First Group Ride in North Carolina

Saturday, December 12th, 2015



Okay, so this is not exactly my first group ride in North Carolina since I was here about ten years ago for Gathering of Eagles, and rode with my Cruiser Club, USA Group around Greensboro. This is the first group ride since moving, and being a resident of North Carolina, as I now carry a license from the state.

This ride was set up by the Piedmont Riders Group on Meet Up. I had been following them since we moved down here, but the rides were on days we couldn't ride, or too far away. Not only was this one kind of close, but was coming back right near Locust.

Still though, the meeting spot was a good hour away, and I wanted to be on time, if not early. We headed out around 8:30 on the cool moist morning. So cool you could see it, and maybe even cut it with a knife!

We started out heading north on Central Avenue, also known as 200 North. This is a nice road that goes in and out a couple small towns, but mostly winds through trees. This also means cool, still air that had condensed. We rolled through the fog until we met up with State Highway 601.

We went north on 601 into Concord, North Carolina. Before getting to deep into town, but less fog, we veered off on Poplar Tent Road, heading west. This would take us until it Tees at State Highway 73. We headed west for a little jaunt, and just before Interstate 77, we pulled off into a shopping area, and the meeting spot. We fueled up with only spying a Gold Wing Trike in the area. Another bike showed up as we finished filling up The Black Pearl, and as we parked, another pair showed up.



We soon found out that this is a pretty laid back group, and we had plenty of time to show for the ride. There was no time posted for KSU-Kick Stands Up, so I wasn't really sure. Besides, it would give more time for the fog to burn off.

For most of the beginning of the route, we retraced the path Kasey and I had just taken. However, we stayed on 73 longer. We eventually made it out in the country, including on Mount Pleasant Road because we missed a turn. This put us on a road just a couple miles from the house.

We went back out into the back roads of Stanly County, and eventually arrived on the north edge of Ablemarle. We headed south, and pulled in, via the exit, to the Log Cabin Inn. This little BBQ Eatery had been suggested to me by several of the locals, so I was looking forward to giving it a try!


I wouldn't say that lunch was spectacular, it is certainly a place I would go back to, but I have had some pretty good BBQ Sandwiches in my life, so hard to top. Plus BBQ is different than what I have had before, so I will have to make more fair comparison later. The benchmark has been set.

After a lot of conversation at lunch, we headed back out to the bikes, and headed for Morrow Mountain. This is my third visit to the State Park, but the first to see this volume of motorcycles!



A picture is worth a thousand words, so I will let the above photos tell the story of our visit at the overlook. This great view is just about 30 minutes from our home.

We coasted down the windy road from the overlook, and headed down to the other side of the park, bordered by the PeeDee River. It is damned up to form Lake Tillery, so it is a good expanse of water.



From the lake view, we headed back out of the park, and south to State Roads 27/24, and headed back into Albemarle. The group began splitting up here, some because of traffic, others for fuel stops, and taking other routes to get home.

Kasey and I, well, we made our way through Albemarle, then into Locust, and finally to Walmart to pick up some ice cream. Our plan was to top off the Saturday Ride with Sundae Night!

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