Pure Eats, Pure Ride, Pure Joy

Long, rolling, stratified, post storm clouds filled the morning sky- otherwise, it's partly sunny and warming.

Harrisonburg, VA

It was a soft and slow awakening at the Deaton's. Coffee with instructions were thoughtfully left alongside the french press. The prior day's soaked garments were all dried and packed, and after a quick couple of errands, my friend and I made our way to The Little Grill Collective for a delicious, farm fresh breakfast.

The Little Grill Collective, Harrisonburg, VA

I parted ways with my friend shortly after, as he was off to other appointments, and I had a date with Hugo Kohl.

Whose store is this? Oh...

Hugo is affable, accommodating, and deeply knowledgeable on the history of automation and its effect on the idea of meaningful work as related to the jewelry industry over time. My tour of the facility and history lesson on hubs, rollers, and the screw press, gave me plenty to ponder.

The showroom at Hugo Kohl's

And what better way to ponder, than while stuffing my face hole with fried pastries from Pure Eats? Mmm... oreo and cinnamon donuts with milk.

It was just after noon, the skies were threatening but holding back, and my day's destination was not just down the road, but an actual road...

The Blue Ridge Parkway

I'm sure that for some this route is about the vistas, the slow pace, and the reminder that once in awhile, government gets it right.

For me, it's all about the curves.

Every one is smooth, delectable, and nearly perfect from my red machine's vantage.

Of course it's also about the trees, and the immersion in nature with nary a guiderail to obstruct the views and landscape.

It's also the isolation from corporate America that appeals about the parkway; absent are all the lighted signs, billboards, and strip malls of modern urban culture.

Some people lose themselves in a good book, others roll dice and play- me, I ride. I ride this road, this parkway, not to fantasize, but to live my fantasy.

Besides, I needed to clean the mud and dirt from the previous day off of my tread.

The entry point at Afton, VA.

There are so many sights and side adventures to be had along the route, and I stopped for almost none of them. However, a tip from a credible local suggested that I look for camp at the end of a lightly traveled trail. Great riches in views and tranquility awaited, she said.

Just another Roadside attraction, or...

...Is nirvana waiting at the end of this trail? I may never know, because I was too busy...

...Laying it down so deep in the corners that my centerstand felt the grind of the asphalt. No regrets here.

Mission Clean Mud from Tread, was satisfactorily completed from edge to edge, while also pinning grin from ear to ear.

See you down the road.

   Shane