My Sunday morning ride to the Phoenix Bakery in Pittsboro!

 Every Sunday around 9-10 am motorcyclist from all around the Research Triangle gather in Pittsboro to kick tires, check out the various bikes and tell wild stories of their adventures.  A few of us BMW riders and Club members meet up earlier for breakfast at the Bakery nearby.

https://youtu.be/Hv_q8_o6VS0

Willville Motorcycle Campground closes for the season.

 As camping season comes to an end, we celebrate with a chili dinner at Willville.  I left Cary in beautiful 65 degree clear day for my mid-day ride up.  I took all back roads to enjoy the fall colors and scenery.  This route parallels the NC/VA border and takes me to Squirrel Spure Rd.

A beautiful twisting road up the mountain into Meadows of Dan.  I mostly see the occasional motorcycle on this road since it is much more scenic than the faster Rt. 58 in VA.  Before I left I checked the weather to see what to pack.  Hmmm, seems the nightly lows would be in the mid 30's so I booked a room in the local 1950's strip motel.  Not a very nice place but warm with hot water for a shower.  I kind of view it as a lower level of camping without the tent and sleeping bag.  Ray and Jeff that I ride with stayed here two weeks prior and slept in their sleeping bags on the beds, not wanting to use the sheets.  I hate to say it but I have slept in worse places.

I checked in with Will at the campground to see if he needed anything then ran a couple of errands for him.  Good crowd at the campground for closing weekend.  There were 5 different chili's and all of them were very good with varying degrees of heat!  It is hard to choose a winner as the best since all of the chili was gone.

 It was a fun group and since I have been here several times, I am starting to recognize the characters and enjoy spending time with them.

Following the feast everyone retired to the fire pit for the nightly fire, beverage and stories of road miles.  The people here come from everywhere.  One from New Mexico and he spends the summer here in a little cabin on Will's property.  One attendee rode his scooter from Florida and Will says he comes on it every year.  I don't think there is but one common thread between us except for our love of motorcycles.  

The campfire lasts to around 11:00 with most pealing off early.  You could tell that it was getting colder since the picture in the after was spread out around the fire and after dark the crowd moved in closer to the fire.  The low this night would be 35 degrees.  I am very glad I had a room at the no-tell motel!

It was a big fire to keep us all warm!

There was one thing that did hang over the whole weekend and that was the sudden death of Dan that worked there at the campground.  He was fascinating to talk to with an amazing knowledge of the environment.  Good natured and concerned for all living people and animals.  He died suddenly in a head-on collision on the Blue Ridge Parkway near Floyd.  Many in attendance just found out about it when they arrived.  Dan was driving his pickup truck.  He is missed by everyone.

Many thanks to Will for creating this unique camping adventure that we all love.  It was the right place to go during Covid-19 or anytime.  Thank you Will.

2020 A year to forget!

 Well, it has been a tough year for everyone.  At least on a motorcycle we are socially distanced.  That hasn't solved the problem of where to eat or who will let me use their bathrooms.  It has gotten better.  In April I did an overnight meal run to the beach, Calabash and Emerald Isle, and while I could walk through a drive thru for a meal, they wouldn't let me use the restroom.  So then I would have to drive around to find a gas station that allowed the use of the restrooms.  Calabash did have some restaurants open and I sat on the dock on a stool watching the boat traffic and enjoyed the best fried shrimp I had ever had.  Emerald Isle was easier for my overnight since I stayed at a friends condo and we picked up food and ate at his place.  While there were few people around in Calabash the crowd at Emerald Isle was in mid-summer party mode.  We stopped for ice cream and there were no less than 25 kids all packed around the door, no masks and the weed was prevalent.  This was a very uncomfortable feeling.

Roll this forward 3 months and I needed to get out of the house.  So off to Meadows of Dan, VA for a camping weekend at Willville Bike Campground.  I was surprised to see that most people wore masks in western VA and around the campsites people stayed a good distance from each other.  The nightly campfire only drew 10 people that were spread out a good distance and it was a great relief to get away for 2 nights and enjoy waking up in the fresh air of the mountains after listening to the winds and animal noises in the night.

I was lucky that Will, of Willville, had invited local musicians to come play for the evening.  They were locals that hadn't played together much but they put on a great evening of music.  

Will runs a very good campground for bikers, cars are not allowed.  Every morning, on the porch, a large pot of coffee awaits the early risers.  There are rocking chairs and a picnic table.  Great stories are told with very little fact to get in the way, but they are all about bikes, trips, mishaps and the weather.  There seems to be an unwritten rule that no-one talks about politics, sex, or religion.  All kinds of bikes roll in and very different people but we all get along well.

Considering the weather we have had in the east this was 3 days of perfect weather, it's been hard to find this year.

June 29, 2020 - I am back!

Where have I been.....too lazy to post.  No long trips in the past 2 years and I miss it.  The usual 1-3 day trips around the neighboring states.  The BMW RA rally in Woodstock, VA.  Many trips to the Beach.  Mountain trips to Meadows of Dan, VA camping or to Pineola, NC.  But I really miss the 6 week trips.

Covid-19 has certainly had the effect of crushing all planning.  This year I was going to Great Falls MT for the BMW MOA rally.  That and many other gatherings have been cancelled.  Those that moved them to September are now faced with a decision on totally cancelling for this year.  Probably not a bad idea.

I did manage to get off on a mid-winter trip to Key West in January.  Seeing old friends on the East Coast on the way down and back.  Sofa surfing and only needing a motel 2 nights out of 11.  Stayed with a friend in Key West and did the tourist thing.  The trip back was the really fun road part since I moved inland and took 2 lane country roads all the way home.  All in all 2100 miles and a lot of smiles!  And I added the southern most point to my pics.

I did do some rationalization of the herd in January.  I traded my 2009 BMW G650gs for a 2019 BMW F850 GSA.  A bit roomier for me and ultimately led to the selling of my 2011 R1200 GSA since the 850 really does replace 2 bikes.  Things are a bit less crowded in the garage but I do kind of miss having 3 bikes.