WWR '09 - Day 3

Beautiful weather finally arrived in Richmond and it looked to stay for at least a day or two. As usual, we went down to get breakfast. I had some grits with my breakfast which would probably make me the only Northerner to like grits. With breakfast over, we started to get ready for our ride through back-country roads of Kentucky. Our group consisted of four riders with Heather, Jim and Biker rounding out the group.

We rode from Richmond to Ravenna and then Heather and I got our first taste of great twisty roads along 213 between Pitts and Stanton. The road was definitely challenging but we got through it and Heather even scraped a floorboard in one of the turns. From there we headed for another challenge through 77 and 715 located in the Daniel Boone National Forest. The scenery was beautiful and included a dark tunnel and the Red River Gorge. Halfway through 715 we stopped for some photos.

Heather's official 2009 motorcycling portrait.

Next, we continued on 715 through the forest to 11 and our next destination which was the Natural Bridge. Just before we got to the park, I got myself in a dicey situation as Jim was late going into a turn. I had to use my best evasive moves to get back in line. All five of us decided to buy lift tickets for a ride to the top of a mountain from which you could walk to either the Natural Bridge or the lookout onto the Natural Bridge.

View of the lift to the Natural Bridge.

The ride to the top was quite long and interesting. There were frequent stops to stabilize the lines. There were also several other VROCers that were already on the way down. It seems that everyone decided to come to the park today at pretty much the same time but most came in small groups. After 10 or so minutes we were finally on the top. We all decided to go to the lookout first. Once again, we met other rally participants who were already heading in the opposite direction. The path to the lookout wasn't very wide and at times was very muddy. Some of us had to use logs or other means to get past the mud. The muddy trail was worth going through as the view from the lookout was just amazing.

Tom, Heather and Sandy with the Natural Bridge in the background.

After making the trek back, Heather and Sandy decided to return to the bottom while Jim, Biker and myself went the other way to the Natural Bridge. The view from the bridge was just good except that if nobody told you, you wouldn't that it the Natural Bridge underneath your feet. We stayed for a couple of minutes and then also decided to return. We met Heather and Sandy, who had already been through the gift shop, and after a few minutes we were on our way back to Richmond.

With dinner hour nearing, we went to Waffle House which was pretty much adjacent to our hotel. The food was good, but the service was missing something. Once again, Heather and I spent the rest of the night between the parking lot and the pool.

SEASON STATS
Today's trip: 234 km - 145 miles
2009 goal: 8,500 km - 5,282 miles
2009 to date: 2,747 km - 1,707 miles (32.3%)
To obtain goal: 5,753 km - 3,575 miles

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