I have to start today with last night. We were up quite late after a long ride from Norfolk Virginia to our ending point in Burlington North Carolina. We really did not plan on riding that far (over 300 miles) but we did get a little wet from another spot of rain (Yes, Steve is still with us) and we could not find a hotel with high speed access to get our day of fun loaded onto the site. Once we got to our hotel, we had to order something to eat and the hotel clerk suggested a pizza place that delivered. We looked over the menu and I told Steve and Mike to order the biggest pizza that they have. “How big can it be?” I asked. Steve said, “They claim to have the largest pizza in town”. “Just order it” Mike said as he readied himself for a long night of loading the site after I got it ready to go.

Well, when the guy came to the door and Steve opened it he started to immediately laugh hysterically and I looked over and about fell on the floor when I saw the guy open the insulated carrier. It was the biggest pizza that I have ever seen. Mike came out of the bathroom and was speechless (for the first time during the trip!).

The delivery guy must of thought we were nuts for ordering this thing. We, of course could not finish it and actually thought about offering the whole hotel 2nd floor dinner. But, instead we decided that we now had a good job for Steve. This morning we placed the remainder of the pizza on Steve’s CB450 to take it to our next stop to save us on our next dinner.

We thought that this was a good idea as it would just about even out the power difference between the bikes.

But, as we were leaving, Steve figured that the remainder of the pizza could feed a family for a week and the pizza box was big enough to house a family of four so he left it by the Hotel entranceway. We’ll make sure that Steve buys dinner after that move!

We rode a short 42 miles to Asheboro North Carolina and were met by David Lambeth and his crew at Cycle Center. This is a great dealer that truly takes care of their customers. We got there a little early but there was already a group of folks there waiting for us.

Cycle Center is a long time Honda Riders Club of America Chapter and has always stressed a strong family atmosphere. David had his family there and Brent Trotter introduced us to his 18month old son as well. Also at the store were the Hills, owners of the dealership.

There were over 35 classic and vintage Honda motorcycles and ATV’s on display and covered a wide variety of models from Z-50’s to a 1982 CBX.

There was a large number of people coming to the store throughout the day and we met a number of folks with very interesting stories and very nice bikes.

One couple came from the Buffalo New York area (now living in Greensboro) and Mike and I had a nice conversation with Bob and Joyce Copley who brought a CT90 and a CM185. We gave Bob a poster and told him that he now had to obtain one of each to ad to his collection. Joyce thought that he may take us more seriously than she would like! Bob has a collection of Pontiac automobiles now and room in his garage is likely pretty scarce! Hey, a few small motorcycles can’t take up much room right?

Steve Cline, from Rays Cycles, another Local Honda dealer brought over a few of his bikes which included a C-100 with an optional rally kit that turned the bike into a “real motorcycle” instead of the step-though style that it originally came as from the factory. These kits are quite rare to find in nice condition.

While at the store, we also met little CJ Stout who came to the store with his dad after winning 1^st place in a local moto-cross race earlier in the day. His Mom and Dad were as proud as can be of the little guy. Who knows, we may have met a future Ricky Carmichael today!

Kelly Newsome had a very nice CB77 SuperHawk there and rattled off a long list of Honda’s that he has owned. I gave him one our 45 year posters and told him that he had already owned about half of the bikes listed on it!  

Ashton Broadus told us that Charlie Keller met with him after he had just traded a Honda for a Yamaha a couple of years ago and he told us that Charlie told him that he would be back on a Honda soon. Ashton traded his Yamaha in for a new Magna less than a year later!

Don Breese came by on his bike and owns a Bed and Breakfast in Oak Ridge North Carolina. Don has toured the whole country via motorcycle and motor home and has traveled through many of the same locations that Mike and I have ridden through on our trip.

At the end of the day, we got a nice picture of everyone from the store. David Lambeth, Brent Trotter, Jeff Grose, Myles Dunlap, Will Moss, Mitchell Key, Eric Ocheltree, Gary Hoover and Ross Kennedy all got in a pose with Mike, Steve and I.

We now have a total of 4084 miles. It is time to let the bikes unwind a little and we may finally go for a speed shot tomorrow while we are still in NASCAR country! We’ll see…