[mike721]

I tried out some new gear on the ride into work today, and it worked great, I was warm the whole 72 miles. I layered up with a polartec fleece jumpsuit under my riding gear, wore a balaclava under my helmet, and best of all I finally gave in and bought electric gloves yesterday. The gloves were an amazing thing, I actually got too warm with them on high even at 75 mph and had to lower them to the medium setting. The only part of me that got a little cold towardss the end of the ride was my toes, I had wool socks inside my boots but I guess I could look for a little bit thicker pair, but it really wasn't a problem, my toes weren't frozen or painful,just the one part of me that wasn't nice and cozy.
The weather looks to be colder but clear the next few days, as long as the road isn't frozen I'm riding on 2 wheels.

 

[mike721]

Saturday my wife and I rode our V-Stars about 100 miles of local roads, checked out a local point of interest that I had always been curious about but never got around to, and of course found a nice inn for lunch. Blue skies and 60 degrees, what a day for late November! I was overdressed and hot for most of the ride down, which was a pleasant change to say the least!

We rode from Bangor, PA to Ringing Rocks park in Upper Black Eddy, PA. A nice easy ride down the riverside on rt 611, one of my favorite local roads. Ringing Rocks is a weird place that has a field of boulders that actually ring like metal bells when you hit them with a hammer. It's odd to be hiking with 20 people, all carrying hammers, but that's what you do there. It was fun!

http://www.davidhanauer.com/buckscounty/ringingrocks/

On the way home we ate lunch in the Rieglesville Inn, if your in the area riding 611, stop in for lunch, you won't be sorry.

We took a longer route home and ran some errands along the way, all in all it was a lovely day to be riding. We had so much fun that later that night when we saw it was was still warm after dark, instead of putting away the bikes we went out for an evening 20 mile ride, the excuse was a cup of coffee from the 'better' Dunkin Donuts 2 towns away

 

[mike721]

Flying ice!! That's pretty darn scary! Glad it worked out ok!

Had a snowbird with a big 5th wheel camper pass me on their way south for the winter. There was heavy snow north of my locale and when he bounced across a bridge some huge clumps of packed snow and ice came flying out from under the camper. He was about a hundred feet ahead of me and I had time and room to evade the big chunks as they slid across the highway but if he had been along side of me, it might have been an unpleasant experience.

 

[LWRider]

The only part of me that got a little cold towardss the end of the ride was my toes, I had wool socks inside my boots but I guess I could look for a little bit thicker pair, but it really wasn't a problem, my toes weren't frozen or painful,just the one part of me that wasn't nice and cozy.

Hey Mike, you might want to check out "Darn Tough Merino Wool Mountaineering Over-the-Calf Extra Cushion Socks" from Campmor.com (Item #: 15675GRYM) I recently bought a pair of Forma Adventure boots and a couple pairs of these socks. Merinno wool so not itchy and not hot in warm weather, but nice and thick and warm. BTW, I buy a lot of "motorcycle riding gear" from Campmor. Much camping clothin can be adapted easily to riding service.

Cheers,

Mike

 

[Metaldoc]

wore a balaclava under my helmet... The only part of me that got a little cold towardss the end of the ride was my toes, .... my toes weren't frozen or painful,just the one part of me that wasn't nice and cozy.

A balaclava is my secret weapon in staying comfortable. If I can keep my neck and ears warm, the battle is more than half won.

I've got some heavy wool RR socks I need to dig out because my toes are the other vulnerable extremity that gets cold. My plexi-fairing keeps the direct wind off of my hands so insulated gloves pretty much do the trick for them.

Mike, your pictures make me envious of the country you have to ride in. That one pic is a heckuva big rock pile to play in! The grub looked pretty doggone good too!

 

[Metaldoc]

Temps hit 55 today with only a light breeze so I played hooky from the shop around noon and got in a 2 1/2 hour ride through Nebraska's 'Bohemian Alps', one of my favorite rides since I live where the billiard table flat part of Nebraska begins.

In case you're wondering... Bohemian Alps

 

[Luvs2Play]

That is some real nice country, and some of the roads have little bends in them. Still, there are places where they actually had to paint double yellow lines for safety there.

 

[hogcowboy]

Temps hit 55 today with only a light breeze so I played hooky from the shop around noon and got in a 2 1/2 hour ride through Nebraska's 'Bohemian Alps', one of my favorite rides since I live where the billiard table flat part of Nebraska begins.

In case you're wondering... Bohemian Alps

Don't know how you are managing to still ride. When I was still working and having to fly all over this country, every time I flew over Nebraska it was always covered in snow.

It just looked like the worst place ever to live from up there. Miles and miles of snow. You must be having one of those rare years that surely happen from time to time.

 

[Metaldoc]

Don't know how you are managing to still ride. When I was still working and having to fly all over this country, every time I flew over Nebraska it was always covered in snow.

It just looked like the worst place ever to live from up there. Miles and miles of snow. You must be having one of those rare years that surely happen from time to time.

