Time to Ride Again

Well, it has been a long, cold winter here in Northern Virginia and other than a couple of short, cold rides, the bike has been sitting in the garage...waiting...just waiting. The wait is almost over. With a little luck, Renee and I will be touring a few Civil War battlefields in 11 days. I will be writing an article on the ride and submitting it to a magazine. Hopefully, it will get published, but you all will get a sneak preview of it on the blog whether they decide to publish it or not.

I love to ride. It's difficult to explain how much I enjoy hitting the road. It doesn't matter if I have a destination in mind or if I'm just riding and exploring. A big part of it is seeing new things, meeting different people. You know, getting off the beaten path.

There's a website that lists strange roadside attractions (http://www.roadsideamerica.com/). Things like Muffler Men (tall statues used to advertise a wide variety of businesses), Goats on the Roof (a place in Georgia that has, you guessed it, goats that live on the roof of the building), just crazy stuff like that. It's become one of my "go to" sites when I am planning a trip these days. You should check it out for your next road trip and see if there is something so weird along the way that you just can't resist stopping to see it.

The Civil War ride with Renee is set and there's so much history to see that I haven't even looked at the weird roadside attractions yet. But, I'm also planning a ride to Texas to visit Jeremy in April and I'm loading that ride with as many weird and scenic stops as I can fit in. Plus, I have a list of all the stops from the Food Network show, Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, so I'm working a few of those places into the mix too.

I rode some of the Blue Ridge Parkway back in 2001 when I bought my first Harley. I'm going to ride the rest of it on my way to Texas. I also rode part of the Natchez Trace back in 2001 and I'm going to finish it on my way back. Those roads, tied in with a few wacky attractions and a diner, drive-in or dive and I am in hog heaven.

Bottom line, days on the road are my form of spiritual rejuvenation. It gives me the chance to get back in touch with how I really am. I should have been around back in the 1800s to wander the country and live like the saddle tramp that I am. But, I've been extremely blessed in my life, so I won't complain. I'll just hop on the bike and take advantage of the time I get to do what I love.

See ya on the road!