Guys Only Motorcycle Ride

All of us have friends, some have more, some have just a few, some are very close, while others are just some acquaintances that we are just comfortable with. Then there are those exceptional friendships that endure the years, the divorces and all the other changes that life throws at us. Friends that will drop everything to help you or just to take advantage of an opportunity to see you. Last weekend, I spent two days with just such a group of friends.

Duane, Earl and Stan. Three very different and diverse guys. A truck driver, a security technician and a trophy business owner. All with a love of motorcycles and the open highway. The bikes are as diverse as the owners a Honda Goldwing, Harley-Davidson Fatboy and a Yamaha. Off we went for a few hundred miles of wind, sun and, of course, rain.

We set out from a breakfast at the Kent Island (MD) Cracker Barrel and headed down the Delmarva peninsula to spend the night in Cape Charles, VA. The ride there was great, even with a little rain but all in all we enjoyed it immensely. We stayed the night at a year old motel called: Shore Stay Suites. After checking in we went across the street to Sting Rays, a place very popular with the locals, for a early dinner. The food at Sting Rays was very good, served up by friendly staff and surrounded by smiling natives. A couple of beers and more then a few lies, we returned to the motel and got back on the bikes for some local touring.

This area is a popular warm weather resort type of place. so much was closed in the town of Cape Charles. We stopped in a parking lot to decide where the next beer would come from. I asked my Garmin and out spit the name: Yuk Yuk and Joes. There was no way we were going to pass that up. We found the local "redneck" watering hole, complete with Country music and pool tables. We chatted with some of the folks there, killed a beer or two and repeated some of the lies from earlier (just told by a different person) and as we left, Duane got a big hug from the waitress. (he's always getting hugs....hmm...I have to find out his secret). Afterward we loaded up the bikes and gassed up for the next day. A couple of six packs found their way into the tour pack. (Wonder how that happened?). Spent the rest of the evening in one of the rooms and hit the beds early.

The next day, after breakfast at Sting Rays, we headed to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. If you haven't ridden or driven this engineering marvel, you certainly should put it on your list of things to do. This was the second time for me within the last two months, in that Donna and I did the same ride south on our way to Florida. Coming out of the south tunnel is a very sharp u-turn into the restaurant and fishing pier. Plenty of parking and lots of places to hang out and watch the ships pass from the Atlantic over to the bay and back the other way of course. I had hoped to see some of our Navy passing by but not this time. The weather cool and clear. We stayed about an hour or so, then we saddled up and headed to Stan's house in Kilmarnock, VA.

The ride from the bridge to Stanley's took us through some heavily populated areas around Norfolk and Newport News. In the distance we could see two USN Carriers at dock. BIG is an understatement, they were the biggest things on the whole landscape. Would have loved to see one of them from the bridge as they headed out to sea.

We left Stanley at his house where we had some great chili prepared by his lovely wife Mary. Yes, Duane got more hugs but this time I didn't get left out. The three of us then headed to MD via Route 301 and over the Potomac (another great view) and into Waldorf where Duane left to head to his house in Alexandria. Earl and I continued north and split company a few miles before the Bay Bridge (the other one). I got home to Kent Island around 9:00 PM, cold, tired and happy. A great weekend with some great friends.

Here are a few pics, the rest are at SmugMug.






Keep rolling...we will...
Stu