2010 rides…

wow!!! we’re already in 2010!!!

routes: ------ 01/02/2010 - lake loop - nc and va

brrrrrrr…

took the first drive of the year today… wasn’t really planning to, but my wife suggested i head out for a ride. it looked nice outside, blue skies dotted with puffy white clouds. it didn’t take much to convince me to go.

i had originally planned a trip through oxford to danville, looping south back through oxford and back home. i wasn’t out long when i realize it was a bit chillier than i thought.

i arrived in oxford cold, not quite knowing how long the planned route was, thinking i should just turn around and head home. instead, i decided to take the usual lake loop.

about half way through the ride, even colder than i could imagine, i couldn’t wait to get home. i even passed up a photo-op of the high water and flooded tables at the dam.

i made it home with a couple lessons under my belt. check the temps before leaving. if it’s in the twenties, i’d advise electric pants and jacket – jeans and chaps just don’t cut it. my electric gloves work awesome!!!

check out the 2010 ride map to see the route - this one in blue...

33879

that’s the odo reading to start the year. i won’t complain that it’s not as much as i wanted, i did that in the last post…

looking forward to putting some time in the saddle this year. in addition to the yearly trek to the smoke out and, hopefully, the easyriders rodeo, i’m planning a couple longer trips. one up to milwaukee for some training and another along the blue ridge parkway with my father-in-law. would be nice to add another iba ride or two as well…

outside of those, i imagine there will be plenty of rides with my wife and the kids. the youngest one has been asking to ride this winter. i haven’t be able to get him to understand that it gets a *lot* colder on the bike when it starts moving. not to mention he doesn’t really have any cold-weather gear. maybe a quick spin around the neighborhood would help him understand…

so, let’s hang on tight and see where this year goes…

reflections…

the past year has been interesting to say the least. didn’t do as much riding as i wanted. it seems i say that every year. i wonder how often or how many miles i’d need to ride in order to feel like i rode as much as i wanted??

some of the journeys i planned didn’t happen. but my biggest goal of the year, the ss1000, did. of course there were several rides with my wife (those are always the best), the yearly trek to the smoke out, a ride with my son and the easyriders rodeo. all-in-all, i’d have to say it was a good year.

i’m sure this next year will bring new adventures, some planned and some not. whatever the case, we’ll make the bet of it…

detours…

haven’t posted in a while –  haven’t ridden in a while…  this has been the longest stretch of time since i’ve had the bike that i’ve gone without riding… after the ss1000 ride, it seemed i had weekend commitments, holidays, questionable weather, classes. after about a month of not riding, i was getting the itch to get back on the bike. then a family crisis hit and put us into a tailspin for a couple weeks.

i finally managed to get back out on the road. weather was near perfect – considering it’s the end of december. clear skies, fifties, what more could you ask for?? so my wife encouraged me to head out for a couple hours. and i did.

it’d been so long since i’d ridden, i wasn’t even sure my bike would start – pretty sad, huh?? good thing i had it on a battery tender – it started on the first crank. while it was warming up, i gave it a once over. after that, i geared up and headed out.

i planned a short route. north up route 1, east on route 158, south on route 401 through louisburg back to youngsville. rides like these are a great opportunity for personal reflection. it wasn’t long before i was thinking about how fortunate i am to have the wife i have, the kids, my job. while things may not always be great, they certainly can be a lot worse (as my father-in-law is always keen to point out).

while i was really enjoying being on the bike again, i was also looking forward to getting home. i was approaching louisburg when i saw the detour signs. a quick feeling of dread came over me - a detour is not really what i wanted.

i took the turn off 401 and headed for parts unknown, trusting the detour signs would lead me back to where i needed to be. before i knew it, i had a huge grin on my face as i was gliding through the twisty roads. the road turned out to be a lot more fun than i expected – one of the better ones on my ride. maybe the detour was what i needed…

back on 401, i reflected on the detour. the detour was much like the family crisis we faced a couple weeks ago. not really what we were expecting, certainly not what we wanted. we didn’t know what we were getting in to, where we were going. we didn’t have a plan, we were just moving forward, trusting we would get through it.

while i can’t say we’re totally through the crisis, i think some good has already come from it. we’ve learned how strong our family is, how lucky we are to have the friends and neighbors we have. we’ve all come out better for it.

life, like motorcycle rides, can throw detours at you. detours certainly don’t come at the most convenient time. while we may not realize it at the time, they’re actually good and ultimately get us to our destination better than had we followed our original path.

