A Sunday Ride To Meet New Friends

By: Wally We ching

n Sunday A pril 26th, I had to

go for a ride. It was too beautiful out with temps in the low 70’s’ under sunny blue skies. I had no special place in mind when I left. I headed west on Rte. 74. When I turned right onto Washburn Switch Road, I thought that I might stop in at the CCIB clubhouse if anybody was there. After a couple miles, I rode under the new Rte. 74 bypass for the bypass. Years ago, they built a bypass for the road that went through Shelby. Since then, it has been built up so that the bypass has more congestion on it than the original Rte. 74. Now they are building a bypass for the bypass that will go far enough outside of Shelby that there should be no congestion. We’ll see how that works.

There was nobody at the CCIB Clubhouse, so I continued until I turned right onto Hollis Road heading north. I was really enjoying the back roads of the county. People were out and about working in their yards or playing with their kids. It was very relaxing.

When I got to Stagecoach Road, I turned right and followed

it into Polkville. I saw a motorcycle parked at the gas station, and pulled in. Since there are no events to attend, I haven’t been able to give away many of the Carolinas’ Full Throttle magazines that I get each month. Now I look for bikes parked and stop to give magazines away.

There was a young lady standing next to the Harley in the

station. We talked for a few minutes until her uncle came out. I introduced myself and gave him a Carolinas’ Full Throttle magazine. We spoke for a few minutes until another bike rolled in. I walked over to it with a magazine in hand. They were a couple out for a Sunday afternoon ride. We spoke for a few minutes until they walked into the convenience store to buy a drink. Then I left heading south on Rte. 226.

As I got close to the new bypass exit, I decided to try it out and turned left. Once on the bypass, the speed limit was 65 mph, and the road was super smooth. It should be – it was new! I saw different sights as I rode. I even saw my granddaughter’s daycare as I passed. There were no other cars on the bypass. Only a small portion of it is open – from Rte. 74 to Rte. 226.

I exited heading east on Rte. 74 to go back home. When I got to Beaver Dam Church Road, I noticed motorcycles parked in a gas station on the left. I turned and was parked among the bikes in a minute. I counted the bikes and took enough magazines out of my pack to give every biker a copy.

They were all very friendly. Most were members of the Lincolnton chapter of the Sentinels of Hope. They were out for a Sunday ride to Lake Lure.

The SOH was founded in 2012 to be the voice and support to all children in need. They work to prevent abuse through education of the public and react to abuse by empowering victims. They assist acute or terminally ill children and their families in their time of need. They also serve as advocates to provide strength and stability to families in crisis.

There was also a couple from Gastonia who just stopped for something to drink. They were invited to ride to Lake Lure with the group. It was nice to see bikers greeting and making new friends. I was invited, too, but I had to get home because my son and his family were coming over for Sunday dinner.

I said my good-bye’s as I left. Maybe I’ll see them again at one of the upcoming biker events when this pandemic is behind us. I hope so. They are a good group.