R
rocketman
Guest
This is from a ride taken on Oct. 3 thru the backroads of Northern Va along the foothills and valleys just east of the Blue Rridge Mountains, all within 2 hours of my house along the banks of the Potomac River a bit south of Washington DC.
Due to a corporate funding snafu I was given the day off yesterday (without pay unfortunately, but what the hey!) so I decided that since all you poor bastards were stuck in the office slaving away at some pointless task as least one of us should get out and enjoy the day!
So I decided to head out for the Blue Ridge Mountains and see where the roads would lead me and perhaps catch a little of falls first colors. At first I had planned on riding out to Warrington for a cup of Starbucks but wound up just riding right on by and making for the mountains. I went past Leads Manor road so decided that IÔÇÖd head up that way. I took that all the way up to 55 and then, having never done the last, most northern part continued on past the Naked Mountain Winery (one of my favorites) and on up to Rt. 15. At 15 I headed back toward 55 and rode east to The Plains where I turned up Halfway Road then decided to take the right fork onto Hopewell Rd since I had never gone that way before. A very nice little road, narrow without any markings and mostly shaded as seen below
On Leads Manor I also came across this funny little building, I remembered seeing it before recently but forgot where until today. This is the second one like this IÔÇÖve seen so there must have been a particular use for such a structure on farms though I have no clue what, but it canÔÇÖt be coincidence that there are two exactly alike, the other one I saw was one from I picture I used for my poem ÔÇ£Rural RomanceÔÇØ.
(added note here is the other one I had seen several years that I used as part of my "Images on Words" section on my web site)
Rural Romance
Silent friends together,
looking so forlorn.
Hiding in the grasses,
their builders now un-born.
Two silent friends together
sharing memories.
In quiet contemplation,
amongst the swaying trees.
Never to be rescued,
nor used by man again;
They serve a difference purpose now,
for Sparrows, Mice and Wren.
I stopped to ponder how it was,
that thus they came to be.
Abandoned and forgotten,
in a green and grassy sea.
I stood there long and strained to hear,
Their tales from years long gone.
But all I heard was wind and sun;
So I once more traveled on.
Then I found myself at 17 and 234 and made the mistake of going toward Bull Run battlefield on 234 which took me into Manassas *sigh* so I hopped on PW Parkway and headed home. All in all about 140 miles and 4 hours. Funny thing was, I probably saw more color in PW Parkway heading home than I did up in the hills! Ha Ha!
Still a nice ride. Below are more pictures from the ride, sorry if some are a bit blown out, the sunny came up as got to nice roads and at high noon shooting can be tricky. I really need a way of viewing the pictures on the road on something other than the little bitty screen of the camera. (Which I now have, and itÔÇÖs a really trick little set up, IÔÇÖll post another thread on it, its about the coolest gizmo I have gotten to date!)
(note these were taken with both my Nikon and my little P&S cameras)
Enjoy!
RM
Due to a corporate funding snafu I was given the day off yesterday (without pay unfortunately, but what the hey!) so I decided that since all you poor bastards were stuck in the office slaving away at some pointless task as least one of us should get out and enjoy the day!
So I decided to head out for the Blue Ridge Mountains and see where the roads would lead me and perhaps catch a little of falls first colors. At first I had planned on riding out to Warrington for a cup of Starbucks but wound up just riding right on by and making for the mountains. I went past Leads Manor road so decided that IÔÇÖd head up that way. I took that all the way up to 55 and then, having never done the last, most northern part continued on past the Naked Mountain Winery (one of my favorites) and on up to Rt. 15. At 15 I headed back toward 55 and rode east to The Plains where I turned up Halfway Road then decided to take the right fork onto Hopewell Rd since I had never gone that way before. A very nice little road, narrow without any markings and mostly shaded as seen below
On Leads Manor I also came across this funny little building, I remembered seeing it before recently but forgot where until today. This is the second one like this IÔÇÖve seen so there must have been a particular use for such a structure on farms though I have no clue what, but it canÔÇÖt be coincidence that there are two exactly alike, the other one I saw was one from I picture I used for my poem ÔÇ£Rural RomanceÔÇØ.
(added note here is the other one I had seen several years that I used as part of my "Images on Words" section on my web site)
Rural Romance
Silent friends together,
looking so forlorn.
Hiding in the grasses,
their builders now un-born.
Two silent friends together
sharing memories.
In quiet contemplation,
amongst the swaying trees.
Never to be rescued,
nor used by man again;
They serve a difference purpose now,
for Sparrows, Mice and Wren.
I stopped to ponder how it was,
that thus they came to be.
Abandoned and forgotten,
in a green and grassy sea.
I stood there long and strained to hear,
Their tales from years long gone.
But all I heard was wind and sun;
So I once more traveled on.
Then I found myself at 17 and 234 and made the mistake of going toward Bull Run battlefield on 234 which took me into Manassas *sigh* so I hopped on PW Parkway and headed home. All in all about 140 miles and 4 hours. Funny thing was, I probably saw more color in PW Parkway heading home than I did up in the hills! Ha Ha!
Still a nice ride. Below are more pictures from the ride, sorry if some are a bit blown out, the sunny came up as got to nice roads and at high noon shooting can be tricky. I really need a way of viewing the pictures on the road on something other than the little bitty screen of the camera. (Which I now have, and itÔÇÖs a really trick little set up, IÔÇÖll post another thread on it, its about the coolest gizmo I have gotten to date!)
(note these were taken with both my Nikon and my little P&S cameras)
Enjoy!
RM
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