Phil's Photo Album More from Phil The Shovelhead Diary

This Page is Sponsored by

7 April 2010
A taste of summer...

Please allow images to load.Click on thumbnails for larger images, then use your browser's back button to return.

Finally a weekend made just for motorcycles! Saturday didn't start out that way but it did end up as one of the best days I have had on two wheels in very long time.

At 0630, standing in the parking lot of "South of the James" was cold and damp, the fog was still hanging very low and causing condensation on anything a human had to look through. I left the cameras in the tank bag because between the dampness and the lack of daylight they wouldn't record much worth looking at anyway.

Kat arrived on time and we headed for Bruce's house on the way to North Carolina. We would have taken our favorite back roads to Bruce's but the fog was way too heavy, we were afraid that the cool air would keep the deer moving around.

We made it as far as the Seven Eleven in Chuckatuk. A cup of coffee and for a little time we sat there. The fog didn't lift. Being as how we were closer to Bruce's house than home, we continued on our way, figuring we could drink his coffee and warm up and see if the day was ever going to get better.

I can remember when I was running a tug at the Naval Station and having whole days where we were socked in all day by the fog. I was truly hoping today wouldn't be one of them; I was really looking forward to running the "Tail of the Lizard" today.

By the time we arrived at Bruce's house, we were both blind. There was a heavy build up of moisture on my glasses. I figured that the sun would come out early; so I had my tinted face shield on my helmet. Needless to say, I couldn't look through it at all. We hung out for over an hour and it looked like the fog was lifting, we decided to go for it and see what would happen… It was either go to North Carolina or home and both Kat and I decided that NC was closer so we continued on.

Kat and Bruce on the ferry

The fog and moisture wasn't as bad as earlier in the morning, but visibility was increasing the further west we went. By the time we turned south into North Carolina it was clearing and beginning to warm up.

When we arrived at the beginning of the "Lizard's Tail" life took a new view. I wasn't intending on running it hard this morning; this was just a, look and see, visit. Both Bruce and Kat were new to this special road. But something happened to me on the third turn…. And before I realized it I was way too far ahead of them. I slowed down and it did take some time for them to catch up.

Arriving at the other end of the Lizard, we pulled over and took a short brake. On the return run I mounted the cameras; one on the MV in the front and one on the side of Kat's bike facing forward with the front wheel in the shot. We did have some fun riding and filming our adventure on the Lizard and back to the Pure station.

What strikes you about the Tail of the Lizard is how flowing the entire road is. It's not straight and it's just not twisted, it's as though someone who rode a motorcycle designed the road specifically for us to ride on it. Whether you're on a Harley or a sportbike or anything in-between this road is fun, no matter how fast or slow you travel it. One or two cross streets, no homes, dogs or children to watch out for, very little traffic and even less on Sundays. Most of the corners you can see through and the road surface is smooth and free of holes and ruts which is unusual for back roads. Riding it is more fun than you would think it could be.

After making one pass up and one back we headed back toward our own familiar roads. A short jog on 58, a stop at the Pure gas station/convenience store to get a little water and let the excitement wear down. Besides we needed some water not only for us to drink, but to clean the dead bugs off the face shields. It may not be summer yet but the bugs are out.

From the Pure station stop, we headed east on 58 and turned off on Buckhorn and made our way to Winsor for fuel. After about eighty miles my fuel light came on. You don't get good gas mileage when you spend most of the day in the lower gears at high rpms. I have no idea how bad it was, because I didn't calculate the mileage. Gas has gone up, it's almost 3 bucks a gallon for 97octane; another sign of summer's approach.

Waiting for the ferry to get moving....

I have a hard time shelling out three bucks a gallon for gas when I can remember it sold for thirty five cents a gallon as a kid …. But if you want it, you have got to pay the price; and today I really wanted it!!!

We made our way back through the back roads, a pass through the Twilight Zone and on to ten; by passing Smithfield by taking back roads and coming out way down ten via Moonlight Road. For those of you who may not be familiar with Moonlight road, the infamous dog fighting house of Michel Vick's was on that road.

As you can see we weren't alone. Everyone was out now that the fog lifted...

Once on ten we droned along to the ferry and made the crossing to Jamestown. We followed a bunch of cruisers up Jamestown road to 199 in Williamsburg. Once on 199 we headed toward 64 and pulled off at Steelhorse to allow Kat and Bruce to eyeball the new Brutale and the F4s that are going for some unbelievable prices. You'll never see a new MV Agusta F4 selling at these prices again.

I also wanted to show off my multi colored bug collection on the front of the MV and my much worn out rear tire which now has no unused tread surface on it.

After hanging out for a little while we all headed back home each one of us using a different exit on 64. I had a lot of video to edit and each one of us had other Easter type stuff to take care of.

After getting home and editing two hours of video down to about twenty minutes of action, I went back out and gave the MV a bath. I have discovered the MV's Pearl White paint work shows up every dead bug you collect. I was surprised to see that dead bugs come in many colors… They didn't only collect on the front but for some reason, on the top of the tank. The sides of the bike also collected them too. With today's fog and heavy dampness, the condensation made the pollen stick to the black also. The bike looked pretty bad.

After the MV's bath and dry down I rolled her back into the garage. A perfect afternoon, a good ride, great friends to share it with; it turned out to be a great day. The video wasn't too bad either.

My F4 in the sun Saturday morning waiting to roll out.

XXXX