(September 21, 2015) Saturday, the 12th of this month, my brother-in-law sent me a text and asked if I wanted to go for a day-long ride on NC 16 & VA 16 to Tazewell, Virginia. He knew this was a ride I had planned for someday but decided we could make "someday" Sunday, September 13. I stayed overnight at his place and we got an early start on Sunday morning.
Our goal for the morning was to get into NC 16 as quickly as possible. So, we rode out NC540 (toll road) to US 64 west to Siler City. There we got on US 421 north and took that all the way to Wilkesboro. At Wilkesboro we got on NC 16 and soon found oursleves a gently twisting road...a warm up for what we expected later in the day.
As we climbed up tp cross the Blue Ridge Parkway, the temperature dropped from the mid 60s to the mid 50s. It was 55°F for the next several hours as we rode north on 16.
We were soon across the Virgina state line and on Virginia route 16. It was beautiful and our expectations for the ride rose. However, as pass through the hamlet of Volney, VA and not quite to Troutdale, VA, the roads became wet and the sky ahead appeared very dark. I waived us over for a conference. We agreed that a rainy 55° ride would be no fun; and so we decided to call an audible and change the ride plan.
We turned around and headed back and turned east on US 58. We passed through the Mouth of Wilson, VA and began to notice an unusually colorful road sign labeling our route "The Crooked Road: Virginia's Heritage Music Trail." This segment of US 58 is part of the ~300-mile Heritage Music Trail of Virginia.
We were overdue for lunch and I suggested we look for a barbecue place in Galax. The clouds were still thick in the sky, but not nearly as ominous as what we were leaving behind us. We were optimistic that we could take our time heading back east and that we'd still get home dry (and we did).
In Galax, I spotted ahead on the left a barbecue joint. As we got closer, we could see it was a winner: Aunt Bea's Barbecue. With a name like that, it had to be good, right? In fact, the spicy, vinegar-based sauce was so good, Mark bought a bottle to take home with him.
In addition to the quality of the food and friendliness of the staff, I appreciated that they gave me a reasonably-sized portion, one which I could actually eat without feeliing guilty of obese.
On the eastern end of Galax, we decided to stop for a few more photos, such as the one of The Crooked Road at the beginning of this log post.
Lover's Leap
After we crossed I-77 and passed through Hillsville, we crossed the Blue Ridge Parkway at the Meadows of Dan, VA. Soon thereafter, we encountered a "Lover's Leap," which was really just a scenic overlook that offered drivers a convenient place to pull over and take a break with a view.
This spot was especially popular with bikers; and Mark and I ended up chatting with a couple. Fortunately, I had packed a couple of substantial stogies and we lit those bad boys up. They were gonna take a good 30 minutes to smoke, so we were in a relaxed social state of mind.
The first guy we met had one one of the Yamaha V-Star bikes. It was a 2015 model and looked good. I told him it reminded me of the Harley V-Rod. This guy was funny. One of the first things he said was a question: "Are you guys jumping? 'cause if you are, I want your bikes." Turns out he's from Martinville and rides up that way pretty regularly.
The second fellow got my attention right away when he pulled up because of the incongruity of his appearance. He wore an Aerostitch RoadCrafter one-piece riding suit, which I immediately recognized and made him in my mind to be a serious long-distance rider. That impression lasted about five seconds, as he soon began to wander around with his full-face helmet on.
I walked up to his bike and noticed it was Harley-Davidson 1200 Sportster. He had stickers on his windshield from Yellowstone, the Tetons, etc. If the bike had been a BMW, I could have understood it all. Finally, the guy took off his helmet. He looked like he belonged on a Gold Wing, not a Sportser. He was a 70+ year old, pale white male. He was a really nice guy and was on a cross-country ride. I just had trouble reconciling all the variables. I'll admit, the problem lies with me, not him.
Home in Time for Dinner
It turns out that our early turnaround on the original route was a good thing as Mark got home in time to grill us dinner. He had told his wife we'd back by 6:30 p.m. and as it was, we made it by 6:00 p.m. Had we gone to Tazewell, we would have been lucky to make it home by 8:00 p.m. Lesson learned here: be very careful when using Google to estimate how long a route will take time-wise.
As always, keep the shiny side up!
-The Long Rider
Video at "Lover's Leap"
Listen as Mark and I misundertand each other about the date: he's referring to the day of the month and I thnnk he's talking about what year it is. Makes you wonder how we managed to stay together on the ride. :-)