Huntsville, Alabama.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Three new states added
26 states to go. (I think I'll pass on shipping the GS to Hawaii.)
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
People we like: Ted
We may never know more of Ted than his voice on the phone, but Ted is a service tech at Griffith Kawasaki in Cleveland, TN. He took 30 minutes on the phone to help us trouble shoot Connie's electrical problems.
This guy walked us through things nice and slow, kept trying new stuff, and was as excited as we were when we (thought) we fixed the problem. And he would have nailed the solution much earlier if we had given the main battery cable a good tug instead of a cursory poke when he started with that.
He was generous with his time, and knowledgeable to boot.
Thanks, Ted.
This guy walked us through things nice and slow, kept trying new stuff, and was as excited as we were when we (thought) we fixed the problem. And he would have nailed the solution much earlier if we had given the main battery cable a good tug instead of a cursory poke when he started with that.
He was generous with his time, and knowledgeable to boot.
Thanks, Ted.
People we like: Burger stand girl
On our first day of riding together, we had been dealing with the frustration of traffic, slow roads and slow going for a few hours. We were making terrible time through NY, CT and into MA. Frustation was totally setting in. We stopped at a roadside burger and ice cream shack in Pontoosuc, MA, and met burger stand girl.
She was just some kid, working a summer job. Nothing remarkable. But was so bubbly and happy and fun, in that infectious sort of way. It was hard to be cranky after talking with her, and without even trying, she set our moods back to right, and off we went.
Thanks, burger stand girl.
Monday, August 3, 2009
Karl Post-mortem
The BMW GS did great on the trip. No mechanical issues at all. It just keeps chugging.
Notes:
Notes:
- I should have checked the brake pads before I left. I just didn't think to. As a result, 2 of the 4 front brake pads were down to metal. (See pic of one below, next to an OK pad.) I didn't notice until things started grinding, and then it was too late. I'm in for a new set of front rotors now (at $265 each).
- The rear brake pads were also worn past spec.
- All pads have been replaced, and even with the bad rotors, it's an amazing difference. I'm not sure why I wasn't more in tune with the degraded braking as it evolved. Happened too gradually, I guess.
- I'm not sure if brake pads every 25,000 miles is a sign of city riding, or hard riding. But either way, it's indicative of something.
- I held off on replacing the rear tire, and it served me fine. Did great in the really twisty stuff. OK, but not great in the less twisty and wet stuff. But mostly I'm glad that I didn't replace it before the last 500 mile push of interstate back home. That would have done a good job of flattening off a new tire from the start.
- I'm at 6500 miles on this tire, which I'm thrilled with seeing how I ride. I'm looking at going through 2.5 rear tires for every front tire, which is another sign of hard riding.
- The engine was a bit buzzy for the second half of the trip. Either the valve adjustment isn't dead on any more, or the throttle body sync is off. Wasn't worth messing with on the trip, but I'll take it on soon.
- I haven't looked at the final drive to see how much loose metal is in there. I'm sure it's a bunch, but I can't bring myself to check. Again, I'll be in there soon.
- I've given up on getting my windscreen adjusted into something that doesn't blast me. I'm so used to it now, there's no point in stressing.
- I need to mess with my handlebar position to see if I can stop locking my right arm into place and freezing up all my shoulder muscles.
- The bulb in the low-beam is way too weak, which necessitates the use of the PIAA driving lights, which are way to strong for traffic. There needs to be a middle ground.
People we like: Neil and Jenny
I can't believe we didn't get a picture of these two.
Neil and Jenny live in Asheville, NC. Two of the nicest folks you'll meet. I found Neil on ADVrider. (It's THE site for people who do adventure touring. Click through, even if just to see the slide show on the home page.) He's got himself listed in the "hit me up if you're coming through town" thread, so I sent him a message. He sent me a message back, and I called him up about 70 miles outside of Asheville.
By the time we hit Asheville, Neil had found us a place to stay, and come up with a BBQ recommendation for us. He and Jenny came down the the restaurant, and had beers and hung out for a couple hours. Great conversation about riding, Asheville, everything. They took off, and pointed us toward the bars to hit (which were conveniently located right by the hotel Neil picked out).
We had been talking about the good roads in the area, the ones the locals ride. Neil offered to put together a route for us, and sure enough, when we got back to the hotel I had an email waiting laying out a whole path of great roads from Asheville to Roanoke. Not many people will roll home late on a school night and spend time with maps laying out a route for people they just met. These two are champs.
Neil was even good enough to call us on our bullshit when we bailed on the last part of the route he sent in order to slab it back to DC. He tried to tempt us with Pisgah Pale Ale, and was closer to winning us over than he knows.
Thanks, Neil and Jenny. You always have a place to stay in DC or NY.
Neil and Jenny live in Asheville, NC. Two of the nicest folks you'll meet. I found Neil on ADVrider. (It's THE site for people who do adventure touring. Click through, even if just to see the slide show on the home page.) He's got himself listed in the "hit me up if you're coming through town" thread, so I sent him a message. He sent me a message back, and I called him up about 70 miles outside of Asheville.
By the time we hit Asheville, Neil had found us a place to stay, and come up with a BBQ recommendation for us. He and Jenny came down the the restaurant, and had beers and hung out for a couple hours. Great conversation about riding, Asheville, everything. They took off, and pointed us toward the bars to hit (which were conveniently located right by the hotel Neil picked out).
We had been talking about the good roads in the area, the ones the locals ride. Neil offered to put together a route for us, and sure enough, when we got back to the hotel I had an email waiting laying out a whole path of great roads from Asheville to Roanoke. Not many people will roll home late on a school night and spend time with maps laying out a route for people they just met. These two are champs.
Neil was even good enough to call us on our bullshit when we bailed on the last part of the route he sent in order to slab it back to DC. He tried to tempt us with Pisgah Pale Ale, and was closer to winning us over than he knows.
Thanks, Neil and Jenny. You always have a place to stay in DC or NY.
Day 7 recap
Dawsonville, GA to Asheville, NC
It was finally time for a full day in the mountains. These are the kind of roads that have names like The Dragon, The Skyway and Hellbender. These are the kind of roads where you take extreme handling machines to their limits.
