Surprise! A Ride!
Friday, July 31st, 2015
Kasey, my favorite riding partner, came home from working at the bakery, and said we need to go on a ride. So I continued to make some lunch, we ate, and then I went to planning. I have some things I want to see in the area, and we had a limited time, so going and getting lost was not an option at this point. This would be her first ride in North Carolina since we moved here. We had ridden before on our way to Florida several years ago.
We started out heading south on 200, or North Central Avenue. After about two miles we stopped at the intersection of 24/27 and pulled into the Sunoco Station to fuel up. After topping off the tank, we continued south on 200 to Stanfield. At the corner of Big Lick Road is the Wayside Cafe, a place I think we will have to try sometime. It looks like one of those out of the way eateries that I prefer.
We continued east on Big Lick until Main Street, and turned right to head into Oakboro. Besides having another Wayside Restaurant, Oakboro also boasts Tammy's which promises, "Good Ol' Cookin'". I may find that out down the road. You would think since we ate before the trip that we wouldn't notice all these places to eat?
From Oakboro, we meandered east on NC 138, also known as Aquadale Road. Sure enough, we would arrive in Aquadale. A small jog in the road would put us on South Stanly School Road. Yes the county is spelled without the "e". Hard to get used to, and I hate seeing the red line under the word saying it is mis-spelled.
Norwood would be the next town we would pull into. It is close to Lake Tillery, and seemed like the typical lake town. It was small, but had those unusual businesses that you see near water. It also had a couple of places to eat that drew our attention, Lulu's Family Restaurant and Main Street Grill. I don't know about you, but I don't think I have ever had a bad meal at a place called Lulu's.
From Norwood, we made our way east on NC 731, and despite also being known as Allenton Road, we were going to Mt. Gilead. Before we would reach the next town, we would come up a damn site for sore eyes, really! We were on the back side of the damn that blocks up the water that makes Lake Tillery. I forgot the GoPro Again, so sorry, no pictures.
Highway 73 would begin our journey north, along the est side of the lake. We got a few good views, and I will have to come out and explore better paths for water vistas. We did cruise through the town of Pee Dee. Depsite also being close to the lake, this town looked as though it had been ignored for a lot of years. It might have had some glory days years ago, but not today.
The Highway kept us going north until it ends at 24/27, which we took heading back west. We stayed on the road as it took us into Ablemarle. This is where we made our first stop at Crossroad Motorcycle Shop. They sell Yamaha and Suzuki. It looked like the watercraft and four wheeler business is much better than the motorcycle business. The woman, who said she was a co-owner, was friendly, and we had a good chat. Kasey was drooling over the purple Honda Rebel sitting outside, and then drug me out to look at the Valkyrie also sitting out front.
We mounted back up, and headed through town. Ablemarle is next bigger town, opposite of Charlotte, which is the much bigger town. Albemarle has most of what we need that we can't find in Locust, but we still need to know where all that stuff is.
After running through downtown, and then on a stretch of US 52, yes the same US 52 that runs through Indiana, we arrived at another motorcycle shop. You can tell who planned this route. This one is RPM Motorsports, and they seemed to do well selling the Can Am Spyders. For those of you who don't know, they are high end trikes, with two wheels in the front. They run from 20 to 30 thousand, so it is like having a second car.
Again, we had a great conversation, and saw lots of four wheelers and watercraft. Time was running short, we hopped back on The Black Pearl, and made our way down the road. US 52 was the first stretch, heading south.
At Main Street, we turned right, and made a back way to 24/27, which we continued on heading west toward home. We drove through Red Cross, which is where Rose's school is, and then made a turn on Bethel Church Road, which runs right by our neighborhood. It is also a more interesting, and scenic way to get to and from 24/27. It seems like a much shorter drive, also.
So there is my second, Kasey's first, ride here in North Carolina. It is a little warmer than in the Hoosier State, and it is like that for every ride, but it is much more bearable than in Indiana. Plus, there will be far fewer days the bike has to sit in the garage.
We started out heading south on 200, or North Central Avenue. After about two miles we stopped at the intersection of 24/27 and pulled into the Sunoco Station to fuel up. After topping off the tank, we continued south on 200 to Stanfield. At the corner of Big Lick Road is the Wayside Cafe, a place I think we will have to try sometime. It looks like one of those out of the way eateries that I prefer.
We continued east on Big Lick until Main Street, and turned right to head into Oakboro. Besides having another Wayside Restaurant, Oakboro also boasts Tammy's which promises, "Good Ol' Cookin'". I may find that out down the road. You would think since we ate before the trip that we wouldn't notice all these places to eat?
From Oakboro, we meandered east on NC 138, also known as Aquadale Road. Sure enough, we would arrive in Aquadale. A small jog in the road would put us on South Stanly School Road. Yes the county is spelled without the "e". Hard to get used to, and I hate seeing the red line under the word saying it is mis-spelled.
Norwood would be the next town we would pull into. It is close to Lake Tillery, and seemed like the typical lake town. It was small, but had those unusual businesses that you see near water. It also had a couple of places to eat that drew our attention, Lulu's Family Restaurant and Main Street Grill. I don't know about you, but I don't think I have ever had a bad meal at a place called Lulu's.
From Norwood, we made our way east on NC 731, and despite also being known as Allenton Road, we were going to Mt. Gilead. Before we would reach the next town, we would come up a damn site for sore eyes, really! We were on the back side of the damn that blocks up the water that makes Lake Tillery. I forgot the GoPro Again, so sorry, no pictures.
Highway 73 would begin our journey north, along the est side of the lake. We got a few good views, and I will have to come out and explore better paths for water vistas. We did cruise through the town of Pee Dee. Depsite also being close to the lake, this town looked as though it had been ignored for a lot of years. It might have had some glory days years ago, but not today.
The Highway kept us going north until it ends at 24/27, which we took heading back west. We stayed on the road as it took us into Ablemarle. This is where we made our first stop at Crossroad Motorcycle Shop. They sell Yamaha and Suzuki. It looked like the watercraft and four wheeler business is much better than the motorcycle business. The woman, who said she was a co-owner, was friendly, and we had a good chat. Kasey was drooling over the purple Honda Rebel sitting outside, and then drug me out to look at the Valkyrie also sitting out front.
We mounted back up, and headed through town. Ablemarle is next bigger town, opposite of Charlotte, which is the much bigger town. Albemarle has most of what we need that we can't find in Locust, but we still need to know where all that stuff is.
After running through downtown, and then on a stretch of US 52, yes the same US 52 that runs through Indiana, we arrived at another motorcycle shop. You can tell who planned this route. This one is RPM Motorsports, and they seemed to do well selling the Can Am Spyders. For those of you who don't know, they are high end trikes, with two wheels in the front. They run from 20 to 30 thousand, so it is like having a second car.
Again, we had a great conversation, and saw lots of four wheelers and watercraft. Time was running short, we hopped back on The Black Pearl, and made our way down the road. US 52 was the first stretch, heading south.
At Main Street, we turned right, and made a back way to 24/27, which we continued on heading west toward home. We drove through Red Cross, which is where Rose's school is, and then made a turn on Bethel Church Road, which runs right by our neighborhood. It is also a more interesting, and scenic way to get to and from 24/27. It seems like a much shorter drive, also.
So there is my second, Kasey's first, ride here in North Carolina. It is a little warmer than in the Hoosier State, and it is like that for every ride, but it is much more bearable than in Indiana. Plus, there will be far fewer days the bike has to sit in the garage.
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