let’s just hope life isn’t filled with too many more detours…

ss1000

got e-mail saying a couple people were riding to daytona. if i was interested, it could be turned into an iron butt ride. i was, so it was… and i completed my first saddlesore 1000 (one thousand miles in twenty four hours) this past weekend.

once a couple more e-mails were sent around, it ended up with three of us going. we had two routes picked out, a northern loop and a southern straight shot. because of predicted snow along the northern route, the night before the ride, we decided to take the southern route. we’ll save the northern route for another time.

saturday morning came, early!! i officially started my trip at sheetz at 4:53am. it was cold morning and i was glad we were heading south. at sheetz, i got my witness form signed and my start receipt. i headed to benson, nc, my first stop and meeting point for the other two riders.

i get to benson, top off my tank and wait for the other riders. i’m glad to get off the bike, move around and warm up a little. after about five minutes, the other riders show up. without wasting time, they top off and we’re off to the next stop.

the plan is to start looking for stations at one hundred fifty miles, stopping before one-eighty. i’m usually good for about one hundred ninety miles. i’ve gone over two-hundred, but was really nervous. i’m good with going one hundred eighty and stopping for gas.

because we were running at slightly higher speeds that i normally drive, my mileage wasn’t quite what i expected. we were at about one hundred fifty miles and i *needed* gas.  that put us in manning, sc for our second stop. i ended up putting a little over five gallons of gas into my advertised five-gallon tank. the new rule is stopping for gas every one-fifty.

stops were long enough to top off the tanks, relieve ourselves and get back on the road. no time wasted. stopped time can really eat into overall time.

with one more stop in midway, ga, we made it to our turn around point in st. augustine, fl around 12:30pm. we were making good time and i was feeling good about the ride. other than a tiny bit of rain on the way down, and being a little cooler than i was expecting, the ride had been great.

after topping off, we talked about lunch. we’re good on time and it’d probably be a good idea to get off the bikes for a short time. without much argument, it was decided to stop at waffle house. we top off our bellies and head back home.

just after entering georgia, we hit stop-n-go traffic. not looking good. one of the guys starts darting in and out of traffic to get ahead. i do my best to keep up. after a few miles, the traffic lets up and we hit the speeds we need. i’m able to catch up to the leader, but no sign of the third rider. all this at about the time i need gas. i indicate i’m pulling over at the next exit. not sure what’s going to happen from here.

at the next stop, i top off, get my receipt and am documenting the stop when another rider pulls up. no sign of the third rider. he waited at the exit long enough to see riders we had passed earlier. surely the third rider was already past them. we try to reach him on his phone and decide to push ahead.

as we’re driving, i’m scanning ahead and behind, seeing if i can find him. no luck… until right before our next stop. he’s on the side of the road, accompanied by a local police officer. oops… our timing must have been perfect because as we pull off the exit, he’s right there with us.

talking to a local at the gas stop, the local police apparently patrol a short section of 95 north. they do their best to get as many people as they can. ticketed him for doing seventy-nine in a seventy. lesson learned…

our next stop is in benson, where we met in the morning. we top off and say our goodbyes. we’ll ride together for a bit and then split off, heading to our final stop.

my last stop is at sheetz, where i started. i rolled in there around 9:20pm. got my final receipt, witness form signed and headed home.

i ended up riding over 1000 miles in about seventeen  and a half hours. according my my odometer, it was 1049 miles. according to the gps, it was 1031 miles. the trip was actually a lot easier than i expected. i didn’t get tired like i expected and my butt didn’t start to hurt, as i expected.

my wife asked, dreading the answer, “what’s next??” i don’t know what’s next. but i do know there will be more…

check out the 2009 ride map to see the route - this one in green ...

32500…

took the bike in for the 32,500 mile service this morning. ‘twas a brisk but good ride. nice to be out in the morning, riding in the cool air. something about riding this time of year just seems so refreshing – even if it is in rush-hour traffic.

i was going to wait for my bike to be serviced. upon further thinking i decided to drop it off. mainly for two reasons:

1. they’ll wash it – and it desperately needs washed. with what little riding i’ve been able to get in this year, i’ve done even less washing!! i figure they’ll get the bulk of the dirt and grime off the bike, leaving detailing to me. works for me.
2. i get a rental. what else can i say?? a chance to ride another bike.

this time i was hooked up with an ‘09 road king. nice ride. too bad i had work today else i may have been out all day riding. i did manage to have an errand to run at lunch, so i did get to take it out a little.

friday night at bikefest...

looking down fayetteville street...