http://www.wristtwisters.com/forums/blogs/ Motorcycle forum community for riders of all experience levels. Come ride with us. en Wed, 08 Feb 2012 03:59:22 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.wristtwisters.com/forums/images/sk/misc/rss.jpg http://www.wristtwisters.com/forums/blogs/ http://www.wristtwisters.com/forums/blogs/cawoonache/bikes-bring-people-together-337/ Fri, 20 Jan 2012 03:09:25 GMT This is my first blog entry. I just registered here at wristtwisters, on the recommendation of a fellow I don't even know. I will explain. My wireless router recently went tits up, and I had to buy a new one. I was having some difficulty getting it configured so I phoned the tech support line for my Internet service provider, and was connected to Mike.

Mike was friendly and helpful in assisting this old digital immigrant to get back online. The process involved several re-boots of a few different computers which gave us time to converse. During the course of the conversation the subject of motorcycles came up, and we were instantly connected. Mike told be all about his Honda 919, an awesome ride, and one I have admired since Big Red began bringing them stateside. Then Mike told me about the 919 he bought wrecked and is re-buildng for his wife. A very cool thing to do. There is BIG karma in resurrecting a crashed bike. Rather than letting it rust away in some junkyard or in someone's barn, he is breathing new life into a great machine that will soon help to bring he and his wife closer together. Who wouldn't admire that?

As we ended our call Mike mentioned this website as a great place to meet like-minded folks. I am looking forward to doing just that. And Mike, if you happen to read this, thanks for all your help and for pointing me to this website. ]]> Cawoonache http://www.wristtwisters.com/forums/blogs/cawoonache/bikes-bring-people-together-337/ http://www.wristtwisters.com/forums/blogs/beefsalad/the-treetops-89/ Fri, 18 Nov 2011 00:16:25 GMT Tonight basically culminates the end of my time spent at the treetops. Tomorrow afternoon I will load up my gear and bike onto a trailer, and start... Tonight basically culminates the end of my time spent at the treetops. Tomorrow afternoon I will load up my gear and bike onto a trailer, and start the 1100mi trek towards home. At that point I will unload my bike and head towards a friends house, have a few drinks and catch some Zzzzs before I make the final 200mi stretch home on the 9er.

This place has been simply amazing for my spirits. It has played home base to me since Saturday. While a little excitement does happen around here, the most fun for me has been out on the roads. From the Tail of the Dragon, to the Cherohala skyway, and the Moonshiner I have been having the time of my life, on 2 wheels. This trip has been a dream for a long time, this year it happened with a crew that I met on the internet.

This crew hails from Texas, NC, to St Kitts ]. We even a pair of canucks showed up. The hijinks and hell giving is much as it has been online for the past year or so. These guys are all much more experienced than I, and needless to say much faster.

One of the guys only stuck around for a couple of days, and I wish he could have stayed a lot longer. A hell of a nice guy (and native Texan) setup my suspension for me, and what a change it made! I wouldn't have known it, but the suspension was playing a considerable part in my challenge to pull a wheelie. It happened a few times the past few days, none of which were intentional. Yes, I was riding hard and it was bound to happen (sue me, I'm not the only one out here pushing limits :wings:) I'm not attacking these roads like I would in a more controlled situation (e.g. track) but there was definitely a level of riding that is atypical of my usual style on the street. Of course, out here there is an 11+mi stretch of road, with no cross traffic. From uphill open sweepers to off-camber decreasing radius downhill butthole puckering I feel like I have run the gamut of turn combinations.

This trip has certainly taken my mind off of damn near everything, which I really needed. I can't say that I have ever taken a vacation away from everything (family, pets, work, home, friends....) before now. I'm not saying I live a dramatic life, but it is nice to not have to worry about anything.

I'm going to close for now, more to come. Trying to adjust my sleep schedule for work, like the 16-18 hours of driving/sleeping ahead of me is going to help. :banghead:


Message originally posted by beefsalad on 05-04-2011 at 10:08 PM:. For some reason this was saved as a draft. You can expect a similar message (as the one above) to be posted about 5-4-2012 as it will be a yearly vacation for me. ]]> beefsalad http://www.wristtwisters.com/forums/blogs/beefsalad/the-treetops-89/ http://www.wristtwisters.com/forums/blogs/beefsalad/an-interesting-possibility-334/ Mon, 14 Nov 2011 07:08:05 GMT So I'm already burnt out on my gig that is 100% travel, and have started looking for something that would keep me at home. A buddy of mine works for a web hosting company, and does so working from home. He's making considerably less than I am at my current gig, and considerably less than what I was making at the job I had before that. But, he was also locked up for 3 years, and only had a year or two of experience before that. I spent the last 4 years at one of the big 5 in the industry (in the US... not the world) so it looks really good on the resume. I've also spent the last 8 years in IT, so I've acquired a bit of knowledge. But, I digress. I'm not trying to compare penis sizes with him.

