Went out exploring today for a bit... I like old roads, old maps, old buildings, old cars... things with old in the title. My first stop was Old Gaskins Road. Gaskins is safe and four lanes wide now, but I imagine I would prefer the older version. By following the telephone poles you can see the roadbed. This is looking south near Route 6 - Patterson Avenue. Looking north, it's hard to know if the road went to my right or left. The double yellow line indicates right. The bridge and phone poles say left. No matter which, there were certainly fewer people out here years ago than there are now. On over to the road that used to lead to the Westham Bridge prior to 1950. It's part of the James River Parks now. The story of the Bridge. I wonder if they ever found the tollkeeper. Vestiges of the white line remain 60 years later. Looking over to the abutment on the other side. Here's the path of the bridge on the north side of the river. This is now a high dollar section of town and it's the driveway to someone's high dollar home on the river. The old road path went straight through that red gate out to the river. What we have here is a millstone set in a sign on Staples Mill Road. The stone came from John Staples' mill, hence the road name. The mill is gone, but the dam remains.
Thanks folks! Great to be here. I've been looking at the site for at least a year after my Dad pointed me here for a thread about riding in Mongolia. Feels good to finally getting around to taking some pictures and sharing the joy. Gadget Boy -- agreed on spring. I get more cognizant of the weather forecast when it's just around the corner. Bullard-- Loved your report. Places like your old route are some of my favorites. Grumpy -- Thanks!
Nice report and pictures. I walk down memory lane for me. I lived in the Richmond area from 87 to 98. I explored a lot of roads on my 89 Ninja 750.
Stahop... talk about memory lane... you bringing up 89 750 Ninja's takes me back... I'm picturing air snorkels down into the tank and 750 being the "cool" displacement for racing.