We left Dawsonville (known for nothing more than having outlets) on GA 19 north. It's a nice road. Twisty, but not unreasonably so. A good warm-up. We caught a couple minutes of light rain, but net even enough to care about.
We rolled through small towns, keeping an eye out for food, and came across a roadside BBQ stand in McCaysville, GA. I think the only other thing it's known for is being the station for the Blue Ridge Scenic Railway. We pull over as soon as we can, and shut off the bikes. I decide to move mine across the street, so we can see it from the restaurant, thus meaning we don't have to worry about locking up/carrying all our crap. Eric goes to pull Connie over, too, but she won't start.
It's clearly something electrical. We poke at it for a second, and decide to tackle it after lunch. The BBQ was good, but we were both a little distracted. We wrap up lunch, and start going through checklists, diagnostic steps, our own limited knowledge of electrics. No dice.
Eric's starting to think through the "dead bike, arrange a tow to a shop and kiss Moto3our goodbye" scenario. I'm looking up bike shops nearby to call. Finally he calls Griffith's Kawasaki and Gets Ted Freeman on the phone.
Ted takes a half an hour running Eric and me through things to check. He isolates it to a bad fuse (not blown, just bad) and Connie's happy again.
Add all this to a late start, and it's already almost 3pm. We're 40 miles from Tellico Plains, which is where the fun starts. So we head out.
On the way to Tellico Plains (and the Tennessee end of the Skyway) we have a nice but pretty uneventful ride up TN 68, until about 5 miles from the Skyway. On the other side of the road, a truck goes screaming by, with a Tellico Plains cop in hot pursuit. They must have been doing 90. On majorly twisty back roads. I don't think there's any way you can learn to drive like that on those roads, other than growing up in it. Barely a minute later, another Tellico cop goes flying by, chasing the other guys. And that opens the flood gates. Next is a sheriff car, followed by 3 unmarked black trucks, lights and sirens going off like they're announcing the rapture. After that it was a slow stream of cop cars coming from every direction, and funneling down 68. Even after we turned off onto the Skyway, we heard sirens for a while.
...Which means there were no cops to be found on the Skyway. I'm not sure they would have been out looking for us to begin with. The traffic was sparse. I saw a grand total of maybe 10 bikes and 5 cars in both directions for the entire length of the Skyway (36 miles). They probably don't bother with the mid-week stuff. I could have sworn Brian and I were there mid-week in 2006, but we came across at least 5 times that amount of bikes and cars. Maybe the rain forecast kept everyone away?
We had been lucky, and the rain had missed us all day. The Skyway was dry and clean. For those of you who haven't been on this road, you should go. I can't imagine it will be nearly as fun in a car, but it's still sure to be amazing. The Skyway goes from 900 ft to 5400 feet, and back, in those 36 miles. (Sorry, Brian. I hate to say it. But it's better than we remembered. It felt shorter this time, but better.)
It's twisty but very driveable/rideable. There are at least a dozen scenic overlooks along the way. The cloud line started at 3700 feet when we went through. Riding through clouds is surprisingly different than riding through fog. It's simultaneously easier to see and moister.
We stopped at the first overlook and chatted with some riders, and then hit the road again. I've known I have a good suspension/tire setup going on my bike, but this is where I got to learn how good it is. I came up behind two sport bike riders from Eastern Carolina (Tyler and Gary). Gary was out for a more serene ride, so Tyler and I took of for a slightly more spirited ride down the NC descent. The whole way down I was right with him. We hit the bottom and he flagged me down to pay me and my bike a compliment.
After the Skyway, we made our way over to the Dragon. I won't go into a long description, but it's the Times Square of twisty roads. (It's extreme, packed with people, some sort of center of the universe, sensory overload, the locals avoid it, people go because that what they think they are supposed to do [it's not lost on me that I say that, yet also picked it as a destination...], etc.)
I was expecting about 250 bikes, but there were easily under 40. It wasn't nearly the carnival it was before. Again, rain and mid-week were probably the cause, but I was still surprised. We chatted with some guys we met on the Skyway, and took a coffee/bathroom break. By the time we hit the dragon, it was about 5pm.
We pull out, to hit the road, and within a minute are behind a silver Ford SUV (with a Harley Davidson sticker and local tags) doing 25 mph. Now the speed limit on the Dragon is 40, but this guy is taking his sweet damn time. Now there are so many bikers on this road, trying to outride it, that cars always pull over. They have built in dozens of pull-offs, and drivers use them to let riders pass. This guy wasn't having it.
Eric and I were getting more and more frustrated. It's not that we couldn't tear through there at 60, it's that it's actually harder to ride a road like that at such low speeds. Motorcycles are very stable, but that stability is a result of forces in motion (If you lock the throttle and jump off a motorbike doing 60, it will keep rolling straight and upright until something stops it. You try the same thing at 15, and it will flop over.) We do this for 8 miles (the Dragon is 11 long) and hit the first overlook and decide to turn around, and ride it back.
The second run starts out great, but about a minute in, a thunderstorm comes out of nowhere, and I pull over to put on rain gear. Takes a few minutes, and when we go to leave, Connie won't start again. We spend 20 minutes on the dragon, in the rain, trying to get Eric's bike to start. And no dice. No cell reception, no traffic going by. Nothing. Finally, we decide Eric's going to ride my bike down rest of the way, and use a phone down there to get his roadside assistance on the case.
While i'm waiting for him to come back with an update, I start poking around and discover a loose battery main cable. I tighten it up, and Connie fires right up. I make a mad dash down the hill, and catch Eric on the phone. He calls off the cavalry, and we go over all the connections again, cleaning terminals as we go.
A few minutes later, we are back on the road, riding the Hellbender (NC 28) in sunny skies and beautiful weather. The road rolls along a river, which was filled with fog and was quite striking. Eventually we find our way into Asheville, and meet up with some fine NC hospitality (Neil and Jenny are getting their own post). BBQ, beers, conversation and then it's off to bed.
It was finally time for a full day in the mountains. These are the kind of roads that have names like The Dragon, The Skyway and Hellbender. These are the kind of roads where you take extreme handling machines to their limits.
We left Dawsonville (known for nothing more than having outlets) on GA 19 north. It's a nice road. Twisty, but not unreasonably so. A good warm-up. We caught a couple minutes of light rain, but net even enough to care about.
