Jan 28, 2007

sanford...

had to ride to sanford today. the weather forecast had been iffy - first calling for cold weather, then warmer, then rain, then colder but no rain. in my mind, i had already decided to ride. i have the 'lectric gloves and can bundle up if it's cold. rain?? that's what rain suits are for... i think the only thing that could have started me thinking of not riding was a sleet/snow/freezing rain forecast. the forecast this morning was mid 50s, slight possibility of rain - i was riding!!!

timing was a bot of a concern this morning. i was riding to sanford via durham - meeting a couple other riders at the bob evans in durham. plans were to meet at eight thirty, leave by nine. i wasn't sure what route i wanted to take - more scenic v. direct, so i wasn't sure how long it would take to get there. i was planning at least an hour, which meant that i would have to leave the house no later than seven thirty.

being sunday morning, i wanted to make the morning journey to get my wife's newspaper. i did feel bad that i wouldn't be able to make her breakfast this morning - figuring she's prefer to sleep over eating breakfast at seven. to ensure enough time to get to the store and back before leaving for durham, i figured i had to leave for the store at six. which meant having to get up at five thirty.

this was all getting too much - or more than i wanted to deal with. if i just decided earlier to head straight to sanford, i could have left later and had a more relaxed morning. i decided to forgo the bike ride to the store - figgering i could save a little time since i wouldn't have to mess with my equipment at the store. but, i would have to add a couple minutes to my leaving time for durham since i needed gas.

taking the cage this morning turned into its own little fiasco - which i won't detail here. suffice it to say i wasn't thinking as clearly as i should have been. now i was wondering if this was an omen for how the day was going to go. whether or not, i knew i just better be a little more attentive today...

i also had to put my bike together - not that it was really apart - i just wanted to put the tour-pak back on it to carry all the crap i wouldn't need. easy as that sounds, i had to glue a rubber gasket back on to the screw so i could secure the passenger seat. not a big deal - just something else that needed to be done before i left...

about seven twenty and i finally hit the road. first stop - gas station. on the way there, i decided to take the more direct route to bob evans. in the hour since i had been out earlier, it felt like it got a little cooler and the sky had definitely clouded over - looked like rain. i figured the highway would be the best route. in addition, i didn't need the added stress of showing up late. already enough going on this morning - don't want to add to it needlessly.

sure enough, on the way out to durham it starts sprinkling... a few drops at first, nothing bad. then it picks up a little. do i stop and throw rain gear on or is it going to stop. at this point, it could go either way and the way my day's been going - they sky is going to open up!!! at this point, it's not raining hard enough... it's not that far of a ride to durham - what's the worse that can happen?? i have theliner in my leather jacket, i'm wearing my chaps - maybe my jeans get a little wet. i press on - i'm not stopping until i get to bob evans...

i do make it to durham with no problems. it rained about halfway there - but nothing bad, definitely nothing worth stopping for. and i'm a couple minutes early. maybe my day is turning for the better.

i get there, another rider is already there and one is pulling up. we hang there for thirty minutes, waiting for other riders. two others show up while a volley of phone calls takes place figuring out who we're picking up where on the ride to sanford - the beauty of trying to coordinate a ride. and in the end it all works out...

we finally head out to sanford... we left bob evans with five bikes. picked another up in route. didn't even waste any time. as we pulled off the exist, there he was on the side of the road. we looped around, made a u-turn and he fell in line with us. we didn't even bother to stop.

the ride to sanford was easy - down 15/501 to rt. 1. weather was good - mostly sunny, no rain. cool but not cold. really a good day for a ride. then again, when isn't it a good day to ride??

the ride back from sanford was great. sun was out, it was a tad bit warmer. i was following another rider that lived in the raleigh area. i had considered taking some back roads, but i was ready to get home, so plotted a direct route.

overall - another great day for a ride... this january has been awesome for riding... i was fortunate enough to have ridden every weekend except one. and that weekend we were out of town.

and you can check out the route over on my ride map - this one in girlish pink...

Jan 24, 2007

flame thrower v2...

a while ago i posted about a road king modified to throw flames. turns out the guy has a newer version that throws bigger flames. enjoy...

