This gorgeous meadow is in a place called Deerfield, Virginia. I’d never been here before and I was taken aback by the beauty. I cannot wait to return on the bike.
I’ve returned from a three day trip, for business and pleasure, to four different localities around Virginia. Visits with my parents, and with friends, were wonderful, and the day long meeting, productive.
I look forward to popping over to your place for a visit later in the week.
As you view these images, I am off to see my parents for some Mother’s Day / Father’s Day celebrating.
Following that, I’ll participate in a Saturday Board Meeting for the Virginia Council of Nurse Practitioners.
Then I’ll get to spend the evening with a long time friend and fellow photographer.
And hopefully, all of that work and play will be followed by a belated birthday celebration with my sister.
These images were taken during an evening with friends last week. Life, and all it’s gifts and challenges, has prevented this group of women from gathering lately. On Friday, we finally got to sit around the fire, enjoy delicious food and drink, and the company of folks who know you well and love you despite your, shall we call them, less attractive, traits.
Enjoy the weekend, everyone! I’ll catch up with you when I get back.
In it’s 10th year, International Female Ride Day (IFRD) is a one-day, globally synchronized ride exclusively for women motorcyclists.
Having found out about IFRD too late to organize a group ride, I was none the less determined to get on the bike. Okay, let’s be honest. I was determined to get on the bike even if it wasn’t International Female Ride Day.
I met Dave and Michael, two of my favorite biker buds who I’ve written about before, at 11 on Saturday morning.
We flirted with rain all day but stayed dry, and thankfully so, as the roads we took were full of fun curves and twists.
We stopped at Big Walker Lookout, a 100 ft observation tower on top of Big Walker Mountain.
Built in 1947, the tower offers great views of mountain peaks in 5 surrounding states.
It costs $6 to climb to the top, and while I’ve made the climb in the past, today we enjoyed the views from the bottom.
In addition to the observation tower, there’s a General Store, a swinging bridge, and this collection of old license plates.
At one point during the day, we got caught at a railroad crossing. This building caught my attention and I literally ran back, huffing and puffing in my helmet and boots, to take a photo while waiting for the train to pass. I managed to take a quick shot, but had no time to gather any history, as the crossing bars started to rise signaling that it was time to ride on.
My friend Karen gave me an action camera, similar to a Go Pro, and I cannot wait to start using it. If I’d been riding alone, I would have stopped far too often for photos. Since Dave and Michael like to keep on riding, the action camera will allow for some fun shots and video without having to stop so often.
As always, we finished the ride with a cold beer, a great meal, and the chance to make a new Gravatar.
I’ve already marked my calendar for the 2017 International Female Ride Day, and if I get my act together, I’ll try to organize a ride. Until then, here’s a bit more information about IFRD.
The guiding principles of IFRD are:
What a wild spring it has been, and just look at the stunning clouds that spring storms bring.
Saturday dawned with a list of errands that needed running, and despite the expectation of rain, I decided to ride the bike. It should surprise no one that I also made sure to find time to shoot some of the local scene.
I wish I could give you a little back story about this courtyard and the wall that surrounds it, but I have no history. The plan is to go to Facebook and see if some of the Radford locals can help me out. Many is the time that I have tried to capture a photo to reflect the wall’s uniqueness, and many times I have deleted those images. Not today!
It was quite overcast, but clouds always make for intriguing images.
The post processing here reflects the historic trestle over the New River, and a monochrome image will be posted on Monochromia sometime in the next few weeks.
In order to get these images, I had to stop the bike and walk over the bridge. Thankfully, this fencing only briefly obscures the view.
Some friends have purchased, and while still running the business, are renovating this 50 yr old Pizza House.
A quick stop at a friend’s home yielded these Rhododendron images. Such a gorgeous bud and bloom!
Every item on the To Do List was checked off, and I enjoyed a cool, slightly drizzly ride.
Satisfaction indeed!
A visitor to my blog might wonder where the name Life on the Bike came from considering that I haven’t written much about riding lately. Between the campaign and starting a new business, my 2015 time on the bike was limited.
2016 will be different! And in fact it already is.
Last weekend, I took at 500 mile ride to Virginia’s capital city of Richmond to have a reunion with friends. It’s about 250 miles to get there and for efficiency in time, I took the interstate. Bikers can often be heard to say “it’s the journey, not the destination” and sometimes that is true. Every now and then though, time is of the essence, and the interstate is the way to go. I was just glad to be on the bike. It was a beautiful day and I was a happy woman.
A quick stop on Afton Mountain, Virginia’s main passage across the Blue Ridge, offered a break for water, a handful of almonds, and a beautiful view. Meanwhile, my roommates from Old Dominion University were waiting on me, so I was off and riding again in no time.
I met Jan and Angie 38 years ago, and we have maintained contact in one form or another ever since. Isn’t it amazing how friendships can endure the test of time?
Soon enough, we were sitting on the porch of this lovely Richmond home, reveling in the fact that even though it had been many years since all three of us had been together, we were completely at home with one another.
It was a very late night, filled with lots of talk, laughter, and wine and I was glad that we didn’t have to do any driving (or riding).
While opportunities for photography were limited, this curved brick wall caught my eye.
The next morning, we enjoyed a delicious, homemade brunch,
and of course, made time for pictures!
Back roads carried me home to Radford, and while I didn’t have much time to stop for photography, something about this salt and pepper shaker made me bring out the camera. You know me!
So, sometimes it is about the destination, happily so.
I’ve always been told that Peonies and Ants have a symbiotic relationship, but a little research revealed that not all believe this to be true.
What say you, my gardening friends?
My friend Crystal, over at Conscious Engagement is a woman of many talents.
She is a hard working, home owning, keeper of chickens, and is also an incredible Mom, a passionate hiker and traveler, and a lover of photography and music.
And even though we’ve never met in the physical sense, I am oh so happy to call her my friend. When I admired the mailbox that she and Tara had renovated with leftover nail polish, it wasn’t long before my very own unique and colorful mailbox arrived.
Thanks to my nephew Sam, who installed it yesterday, I now have the best looking box on the street!
Thank you, Crystal! Thank you, Tara!
You can read about their creativity here.
I was walking through the dining room one day last week, and was struck by the morning sun streaming through the window, and the shadows that were created.
I’m also struck by the fact that while women achieved the Right to Vote via the 19th Amendment in 1920, we are still not protected by the Constitution. We’re still waiting …
ERA: Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.
If you need me this weekend, just head out on the highway.
Hope the next few days offer you the chance to do something that brings you joy.
Life on the Bike and other Fab Things 