We rolled through small towns, keeping an eye out for food, and came across a roadside BBQ stand in McCaysville, GA. I think the only other thing it's known for is being the station for the Blue Ridge Scenic Railway. We pull over as soon as we can, and shut off the bikes. I decide to move mine across the street, so we can see it from the restaurant, thus meaning we don't have to worry about locking up/carrying all our crap. Eric goes to pull Connie over, too, but she won't start.
It's clearly something electrical. We poke at it for a second, and decide to tackle it after lunch. The BBQ was good, but we were both a little distracted. We wrap up lunch, and start going through checklists, diagnostic steps, our own limited knowledge of electrics. No dice.
Eric's starting to think through the "dead bike, arrange a tow to a shop and kiss Moto3our goodbye" scenario. I'm looking up bike shops nearby to call. Finally he calls Griffith's Kawasaki and Gets Ted Freeman on the phone.
Ted takes a half an hour running Eric and me through things to check. He isolates it to a bad fuse (not blown, just bad) and Connie's happy again.
Add all this to a late start, and it's already almost 3pm. We're 40 miles from Tellico Plains, which is where the fun starts. So we head out.
On the way to Tellico Plains (and the Tennessee end of the Skyway) we have a nice but pretty uneventful ride up TN 68, until about 5 miles from the Skyway. On the other side of the road, a truck goes screaming by, with a Tellico Plains cop in hot pursuit. They must have been doing 90. On majorly twisty back roads. I don't think there's any way you can learn to drive like that on those roads, other than growing up in it. Barely a minute later, another Tellico cop goes flying by, chasing the other guys. And that opens the flood gates. Next is a sheriff car, followed by 3 unmarked black trucks, lights and sirens going off like they're announcing the rapture. After that it was a slow stream of cop cars coming from every direction, and funneling down 68. Even after we turned off onto the Skyway, we heard sirens for a while.
...Which means there were no cops to be found on the Skyway. I'm not sure they would have been out looking for us to begin with. The traffic was sparse. I saw a grand total of maybe 10 bikes and 5 cars in both directions for the entire length of the Skyway (36 miles). They probably don't bother with the mid-week stuff. I could have sworn Brian and I were there mid-week in 2006, but we came across at least 5 times that amount of bikes and cars. Maybe the rain forecast kept everyone away?
We had been lucky, and the rain had missed us all day. The Skyway was dry and clean. For those of you who haven't been on this road, you should go. I can't imagine it will be nearly as fun in a car, but it's still sure to be amazing. The Skyway goes from 900 ft to 5400 feet, and back, in those 36 miles. (Sorry, Brian. I hate to say it. But it's better than we remembered. It felt shorter this time, but better.)
It's twisty but very driveable/rideable. There are at least a dozen scenic overlooks along the way. The cloud line started at 3700 feet when we went through. Riding through clouds is surprisingly different than riding through fog. It's simultaneously easier to see and moister.
We stopped at the first overlook and chatted with some riders, and then hit the road again. I've known I have a good suspension/tire setup going on my bike, but this is where I got to learn how good it is. I came up behind two sport bike riders from Eastern Carolina (Tyler and Gary). Gary was out for a more serene ride, so Tyler and I took of for a slightly more spirited ride down the NC descent. The whole way down I was right with him. We hit the bottom and he flagged me down to pay me and my bike a compliment.
After the Skyway, we made our way over to the Dragon. I won't go into a long description, but it's the Times Square of twisty roads. (It's extreme, packed with people, some sort of center of the universe, sensory overload, the locals avoid it, people go because that what they think they are supposed to do [it's not lost on me that I say that, yet also picked it as a destination...], etc.)
I was expecting about 250 bikes, but there were easily under 40. It wasn't nearly the carnival it was before. Again, rain and mid-week were probably the cause, but I was still surprised. We chatted with some guys we met on the Skyway, and took a coffee/bathroom break. By the time we hit the dragon, it was about 5pm.
We pull out, to hit the road, and within a minute are behind a silver Ford SUV (with a Harley Davidson sticker and local tags) doing 25 mph. Now the speed limit on the Dragon is 40, but this guy is taking his sweet damn time. Now there are so many bikers on this road, trying to outride it, that cars always pull over. They have built in dozens of pull-offs, and drivers use them to let riders pass. This guy wasn't having it.
Eric and I were getting more and more frustrated. It's not that we couldn't tear through there at 60, it's that it's actually harder to ride a road like that at such low speeds. Motorcycles are very stable, but that stability is a result of forces in motion (If you lock the throttle and jump off a motorbike doing 60, it will keep rolling straight and upright until something stops it. You try the same thing at 15, and it will flop over.) We do this for 8 miles (the Dragon is 11 long) and hit the first overlook and decide to turn around, and ride it back.
The second run starts out great, but about a minute in, a thunderstorm comes out of nowhere, and I pull over to put on rain gear. Takes a few minutes, and when we go to leave, Connie won't start again. We spend 20 minutes on the dragon, in the rain, trying to get Eric's bike to start. And no dice. No cell reception, no traffic going by. Nothing. Finally, we decide Eric's going to ride my bike down rest of the way, and use a phone down there to get his roadside assistance on the case.
While i'm waiting for him to come back with an update, I start poking around and discover a loose battery main cable. I tighten it up, and Connie fires right up. I make a mad dash down the hill, and catch Eric on the phone. He calls off the cavalry, and we go over all the connections again, cleaning terminals as we go.
A few minutes later, we are back on the road, riding the Hellbender (NC 28) in sunny skies and beautiful weather. The road rolls along a river, which was filled with fog and was quite striking. Eventually we find our way into Asheville, and meet up with some fine NC hospitality (Neil and Jenny are getting their own post). BBQ, beers, conversation and then it's off to bed.