Jan 14, 2007

what's with the weather??

first, i can't believe what's going on with the weather - the temps have been awesome. second, i got to go out riding again today - what an even more awesome wife i have!!!

biggest decision was where to ride... i wasn't aware of anything going on and didn't really want to ride somewhere and ride the same route back. with that, i decided to make a counterclockwise circle to the north - that way i'd stay on two lane roads and avoid the busier roads. i also wanted to travel some roads i hadn't been on before.

i plotted out a route on my gps. it's nice being able to plot the route, but i'm not confident that it's one hundred percent accurate - in fact, i know it isn't. showing roads that aren't there, tell you to turn in one direction when you really want to go the other way... i figured i'd let it be my rough guide - if it had me turn in a direction i didn't want to go or put me somewhere i didn't want to be, i'd easily be able to find a road i knew and follow that home... i guess that's the nice part of having a gps - you can only get a little lost!!! instead of being in the middle of somewhere without a clue to where you are and only a paper map, at least you could pinpoint where you are and navigate to a known location - even if you had to take mystery roads. you know, even with the gps, i still don't have the confidence to travel without a paper map. mostly because i can more easily get a broader view from a paper map than a gps. maybe that will change with time - until then, a paper map accompanies on my travels.

my route took me through youngsville, louisburg, warrenton, norlina, up to boydton, over to clarksville, back through virgilina and back home. the second half of the trip was all familiar road - a lot of which i've been traveling on these last few trips. but the first half, once i got north of louisburg was totally new roads for me. the beauty of the countryside is simply amazing.

as usualy, i was looking around in awe of the land, the farms, the houses, the communities, the small towns... i keep thinking it would be so nice to move out a little further - move a little more into the country. maybe one day we'll decide to do it...

the ride today was good for the soul - as the rides tend to be. just me, the bike and the road - the only real destination being home, the route not mattering, stops being optional. i opted not to make any stops on this trip - didn't need to, didn't want to. i was enjoying moving in the warm air and the sunny skies.

three hours, a little over half a tank of gas and i was back home... nice to be out riding on such a beautiful day, but nice to be home too...

check out the route on the ride map, this on in funky blue.

Jan 13, 2007

another saturday ride...

here we are, the second weekend in january and the temps are in the sixties!!! i can't believe the awesome weather we're having - trying to take advantage of it while i can...

i talked to a neighbor yesterday and he mentioned going riding today. i told him if he decided to go, to be sure to get me. this morning, i waited around for him to call or stop by... nothing... i decided to head out on my own. as i put some stuff on the bike and geared up, he pulls his bike out of his garage. we wave and i'm wondering if he's coming over or if he has other plans... i take my time waiting to see if he leaves or comes over. sure enough, he fires his bike up and heads over...

after talking for a couple minutes, we head out. he's trying to catch up to one of his buddies and plans to meet him at shelton's. since i have the gps, i lead the way. i have a feeling the gps will put me in front of a lot of rides. i'm not so sure i'm all over that - there are times i'd just like to hang back in the pack.

the ride to shelton's is mostly two lanes, hardly any traffic. that makes for a really nice ride - you can relax a little more and enjoy the scenery. although i've been on this road many times, i still enjoy looking around, seeing things that have been there for years that i've never noticed, as well as seeing how things are changing. one of the biggest changes are new houses being built. so see old farms and tracts of land being bought by developers and houses being built. the city is expanding and getting closer and closer to us.

we get to shelton's. i've never been there before, so i'm eager to check it out. the showroom huge. like many harley dealers, it's got all the departments - bikes, of course, parts and motor clothes. i didn't notice the service department, but i'm sure it's around the side or the back. nice looking dealership.

stanley's buddy finally shows up. after a short meet and greet, we decide to head to twin specialties. my brother got his pictures in biker magazine and i was trying to get a hold of it. being a magazine that has uhhhh, scantily clad women, they don't carry a copy of it at the local grocery store. i couldn't even find a copy of it at the local harley dealers. i figured if it's around, a place like twin specialties will have it.

the ride to win specialties wasn't the best. mostly because of traffic. we were on a heavier traveled road, and being saturday, it seemed every one was out. well, it still beats being in a cage.

we finally make it to twin specialties. i hop off the bike and head in to see if they have a copy of biker. sure enough they do. i plunk down a boat load of money for the mag - much, much more than i expected. without disappointment, i flip through the pages to find him - he's the one on the right.



we look at a couple of the bikes at twin specialties and decide it's time to head back home. wanting to be on two lane, less congested roads, we have to head east to rt. 96 and then head north back home.

it was a great day for a ride... weather was about perfect. you know, about every time i'm out riding on the bike, it seems i think the weather is about perfect. i guess it just has something to do with being on the road. as long as it's not raining or extremely cold, i guess the weather is perfect.

anyway, it was nice to finally take a ride with my neighbor. with the number of bikers increasing in the neighborhood, we might have to start our own club...

again, you can check out the route we took on the ride map page - it's the one in ucky green

until next time...

peace...

