June '21 Va Guzzi Riders Lunch report
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Ron
Jun 14, 2021, 12:17:33 PM6/14/21
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Riders,
Weatherguess was "iffy" for the latter part of the week. I'd heard from several lunch "regulars" that they'd miss this month, but there are folks who live up near Stuarts Draft who usually show up at Sanzone's so I went ahead & made a reservation for 10. As the storms rolled through on Thursday & Friday I started getting that "I might be there alone" bad vibe. Saturday dawned heavily overcast, foggy w/ thick humidity....but it wasn't raining, and the weatherguess on my celphone said 15% chance of rain until late afternoon. Well that's 85% chance of staying dry so I backed the V7 out of the garage. I geared up w/my "Draggin jeans" SWAT boots, & the old Tourmaster "Transitions" Jacket. The temp was supposed to get well into the 80's, & with the humidity.....I took a long look at the "Sonoma" mesh jacket, but the chance of rain, small as it was, discouraged that idea. I rode North past Amherst, & topped off the gastank at the corner of 151 & 29. Riding toward the mountains on 151 I noticed that the tops of the mountains were wreathed in clouds. At the Devils Backbone I turned left & headed up the mountain toward Wintergreen. I'd had a few raindrops hit my face shield, but so far so good. All that changed as I climbed up into the cloud after passing the Wintergreen entrance. The drizzle was heavy enough that a car coming toward me had the wipers on. The parking area next to the BRP was packed, I assume hikers & bicyclists. I crossed the BRP & started down 664 toward Sherando Lake. The road has been repaved fairly recently, and so is much safer w/out the holes & broken pavement, but a wet road surface, limited vision, & gravel washed out onto the pavement by all the recent rain made it a VERY careful ride down the mountain. The drizzle ended as I dropped out of the cloud, & being able to see better I picked up the pace a little. A cage in front of me did a "slam on brakes" for some deer on the side of the road, but I was far enough back that it wasn't an issue. The rest of the ride to Sanzones was pleasant. Pulling into the lot, a cage parked next to me, it turned out to be Allyn Chappell. Whew! not eating alone this month! They had 3 tables pulled together & set up for 10. Allyn & I took seats at one of the end tables & I told the lady that if no one else showed up & she needed the tables to take them. We "chewed the fat" & held off ordering untill about 12:40 when I glanced out the window & saw a Guzzi coming in. It was Rob Prins on his 1967 V-700 w/Riley riding pillion. A cage followed w/Sam Prins, Jack & Megan. So, we had 4 adults & 3 kids at the table. It was a fun lunch. Both Rob & Sam said their college professor positions & 3 kids keep their lives full & their bikes only get taken out for State inspections & keeping the gas fresh. The service was excellent, I didn't hear anyone complain about their food. We only had the two Guzzis in the lot, but it was a 50 year spread, a 1967 V-700 to a 2017 V-7III, Half of the 100 years Guzzi has been in business. By the time we headed out the clouds had lifted so I enjoyed some miles on the Parkway going home. About 140miles total for the day. My brain was in nirvana, but the body was starting to complain, the "new" knee was aching a little, & the stock seat was feeling narrow & quite hard.
I hope to see y'all at the rally in 11 days.
Stay healthy, ride safe.
Ron
Weatherguess was "iffy" for the latter part of the week. I'd heard from several lunch "regulars" that they'd miss this month, but there are folks who live up near Stuarts Draft who usually show up at Sanzone's so I went ahead & made a reservation for 10. As the storms rolled through on Thursday & Friday I started getting that "I might be there alone" bad vibe. Saturday dawned heavily overcast, foggy w/ thick humidity....but it wasn't raining, and the weatherguess on my celphone said 15% chance of rain until late afternoon. Well that's 85% chance of staying dry so I backed the V7 out of the garage. I geared up w/my "Draggin jeans" SWAT boots, & the old Tourmaster "Transitions" Jacket. The temp was supposed to get well into the 80's, & with the humidity.....I took a long look at the "Sonoma" mesh jacket, but the chance of rain, small as it was, discouraged that idea. I rode North past Amherst, & topped off the gastank at the corner of 151 & 29. Riding toward the mountains on 151 I noticed that the tops of the mountains were wreathed in clouds. At the Devils Backbone I turned left & headed up the mountain toward Wintergreen. I'd had a few raindrops hit my face shield, but so far so good. All that changed as I climbed up into the cloud after passing the Wintergreen entrance. The drizzle was heavy enough that a car coming toward me had the wipers on. The parking area next to the BRP was packed, I assume hikers & bicyclists. I crossed the BRP & started down 664 toward Sherando Lake. The road has been repaved fairly recently, and so is much safer w/out the holes & broken pavement, but a wet road surface, limited vision, & gravel washed out onto the pavement by all the recent rain made it a VERY careful ride down the mountain. The drizzle ended as I dropped out of the cloud, & being able to see better I picked up the pace a little. A cage in front of me did a "slam on brakes" for some deer on the side of the road, but I was far enough back that it wasn't an issue. The rest of the ride to Sanzones was pleasant. Pulling into the lot, a cage parked next to me, it turned out to be Allyn Chappell. Whew! not eating alone this month! They had 3 tables pulled together & set up for 10. Allyn & I took seats at one of the end tables & I told the lady that if no one else showed up & she needed the tables to take them. We "chewed the fat" & held off ordering untill about 12:40 when I glanced out the window & saw a Guzzi coming in. It was Rob Prins on his 1967 V-700 w/Riley riding pillion. A cage followed w/Sam Prins, Jack & Megan. So, we had 4 adults & 3 kids at the table. It was a fun lunch. Both Rob & Sam said their college professor positions & 3 kids keep their lives full & their bikes only get taken out for State inspections & keeping the gas fresh. The service was excellent, I didn't hear anyone complain about their food. We only had the two Guzzis in the lot, but it was a 50 year spread, a 1967 V-700 to a 2017 V-7III, Half of the 100 years Guzzi has been in business. By the time we headed out the clouds had lifted so I enjoyed some miles on the Parkway going home. About 140miles total for the day. My brain was in nirvana, but the body was starting to complain, the "new" knee was aching a little, & the stock seat was feeling narrow & quite hard.
I hope to see y'all at the rally in 11 days.
Stay healthy, ride safe.
Ron
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