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Day 9 stats
Hopewell Junction, NY
(Final Totals)
(Final Totals)
| Day 9 | RP | EG |
| Time out on bikes | 2:09 | 7:03 |
| Moving time | 1:11 | 5:15 |
| Miles (GPS) | 55 | 304 |
| Miles (Odometer) | 58 | - |
| Overall average speed | 25.3 | 43.1 |
| Moving average speed | - | 58.1 |
| Max Speed | 78 | 91.6 |
| Totals | ||
| Time on bikes | 88:44 | 87:14 |
| Moving time | 58:24 | 57:00 |
| Miles (GPS) | 3181 | 3229 |
| Miles (Odometer) | 3340 | - |
| Guaranteed miles (GPS) | 3181 | 3229 |
Day 8 stats
Washington, DC
| Day 8 | RP | EG |
| Time out on bikes | 11:35 | 11:20 |
| Moving time | 8:23 | 8:26 |
| Miles (GPS) | 520 | 518 |
| Miles (Odometer) | 546 | - |
| Overall average speed | 44.8 | 45.6 |
| Max Speed | 101 | 89 |
| Totals | ||
| Time on bikes | 86:35 | 79:11 |
| Moving time | 57:13 | 51:55 |
| Miles (GPS) | 3126 | 2830 |
| Miles (Odometer) | 3282 | - |
| Guaranteed miles (GPS) | 3282 | 3128 |
Friday, July 31, 2009
Day 7 stats
Asheville, NC wikipedia | Google Map
| Day 7 | RP | EG |
| Time out on bikes | 10:53 | 10:53 |
| Moving time | 6:43 | 6:51 |
| Miles (GPS) | 304 | 302 |
| Miles (Odometer) | 320 | - |
| Overall average speed | 31.9 | 27.9 |
| Max Speed | 110 | 88 |
| Totals | ||
| Time on bikes | 75:00 | 67:51 |
| Moving time | 48:50 | 43:29 |
| Miles (GPS) | 2606 | 2312 |
| Miles (Odometer) | 2849 | - |
| Guaranteed miles (GPS) | 3077 | 3109 |
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Connie dead. And resurrected.
Post-lunch, Connie was completely dead. Eric and I exhausted our
electrical knowledge quickly.
A 30 minute phone call with a tech at Griffith Kawasaki led to a
defective main fuse. Not blown, normal appearing, but non-functioning
fuse.
Eric's putting everything back together now.
Day 6 stats
Dawsonville / Lumpkin, GA wikipedia | Google Map
| Day 6 | RP | EG |
| Time out on bikes | 11:02 | 11:01 |
| Moving time | 6:09 | 6:15 |
| Miles (GPS) | 351 | 351 |
| Miles (Odometer) | 368 | - |
| Overall average speed | 31.9 | 31.7 |
| Max Speed | 97 | 88 |
| Totals | ||
| Time on bikes | 64:07 | 56:58 |
| Moving time | 42:07 | 36:38 |
| Miles (GPS) | 2302 | 2010 |
| Miles (Odometer) | 2471 | - |
| Guaranteed miles (GPS) | 2933 | 2941 |
Day 6 recap
Nashville, TN to Lumpkin, GA
Got up late, of course. Took our time going about things. Finally rolled out of Nashville, and went about mile before we stopped at a Kawasaki dealer ship. Some more nice folks took a look at Eric's Concours, to try diagnose his shimmy. It's looking less and less like a mechanical problem, and more like aerodynamics induced by his fairing.
Hit the Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, for geeky appreciation of rockest. Blew a ton of money in the gift shop. Took many pictures. Spent 3 hours there, but could have done much more.
Bullet points:
- Ended up buying another Crampbuster. My wrist and shoulder have been sore. This in itself is wholly unremarkable. The thing that makes me remark is that I do this all the time. I have 4 at home, and specifically/consciously decided not to bring one with me. So I'm out another 13 dollars. (Note: I also do this all the time with voltmeters. I now own 5.)
- There are few things more impressive than standing in the shadow of a Saturn V rocket.
- Eric is up to 18 states and provinces on his motorbike already. I'm at 26, now that I add ON, MI and GA.
- The speedometers in the new Honda civics are incredibly, remarkably accurate.
- We saw a bull dozer graveyard today. Must have been 100 of them, easily. All spaced out and perfectly aligned.
- I could very easily keep total trip GPS miles in my GPS, if I would reset it for every trip. But instead I have to add up the numbers every day. But I hate the idea of doing that. I have had this GPS since I started touring, and have never reset it. It's just about to turn 22,000 miles. That's the kind of history you can't get back easily. And if I did clear it, 2 to 3 years from now, when I get it back, I'd be saying "That should read 44,000."
- I wanted desperately to get to Prince's Hot Chicken Shack in Nashville. It was the entire motivation for the original Mototour. I just couldn't make it happen, though. And that is the one regret of this tour.
- We had a strange moment yesterday, that we only talked about today. I don't think either of us thought the other saw the same thing. We crossed into Tennessee, and passed this very distinct car. We were on, what we thought was, the only road in that direction. A few minutes later, that car turned off onto a side road. About that time, we decided we needed to make up time, and locked the throttles and burned off about 50 miles at 75-80 speed. And sure enough, we came up on that car again, and passed it. Lord knows where she found that short cut. She should publish it.
- Tomorrow is the day I've been waiting for all year. It's a real rider's day. No slab. We ride the North Georgia mountains. Then hit one of the best roads ever, the Cherohala Skyway (story | map). Then it's on to one of the most challenging: Deal's Gap, AKA The Dragon. (story | map)
- We're totally into the ride right now. By that, I mean that a) we are at one with the bikes, and it feels more natural to be on them than off them. b) Skills are at their highest. I can do u-turns in the size of a parking space. I know every little thing about my bike, from strengths to quirks. c) Time and space are skewed to touring. 100 miles feels like 15. On and on and on and on. It all just comes together, and touring kind of takes over your reality.
- The Space and Rocket center was amazing, but not just because we are both space geeks. It was a return to Space Camp for me, 22 years after the fact. I was amazed at how much I remembered, being there. At times, it was creepy for me. ("There's where I did that one thing. Here's where I had that other thing. I was there when I crashed the space shuttle. I was there when I kissed that girl named Casey.") Honestly, I can only say it was a treat to be back there.
- It was also a treat spending my birthday there with Eric. We met just at that time I went to Space Camp. And we have been best friends ever since. And as fun as those memories of that week in Alabama were, it was even more fun being there with someone that I have been making memories with for the entire time since then.
