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Adventure number two for 2011 is now in the books. Diana and I took a special overnight trip to Virginia Beach with a small group of members from our HOG Chapter. We left Delaware on Friday the 13th and came back on Saturday the 14th which was Harley-Davidson’s Womens Ride Day. The trip was full of meaning. There are several themes that tie together here so bear with me as I try to bring you up to speed.

Two years ago we were heading down to North Carolina with twenty or so members of our HOG Chapter. There was an accident. A women on drugs drove through our pack of motorcycles and killed our friend Karen Fortner. The first responders from Cheriton, VA and the surrounding area took good care of us and we have become friends with the police, firefighters and EMT’s. Terry Thomas, the President of the Cheriton Volunteer Fire Departmentand Investigator for the Northhampton County Sheriff’s Office, keeps in touch with members of our HOG Chapter and he invited us down to participate in the 2nd Annual Ride The Bay event. This is a charity motorcycle ride that benefits the Special Olympics of Virginia and crosses the Chesapeake Bay via the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnel. We felt this was a good opportunity to go down unofficially as a second year anniversary to memorialize the loss of our dear friend.

Gladys, our Assistant Director and a Road Captain in Training, was close to Karen and eager to lead this trip. My wife Diana was also close to Karen and helped Gladys plan the ride. The ride would take place in May which is Women Riders month and the event was scheduled on the same day as Harley-Davidson’s Womens Ride Day. It was fitting that Diana and Gladys lead our HOG Chapter down to Virginia Beach to help the Special Olympics and honor Karen on Womens Ride Day. Unfortunately Gladys had to fly down to Florida to help her parents out and wasn’t able to make the trip. Diana who is a patched Road Captain took over the trip for Gladys.

I was also riding for Victor. Victor is a Harley rider from Pennsylvania who is currently fighting cancer and undergoing chemo treatments. His sister contacted me via e-mail asking me if I had any pictures of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnel. She said that Victor’s special place he likes to ride is the Bay Bridge and Tunnel and that pictures would help keep his spirits up. Although I never met Vic or his sis I wanted to help out. I couldn’t help but feel there was a special reason all these events were tied together. I was able to get a DVD documentary from my brother’s mother in law about the building of the bridge and I forwarded that to Victor. Terry Thomas, mentioned above, stopped at the gift shop on the bridge and picked up a book for Vic that also illustrates the building of this historical engineering marvel. Yes, there is a gift shop on the bridge as well as a restaurant and a fishing pier. This is the most amazing bridge ever built! I don’t know if Victor knew all this much information about the bridge before, but he certainly does now. I tried to get some original pictures of the bridge from members of the Tidewater HOG Chapter but was not successful. So guess what?! This trip was for both Victor and Karen and I would go down and take some pictures special for Vic!

The weather report wasn’t exactly calling for sunshine for this trip. We had two riders back out in the morning before leaving because of the threat of rain. So what was originally going to be be four guys and five ladies each on their own motorcycle became three and three. Six is the perfect number for group rides so I was happy about having six. We got down to Virginia Beach by dinner time without any problem. One of our guys (Mike the 2010 Chili King) went on to visit his Mom, so we were down to two guys (me and Eddy) with three lady riders for the rest of the trip. The other lady riders were Erin and Dana. Erin was riding her husband’s Heritage and on her first overnighter as a rider and not a passenger. She was very excited and proud of her accomplishment. Dana was with us on the ride in 2009 when the accident took place and this was her first time back to the area since then.

Erin, the proud rider of this Heritage

Diana, Dana, Erin and Eddy (all officers of First State HOG)

Later that evening we got a call from Terry Thomas saying that some of the event volunteers were backing out because of the weather report and they had to cancel the charity ride for the Special Olympics. He was upset because he felt responsible for us traveling all this way and having the event canceled. We didn’t mind. We had a plan B that was in tune with our other themes.

