Bottoms Up in Ironton!
By Wanda Carlisle
Chieftain of the Board Wanda Carlisle led 7 bikes and 10 riders to the Ironton Armory for some tasty BBQ. You couldn't have picked a nicer day to ride (on the way down at least). We were right on schedule the entire day on Day 1. Along the way, we crashed a graduation party at the Dresden River Park shelter where we had our Subway lunch, and made a note to include some time in New Straitsville next year so we can check out the Annual Moonshine Festival that is apparently held on Memorial Day weekend!
Our dinner at the Armory Steakhouse, while lip-smacking good as always, was overshadowed by some magnet trading courtesy of the Armory's use of Bottoms Up Beer system (think trading cards but more fun) and lots of laughter as we traded stories of "did you see this on the ride," and assorted embarrassing motorcycling mishaps. If you don't know what Bottoms Up refers to check out the link here https://www.bottomsupbeer.com.
The intent on Day 2 was to roll out at 8:00 am for another fabulous day of riding. Mother Nature and Murphy's law had other plans for us, however. It was drizzly in southern OH Sunday morning and poor Kevin came out to a flat tire. As a group, we decided to abandon the twisty riding that was planned and headed west about 20 miles along the river to the brand new (to RideCommand anyway) 823 cutover to 23 to get north above the rain and accompany Kevin to make sure he didn't end up stranded on the side of the road with a tire leaking air. 823 turned out to be scenic and with a couple stops to add some air, we were confident enough when we got to Circleville that Kevin would be okay up to Columbus to get a tire (he was successful and made it home okay). At Circleville, Wanda started winging it planning a route on the fly to a lunch spot on Buckeye Lake that she was semi-familiar with. The road was quite scenic (188) and the lunch spot had a nice vibe (you can't go wrong eating right on the water), but the food itself left a little to be desired. Fun fact, we found out why some people need a 300hp motor on a pontoon boat...12+ passengers!! From there the group got a preview of a road that will be on the Ohio's Best Roads route later this year (if you weren't on the ride, you'll have to go on Ohio's Best Roads in July to see for yourself). We finished the ride with one of our favorites, 93, and a whole lot of buggies.
All in all, thanks to a little flexibility and the philosophy "We leave as a group, we return as a group," it was a good weekend and we all have new stories to tell, which is what it's all about, right?