Jan 6, 2007

saturday ride...

took off for a nice long ride today in what turned out to be an unusually warm day and possibly weekend... the original plans were to go riding tomorrow and meet up with a couple buddies. but the weather is calling for thundershowers, so we reschedule for today.

the plan was for two of us to meet in smithfield then head to greenville to meet the other guy - if he was showing up. from there, we'd decide what to do...

i took off late morning towards smithfield. i couldn't believe the warm weather we had today. as i was approaching smithfield, i spotted a few clouds that looked like they could be holding some rain. they weren't calling for rain today. soon, i rode under a could of the clouds and could feel the temp drop. the drop in temp gave me a chill and i thought about how cold it felt. then i realized it was still january and this wasn't cold at all. thankfully those were about the only clouds i saw all day - the rest of the day would remain sunny and (relatively) warm.

when i got to smithfield, doug was already there waiting - about ten minutes. figures since i was about ten minutes late. after jabbering for a couple minutes, we headed to hooters in greenville. we decided to opt for the more scenic route. it would get us to greenville a little later than planned, but what the hell?? always better to take a scenic route and more time. besides, there'd be less traffic along this road.

having the gps adds a level of comfort while riding. instead of having to plan out the route, either remember of write down the route and then try to remember to look for all the roads, let the gps do the work. it gave me a lot of confidence that i was along the right roads and knew when i would need to turn. it's really going to make exploring unfamiliar territory nice.

we cruised along for about an hour and a half, enjoying the scenery along the mostly two lane roads. at once point we passed two people on the side of the road painting. they had their canvas on their easels, painting away... i looked across the road to see what they might be painting. to be honest, all i saw was an empty field - can't figure out what was there. and maybe that's what they were painting.

we finally made it to hooters... not too much happening there - seemed kinda dead. a lot more kids and families than i expected. not that there's a problem with it - just not used to seeing so many families and kids. after downing some wings and drinks, we decided to head to the hospital. a friend/colleague was recently injured while riding his bike. he's been in the trauma icu since before christmas. while we knew we wouldn't be able to see him, we thought it would be nice to visit for a couple minutes with his family.

i figured this would be a good test of the gps. i tried to plug in the name of the hospital - no luck, could find it... seems you have to have to correct name - which i did not. i was searching on pitt memorial and i should have been searching on pitt county memorial... so we plugged in the address for the hospital, which doug retrieved from his crackberry. following the directions on the gps only lead us to the wrong place. i kinda got the feeling we weren't going in the right direction when i saw a sign for the hospital pointing in one direction and the gps telling us to turn in the other direction. after ending up in the wrong place, we decided to follow the road signs. even those lead us to the wrong side of the hospital. eventually we ended up in the right place.

we managed our way up to the icu waiting room and talked to dave's wife for a couple minutes. the waiting room was cramped and hot. the heat forced us out sooner than we wanted, but it was time to go. it was getting late and we needed to get home.

deciding not to take a major road home, i tried to use the gps to track our way back to smithfield. i quickly discovered another problem with the gps - i really need my glasses to see the roads clearly. as i couldn't see the roads, we ended up on 264, heading west. not wanting to be on 264 the whole way, we eventually pulled off and wounds our way around on some two lane roads until we got back to smithfield. at that point, we split off and headed home...

it was a great day for a ride - can't believe how warm it was today - hard to believe it's the first weekend in january. well, i guess winter will be arriving tomorrow. as long as it's not snowing or sleeting, i should still be out there - maybe on shorter (much shorter) rides, but i try not to let the temps stop me.

you can check out the 2007 ride map to see the route - this one is in red...

Jan 4, 2007

here i am...

first, i have to say santa was extremely good to me this year. i'm still pretty sure i wasn't deserving of it, but santa left a gps under the tree for me... thanks santa!!!

took a ride down to the dealership this morning to have a gps mount installed on my bike... now before you go gettin' your panties in a bunch about me not doing the job myself - i have my reasons... first, i'm not sure it's a job i wanted to tackle on my own. believe it or not, the directions had me disassembling half my bike, removing the gas tank among other parts... second, time was of the essence - got an e-mail from a buddy about going to a ride this weekend since the weather is going to be so great. figured i wanted to take along the gps so i wouldn't get lost. or if i did get lost, i'd know where i was!!!

got up early and geared up for a cool january ride to the dealership. i say cool because, being january, it wasn't exactly cold. i was expecting the morning temps to be somewhere in the high thirties, low forties. turns out it was fifty degrees when i left. yup - fifty!! still, not wanting to take too much of a chance, i decided to bundle up anyway.

