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DDay - SML - Swinging Bridge

400 miles of pure Bliss! DDay Memorial, Smith Mountain Lake and Swinging Bridge

 

Riders : Deepak | Arvind | Behram

Days : 1

 

Weather was perfect for this ride today. We met early at Behram's house and then proceeded on to the rendevous point at a gas station to fill up and wait for a fellow rider. Unfortunately the rider did not show up in time and after waiting for a while, we proceeded on with the ride travelling north towards Virginia. The route took us through local roads from Chapel Hil, Mebane, Yanceyville and into Danville VA. We stopped briefly at a gas station for a quick tea break before heading on further. The roads were beautiful, scenic and the weather was a cool 65 deg; perfect for riding and listening to some tunes. Soon after that we got into some twisties (Jeters Chapel Rd) and then stopped at Smith Mountain Lake Beach where a triathlon had just completed. Stopped for a few minutes at the park, it was a beautiful park with a small beach and a swimming area. A few families had come there to enjoy the day there as well. We all felt this would be a destination we would love to return to sometime in the future, either with other riders or with our families. Close to lunch-time, we found a highly rated Mexican restaurant that was not too far from the park. We made a bee-line to the restaurant; the restaurant, Azul, lived up to its ratings as the food was good and we got a chance to relax for a while. The margarita was also pretty refreshing. After that, we headed towards the D-Day Memorial in Bedford. This is a spectacular memorial that is solemn and educational. They had a reflecting pool that describes the scene quite vividly: the arduous journey the soldiers made to the beaches of Normandy, France. At the center of the memorial stood a monumental arch with the word "Overlord", which was the military name of this operation. We were all impressed with the beauty of this memorial and solemnly reminded us of the many lives lost in the fight for freedom and how this operation shaped the world's history. Soon after leaving the memorial, we headed further north. Our road merged into the Blue Ridge Parkway and into some amazing twisties followed after that. We ended the twisties with a stop at the Buchanan Swinging Bridge over the James River in Buchanan VA. It was indeed a beautiful vantage point to enjoy the views of the James River and the surrounding Blue Ridge and Alleghany Mountains. At this point it was close to 3PM and we had to decide either to continue with the chosen route for several more hours or to turn back and go back for a quicker ride home to our families reaching at a respectable time. We choose to return home earlier and we headed back home after a quick chai break. The ride home was uneventful, each one of us having enjoyed a perfect day of riding. It was indeed a beautiful day and the weather was perfect as well. Reached home around 8pm with close to 370 miles completed. Beautiful memories captured in our hearts and souls. Another amazing ride for less than $60 spent in food and gas.






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