- I rode Connie today for about 50 miles. I think her shimmy problems aren't the result of a mechanical problem. I think it's just the way she's designed. Those bikes have fairings, and weird airflow. Turbulence makes it more prevalent. IOt self corrects, and just is what it is. You can try to fight it with fork braces and such, but in 3 years, you'll just chalk it up as "character" and laugh it off. Other observations: a) Yes. It is hot. b) those forks are soft. I know I ride a stiff suspension, but that front end really submarines. c) all that fairing and the windscreen make for a big cocoon of still air. I know that's the point of a touring bike, but I like to be out in the elements more, and feel the forces of propelling yourself along at high-speed than I feel on that. d) leg space is cramped. A peg lowering kit would be at the top of the list. And the edge of the fairing is right there. I don't know how many times I tried to shift the fairing, instead . Comfortable (minor niggles aside). Pretty. She pullof the shifter. Also, the fairing sucks for braking. e) I tend to be critical, and it may sound like I have issues with Connie. But I absolutely don't. It's a wonderful bike. Powerful Comfortable (little niggles aside). She pulls like nobody's business, and looks pretty the whole time. They weren't even on my radar before, but after today it would be a top 5 contender for me if I were buying a new bike.
- Eric is asleep, and it's my time too.
- I may forget, but I should put up a whole post about GA route 52 from Chatsworth to Ellijay. An absolutely amazing road. Incredible. Doing it at night was like riding Space Mountain. I'll try to put up more tomorrow, but if I don't get to it, know that it was a) just what the doctor ordered after a couple thousand miles of slab and b) it is a perfect blend of major twisties, pristine road condition, low-traffic and I would love to live on it. In fact, in the moment I wanted to make out with it, love it, share my life with it. All future Mototours should include this road.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Road memory
It always amazes me how much you can remember a road you were on once,
years ago.
years ago.
On some of the roads Brian and I did 3 years ago. I totally recognize
them, not just because of how they look, but how they feel and ride.
And some of them, we're even riding them in a different direction than
I did before. Like the Bluegrass Parkway in Kentucky, out of Lexington.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
The Tin Roof
guy.
Shots come in these: http://www.waresdirect.com/zoom_product.asp?prodID=SCCR3
And they fill them.
Competing bachelorette parties. Out front.
Nashville, TN
Just arrived. Cleaning up. Bar across the street for a cocktail. Restaurant next to that. I'm jet-lagged from the time difference here. Or maybe it's from just getting 3 hours sleep last night.
PSA: 5 Hour Energy really works.
Comfort Inn tonight. Much better than the independent hotel at the Dayton airport last night. That place was a hole. More later in the recap.
Day 5 stats
Niagara Falls, On, CA wikipedia | Google Map
Problem with today's stats, since we ate up a lot of time at the museum and getting Eric's bike attended to at Vista Kawasaki.
We're taking actual miles, time moving and average moving speed. The rest are accounting for non-riding time.
| Day 5 | RP | EG |
| Time out on bikes | 13:03 | 7:28 (post-repairs) |
| Moving time | 7:15 | 6:16 (post-repairs) |
| Miles (GPS) | 418 | 381 (post repairs) |
| Miles (Odometer) | 439 | - |
| Overall average speed | 31.9 | 51.0 (post repairs) |
| Max Speed | 97 | 88 |
| Totals | ||
| Time on bikes | 53:05 | 45:57 |
| Moving time | 35:58 | 30:23 |
| Miles (GPS) | 1951 | 1653 |
| Miles (Odometer) | 2049 | - |
| Guaranteed miles (GPS) | 2717 | 2647 |
Dayton to Paris
Ohio 68 is a real turd of a road. Traffic. stoplights. Lame scenery.
Big trucks. But once you cross the river, Kentucky 68 is pretty
pleasant. Long high speed sweepers, no traffic, horse farms. More of
what we were expecting from the recommendation we got.
Big trucks. But once you cross the river, Kentucky 68 is pretty
pleasant. Long high speed sweepers, no traffic, horse farms. More of
what we were expecting from the recommendation we got.
Day 4 recap
Alternate title: Eric's first 500 mile day.
Lots of interstate, yesterday. 500 miles of it. Eric likes the stuff. I can see it's charm. Hundreds of Iron-butt riders swear by it. It's just not my thing. I need to get out into some twisty roads soon. 4 days in, and we've spent half a day off the slab.
Speaking of which, my rear tire is totally flattening off. If we do more interstate today, I might try to buy new tires in Nashville. I get 5-6000 miles out of a rear tire. Yesterday was 10% of the life of this one. All on flat roads.
The bullets:
- They don't care about Cuban cigars at the border. But we saw some old people get arrested. A couple, hauled across the booths in cuffs.
- Highway alligators all OVER the place. Tons of them. Which doesn't surprise me. If you think 18-wheels are a lot, they have 24 and 32 wheelers up in Canada.
- Ever see a vulture trying to take off from a piece of roadkill, and think it won't make it off the ground in time and become roadkill itself? But they always seem to make it? Well I saw one that didn't. That was a first.
- We saw a fifth wheel camper that cam unhooked from it's car. smashed the hell out of the camper, mess on the interstate. Must have been quite a ride for that driver.
- 43 mpg all day for both of us. Best I've ever seen on my bike. 3 separate fill-ups yesterday.
- Downtown Detroit looked cool from I-75S.
-RP
Day 4 stats
Niagara Falls, On, CA wikipedia | Google Map
| Day 4 | RP | EG |
| Time on bikes | 11:27 | 11:18 |
| Moving time | 8:03 | 8:03 |
| Miles (GPS) | 503 | 503 |
| Miles (Odometer) | 526 | - |
| Overall average speed | 43.9 | - |
| Max Speed | 110 | 112 |
| Totals | ||
| Time on bikes | 40:02 | 32:54 |
| Moving time | 28:41 | 23:08 |
| Miles (GPS) | 1533 | 1235 |
| Miles (Odometer) | 1088 | - |
| Guaranteed miles (GPS) | 2001 | 1729 |
Monday, July 27, 2009
Port Huron, MI
No Michigan sign in sight. So you get a map.
Today's theme...
... is "take no prisoners". Let's just say we're passing more cars
than are passing us.
than are passing us.
If you're wondering what exciting things we're seeing, go outside,
find your nearest interstate highway, and stare at it for 8 or 9 hours.
