My break-away

I tried to break this habit of sitting around the house on my day off and do something fun and productive. Fun... sorta...Productive... I doubt it. My cousin Calvin sent me a email wanting to do some riding back home in Lilesville and I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to do something fun. I had my cameras strapped to me so I could capture any type of vista that would be calling my name.





Once I arrived in Lilesville, I unloaded my bike and got ready to go. The one thing I didn't check was my spark plug. I got about a hundred feet from the house and the plug decided to fowl out on me. What can I say, I've been running the same spark plug for over a year now. It had every right to fowl. So I decided to load up and go over to Buck's where Calvin was staying for the summer and try to fix my bike. I didn't have any spark plugs with me and I left my tools back home in Matthews. After a few attempts of playing shade tree mechanic, I gave up. So I thought I'd just hike out to the big rock not far behind Bucks house. It only takes a few minutes to get there when you have a dirt bike but walking seemed to take forever.





To get to the big rock we had to do some serious tree and hill climbing. You think I'm joking don't you. Once we got to the opening to get to the rock, I knew I was in for an endurance test. Lets just say that by the time I got to the rock, every muscle in my body felt like a noodle. Calvin being only fifteen years old wasn't breathing heavy at all. I need to do this more often and get back in shape.

So here we are at the top of the hill and standing on the rock that was always a stopping point to check out the views and make a plan of our last ride of the day. That was back then. For this time it was a moment to catch my breath and dread the walk back to Bucks house. I have to say that I thought seeing the big rock would take me back into the years when I was growing up but power line crews have been tearing up the place installing new power line poles. The once symbolic place I loved to go to as a kid was now starting to turn into nothing more than just a rock. The trees have grown high enough to make it hard to see the view and all the trails have almost disappeared from all the weeds. This was not the feeling I was hoping to get and certainly not the vista I was hoping to capture. I think the vista captured me since I was so out of breathe. I think it would be different if we had come in on our bikes. Oh well... another day I guess. Here is what I got while we were on our journey.

View from the other side. I use to ride these trails from the house to get to the rock.

Calvin is the only guy that wears a pink shirt. On the walk back home I asked Calvin if he still owns the pink shirt that reads: Real men wear pink.


The trail that leads straight to the big rock.

The big rock doesn't look so big any more. I use to ride my motorcycle out here all the time to just sit and think about everything. It was always so quiet here.

This creek was still running at the bottom of this ravine. From the looks of it I could tell that if there was a big rain shower to come along, this would be a nice spot for pictures. Kinda puny looking now.

I'll just let your imagination run wild for this picture!!!

This use to be a field of nothing but peach trees. My cousin Sean and I use to ride our motorcycles all over the place here. Gees... how times have changed.