New Media from a Journalism Veteran
The sounds of thunder
He snapped awake at 0500, a full 30 minutes before the alarm was set to go off.
For more than 30 years, he had been waking up at 5 a.m. It didn’t matter which time zone he was in or even if it was daylight savings time. When the big hand was on the 12 and the little one on the five, he was awake.
Run for the Wall honors vets
The Southern Route of the annual California to Washington, DC, Run for the Wall stopped for the night in Wytheville Wednesday and participants gathered in the city’s downtown park for ceremonies before riding out to dinner at the local Moose Lodge. Vets young and old participated in the ride. Fred Hendrick (above), a 92-year-old World [...]
A life without risk is a life unlived
“If you’re not living on the edge,” a good friend and fellow Harley-Davidson rider once told me, “you’re taking up too much room.” Living without risk is not living. I’m an adrenaline junkie. Have been most of my life. Others can play it safe. I don’t. At 63, I often hear friends who don’t understand [...]
I am, therefore I ride
The brisk wind cut through my leathers with sharp cold as I wheeled my Harley Super Glide out of the garage early Sunday morning for the 10-mile ride to Slate Mountain Presbyterian Church. I decided to take the bike and brave the cold so I could get a jump start on the day following church. [...]
Biker’s delight
Motorcycle enthusiasts descended on the Roanoke Civic Center Friday for the opening of the annual three-day Blue Ridge BikeFest, a tribute to leather, chrome and two-wheel thunder. Like most shows, the Fest is a mixture of vendors hawking wares, events like the Star Boyz motorcycle stunt show (above) and a custom bike exhibition that featured [...]
Great day, great ride
A group of us road our Harleys through the damp and fog of Sunday morning to Lee-Hi Plaza just north of Lexington for the annual Virginia statewide chapter challenge, a gathering of Harley Owners Group (HOG) chapters from throughout the Old Dominion. The fog finally cleared and the sunny, Springlike weather arrived just in time [...]
Road relaxation
The rain that meandered through the area let up just after 5 p.m. and sunlight saturated the landscape so I fired up the Harley for a late afternoon ride, heading down Virginia Rte. 8 to Woolwine Mountain. Carving curves on a twisty mountain road is both exhilarating and relaxing. The pegs on both sides of [...]
As good as it gets
After too many days of lingering winter-like weather, Sunday dawned sunny and warmer. After church, I climbed aboard my Harley Super Glide and headed out for the a rare day of riding and rediscovering what makes this area so special. After a quick stop at the Floyd Country Store for a bowl of chili and [...]