Day 3 recap - Niagara Falls
Just the bullet points, today. Long night, late morning. Calling it in.
- We hit 5 minutes of rain right outside of Canton. It was light. We thought we were lucky. It was a sign of things to come.
- We crossed at Ogdensburg, NY. Took us forever to find the border crossing. You think it would be easy to find the only bridge crossing the St Lawrence river anywhere near there. Not so much. A special thanks to weird redneck guy and his kids for pointing us in the right direction. Sorry to disrupt your morning swim.
- Border crossings are so much better at little towns. I've waited an hour on the highway on I-87 trying to get through. But you come to a little place like Ogdensburg, you're the only person. Literally. Plus, leave it to the Canadian border crew for maintaining a spotless bathroom for the morning business.
- But the other side of the crossing ... There was this steel grate bridge across the St Lawrence river...I can already tell you that's gonna be the worst part of the trip. This thing was slick and squirrely. It had a mind of it's own. We went over this thing just trying to keep things upright. I am seriously glad it wasn't wet. That bridge must take down at least a few motorcycles a year. Do you have anything to declare? Yeah, that bridge sucks.
- Our ride was 250 miles of slab to Toronto. It was mind-numbingly dull (For me, anyway. EG is much more in tune with the zen of highway riding than I am. He liked it just fine.)
- Major rainstorms all day, off and on. The last one was easily the worst rain ever -- the clouds loomed over the horizon all full of lightening, and we just rode right into it. The first time either of us has stopped under an overpass to let the storm pass.
- I'll admit it. We come to Canada for the caché of riding to another country. But the roads up here are just terrible. Straight, flat, horrible condition. If I lived up here, I probably wouldn't bother owning a bike. And they have to do all the road repair in the warm months, which in Canada means July, so everywhere you go, it's all torn up.
- We saw very few motorbikes on the road yesterday. Personally, I think it's because Canadian roads suck for motorcycling and nobody wants to bother. Everybody else has different theories.
- Everybody in Canada uses daytime running lights. Sure, it's safe, but it makes it much harder to pick out Eric's headlight in my rearview mirror. It's a sea of headlights, and I'm constantly having to search to make him out and make sure he's still out there. Which, of course, he is.
- I just need to remember this for next year (because I forgot from last year) but E just prefers to ride in the number 2 position. I think that's fine. I like being up front. But I should stop trying to give him time up front. He'd rather be in the back taking pictures and doing his own thing.
- We passed this factory on the 401 that looked like a Demuth painting. It was pretty awesome. I could have looked at it for hours.
- We passed some great places. Hardscrabble Rd. Cobbledick Rd. The kind of signs you want pictures of, but they pass so quick, you have no chance. Also Wild Cat Zoo, Nuclear Information Center, Hell Hole Landing, Ontario.
- The hotel is fine. Full of bikes/bikers. Close enough to everything.
- Niagara Falls is a circus. I mentioned it earlier, but there seriously are 10 wax museums and a thousand haunted houses. It's tourist-kitsch-extreme. Ripley's is making a killing on paid admissions.
- We hit the Beef Baron for dinner. so-so steaks, but the best waiter ever. Nathan was a lot of fun, and super helpful. He's just the sort of guy you want taking care of you when you're in a strange town. He definitely earned his tip. About a local bar, his sage advice: "I haven't been there in years, but I heard it's getting better."
- From there, it was a night-time look at the falls, fireworks and the casino.
- We spent a couple hours at the roulette table. I left up 60$. Together we left up 10$. The place was too crowded, which is why we left. But we were hitting numbers left and right. Eric's first time playing roulette, and he hit 22 twice in a row, on his first two spins of the wheel. Beginner's luck, indeed.
- We ended up at a bar on the west side of town. Sketchy place, which is apparently in the prostitute district. And I'll tell you, the prostitutes here are rough. Seriously, they walk funny -- let's not forget that.
- Today is the biggest ride of the trip. 460 miles across the top of Lake Erie and South to Dayton. Lots of slab. Should get our tires all squared off for when we hit the mountains. (For those of you that don't ride, that's not good.)
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Fireworks and ferris wheels
Every crazy tourist trap rolled into one. And this:
Day 3 stats
Niagara Falls, On, CA wikipedia | Google Map
| Day 3 | RP | EG |
| Time on bikes | 9:45 | 9:42 |
| Moving time | 6:20 | 6:32 |
| Miles (GPS) | 334 | 334 |
| Miles (Odometer) | 351 | - |
| Overall average speed | 34.3 | 34.3 |
| Max Speed | 102 | 107 |
| Totals | ||
| Time on bikes | 28:35 | 21:36 |
| Moving time | 20:38 | 15:03 |
| Miles (GPS) | 1030 | 732 |
| Miles (Odometer) | 1088 | - |
| Guaranteed miles (GPS) | 1517 | 1086 |
Destination: Niagara
North around Lake Ontario. Heading to this lovely establishment. 325 miles coming right up.
Eric's morning quote
"I'm never going on a motorcycle tour again. It's the inconveniences that get me."
(re: he woke up at 7:30.)
Canton, NY - Day 2 recap
The day started out rough, as there was a bit of a martini hangover involved, and I forgot my evaporative cooling vest and had to go back, thus delaying our start. But from there it was fine. The highlights, as remembered by Eric and me over a scotch debrief session:
- Bike inspection. Erics bike passed no problem. Duchess Recreational Vehicles took care of him. I got stuck with the $6 bill.
- From there it was a pleasant but unmemorable ride across the corner of Conn. into Mass.
- Slow going up Mass 7. We stopped for lunch at this crazy roadside burger/ice cream shack, manned by a flirty 16 year old in pink hot pants that have her mother doing novenas. She is hereby referred to as Suzy Q. The food took forever. There were a million motorbikes that passed by as we waited. The bathroom was "Through that door. Through the kitchen. Past the dishwashers. On the back wall."
- We had planned to run up through Vermont, and ride the Green mountains, but we lost so much time that we bailed out, cut West, and did a high-speed run up I-87 to make up time.
- Eric and I have very different techniques for riding on the slab. Discussion has started, and is ongoing. We'll have it sorted out in a couple days.
- There were no trucks out all day. Not even on I-87. It is Saturday, but still, You usually see some. Was a welcome change.
