- 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 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
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| 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........ |
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