Friday 08/31/18 Ride

Fellow Riders,

• Friday’s weather forecast is currently iffy, however, should it be dry enough to ride I plan to head on over to Traveler’s Rest for some breakfast at Upcountry Provisions.  If it is wet out then I’m out, but that decision can be made Friday morning.  Weather permitting, I hope to see you Friday morning, 8:30 AM at the Key Mart parking area.    Dan

Trip Advisor - Up Country Bakery & Cafe

Keowee Key Friday Motorcycle Group Blog - Up Country Bakery & Cafe 06/08/18

Friday 08/24/18 Ride

Fellow Riders,

• With a cooler forecast and some dry weather, I still think breakfast will fill the bill for a ride this Friday.  I thought I would head to The Cupboard Cafe in Dillard, GA.  It pushes the one hour target for getting to breakfast, but they do have some great food.  If this sounds like a good ride for you, we'll leave the Key Mart parking area at 8:30 am.  Hope to see you there.    Steve

Trip Advisor - The Cupboard Cafe

• There were eleven riders that came to Key Mart today to make the trek to The Cupboard Cafe in Dillard.  The weather, in a word, was perfect!  The jackets were a little heavier than usual for late August, but the ride up the mountain was very refreshing after a hot and humid summer.  The riders joining me were Dan, David, Russ, Gary, Terry, Doug, Jeff, Bill, Pat, and Ed.  Trying to keep as close as possible to the one hour ride target to get to our breakfast destination, the route covered some familiar roads and was generally, the most direct route.  We made it there in about 65 minutes, but there were no complaints.  Thanks to a call ahead by Paulette, they knew we were coming, but we still had to wait a few minutes for them to get the typical "room in the back" ready for this group of bikers.  Our server, Madison, did a great job getting us our coffee and taking our orders.  She seemed very organized, and the food came out in a reasonable amount of time.  Once we saw the stack of pancakes, eggs, etc., etc., that hungry David got, we did understand why one side of the table did have to wait a few minutes longer to get their order.  The food here is always good and variations on eggs seemed to be the choice for most people.  After the relaxing lunch, most of us continued our ride north and east toward Highalnds, NC.  This is one of my favorite rides when you start out on GA 246 and wind your way up the mountain and past the entrance to Sky Valley Country Club.  As we enter North Carolina we continue with nice sweeping curves as we drive along the base of Scaly Mountain before arriving in Highlands.  On Fridays around lunch time, it's always a good idea to take a couple of the back streets to get around downtown Highlands and hook up with Hwy 64.  The rest of the ride was great with the temperatures holding in a very comfortable range.  Overall, it was another great day on two wheels.    Steve

Scaly Mountain viewed from Rabun Bald - Wikipedia

Friday 08/17/18 Ride

Fellow Riders,

• Dan is still away, so I thought I would head to Anderson to Eggs Up Grill for some breakfast.  The forecast doesn't look great for heading up the mountains, so staying in the flat lands may be a better option this week.  If this will work for you, we can meet in the Key Mart parking lot for an 8:30 am departure.  Hope to see you there.     Steve

Eggs Up Grill - Anderson

• The cloud cover this morning kept the heat down, a little, as 10 of us took a ride to Eggs Up Grill in Anderson.  Those joining me included Len, David, Pat, Ray, Jeff (welcome, a new rider from California), Pat, Terry, Gary, OG Bob, and Neil.  This was the first week back for several riders who made the trip to Sturgis this year.  Sounds like it was, surprise, a lot of fun.  With this being the move-in week at Clemson, I routed us well away from the campus.  You can find some curvy roads and a few trees on a ride to Anderson and we managed to do that today.  It's always fun to hear other riders say they had no idea where we were.  A table for 10 was awaiting us (thanks PED) when we arrived.  Our server took good care of us and got our drinks in good time.  The service was pretty good and the food arrived without any long delays, which can happen with a big group.  After a leisurely breakfast, (I'm sworn to secrecy on who ordered a "dessert" of French toast), we headed north out of Anderson and crossed back to the west through Liberty for the ride home.  The skies were still overcast, but we had no threat of rain for our ride through the Anderson and Pickens counties.  Overall, it was another great day on two wheels.     Steve

Although tempting, no one bought any T-Shirts......

Friday 08/10/18 Ride

Fellow Riders,

• Dan and I will both be out of town this Friday, and will not be planning a breakfast ride.  If you plan to ride, you should meet at the Key Mart parking area at 8:30 am, and select a ride leader and destination for breakfast.  Hopefully, you'll have some dry weather for a good ride.        Steve

Agreed!!!

Friday 08/03/18 Ride

Fellow Riders,

• Based on the current forecast for Friday morning, I won't be planning a ride.  If the weather forecast improves, I'll send out an email Thursday evening.     Steve