- On NY 87 N, we rode alongside an impossibly long train traveling in our direction, but at half our speed. It was oddly captivating for both of us. I found it fascinating that there were several open-top train cars full of loose mulch. I didn't expect to see that.
- Williams College in Williamstown, MA is a beautiful campus, in a beautiful town. I have no idea what there story is, but send your kids there. (Um...turns out that they're doing pretty OK for themselves.)
- The streak of just missing rain continues. We rode into a couple areas where rain had just finished (wet roads, misty weather. ominous clouds.) And when we pulled into Canton, a storm started as we were unpacking our bikes.
- We stopped at a great outdoors shop called The Mountaineer in Keene, NY. Nice people, great shop.
- From Keene to Lake Placid is a great run from 1000ft to 2300ft, in no time at all. Winding your way up, feeling the air get colder, watching the plants change with elevation. (Side note: most people don't realize because they haven't needed to think about it, but when dealing with the Appalachians/Eastern/US mountain ranges, if you want twisty roads, head East-West. If you want sweeping roads, head North-South.)
- I can't even begin to describe ski jumps. They're absolutely unbelievable. This was the second time I've seen the Lake Placid ones. You can't miss them as you come up on them. They're like 30 story tall industrial structures. But when you get in close...they're mind-blowing. Definitely take a trip near them and see them if you can. Lake Placid, Salt Lake, wherever you can.
- We stopped for a snack (which ended up being dinner) at a pub in Lake Placid. It was a welcomed respite. We got off the road, reset, and were totally set for the final run of the day.
- E had some drama with the bike. We were both totally worried, thinking he had some clutch issues. Ghosts in the machine, and all. But it turns out we were just not realizing his bike has a sidestand lockout/kill switch that was jacking with our simple parking routine.
- I haven't seen all of America, but I've seen a lot of it. And I can honestly say that the Adirondacks are the most beautiful place I've ever seen here. The Grand Canyon...Yellowstone...the Maine coast...all favorites. But routes 73, 86, 3 through the Adirondacks are just amazing. Breathtaking. Unreal.
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Day 2 stats
Canton, NY wikipedia | Google Map
| Day 2 | RP | EG |
| Time on bikes | 12:27 | 11:54 |
| Moving time | 8:29 | 8:31 |
| Miles (GPS) | 398 | 398 |
| Miles (Odometer) | 418 | 418 |
| Overall average speed | 31.9 | 33.4 |
| Max Speed | 94 | 91 |
| Totals | ||
| Time on bikes | 18:50 | 11:54 |
| Moving time | 14:18 | 8:31 |
| Miles (GPS) | 696 | 398 |
| Miles (Odometer) | 737 | 418 |
| Guaranteed miles (GPS) | 1097 | 686 |
Friday, July 24, 2009
Day 1 stats
| Day 1 | RP | EG |
| Time on bikes | 6:23 | - |
| Moving time | 5:49 | - |
| Miles (GPS) | 298 | - |
| Miles (Odometer) | 319 | - |
| Overall average speed | 46; | - |
| Max Speed | 93 | - |
| Totals | ||
| Time on bikes | 6:23 | - |
| Moving time | 5:49 | - |
| Miles (GPS) | 298 | - |
| Miles (Odometer) | 319 | - |
| Guaranteed miles (GPS) | 596 | - |
Day 1. Hopewell Junction, NY
Here inHopewell Junction. Made it safe. I just beat the storms that I can only describe as biblical. They literally started 15 minutes after I showed up and haven't let up yet. This town is underwater.
The first half of today's ride was one of the worst I've ever had. Just terrible.
1. Got up 2 hours late.
2. Broke both locks on the left saddlebag. Couldn't latch the thing shut. 30 minutes to repair.
3. Got 10 blocks away and had to run back to my place.
4. Hit 495/95 and it was a parking lot. I made it 20 miles in the first hour. 100 in the first three hours.
5. Earbuds kept coming unseated which is like riding without earplugs. Which I seriously don't like.
The first half of today's ride was one of the worst I've ever had. Just terrible.
1. Got up 2 hours late.
2. Broke both locks on the left saddlebag. Couldn't latch the thing shut. 30 minutes to repair.
3. Got 10 blocks away and had to run back to my place.
4. Hit 495/95 and it was a parking lot. I made it 20 miles in the first hour. 100 in the first three hours.
5. Earbuds kept coming unseated which is like riding without earplugs. Which I seriously don't like.
6. Delaware memorial bridge was backed up. Took 30+ minute to cover the 5 miles up to the bridge. Bike was on the verge of overheating the whole time
7. All the way, my EZ-pass wasn't working. I went through 10 tolls, and it only registered 5 out of the 10 tolls I went through. Cameras were flashing on my tags as I blew through the booths.
7. All the way, my EZ-pass wasn't working. I went through 10 tolls, and it only registered 5 out of the 10 tolls I went through. Cameras were flashing on my tags as I blew through the booths.
8. I went through a construction zone at mile 7. Caught a bunch of sand like grit in my left eye. I didn't manage to get it out of my eye and flushed until , oh about mile 75.
But then I hit the NJ turnpike and everything changed. Now normally the tpk is the worst part of this ride. Hands down. But today, whole different story.
But then I hit the NJ turnpike and everything changed. Now normally the tpk is the worst part of this ride. Hands down. But today, whole different story.
The NJ turnpike had zero traffic (as in nobody but me) and zero cops. Normally it's crawling with both. So I set the throttle lock at 78 mph, and never let up. Turnpike, Gardens State Parkway, Palisades Parkway. I made terrific time. The ride was great. Everything is set up just right. My morning valve job is still smooth as can be. In the end I averaged the same time I would have if there were no traffic.
As soon as I hit, I changed the final drive oil again, just to look. there's still metal fuzz in it. And now it's martinis on the coasters and steaks on the grill as I type. We're both super stoked about the ride tomorrow. More packing and setup to do tonight, but it's mostly fine tuning at this point.
Valve drama - ready to roll
Got a late start this morning. Wanted to get up at 7, stayed up a little too late last night and got up at 10. I was hoping I'd be able to write this 2 hours ago, but at least I can now.
When a bike is running well, you should never change anything on it before leavingon a long trip. Too many chances to mess things up. Well, I'm tempting that fate.
