Weather man Mike had advised that the word for today would be “Cold”, in fact, beyond cold, freezing, real Brass Monkeys, and so it was.
As we geared up the bikes the sun made a tepid appearance and there was some temptation to remove a layer, but fortunately prudence came to the fore and once under way, regardless of how many layers, (and there were many), each of us had on, another would have been appreciated. Whilst manoeuvring in the car park prior to departure one of our number took a slow speed tumble, the one place slightly top heavy Harley’s have difficulties, but thanks to the prompt actions of Nev and Yvonne the situation was quickly resolved without too much drama. After a fast 50 miles on the freeway our first stop was at Black Bear Harley - the arrival of 18 Kiwis most excitement they’ve had on a Thursday morning for a long time. They lwere extremely welcoming and keep the coffee pot full even though most of us have exhausted the need for any more T shirts, etc. Unfortunately the team who packed Barbs won this morning didn’t make an overly good job and as a consequence the back door opened and at a very inopportune moment on a freeway on-ramp , with the box of booze and a bag falling out. Unable to stop, Barb had to find the exit then return, a stressful business but fortunately a couple of nice young guys had cleaned up the mess, recovered the bag that had bounced along the road so everything worked out alright. Today’s ride was the usual mixture of fast interstate through to quiet backroads and the opportunity to see the real local scene and is so often the case, the poverty that is so prevalent in the hinterland. Run down trailer homes semi hidden by bush, dark, dreary and devoid of any sunlight, each with its own sizeable collection of derelict old cars and trucks as garden ornaments, rotting away year on year. In contrast, Destination for the day was the Omni Hotel in Hot Springs Virginia, literally in the middle of nowhere, but absolutely huge, impressive and imposing. Unfortunately a bunch of roughies arriving on Harley’s didn’t appear to meet with the approval of the staff used to making tips from valet parking, nor when we opted to forgo the $10 per bag (plus tip) handling charge for our luggage - talk and getting the “poo on the bottom of the shoe” treatment. Not to worry, those who were quick enough managed to score tea and scones in the very grand entrance hall to the accompaniment of a cellist, all very civilised. A very impressive hotel - we might get used to this! Comments are closed.
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Don MalcolmA perfect day involves being on my Harley with a long ride ahead.
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