February 2025 Central Virginia Guzzi Lunch Report

[Michael S. Jones]

Greetings, Moto Guzzi friends. Today’s forecast was for chilly temps and rain most of the day, but here in Evington the rain still hadn’t started when 10am rolled around, so I decided that if it’s not raining when I need to leave for the Guzzi lunch, I’ll take the Convert. I can always put on the rain gear for the trip home if needed. Unfortunately, within half an hour the rain started and it’s still coming down.

Despite the dreary weather – or for a few people, to escape from the dreary weather – five of us showed up at Napoli’s in Rustburg. My little green truck and I arrive first, followed by Alice Komoroski, Dave Phillips, Al Chappell, and Larry Echols, each one “riding” something with four wheels. This is the second month in a row without a single motorcycle making it to the lunch. I don’t remember that ever happening before!

The absence of motorcycles hardly dampened the mood at all. Everyone seemed happy to be in a nice little restaurant having lunch with friends while the rain poured down outside. I have found the eggplant parmigiana subs at Napoli’s to be consistently quite good. They have a nice, toasty roll, a not-too-thick-but-not-to-thin slice of eggplant, not too much breading, and tasty sauce. Sanzone’s is still king, but Napoli’s in Rustburg is so much closer to home…! Al has become a big fan of the veggie calzone, so much so that he ordered an extra to take home to Suzy (this wife). Alice got one, too, and seemed to enjoy it. Larry got a big plate of spaghetti with three large meatballs and garlic bread. It was more than the average person could consume, so he got to take dinner home with him.

The conversation was friendly and varied, ranging from health and the weather to the Superbowl and the newest Guzzi: the V7 Sport 850, which is the familiar 850cc small block with the traditional green color of the original Telaio Rosso bikes, dual disc front brakes, inverted forks, IMU with Cornering ABS, and a custom Sport riding mode, among other things. I bet that’s fun on the back roads! You can read about it here: https://www.motoguzzi.com/en_EN/landing-page/v7-sport/.

Next month the weather should be warmer – I hope! – and perhaps we’ll have bikes in the parking lot. Hope to see you there!

Mike



M. Jones, executive editor, Journal for the Study of Religions and Ideologies (www.jsri.ro)
"The heart has its reasons which reason does not know." -Blaise Pascal
"With man, instinct and reason avoid each other with adversity, yet, by repudiating each other they lure each other to reach mutual correction." -Lucian Blaga
"Human reason has this peculiar fate that in one species of its knowledge it is burdened by questions which, as prescribed by the very nature of reason itself, it is not able to ignore, but which, as transcending all its powers, it is also not able to answer." -Immanuel Kant