Clifton to The Plains after BMWBMW Breakfast

[Woody]

Drizzy greeted us early on the way to the monthly BMWBMW breakfast at the Clifton Café, 4/25/21. Our trusty rides cushioned our slightly stiff morning bones from the glistening pavement: a 1980s R90, a 2000s F800, 2010s R1200s, a 2020s R900, and more. This candy for the eyes was matches by fresh coffee (free refills!) and COVID-safe delivery to our outside tables of our main courses. My favorite is a wrap filled with sausage, fried egg, spicy salsa, etc. served with fresh fruit or a rib-sticking starch that isn’t served at home anymore.
Veteran ride leader Jose Abiles volunteered to steer a small group of us from Clifton to The Plains on the back roads, of course. Twisties were linked with horse and cow-lined two lane straight-aways. Jose spent much of his leadership time with at least one foot off the pegs as his pointed out fallen tree branches, deepish puddles that couldn’t be dodged, or the occasional piles of farm mud perhaps mixed with animal dung. We didn’t slow down to verify. We did slow down to see what Jose had promised, a very good example of a new house for someone who has more money than taste. Am I envious? I’d rather have a new BMW bike! Decide for yourself.
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This area, west of Dulles Airport, is being converted from farmland and forest to many McMasions on 10+ acre plots. These are not the Levittowns of yore, where the typical house, for a family after WWII, was only 1000 sq. ft. on an 1/7th acre.
Jose also pointed out “the hobbit house.” This one only rises from the ground by about seven feet in what appears to be an octagonal structure ringed by windows. This is not a do-it-yourselfers wine cellar or mushroom barn: its high-metal gated entry is flanked with sturdy stone turret-like guard stations. We’re afraid to be shot if we reveal the location!
Of course, this is a perfect time of year to be out in nature on two wheels. While the daffodils are almost gone, alone with the heralds of spring - the yellow forsythia, this is the season for vibrant redbuds, the cherries, the dogwood, and the magnolias display their glory before yielding to the greenery of the primary trees. It is for us to decide whether it is better to see, or hide behind shrubbery, the abodes we are building.
In the quaint and toney town of The Plains, time stopped for us as the Norfolk Southern railroad lumbered slowly beyond the flashing lights of the wooden barriers that held us in place. No problem, we needed to stretch our legs anyway before our return journeys. Apparently the train usually carries coal from the fields in Tennessee to eastern ports for shipment abroad, and returns inland with containers of finished goods. No we did not see Robert Duvall who lives on 360 acres outside The Plains. Thank you Jose for leading this, which allowed us to ride and enjoy, not stare at our navigational devices.

[JimVonBaden]

Nice!

[Rick F.]

Woody,

Sounds like you guys had a great ride--thanks for the summary. But I might be even more envious of that breakfast wrap!

Rick