We had our sights set on shooting today (pun intended), so we headed north to Flatwoods Outfitters- a range located between Jacksonville and Swansboro in Hubert, NC. We had been there before, but it has been a number of years.
After the pre-ride, we got on the scoots and headed out Holly Shelter Rd. and 210 to Hampstead. My BRAND NEW radio was not working, so Scotty, Curbb, and Professor helped me communicate with our beloved tailgunner Road Queen. Charles peeled off for home and we continued sailing smoothly up 17N and 24 all the way to Flatwoods. We could hear the sound of FREEDOM as we pulled up and parked the bikes. There was a good crowd here today.... actually TOO good...
Upon getting up to the shop to check in, we found that they had closed down half of the lanes due to CoronaVirus directives from local officials. When I called earlier in the week , they said that they were running business as usual. , but things had changed. Unfortunately, there would be an extensive wait time to shoot, so we gathered around and decided what to do. Everyone agreed that we should have lunch at the hot dog vendor down on the corner, so we saddled up and headed down.
We made the hot dog vendors DAY!! haha! 13 people ordering hot dogs and brats! He took care of our group and we took care of him! He was very appreciative and it worked out perfectly for us to grab some food and sit outside- 6ft away from each other, of course.
Next on our trip back to ILM was a stop by New River Harley to say "hey!" to Sandy! Mickey, Linnea, and Alan continued on towards Wilmington. Down to 10 bikes. We mingled and browsed and caught up with Sandy. She was pretty psyched that we stopped by... it had been awhile since she has been able to ride with us. We said our goodbyes and decided to forego the ride over to Old Maple Hill due to the weather radar showing rain coming.
We grabbed some gas and then finished off the ride into Wilmington via 17 and 210. David stayed on 17 when we made a right onto 210. Nick peeled off on 210 to Rocky Mount as the remaining Cru rolled down Holley Shelter into Castle Hayne. Ditched pulled off towards home at the roundy-round and Road Queen, Curbb, Buckweat, Professor , SCOTT!, and I rolled through downtown Wilmington to take it to the barn.
147 Klicks today. It was good to be out and riding with friends! Thanks to Road Queen for tailgunning and everyone else for following me. Stay safe and healthy ya'll!
'Til the Next Ride,
rePete
First Officer
SCRC PC 162