Yeah, snow covered and bleak is the normal winter default setting for Nebraska although, as you note, sometimes we will have a snowless Christmas. Forecast is for snow and ice tomorrow so we're getting close to shut down.

That is some real nice country, and some of the roads have little bends in them. Still, there are places where they actually had to paint double yellow lines for safety there.

Most of those bends are vertical in the heart of the 'alps' so yeah, quite a few double yellow lines.

The neat thing about the Bohemian Alps is no matter what season, it's a pretty ride.

 

[hogcowboy]

As much as I hated the politics and people in California, they do have some of the best scenery for biking. I never carried a map there. Just got on a road and went until I began to recognize places again. Then get on another to try finding my way back. I'd ask people about things I saw when I got back and 9 times out of 10 no one knew a thing about it. And most of it was on good roads. I did get on a lot of gravel roads as well as fire roads but I thought they were all good roads. So many people have no idea what's in their own back yard.

 

[mike721]

Maybe I'll just stop at Campmor one day, they aren't that far from where I work, and check those out. I've been wearing wool but I think I can do better, I was going to see what the local Dick's or Modells had, I still might.
I think it's really my riding boots that are the issue, they are just thin leather harness boots with no insulation, I was thinking about riding in my heaviest insulated work boots on the coldest days, I might try that and see how it goes.

Hey Mike, you might want to check out "Darn Tough Merino Wool Mountaineering Over-the-Calf Extra Cushion Socks" from Campmor.com (Item #: 15675GRYM) I recently bought a pair of Forma Adventure boots and a couple pairs of these socks. Merinno wool so not itchy and not hot in warm weather, but nice and thick and warm. BTW, I buy a lot of "motorcycle riding gear" from Campmor. Much camping clothin can be adapted easily to riding service.

Cheers,

Mike

 

[mike721]

Mike, your pictures make me envious of the country you have to ride in. That one pic is a heckuva big rock pile to play in! The grub looked pretty doggone good too!

The" Ringing Rock"s is actually the small local boulder pile, the cool thing about them is that they ring like metal bells. The big one is called appropriately enough "THE boulder field", but they don't ring.
http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/cs/groups/public/documents/document/dcnr_004626.pdf

You can see more of our local scenery here, this is all the motorcycle related pictures I have online
https://www.facebook.com/mike.stewart.1048/media_set?set=a.10206627689429734.1197423287&type=3


It's funny, I'm always planning our riding trips to see new scenery, I am finding out that I really like riding long distances and highways to get places.

My wife rides on those trips but she really prefers riding around all the side roads and byways, she can be happy with 8 hours on her bike and never get more than 50 miles away.

She pointed out when I was planning a 400 mile trip to see some fall foliage that so many people come here to Pennsylvania to see ours, what's different about Maine's trees that we should go see them?
She made a good point!

The image I attached isn't mine, but it's the Big Boulder field, I can't find my pics at the moment, it's a very odd place.

 

[Metaldoc]

^^^^ THAT's some serious road gravel right there!





:biggrin:

 

[Luvs2Play]

Rode the Vic to the dealer and signed the title over to them. Before I left there were two people looking at it and one wanting to test ride it. The new to me bike was sitting right at the front door waiting for the new parts to arrive and be installed.

 

[Metaldoc]

Rode the Vic to the dealer and signed the title over to them. Before I left there were two people looking at it and one wanting to test ride it. The new to me bike was sitting right at the front door waiting for the new parts to arrive and be installed.

That had to be kinda painful to go home without it! :frown:

 

[hogcowboy]

^^^^ THAT's some serious road gravel right there!

:biggrin:

No kidding. I remember reading about conglomerate in geology class but this has that beat six ways from Sunday. Geology is so interesting.

 

[Kiwi Steve]

It's late spring down here south of the equator. Yesterday was a perfect blue sky, low wind, day so I rode 55 km (30 miles) out to one of the east coast beaches and 55 km back.

Took a route up through the Waitakere Scenic Drive, along a ridge through hundreds of lovely corners, then down from the tops to sea level at Piha beach. Only 110 km/60 miles in total, but great twisting left, then right, then left again. Saw maybe a couple of dozen cars in all along the scenic drive and on the road out to the beach - a group of four motorcycles passed me going the other way and they were probably having as much fun as I was.

Bring back memories Unkle Crusty?

 

[path1976]

Started taking apart the Shadow in preparation of rebuilding the carbs and doing a re-jet since it has the cobra slashcuts and has a bit off popping on deceleration. Also will be replacing the fuel filter and lines based on age.

While everything's apart the valves are going to get adjusted.

Oh, I also tried, and failed miserably, to get my $200 beater Suzuki to start. Emailed the PO and got some tips, but man kick start only is a serious PITA!

Sent from my HUAWEI H892L using Tapatalk

 

[hogcowboy]

kick start only is a serious PITA!

Not when everything is right. 2 slow priming kicks and one serious kick and you are going. That's much better than a dead battery and electric only.:thumbsup:

 

[path1976]

Good point, Hogcowboy. I guess I really shouldn't blame the machine for operator error!

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