ride to Brevard.  The other riders included Gadget, David D., Gary, me, Russ, Bob D., Terry, Ed, and OG Bob.  Dan had us zigging and zagging through Pickens County and we found ourselves on Cleo Chapman Highway, heading for Hwy 178, to go north.  The rain and wind over the past couple days left a lot of debris in the road, and a chunk of tree branch in the road caused one rider to go off the highway and into some soft grass.  Fortunately, he was not hurt (and doing fine according to an email from Dan) and very little was damaged on his bike. He decided that was enough of a ride today, so he headed back home.  The rest of us followed Dan on the winding mountain roads up to Brevard and took the first parking spots we could find once we were in town.  Mayberry's is a nice restaurant, and we found enough seats at the counter for the nine of us.  Once we seated ourselves, we learned you had to order at the counter and they bring your food out to you.  So, we formed a long line at the register.  The order taking was a little slow, and only one guy was working the grill in the back.  We did all get served, but Dan was nearly done by the time the last person was served.  Oh well, now we know their process.  The food was quite tasty and once everyone was done, OG Bob was looking for others to join him for a quick ride to the Brevard Music Center.  The company OG Bob was with prior to retirement, designed, built, and installed the performance venue there, in addition to supplying the music stands and equipment to support the music.  The other riders headed for home, and I joined OG Bob for a stop at the Music Center.  Fortunately, we saw Keith Lockhart, Artistic Director for the Center and conductor of the Boston Pops, conducting practice with a group of high school age students, from all over the world, for an upcoming performance.  It is a spectacular venue and a fantastic setting.  After we soaked in a little Beethoven, we made our way home via the always fun Hwy 64.  It was another great day on two wheels because it was a fun ride and everyone made it home safely.   Steve

They must REALLY like spring at Mayberry's

Keith Lockhart, Artistic Director - Brevard Music Center, and Conductor of the Boston Pops

Friday 06/16/17 Breakfast Ride

Fellow Riders,

• This is the week Dan will see if the golf he played in Michigan improved his game enough to put him at the top of the member/guest winners list.  In the meantime, I thought I'd plan a breakfast ride to beat the heat and threat of afternoon thunderstorms.  I plan to head to Zookeeper Bistro in Cashiers.  That will be close enough that we can alter our route as needed to miss the rain, or take a long route home.  If you're interested, meet me at the Key Mart parking area for an 8:30 am departure.    Steve

The Zookeeper Bistro - Breakfast Menu

• It was a truly fine day for a breakfast ride to Cashiers.  There were nine riders, including me that came out for the ride.  The other riders included David D., Rob, Gary G., Terry, Bill, Pat, Neil, and of course OG Bob.  We took a familiar route and enjoyed the cool mountain air as we gained elevation.  Zookeepers easily accommodated our group of nine at one table.  We kind of looked like the "Knights of the Roundtable" - not really.  The staff was pretty quick with lots of coffee and water to get us going.  They also did a great job of getting the food out for all of us at the same time, and while it was still hot.  A big favorite was the caramel apple pecan french toast, which some of the riders justified as fruit, grain, and protein.  Even our server said that sounded like a valid loophole.  Most of the others had some variation of eggs and all the food was quite good.  We took the long way to get home by heading north, traveling around Lake Glenville.  This is a great route for the views and curves.  I did manage to get everyone to practice their slow speed maneuvering skills by completing a u-turn when I missed a turn.  Practice makes perfect, right?  Eventually, you come out on Hwy 64 west of Highlands.  This is still one of my favorite sections of highway anywhere.  I took us through Highlands to see if we would lose OG Bob when we passed Colonel Mustards or Kilwins, but he maintained his discipline and stayed with us.  The temperature rose quickly as we got closer to Salem.  It was another great day on two wheels and a breakfast ride a great choice.   Steve

Lake Glenville

Friday 06/09/17 Ride

Fellow riders,

• While Dan is honing his golf skills at an undisclosed location in Michigan in preparation for the upcoming Member/Guest golf outing, I thought I would try again to go to the Purple Onion in Saluda.  If you're interested in two wheels on the open road versus four wheels on the fairway, you can meet me at the Key Mart parking area for a 10:30 am departure.  Hope you can make it.    Steve

The Purple Onion

• The temperature and humidity were at just the right levels to make it a most enjoyable day to ride for the seven people that came to Key Mart.  The riders, including me, were Rob, Gary, Russ, Bill G., Ed, and new rider Neil (Welcome!).  We set out through Pickens County and then into Greenville county as we then headed up through the Greenville watershed area.  The air was cooler as we rode through the heavily forested area on our way to Soluda and it felt great.  Old Hwy 25 is a fabulous road, but could definitely use a new layer of pavement.  Not uncommon, once you cross into North Carolina, the road surfaces are much better.  It seems they do put their gas tax to good use.  It turned out to be quite a day for nature.  We saw a turkey that appeared to be playing "chicken" with the traffic, and a couple of turtles trying desperately to cross the road.  In addition to these, we saw a couple of cats crossing the road and even a snake on the way home.  When we arrived in Soluda, the riders behind me couldn't understand why I passed up two perfectly open parking spots directly across from the restaurant.  It was only after they all parked, and were getting off their bikes, that Ed announced the spots were for loading/unloading trucks only.  Once they all moved down the street to other open spots, we made it to The Purple Onion, and thanks to a call ahead by Paulette, we had a table for seven all set up on the patio.  It was a perfect day for some outside dining.  Our server was good and, as Rob noted, gave us the word of the day - "awesome."  Everything, whether it was our water, food, or anything else, was awesome.  They do have good food and it came in a reasonable time.  The soup/sandwich combo was popular as usual, and the reuben's were also quite tasty.  We enjoyed the leisurely lunch, but it took as long to get our checks and pay as it did to order and eat.  Like several commented, you think it wouldn't take so long to give them money.  Oh well.  We left Saluda and headed home by way of Tryon.  The stretch of Hwy 176 between these two towns is great.  After that, the ride was good, but more on the boring side as we rode several miles on Hwys 11 and 8.  Although there were a few dark clouds in the Soluda area, we were in no danger of getting wet.  It was another great day on two wheels.      Steve

I thought I'd share this photo I just received from a bike dealer in southern Indiana.
I'm told it's OG Bob taking the salesman for a ride on a potential new bike........