July, 2008

Just returned from a 1000 mile ride out to Marysville Ohio and back to Washington DC. We went to the open house where Honda produces the GoldWing and the VTX1300s.

We started out Thursday morning in Manassas VA and worked our way to Strasburg where we joined US 33. The road offered plenty of switchbacks and curves through the mountains as we worked our way west through West Virginia. We left 33 and turned onto WV47 to head for Parkersburg. You never know what you might see, there was a person with a large boa constrictor around his neck in a little crossroads of WVa. and we parked next to a bike set up just like mine at a fuel stop with a pizza shop. We traveled about 400 miles the first day and ended up in Logan Ohio and enjoyed a meal at Jacks “world famous” steak house. The food was good, the prices excellent, and the waitress sassy.

This is the final year for Honda motorcycle production in the US as they are consolidating that operation with another plant in Japan. The tour guide did state that no one was losing their job as they will be doing something to support the auto plant nearby.

For the return trip we joined US 50 near Athens and headed eastward on Saturday. The mountain scenery was nice and the weather cooperative until we reached Winchester VA. It opened up and poured on us. We were able to get in under a gas station canopy and put our rain gear on and rode the next 30 miles in the rain. Finishing up the 500 mile day, I split off and headed for my house for a good cigar and some tylenol.

I have posted some pictures along the route at choppernutz.com. There were no pictures allowed inside the plant.

We rode this weekend from Washington DC over to the Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. Joining the Skyline Drive near Front Royal, we rode the length to I 64. Unfortunately the schedule did not permit us to continue southward to join the Blue Ridge Parkway but it made for a great day trip. Along the way there were many vistas and we’ll post some pictures on the website soon. Lunch at the restaurant at Skyland gave us a great vantage looking west off the mountain to the valley below. The food was excellent and the gift shop had a good selection of “country” items for Bec.

There is some road construction going on and we came around a couple of corners to find missing pavement, so anyone riding this route needs to be cautious.

We are planning a group ride to Marysville Ohio in two weeks to go to the Honda plant – even though some of the group I ride with currently do not ride Hondas, I hear it is the last year for the Honda get-together as the plant is closing after 29 years. Should be some fun riding from DC through the two lane roads of West Virginia and Eastern Ohio.

Last year (2007), Cliff and I discovered the Columbia Gorge. We were living in the Richland Kenniwick area. The weather is good most of the year. We traveled many roads looking for that perfect ride. Although we had hot temps and very strong winds, we rode the Columbia Gorge most often. It is stark, arid land, and very rugged. The scenery is large and impressive, with breath taking views of the river. We saw locks, barges of grain, and pleasure and fishing boats. We even saw and reported a rapidly growing wild fire.

After a long ride, we liked to stop at Round Table Pizza on Leslie Rd in Richland WA. My favorite is Maui Zaui (Hawaiian with a kick). They have great iced tea, also.

The weather there can change quickly and can be very challenging, but we had a lot of fun.