Rider's Roost Recap

This weekend was spent with some JABG friends at Rider's Roost Campground. We had a gorgeous weekend for viewing the fall colors along the Blue Ridge Parkway. And bonus, it wasn't too terribly cold either! (i.e., I didn't have to be thawed out). The key to riding in 50-ish degree weather (which means the "feels like" temp when you're riding is 10 degrees colder) is to wear LAYERS! Any colder, and I'll definitely need some leather chaps.

The campground was just right for a bunch of bikers. There were fire-side chats until the wee hours, most of which were led by our very own "caveman", Charlie. There is a river that runs through the camp and when we go back again (hopefully in the summer time) we'll get in. It's also convenient to great area rides.

During one of our stops for a rest break, there were three puppies in a little shed. Apparently, these puppies were free! They were so sweet I just wanted to take one home. I wonder if they make helmets small enough for the little guys?

Along with all of the gorgeous mountains and leaves, we saw TONS of churches and nurseries (plants, not kids). There was a church around every corner and on every mountain, trailer, cliff, and parcel of land to be found. Mountain-folk sure do like their religion. And the nurseries! Now I know where Christmas trees come from! If I wasn't looking at a steeple, I was looking at a future Christmas tree.

Here's a slideshow of a few pics.

Camping Preparations

This weekend will be just the second time that I've been camping in my life. If you recall from the FAQs, Sturgis was my first camping experience. Nothing like jumping right in with both feet! This weekend we're headed to Rider's Roost in Ferguson, NC for another camping experience. Luckily, we're staying in one of the cabins since it's supposed to be colder than cold. The leaves should be just changing and viewing the fall colors from the bike should be really pretty. The best part about it is I have Friday off to prepare and Monday off to recover. I think I'll need it just to defrost myself! Can't wait...just don't forget to pack the portable heater! (that's not camping cheating, is it?) Check back in about a week for a summary blog!

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A Great Fall Weekend

I think most of us would agree that we work for the weekends. Lately, this has been more true than ever, especially when you have weekends like this one. Friday night started with roses from Jim, dinner, and a movie, all to celebrate our six-month anniversary. I know that six months doesn't seem like a long time, but good men are hard to find, and lucky for me, I found one.

Then we move to Saturday where we went to the fair with our friends, Dave and Cathy. It was Jim's first time at the NC State Fair, and my first time in several years. We rode the bikes there to hopefully find an easy place to park, and we did! Then we made our way through the crowds, saw the livestock, giant veggies, a bluegrass band, and the big Smokey! I wonder if we can get Jim to volunteer to run it next year...doubtful!

Then there was the food. We shared kettle corn, funnel cake, fried pickles, and yes, the Krispy Kreme burger. Before you get all grossed out, it really wasn't that bad. We took the advice of someone else who tried it and only had it with bacon and cheese. No lettuce, ketchup, or mustard, 'cause THAT would've been gross! 

The taste 

The reaction? Pretty good!

The worst thing about it was the mess the doughnuts left on your fingers. Which actually, I wouldn't know anything about since my gentleman boyfriend held it for me while I took my bites. It's the modern-day countrified version of covering a puddle of water with his coat. Chivalry at its best!

After the fair we went to Steve and Patty's house for movie night under the stars. Granted, it was a little chilly, but sitting by the fire pit snuggled under a blanket made it very cozy. And the awesome popcorn didn't hurt either!

Sunday, we rode with JABG folks 210 miles through Uwharrie National Forest then Asheboro. The trip took us through Star, NC, which is the exact geographical center of NC. Seems fitting since we've also been through the geographical center of the US (all 50 states, not the 48 contiguous in case you were wondering), Belle Fourche, SD. I also saw something I've never seen before-members of JABG consulting, of all things, a MAP! Not the GPS!! The fellas went old school, y'all.

Ended the night with Mexican food, Young and the Restless, and an early bedtime for one tired Shanpie.

Sturgis Pics...Finally!

So...finally...after about two months...I've organized and loaded the Sturgis pics into some sort of web album slideshow thingy (hopefully) that y'all will be able to click through and view. I'm still relatively new to Flickr, so fingers crossed that this thing actually works.

After five hours of going through about 1,500 pics, I've narrowed it down to these 100. There are bikes, babes, boys, boobies, booze, and blacktop. I tried to find a little something for everyone. As I stated in my first blog, the disclaimer still applies (i.e., some of these pics are PG-13, some may qualify for Rated R). And some of the pics stay just between those that actually went...what happens in Sturgis...

Most of you already know the back story behind this trip (and if you don't, just click through my earlier blogs!), so I won't go into great detail here. Hopefully the captions on the pics will describe all the beautiful, fun, interesting, crazy sites we saw. If there are burning questions, just email or comment and I'll answer!

Grab a seat, grab a beer, and away we go!

P.S. It looks like the captions don't show when you view the slideshow through the blog. If you click "Sturgis 2010" or any of the pics it should bring you to my flickr photostream where you can view the captions and descriptions. If you run the slideshow, make sure you click "show info" in the upper right hand corner...it's worth it, promise!

Raleigh Bikefest

Last weekend was the Raleigh Bikefest. The best feature of this rally? We only had to travel 20 minutes rather than 36 hours to get there! Jim and I went down on Friday night after work. Had a couple drinks, listened to some bands and walked around. At one point I thought I was going to get hit by an Amtrak, but no, it was this bike with a train horn rigged on the front. Bikers are so creative.



In comparison with the other rallies, we saw a lot fewer people, a lot more clothes on these people, and lots of kids running around. Bikes were still cool though. It's nice to have this event in our little city.

The next day we went back with some JABG friends. Met at Ray Price then rode through downtown.

Fayetteville Street Mall


There were some events, more people (still with more clothes), and tons of dogs. All of which were Great Danes. I guess it's not cool for bikers to be seen with dogs less than 100 pounds?

Also, whose idea was this booth? Shocker, bikers don't like crepes.


There was also a Carolina Hurricanes bike. So I took some pics just for my mom, and cousin, Claudia. Both of whom I think would actually ride this bike. Signed by the players and complete with hockey stick-shaped rear view mirrors.



Skipping back to Friday night, we went to BoneDaddy's Hideaway after we left downtown. What's a BoneDaddy's you ask? (well, one of you asked) I don't know, but I like it.
And as it turns out, I am now mayor of BoneDaddy's - for those that follow foursquare. It wasn't much of a competition as it seems that bikers aren't really into the whole foursquare thing. I guess having your whereabouts known at all times isn't an attractive feature for bikers. Kinda ruins the whole badass thing, huh?

The best thing about Friday night was the band, Automag. A cool blend of southern and hard rock straight out of JoCo, even wrote a song about it. Good covers and good originals. Can't wait for when they come local again. Warning, some content may not be suitable for children under the age of 18, or non-biker adults over the age of say, 65? No offense.