Back in 2009 we were going to meet up with Tammy Walker of Diva Customs. She owns a custom motorcycle shop in Virgina Beach that caters to women, and she published a book called Why We Ride that includes 101 uplifting stories of women and their motorcycles. Karen, Diana, and Dana all contributed stories as well as many of you lady motorcycle bloggers out there (BB, KT Did, LadyR and Boston). So now that the Ride The Bay event was canceled it only made sense to drop in at Diva Customs to celebrate Women Riders Day. Tammy keeps a special copy of the book in her shop where she tries to have as many of the ladies who contributed their stories autograph the book. Dana got to sign the book!

After visiting with Tammy it was time to gear up to cross that long bridge and then stop to visit the cross erected at the accident site in honor of Karen. I dropped to the sweep position so that I could take pictures while riding across the bridge. Please do not tell anyone I was taking pictures while riding sweep on a chapter ride. Not exactly safe Director/Road Captain behavior. But I had to do it for Vic! If I get in trouble for this it won’t matter because I got the picture of a lifetime! As we crossed the first section of bridge and approached the first tunnel a Navy ship crossed the bay right in front of the tunnel! I got the most amazing picture of us that looks like we are riding into the ship!

After crossing the bay we visited Karen’s cross. Then we headed home. Diana picked a route that skirted the rain and the Dover NASCAR race traffic. It was the long way, but it was also the scenic way. We had a great ride home, we avoided the rain, and we arrived in Newark, Delaware safe and dry. Dana and Erin did catch a little rain as they headed north to Wilmington.

We had a great trip! 500 miles in two days. Nothing beats travelling with friends who can switch from plan A to plan B and enjoy themselves the whole time. Visiting Karen’s cross two years and three weeks after the accident had deep meaning to those of us that knew her and were with her that day. Taking pictures for Vic… awesome! I can’t wait to send these to him. You can have a sneak peek by clicking here.

Tags: HOG®, Trips & Places To Go by Jay Green
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After bonding with our instructors and classmates at Ride Like A Pro of Maryland for four hours the morning of May 1st, 2011 it was finally time to say good bye. It had been a long morning of teaching, learning and practicing motorcycle riding techniques. We had a 3.5 hour ride ahead of us and it was looking like we would get wet before the day was done. We said our heart felt goodbyes to our new friends (and Mo too) before we hit the road.

The Ride Like A Pro of Maryland classes are taught at the parking lot of Regency Stadium in Waldorf, MD off of Piney Church Road. You have to ride the entire length of Piney Church Road, it is a good one. It reminded me of Skyline Drive as we cruised through the curvy S-turns in lush Maryland greenery. From that we followed a series of great backroads in southern Maryland that put us on Rt 382. Rt 382 is listed as an alternate in the Maryland/Delaware Moto-Map. It was really nice!

So we were cruising these nice backroads of southern Maryland just an hour after practicing proper braking at Ride Like A Pro Maryland… and a huge rottweiler jumped out of the woods and chased the car in front of me. I am scared of big dogs who are known to be unpredictable and can pull humans apart from limb to limb. So what do I do after practicing proper braking? Of course I go into major panic mode and lock up the rear wheel! Of course my cool wife could care less about the dog but was terribly alarmed by my six foot skid.

After we got by killer dog alley without a problem the rain started. We stopped for lunch on Rt 301 in Upper Marlboro which is a good thing to do in the beginning of a rain. It gives the rain time to wash the road oil off the pavement. After lunch we put on our rain gear and pointed our motorcycles toward Annapolis and the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. I experienced more anxiety thinking about the bridge crossing than it was worth. Not really a big deal. Halfway up route 301 we stopped at the rest area between the north and southbound lanes but it was closed. We had to pull into the truck parking lot and so I could use the port-a-john. That’s when Diana told me my headlight was out. I was not happy to hear I was riding in the rain with no headlight. I started to get off my bike to check it out… but I didn’t put the kickstand down. The new Cobra engine guard did a great job of catching the motorcycle. That makes tip over #2 for me!

I used my high beam the rest of the day and we got home without further incident. This particular weekend trip was more than just an overnight trip, it was a little adventure and a great way to welcome in the new riding season.