ride to the dealership, other than traffic was great. nice-n-cool. the way i like it. as soon as i walked through the doors, ned, the service-dood, was checking me in. i tell you, the service department here is very good - at least as far as i'm concerned. they've always treated me right and seem to go the extra step.

i was told the install would take about an hour, maybe an hour and a half... so i cruised around the dealership, checking out any deals they may have had - none to be found. then i sat around the service department, reading and waiting.

it's interesting to watch the people come and go... two cops walked in - i thought they may be there to pick up a bike. seems they just chatted with the service-doods for about thirty minutes and then left. before the cops showed up, someone brought a couple dozen donuts... wait a minute, now i know why the cops showed up!!! the funny part was watching all the other people show up to grab a couple donuts - word spread fast and they came crawling out of the woodwork. i guess if you ever wanted to talk to all the employees, you could gather them by announcing you have donuts!!

the install took a little longer than i expected. the guy was apologetic about how long it took him - said he would rather take his time and get it right than rush through it. i told him i agreed and would rather have it that way. reminds me of flying one time. we all boarded the plane, they closed the doors and pushed back from the gate. then they figured out something was wrong with the plane and they needed to fix it. sure - it took a while, but people were getting upset. complaining - wishing the crew would hurry up. i'm sitting there thinking - doods, take your time, get it fixed right. i'd much rather be on the ground when something goes wrong with the plane than up in the air.

anyway, the dood finishes with the bike and is telling me all about the installation. i think he was as excited as i was about it. a couple people gathered around to check it out before i bolted out of there.

using the gps to navigate was pretty cool - although i did know my way home. one really neat feature i can see coming in real handy is the gps displays the names of the cross streets as you approach - no more looking all over the place for street signs. i was also able to track my way back home - another cool feature. i added the track to my ride map...

so now i don't have an excuse for getting lost. well, i can still get lost, i just don't have an excuse for not finding my way home...

Jan 3, 2007

'nother hog meeting...

i guess this counts as the first ride of the season... being january you'd expect it to be cold... it was near sixty degrees when i took off for the meeting!!! and the temps are supposed to remain warmer through the weekend!! i'll have to squeeze some riding time in...

i picked up my neighbor on the way to the meeting. this was his first meeting. although he's not a member, he'll probably join. that got me to thinking about our meetings compared to other hog meetings. ours are pretty much the same every time - pledge of allegiance, prayer, reports from the board members, shop talk from the dealership and then giveaways. nothing really super exciting. so are most other hog meetings like this?? i started wondering about what really draws me to the meetings. i think it's the opportunity to ride - just gives me another reason to hop on the bike and ride in the middle of the week...

after sitting around for an hour, the meeting ended and it was time to ride. i was expecting the ride home to be a bit colder. it was actually very nice. this can't be january... the funny thing is our dealership is having their polar bear ride this weekend. the idea is it's supposed to be cold and you're supposed to ride your bike to the dealership. you show up on your bike and they give you discounts as well as have other things going on at the shop. well, i believe saturday is going to be in the seventies - close to record breaking temps... not going to be much of a polar bear ride!!! i won't complain about it - just enjoy it while it lasts...

ride safe...

Jan 1, 2007

2007 rides

hopefully the map won't get too junked up, but i'm going to include routes i take on my rides... if it starts looking too cluttered, then maybe i'll create a separate map just for routes...


i realize it may be hard to determine the routes without actually zooming in - but that's the way it goes...

routes:
------ 01/04/2007 - ride home
------ 01/06/2007 - ride to greenville, nc
------ 01/13/2007 - saturday ride around
------ 01/14/2007 - sunday ride to nowhere
------ 01/28/2007 - ride to sanford
------ 05/11-12/2007 - ride to rocky mount
------ 05/13-19/2007 - columbia, sc
------ 06/23-24/2007 - salisbury, sc
------ 07/18-20/2007 - tail of the dragon
------ 08/19/2007 - sunday ride around the "block"
------ 10/28/2007 - sunday ride
------ 12/31/2007 - new year's eve ride

13494

starting the year with just under 13500 miles on the bike... which means i put on almost 5500 miles this past year. i was hoping to put on about 10k, which i would have done had i made the sturgis trip... still, not a bad total considering most of it is casual riding.

no trips planned this year - although my wife is talking about me going to the spring rally at myrtle beach for a couple days. we'll see how that goes. there will also be the yearly trek to the smoke out in salisbury. i might also try to squeeze in an iron butt ride. the seal's put one on that i'm looking at this year... and i'm sure there will be the occasional hopping on the bike, heading out for a day ride...

really looking forward to riding this year...

peace...