My valve adjustment has been overdue. Coming back from the beach last weekend showed me how badly it needed done. I was getting a lot of vibration through the grips and footpegs. After 2 hours, my hands and feet were going numb. I knew I needed it done.
Now the last time I did my valves myself, it was a disaster. I never got it quite right. Made things worse and worse, until I had to take it into a dealer. Having learned that lesson I decided to look for a shop that could do it. I checked every dealership near where we'll be, and nobody could help out. So I knew I was on my own.
Called up Aaron a couple days ago, and borrowed his throttle body syncing tool. Spent a couple days reading up. Decided to go for it.
Now you have to do the adjustments when the bike is cold, which means morning was the only option. Had to work this week, so couldn't do it before then (takes too long). That meant I had to take off all day today to do it in the moments right before the trip.
I'm happy to report that it was an unqualified success. Took 2 hours. There was much sweating. But everything came out great. Valves adjusted. Throttle bodies synced. Bike is smooth as silk.
Now I have to load up everything onto the bike (It's all in my living room. Saddle bags and all.) and I'm ready to roll. No point in taking a shower. It's a hot one out there and I'm going to be a sweaty grimy mess in an hour anyway.
Should be rolling up to Hopewell Junction in 30 minutes.
When a bike is running well, you should never change anything on it before leavingon a long trip. Too many chances to mess things up. Well, I'm tempting that fate.
My valve adjustment has been overdue. Coming back from the beach last weekend showed me how badly it needed done. I was getting a lot of vibration through the grips and footpegs. After 2 hours, my hands and feet were going numb. I knew I needed it done.
Now the last time I did my valves myself, it was a disaster. I never got it quite right. Made things worse and worse, until I had to take it into a dealer. Having learned that lesson I decided to look for a shop that could do it. I checked every dealership near where we'll be, and nobody could help out. So I knew I was on my own.
Called up Aaron a couple days ago, and borrowed his throttle body syncing tool. Spent a couple days reading up. Decided to go for it.
Now you have to do the adjustments when the bike is cold, which means morning was the only option. Had to work this week, so couldn't do it before then (takes too long). That meant I had to take off all day today to do it in the moments right before the trip.
I'm happy to report that it was an unqualified success. Took 2 hours. There was much sweating. But everything came out great. Valves adjusted. Throttle bodies synced. Bike is smooth as silk.
Now I have to load up everything onto the bike (It's all in my living room. Saddle bags and all.) and I'm ready to roll. No point in taking a shower. It's a hot one out there and I'm going to be a sweaty grimy mess in an hour anyway.
Should be rolling up to Hopewell Junction in 30 minutes.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Update and a question
I'm jealously viewing all this talk of moto3our while recovering from knee surgery. (You should see this thing. It's disgusting. It's bigger than RP's head).
Update - The R1150R is officially totalled, according to the insurance company. They're not happy at my insistence that I be fully compensated for all the aftermarket stuff, but if we have to litigate that, I will. That lady owes me a fully-tricked R1150R, and that's that.
Question - Road comms? What's the plan? Just hand signals?
Any discussion of a radio solution? RP and I kicked this around years ago, but ultimately decided that (1) we didn't want to hear each other's opinions that much; (2) we thought it would be distracting; (3) tunes were more important, and a solution that allowed for tunes to be cut out by voice comms was prohibitively complicated and expensive.
But it's still an interesting idea. I'm not sure why it's so hard to have a system that would (1) have a voice activated mike that would output through any old headphones and (2) would cut out the music when voice comes in.
The trick is keeping the "any old headphones" - we all have some that we want to keep and it's a very personal choice. All those helmet speaker systems are useless, because I can't ride without earplugs of some sort.
In the end, the hand signals worked out just fine for us. If a perfect system existed for voice comms, it would be cool and arguably safer ("Watch out for the guy parked at the curb - he's about to open his door").
But then you'd have to deal with the "singing out loud in the helmet" problem.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Brian's ZG Heat Shields for the Concours
So, we talked a bit about the in-the-saddle heat of the Connie -- it's a little much. I can def. see how it would be awesome in the chillier spring and falls days, but for the summer its a little hot. Not deadly -- but an issue. And if you have thick blood like me and heat drives you crazy, well, its a problem. To me, San Franciso has the right approach to high temperatures. The Connie would do great there.
I have been hearing about this great Concours "community" and so I gave them the test and started searching their sites' forums for heat solutions. After about 30 minutes of searching I came across DIY kits and also what everyone seems to recognize as the undisputed heat abatement champ: Brian's ZG Heat Shields.
Basically, its custom molded ABS inserts that seal off the engine cavity accompanied with gaskets that divert hot air out under the bike instead of out the sides onto your legs and thighs.
The community has left post after post praising these things, so I sent Brian a note today and asked if he could express ship me a set. Two hours later, I had a FedEx tracking number.
If these things work half as good as they're supposed to, I'll be plenty thankful. And I am mightily impressed with this, my first experience with the Concours community -- those who say, "Come for the bike, stay for the people."
More posts on how well these bad boys work out to come.
Here's some photos of them installed on other people's bikes.
I have been hearing about this great Concours "community" and so I gave them the test and started searching their sites' forums for heat solutions. After about 30 minutes of searching I came across DIY kits and also what everyone seems to recognize as the undisputed heat abatement champ: Brian's ZG Heat Shields.
Basically, its custom molded ABS inserts that seal off the engine cavity accompanied with gaskets that divert hot air out under the bike instead of out the sides onto your legs and thighs.
The community has left post after post praising these things, so I sent Brian a note today and asked if he could express ship me a set. Two hours later, I had a FedEx tracking number.
If these things work half as good as they're supposed to, I'll be plenty thankful. And I am mightily impressed with this, my first experience with the Concours community -- those who say, "Come for the bike, stay for the people."
More posts on how well these bad boys work out to come.
Here's some photos of them installed on other people's bikes.
For Reference (on Route)
Here's what we did last year:
NB: Day three, we spent three hours at a maintenance stop (Bangor Power Sports) and day seven included a two-hour ferry transit from New London to Point Orient.
NB: Day three, we spent three hours at a maintenance stop (Bangor Power Sports) and day seven included a two-hour ferry transit from New London to Point Orient.
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