Friday 09/29/17 Ride

Fellow Riders,

• I'm going to be out of town this Friday.  Dan should be back, but he may not have time to plan a ride in advance.  I would recommend meeting at Key Mart and be ready for a 10:30 departure.  Also, come with a destination in mind in case Dan doesn't have one.   See you next week.      Steve

Okay, we're ready!!  Where are we going?

Friday 09/20/17 Lunch Ride

Fellow Riders,

• It seems the hurricanes just keep coming, but Friday is looking good for a ride up to Hendersonville, NC, for lunch at Mean Mr. Mustard Cafe.  If that sounds good to you, let's plan to leave the Key Mart parking area at 10:30.  Hope to see you there.     Steve

Trip Advisor - Mean Mr. Mustard Cafe

• It felt a lot like a hot August morning on this first day of fall 2017.  The high humidity wasn't enough, though, to keep seven riders from wanting to take a ride to higher elevations.  Joining me today were Len (weary traveler - welcome back), Russ, David D., Gary, Bob D., and Doug.  The route we took was on familiar roads through Pickens and Greenville counties as we wound our way north.  The air started to feel good around 2,000 feet, and the humidity was not as bad.  I took chance on not calling ahead, and it worked out just fine.  A couple of empty tables were on the shaded front porch.  With two servers taking care of us, we got our drinks and food in good time.  One of the tables must have been a little confused, thinking todays ride was a "breakfast" ride.  However, the pancakes and bacon they ordered did look quite good.  The rest of us took advantage of their Beatles themed menu and the sandwiches and soup were also quite good.  On the way south, we stopped at Sky Top Orchard and had our fill of fresh and hot cinnamon donuts and cider - JUST KIDDING! OG Bob, we couldn't be that mean to you....  The ride home got hotter and more humid as we dropped down a 1,000 feet.  Overall, it was another great day on two wheels.      Steve

Stairway to the Beatles

We missed Dan this week as he was off
to a bicycle ride.  I assumed that, he would,
you know, be riding a bicycle.......

We missed OG Bob, as well.
He sent this photo of he and
his family rehearsing for a
diversity parade in Camden....

Friday 09/15/17 Ride

Fellow Riders,

• It looks like the next hurricane, Josè, has decided to give the US a break.  So, this Friday looks like a good day to ride.  I thought we could head north to Kostas Family Restaurant in Dillsboro, NC.  If you're up for riding, and have the branches picked up in your yard (thanks a lot Irma), meet me at the Key Mart parking area for a 10:30 am departure.   Hope to see you there.    Steve

Kostas Family Restaurant

• The weather was once again great for a ride.  A total of 9 riders, including myself, came out for the trip up the mountain to Kostas.  The other riders included Dan, Neil, Bob D., Doug, Russ, Gary, David D., and of course OG Bob.  With the tropical storm force winds a few days earlier thanks to Irma, there was some concern roads may be blocked.  After a check of the NC DOT website and a phone call to confirm, the NC roads were clear and available for the ride.  However, I had seen nothing that indicated Wigington Road, the SC road between Hwy's 130 and 107, was closed.  It was nice that the county actually had signs up and we didn't have to go a couple of miles and turn around.  This changed my planned route, buy Hwy 64 and 107, are always fun to drive.  You could see a lot of evidence of the storm along the way, but the roads were in pretty good shape, except for a couple of miles of 64 that were being mowed.  We arrived on schedule and thanks to the call ahead by Paulette, they had a table set up for us.  The gyro's were quite a popular choice and they were quite good as usual.  After lunch, a few riders took a different route back that included Hwy's 441 and 76, while the rest of us followed the river along South River road, and then took the same route home we had taken to get there.  The wildlife viewed today included a couple of very luck otters that managed to make it across the very busy Hwy 107 along Lake Glenville, and a healthy looking red fox that decided to duck back in to the woods as got close to Salem.  The ride was not exactly as I had planned, but with the great weather, it was another great day on two wheels.    Steve

Friday 09/08/17 Ride

Fellow Riders,

• I'm thinking we can get a lunch ride in this Friday as long as Irma doesn't hit the gas as it heads north.  I'm planning to go to Larkin's Carolina Grill in Columbus, NC.  If you're ready for a ride, let's leave the Key Mart parking area at 10:30 am.  I appreciate all the rides Dan has planned.  It gets a little tough planning around the recent surge in hurricane activity.    Steve

Larkin's Carolina Grill

Trip Advisor - Larkin's Carolina Grill

Definitely want to avoid this one!!

• Since the weather folks are spending so much time giving all the bad weather to Texas and Florida, we were able to have a perfect day in the SC Upstate to make a lunch ride to Larkins in Columbus, NC.  Those joining me for the ride today were Dan, Bill (latest Full Throttle Mag), David  D. (guaranteeing a Tiger victory in Clemson on Saturday - could be Clemson, could be Auburn), Gary, Terry, Russ, Doug C. (new rider - welcome), Rob, and in his usual spot OG Bob.  Kind of like the fashion rule to not wear white after Labor Day, OG Bob's rule is it's time to wear the orange gloves after Labor Day, cold temps or not.  The route today took us on some familiar roads and also a couple that were new to most of us.  It was pointed out that we passed a lot of fire houses as we worked our way through Pickens and Greenville counties.  When we arrived at Larkins, they were ready for us thanks to Paulette making the reservation.  The sign board listed the daily special - home made pimento cheese with ham sandwich, and it was almost unanimously ordered.  The very hot firehouse burger (this rider must have been inspired by all the fire houses we passed) was the only exception.  The service was good and so was the food.  The sandwich special and French onion soup were definite hits.  The ride home took us to Saluda on the winding and fun Hwy 176 and then south through the Greenville Watershed area.   (Note to Len - I didn't miss the River Rd turn this time.) The scenery in the watershed is great, but it sure would be nice to see Old Hwy 25 resurfaced.  Several of the riders peeled off as we got closer to home and stopped for the post ride fill-up.  Overall, it was another great day on two wheels.     Steve

 

I received a photo of our fellow rider and retired pilot checking out a potential new ride........