I thank my wife for sharing these adventures with me. I thank Dave, Christine and everyone at Ride Like A Pro Maryland for having us down to Waldorf and their great instruction. I thank Mo for attending the class with us, it is always great to spend a little time with Mo! I thank the car in front of me for distracting the Rottweiler. I thank my high beam for being available when my low beam didn’t show up for work. I thank Mother Nature for waiting until after the class was done to rain on us. I thank all of you for reading this post and leaving comments below.

Tags: Trips & Places To Go by Jay Green
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Last year we visited the annual Memorial Day pin stop at Harley-Davidson of Washington DC in Fort Washington, Maryland - home of Fort Washington HOG Chapter. Then we crossed the Potomac River and went up and down the George Washington Parkway. From the parkway we pulled over at a scenic overlook and took pictures of the fort in Fort Washington, Maryland. Click here to see the post about that trip. The fort was erected to protect our capital from attack via the Potomac river. Click here for more historical information about the fort.

Almost a year later we revisited Harley-Davidson of Washington DC and then the fort at Fort Washington which is only five minutes from the dealership. Here is the view of the scenic overlook from atop the fort. Here are also views of Washington DC from the same vantage point.

The fort was very cool and if you live in the area you should check it out. We live 2.5 hours away so it made for a nice ride. I was testing out a new route to be used next month for the 2011 Patriot Tour. We got off Rt 301/50 in Annapolis at Rt 2 which is the same exit used to visit Harley-Davidson of Annapolis. We followed Rt 2 which is Solomon’s Island Road and took a left traveling east on Rt 214 and then took a right traveling south on Rt 468 Muddy Creek Road. These are backroads that got us past a lot of congested busy roads. At the end of Muddy Creek we took a right on Rt 258 Bay Front Road. I won’t outline the rest of the way to Fort Washington but this is a cool way to get there even though it takes a little longer than some of the other ways. It is not easy to avoid traffic and congestion in the region around our capital.

Click here to see all the Fort Washington pictures. They are pretty cool pictures if I do say so myself.

A funny thing happened between the dealership and the fort. We stopped for pizza and as we parked our motorcycles in the parking lot a man walked toward us. He had just come out of the pizza place and proceeded to ask the world’s dumbest question: “Are you motorcyclists?”. Imagine me and Diana each on our Harleys wearing leather chaps, protective jackets, Hi-Viz vests, leather gloves, riding boots and helmets looking at each other wondering what to say. So then Mr Rocket Scientist follows up with another zinger and asks: “When was the first time you were injured?”. We were way to nice to this guy.

After the fort we followed Rt 224 and 6 which was the long way to get to our motel in La Plata. This road went through some dense woods and for awhile I thought I was in a different part of the country. These roads are part of a route in the Delaware/Maryland Moto-Map. We saw a deer standing on the road and took it slow after that. I went to point out a road kill with my foot only to find out it wasn’t killed. It was a live one just hanging out in the road. Surprised me when the squirrel scurried away.

We got to La Plata in need of gas and food. We filled the bikes, checked in to our room and walked to dinner. Went to bed early to get ready for our Ride Like A Pro class with instructor Dave Russell of Ride Like A Pro Maryland.

Please visit our online store to check out the Ride Like A Pro training DVD’s and/or Moto-Maps. Our store is www.Shop.RoadCaptainUSA.com

Tags: Trips & Places To Go by Jay Green
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Diana and I had ourselves an adventure on April 30th and May 1st to properly start the riding season. We were signed up to take a class with Ride Like A Pro Maryland located in Southern Maryland below Washington DC. The class would be on Sunday morning so we had to travel Saturday and stay overnight. I took this opportunity to test ride a new route to Fort Washington Harley-Davidson. While in Fort Washington I wanted to visit the fort that protected our nations capital from invasion via the Potamac River during revolutionary times. From there we would take the scenic route to our motel in La Plata, MD. This was a good opportunity to try out a portion of one of the Moto-Map routes in southern Maryland.

We took our class and tried some more backroads on the way home. We had a run in with a pony sized Rottweiler. Then we experienced rain while still south of the monstrous Bay Bridge crossing with three hours between us and home base in Delaware. We crossed the bridge with little problem even though we weren’t happy about crossing it in less than perfect weather. I blew a headlight bulb but was able to ride home using high beam. When Diana told me my bulb was out at a rest stop I was disgruntled and started to get off my bike… without putting the kick stand down. Bike tipped over and came to rest on brand new Cobra engine guard. Glad I invested in that thing.

