Friday 09/27/19 Ride

Fellow Riders,

• Apparently, summer is ignoring the calendar and sticking around, keeping afternoon temps in the 90's.  It seems like a cool breakfast ride is still a good choice for this Friday.  I thought I would head to Travelers Rest for some breakfast at Upcountry Provisions.  If you want to join me, we'll leave the Key Mart parking area at 8:30 am.  Hope to see you there.      Steve

Upcountry Provisions - Facebook

• Seven riders joined me for the ride to Travelers Rest today.  The other riders included Gary, Dan (Leader Emeritus - welcome back after a long absence), Charley A., Steve G., Harve, Ed, and Neil.  It was another great fall/summer day in the Upstate as we proceeded on our route to TR via the back roads of Pickens and Greenville counties.  The roads are definitely more rough than they were when I first started riding behind Dan eight years ago.  The good part of this route is there is very little traffic as we made our way to the restaurant.  Upcountry has very tasty food and some good looking baked goods, but you can't be in a hurry or expect diner size portions.  The egg dishes are cooked in mini iron skillets and they do come out hot.  We sat outside to enjoy the nice weather as ultimately, everyone's meal arrived.  There was some confusion with Ed's order, but eventually it seemed to work out.  After the leisurely breakfast, most riders took a more direct route home while Gary, Harve, and I headed north.  We didn't go too far up the mountain, but we did have some nice curvey roads as we rode toward home.  Overall, it was another great day on two wheels.    Steve

The notorious "Pissed Off Eggs" are actually quite good.

Friday 09/20/19 Ride

Fellow Riders,

• It looks like this Friday will be a good day to be on two wheels.  I thought I would head over to Pickens for breakfast at the Village Inn.  I missed it a few weeks ago when Gary led a ride and it sounds like a good spot.  If you're interested, let's plan on leaving the Key Mart parking area at 8:30 am.  Hope to see you there.    Steve

Trip Advisor - Village Inn Pickens

• The weather for the last ride of "official" summer was nearly perfect.  Clear skies and cool temperatures were great and six riders and one cager joined me for the breakfast ride.  Those joining me included Gary, David D., Doug, Neil, Harve, Bill, and Pat (along with his dog) drove along in a car.  We took a back way through Pickens county to get to our destination.  After about 30 minutes we arrived and had a table waiting for us.  The server was very friendly and got us going with coffee right away.  The food arrived in pretty good time, although, the final two orders took a little longer.  They must be able to cook for six at a time, but not eight.  The food was very tasty, including my pecan waffle, and I didn't hear any complaints.  After lunch, Bill and Pat (Note - Pat did take his dog some well deserved leftovers for waiting patiently in the car) headed home and the rest of us made our way into the mountains via Hwys 8 and 276.  We did hit some construction on East Fork Road.  There was a portable stop light and they were working on a bridge.  The lane we had to use was gravel - ugh!.  Only Neil, on his trike, thought, what's the big deal.  Fortunately, it was a short bridge and we got back to riding.  We came back down Hwy 178 to get us back home.  Overall, it was another great day on two wheels.    Steve  

Okay, it wasn't this bad....

Friday 09/13/19 Ride

Fellow Riders,

• I'm not able to lead a ride this Friday, but Bill Gallaway says he'll come up with a plan. Look for an email from him regarding this Friday.   Ride Safe.    Steve

• Update - from Bill
• Hi Everyone,  It's been an overwhelming week of sadness and compassion re: 9/11..  Let's show our compassion by wearing a RED Shirt in Honoring and Remembering Everyone Deployed this Friday.  I planned a ride to Clayton, GA, to visit The Rust Bike for Breakfast.  If you would like to join me let's meet at the Key Mart prior to KSU at 8:30 am  Hope to see you there.  Also, I've got Magazines.    😀  Bill

The Rusty Bike Cafe

Friday 09/06/19 Ride

Fellow Riders,

• I thought I would take a breakfast ride to The Zookeeper Bistro in Cashiers, NC this Friday.  The weather looks good and we can take a longer ride home.  If this works for you, we'll leave the Key Mart parking area at 8:30 am.  Hope to see you there   Steve

The Zookeeper Bistro

• Nine riders came out for a ride to Cashiers on a clear and hot day.  The riders joining me included David D., Gary, Terry, Bill, Harve, Steve G., Russ, and Ed.  We took the quick way up the cool mountain to get to The Zookeeper.  Thanks to a call ahead by Paulette, they had a table ready for us. They were short one chair, but Harve solved the problem.  The place is reliably good and today was no exception.  They were slow taking the orders, but they did come out in good time.  Selections for breakfast were pretty standard from eggs to pancakes.  They kept the coffee coming and after a relaxing breakfast, a few riders headed back home and the rest followed me for another couple hours of riding.  We went east on Hwy 64 and then north on Hwy 281 to Silversteen Road.  Eventually, Hwy 178 took us through Rosman and we were getting pretty warm by the time we stopped at Durhams to gas up. Overall it was another great day on two wheels.   Steve