Gary's Picture Album

More from Gary

July 23^rd, 2008
It’s Hot By The Fire

muse@bikerenews.com

Please allow images to load

I woke on the third day of the 2007 Virginia Grand Tour (VGT) trip in Hillsville ready to get started. After a quick stop at McDonald’s for a breakfast sandwich, and at the gas station to fill up and wash the windshield (rain spots had made it a little hard to see through), I headed east on US-58.

The first stop of the day was at the Charity Primitive Baptist Church. Charity is located on VA-40 a few miles east of VA-8. I was able to pick up VA-8 about 4 miles west of Stuart. It had been three or more years since I had ridden VA-40. If you get the chance, to ride VA-40, you can’t go wrong with the twisties and curves between VA-8 and Rocky Mount. Unfortunately, I knew it was going to be a long day, so I back tracked to VA-8 and then to US-58.

The next stop took me east on US-58 to US-29 at Danville. I took US-29 north for about 12 miles to Chatham, and then east on VA-57 until I arrived at the Riceville-Java VFD. It was already warm, and it was only 9:30. I knew that for the rest of the trip the roads were going to be straighter, hotter, and the sun shining in my face for the whole way.

Once I was back on US-58, I continued east until I got to Boydton and turned north on VA-92. Arriving in Chase City, I headed east on VA-47 until I arrived in Drapersville. I found the local general store and marked it off as the third stop of the day.

I continued east on VA-47 into South Hill and turned east on US-58 again. This time it was eastward bound until I was about 20 miles on the east side of Emporia. A quick left onto CO-308/735 took me to Post Office in Yale, VA.

The original idea was to catch the last two stops (Yorktown and Studley) on the way back home. However, that would have meant riding up I-95 to Richmond and then back down to Yorktown before heading home. I just wasn’t up for it.

By the time I finished that hot (and hotter) ride across southern Virginia, it was 96 degrees. I had tried staying hydrated with water, but between the heat coming off of the pavement and the heat coming off the motor, I thinking about a Johnny Shines & Snooky Pryor song called, "Peace in Hell" . . .

"I can’t wait to get to Hell
So I can lay down by the fire and rest"

I was done for the day, and headed back to Virginia Beach on US-58. The 13 stops took 1,390 miles and three days, enough for me and the bike. Of course, not making the last two stops on this trip only meant that another ride day would have to be planned out in order to finish - DARN!!

I took advantage of the 4th of July to finish up the last two stops. The first was the Yorktown Victory Monument (which was close due to the festivities). Not wanting to get caught up in the gathering crowds, I headed for VA-238 and rode it over to I-64 west.

I rode I-64 until I was on the Richmond by-pass. I got off the by-pass onto US-360 for 6 miles and turned left on CO-606 which took me to the Salem Presbyterian Church in Studley. That finished the last stop of the 2007 Virginia Grand Tour.

It was only 10:00 AM on the 4th of July, and I was northeast of Richmond. What should a Biker eNews Staff writer do? Simple I started on the 2008 VGT immediately. I’ll fill you in on those stops in the next article. Until then, try to stay cool, and ride safe ‘chillum’.

Back to "Muse from the Rest Area"

Back to More from Gary