Ethan spent a week camping in WVa with Shelly's folks. Shelly and I planned to get away for a couple days of kayaking with Brock staying at my folks. The weather conspired against that plan, but not wanting to disappoint Brock or Grandpa, we headed out for some inside type of fun. First stop was the Harvest Moon Cafe in Canal Winchester. This place is worth the stop with good food/drinks and nice atmosphere with brick and black pipe interior. From there we hit up Iron Pony, REI, Jeni's Ice Cream, Trader Joe's before heading back to Athens for supper (and some World Cup soccer) at Jackie O's. Fun day to get away. As an aside, I picked up a pair of TCX Track boots for dual sport riding. Lot's cheaper than a broken foot.
Speaking of, with a dual sport camping ride planned in a few weeks, I picked up some Michelin T63 tires for the KTM to replace the worn out Sahara's that are on it. Should make a great dirt road/trail tire.
The following week we decided to pack up a tent and take Brock camping. The weather forecast for Davis, WVa looked great with highs in the mid 70's and lows in the 50's with fair skies. We got in to Thomas, WVa and to the Tip Top coffee shop in time for lunch and to watch the USMNT versus Germany cup game. From there we set up camp, checked out Blackwater Falls, the Blackwater River valley views, the Dry Fork River, some pizza from Siriani's, playground time in Canaan Valley and back to camp in time for a fire and marshmallows. Brock was great and slept like a rock. We even had a woodcock hanging around in the camp. Up the next morning around 5am to make coffee while Brock slept in. We stopped at the Laurel Valley wind turbine installation after breakfast and before having a Hellbender Burrito for lunch. After that, we headed back home, watching the temperature rise 10 degrees plus humidity as we dropped out of the mountains.
With that, June ended with the passing of a great man, Chad Vanco, a coworker who was fighting cancer. At only 42 years old with a wife and two kids, it was a tough loss. I watched the USMNT game versus Belgium at Jackie O's with a few other folks! We celebrated 21 years since our first date. Got to take a short trail ride with Ethan. From there, I have just torn stuff up. Ethan broke the chain on his TTR. My MASI road frame is being replaced (under warranty) as the bottom race for the headset bearing came loose from the frame. The generator quit generating on the old Sportster. And yesterday my final drive belt broke on my Buell on my way home from work. Thankfully it wasn't in the construction area I just came out of when it happened and dad was able to pick me up. Also found a bad rear wheel bearing when I took it apart (most likely related). And lastly, a good friend lost his job. I need a bike ride...
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