We had ourselves quite the adventure. I’ll go into more detail over the next couple days.

Tags: Trips & Places To Go by Jay Green
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As most of you already read Diana and I took a ten state road trip where we visited the Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama which is home to the Barber Vintage Motorcycle Museum. The collection includes both cars and motorcycles. there are 1200 motorcycles of which 600 are displayed. They have the world’s largest collection of Lotus cars. Mostly race cars. There are other colector cars as well. Although you already saw my pictures, here are Diana’s pictures from her new Cannon Rebel XSI Digital SLR.

Lady R instructed us to take Alabama Rt 25 to the museum rather than the highway and that was a kick ass road! It Looked like this…

When we got to the Barber Motorsports Park it looked like this…

These statues represent the empowerment one feels when riding on a motorcycle. Here are some other good pictures that Diana got…

To see all of Diana’s pictures click here.

Tags: Cool Video & Pics, Trips & Places To Go by Jay Green
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I don’t know if any of you have seen this place on TV but I had seen it one too many times on the box. I decided it was time to see it in person. On the grounds of the Barber Motorsports Park in Leeds, Alabama is the Barber Vintage Motorcycle Museum. The collection of 1200 vintage and modern motorcycles (600 on display at any given time) will blow your eyeballs out of your two wheel lov’n skull. They range in make and model from 1903 to present time. The museum is also home to the world’s largest collection of Lotus cars. The motorsports park covers 740 acres and has a 2.38 mile world class race track. When I entered this shrine to motor madness history a smile was instantly pasted on my face. For the next three and a half hours I practiced the art of Motorcycle Photography for your benefit. I didn’t realize time flew by so quickly as I was engrossed in the incredable display of mechanized history. We were advised to take the elevator to the 5th floor and work our way down and we did. The elevator is large enough to move cars up and down the musuem. The sides are glass. There is a Indy style race car on top of the elevator car. The elevator shaft is lined at the corners with 4 towers of motorcycles on display going from the basement up past the 5th floor.

The whole backside of the museum is windowed overlooking the racetrack and letting lots of good light into the museum. Good for taking pictures! Further inside the museum there are spot lights that I couldn’t figure out how to compensate correctly for so those pictures have a yellow glow to them. There is a 360 degree tower that goes up 4 floors with motorcycles displayed like stems coming out from a Christmas Tree. There are motorcyles from every era and every country. There are motorcycles from every facet of the sport. There are also classic cars and racing cars. There are Whizzers hanging from the ceiling on wires like a mobile.

Concrete spiraling walkways take you from one floor to another. The spaciousness of the museum and size of the collection is amazing! In one large corner of the museum there is a board track racing display, a recreation of the original 1903 Harley-Davidson shop along with a green Ford Model T. Apparently it orginally did come in different colors. The board track display not only had Indians and Harleys… there was a Crocker!

The Daytona display was cool as was the vinatge race bike collection. Did you know Michael Jordan put together an AMA race team in 2004 and the race team is still competing?

I would have to say the vintage military motorcycles might be the best part of the collection. As a Harley-Davidson enthusiast I payed homage to two of my favorites: the XR750 dirt tracker and the 1970 Super Glide (the original factory custom from Willie G). Can you say “I am not worthy.”

I got up and took some interesting detail shots such as the tanks on a Reading Standard from our neck of the woods and a BSA. Definitely had to get up close to some vintage Indians!

My favorite model wasn’t on two wheels or four and I got to take her home with me. Kicking and screaming of course.

The basement level wasn’t open so we had to take pictures from above. I wish we could have gone down there!

We definitely enjoyed the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum and it was worth the two extra days of travel and two overnight stays at motels in order to see this mecca of motor mania.

I took a ton of pictures and we haven’t even downloaded the pictures from Diana’s camera yet. Click here to see all my pics.

“Tomorrow, today’s bikes will be history, these already are…”

Tags: Trips & Places To Go by Jay Green
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