Many of the WORMS were able to enjoy a beautiful ride on 07 November but Allen couldn't make that ride and thus he was feeling the itch to ride on Sunday, 08 November. It was a beautiful day too. After the chores were done (3 hours working on the lawn and leaves), Allen coordinated with Mike and the boys met for lunch at the Hooters in Potomac Mills, VA. Jim was hoping to go but he had some painting to do and that had to wait for the warmer temperatures of the afternoon. So Mike and Allen had a tasty lunch comprising of chicken wings and beer. We watched the Redskins go down 14 points before it was time to depart and deal with other commitments we had for the day. The weather was just perfect at 73F with really no wind so you know the boys enjoyed the short ride.
The WORMS did a couple of things this fine Saturday morning and afternoon. Rose, Jim, Mike and new WORMS member Emmett supported the NRO Toy Run (which supported a Marine Corps Toys for Tots event) in Chantilly, while Sandra & Allen enjoyed a Virginia wine tour of three winery's; all of us headed in the same direction however - basically west. The weather was fantastic for a November day and the wine was pretty tasty too. But we want to hear about that ride and so let's get to it.
It was an awesome day to participate in the Toys for Tots ride. We didn’t see any frost on the pumpkin, but we were definitely dressed for cold weather riding. The thermometer said 44 degrees as Rose and Jim left the house and headed to the Target parking lot adjacent to Rt. 50 and Lee Rd. in Chantilly, VA. Several riders had arrived before us including Mike Ford. After contributing a toy to Toys for Tots, riders mingled and walked around looking at each others bikes before the ride started. I noticed a Harley Davidson Road King that had an Iron Butt plaque mounted in a unique way and pointed it out to Mike, in hopes he could mount his the same way. While looking at the plaque we struck up a conversation with Emmett, the owner of the Road King. Emmett had also participated in the same Redwing 19 Iron Butt ride as Mike and Jim.
At some point the four of us opted for a longer ride than what the NRO Toy Run route offered. With Mike wanting to go to Winchester Harley Davidson and Emmett being from Purcellville, VA., it was decided we would head West. Emmett said he knew some scenic back roads and offered to lead us to Winchester Harley Davidson. Little did the three of us (Rose, Mike and Jim) know what an outstanding tour guide Emmett would turn out to be, by showing us some great roads we haven’t had the opportunity to ride on yet.
We were the last to leave the Target parking lot, so others would not follow us and be lead away from the NRO Toy Run route. We went west on US Rt 50 and followed Emmett as he turned right onto Gum Spring road. We were soon to turn left onto Evergreen Mill Road towards Rt 15. At Rt 15, James Monroe Hwy, we went south to Rt 704, Harmony Church Road. Turning right off of Rt 15, we followed Harmony Church Road to Business Route 7, E. Colonial Hwy. Turning left at BR Rt 7 we headed towards Purcellville, VA. After being treated to beautiful Victorian houses in Purcellville, we stayed west on Rt 7 towards Berryville. In Berryville, we turned south on US Rt 340 towards Boyce. In the town of Boyce we turned right at the water tower onto Millwood Road. We followed Millwood Road to where it Intersects US Rt 50, less than one half mile away from Winchester Harley Davidson.
Fortunately everyone had dressed properly and we all arrived at Winchester Harley with smiles on our faces. We had lunch at the deli inside the Harley dealership while we discussed our return trip plans. After lunch we looked at the motorcycles. Once again Mike eyeballed the Harley trike. My money is on Mike for a new or used Harley trike in 2010.
Returning home, we decided to take a route that is well liked and traveled on previous WORM’s rides. Leaving Winchester Harley, we traveled east on US Rt 50, John S. Mosby Hwy, to the mountain top where Clarke County meets Loudoun County. We turned left onto Blueridge Mountain Road. We followed Blueridge Mountain Road back over to Rt 7 where we turned onto Snikersville Turnpike at Bluemont. Emmett lead us along Snickersville Turnpike to Rt 690 where he turned left back to Purcellville. The three of us followed Snickersville Turnpike back to US RT 50, where we turned east towards our starting point in Chantilly.
What we thought would be a short ride and be back home sometime after lunch, turned out to be a rewarding late Fall ride of over 150 miles. The temps were a little on the cool side by never making it out of the 50‘s, but the sunshine kept us all in good spirits. It was a truly enjoyable day for riding motorcycles. Thanks go out to Emmett Hinger for leading us through the countryside. We hope to ride with him on future outings.
Mike, Joe and Allen were planning to meet at the Hooter's in Chantilly, which is very close to the Dulles Expo Center (Route 28 near Route 50) on Halloween, but only Allen could make it due to weather concerns and other commitments the other guys had. But as it turned out, the rain held off today (yeah, it was wet in the morning) long enough for Allen to get over to the Hooters and enjoy a beer and some chicken wings. This was planned to be a photo opportunity because the Hooter girls were dressed up in Halloween costumes. Yes, I know. The Hooter outfits are just not enough anymore. There were a few Hooter's girls (actually 7 of them) that were dressed up and yes they wanted to participate in the photo shoot with Allen's chopper. So seven girls came outside for a few minutes, leaving the stunned customers wondering when their beers were going to be refilled. Before you know it though, it was over. The pictures turned out fantastic and we had a good time. There were some other guys there with cameras too so lots of pictures were taken.
The Chantilly Hooters have their own Facebook web site so please check that out and of course, if you are passing by their location, stop in for a few beers and chicken wings. They do taste great.
The WORMS enjoyed a cold but otherwise sunny Sunday morning / early afternoon ride up to Maryland to do the Montgomery Rural Heritage Driving Tour. You see, this year we wanted to try something different. We usually do the ride along Skyline Drive and that's some of the best scenery we're going to get in Virginia. But there are other things to see - especially in Maryland. If you take a look at the PDF attachment from the link above and you'll see a description for this ride.
We met early, just as the sun was rising, at our usual Starbucks in Clifton. We left there at 8:00 AM and headed down Route 29 to Sudley Road (Route 234). We took Sudley Road to I-15, followed that north up past Leesburg to Route 655 (White Ferry Road), and crossed the Potomac on White's Ferry. That part was easy. Trying to follow the map in the tour description proved difficult because some streets weren't identified very well. We never found the John Poole House & General Store (#13 in the PDF download map) - that was supposed to be our starting point for the Heritage Tour. We ended up skipping most of the stops on the map but we did find a few of them. The scenery was just beautiful however so nobody was complaining about the ride.
We ate lunch in Poolesville at the Bassett's Fine Food & Spirits restaurant and that was a treat. It sure beat the McDonald's just a bit down the street! Rather than come back the way we crossed into Maryland, we elected to take River Road over to Washington DC and then take the Clara Barton Parkway. Of course the Marine Corps Marathon was still going on in the early afternoon so streets were closed off and we had difficulty getting out of Washington DC and back into Virginia, but we all made it home. It was a fun ride and as always, the WORMS enjoyed each others' company along the way.