So it's a 'work from home' gig, that requires little more than some of my skillset, an internet connection, and a computer of some sort. I have a feeling between my tablet, my netbook, and my laptop I could easily meet the requirements. But, I'm leaning towards doing my job while "on the road". 4 hours here, 3 hours there...work my way from place to place, likely couchsurfing the entire way. I may have to setup a VPN to home, as they base some things off of your IP address, but what they don't know certainly won't hurt them. It's been a few years since I've worked in a customer facing position, but when I was doing that line of work I did it well. What I did not do well, was deal with it. I had no release, and didn't know the mind could be cleared. I've grown considerably since then. I won't say that I've got the mind clearing skills that a buddhist monk has, but I do have a motorcycle and have trained myself to focus on the ride, no matter what is on the mind (assuming it's not so difficult, that I'm upset by it.)

The idea came about just a few hours ago, and now I am up past my bedtime considering it. The last week for this job will pay really well, but it's not consistent. The paycheck before, was a whopping $537. This company is desperate for employees, and has the possibility for overtime. Sounds like stability to me. I look forward to adding some saddle bags to the 9er and hitting the road with no destination in mind. Stay tuned, to see how it works out! ]]> beefsalad http://www.wristtwisters.com/forums/blogs/beefsalad/an-interesting-possibility-334/ http://www.wristtwisters.com/forums/blogs/beefsalad/damnit-jim-it-wasnt-epic-even-worse-im-now-frustrated-333/ Sun, 06 Nov 2011 00:38:17 GMT We didn't hit the sand hills, only the trails closest to my brothers house. It was still fun, but having not been on the dirt bike in 4 months, I tired quickly but kept riding anyway. We both made it home in one piece, neither of us even dumped our bikes (pretty sure that's terrible english, sorry.)

After reevaluating my schedule, riding today would not have been a good idea. I fly out tomorrow morning, and have next to no clean clothes at the moment. Home now doing l laundry and waiting for my pet-sitters TO ANSWER THE DAMN PHONE. Talked to them last night, and they were like "keep us informed on where you are so we will be home"

Texted them this morning, "I'll be home by 6, will be ready to drop the dog off shortly after" No reply, his phone goes straight to voicemail, hers rings 3 times, then drops to voicemail. I'm being picked up at 10am, and they are rarely out of bed before noon on the weekend. I would feel really bad just dropping my dog off in their back yard, but I may not have a choice.

Why have a cellphone, if you never fucking answer it? ]]> beefsalad http://www.wristtwisters.com/forums/blogs/beefsalad/damnit-jim-it-wasnt-epic-even-worse-im-now-frustrated-333/ http://www.wristtwisters.com/forums/blogs/ottawa919/last-real-ride-of-the-year-332/ Sat, 05 Nov 2011 01:02:58 GMT I had some business this week at a town called Perth which is about an hour from home. I suspected that I might be able to finish the business... I had some business this week at a town called Perth which is about an hour from home. I suspected that I might be able to finish the business mid-afternoon and then have time to hit this nice roads out that way.

It was around freezing in the morning on the way there. The first half hour I was fine, but then my right fingertips got cold and I got a bit of a chill.

By 3PM when I hit the road again it was about 10 degrees Celsius, just fine when well layered up like I was.

I chose to retrace some of the route that I did in the Fall Epic ride. During that ride I had noted a sign at the side of the road in a narrow, dirt road section of Lally Road, near Murphey's Point, just in from Narrows Lock Road. We went by it too quick to see what it said, but I was able to read, "Seven Wonders...". I was intrigued, so I decided to go back to check it out.

It turned out that it was an old mica mine site. It was a 2.5 km return hike wearing my full gear, but it was worth it. Here are some pictures:













I got really sweaty under the gear on this hike and late in the ride home I paid the price as it made the cold worse as the temperatures fell.

Until that last part of the ride it was really great. The scenery was awesome and there was very little traffic on most of the roads. It was neat to see how much more was viewable from the road since a month ago when the trees were still holding many of their leaves.

Here's a few more shots from the ride:









I suspect that this will have been my last real ride of the year and I'm glad I had the chance to get out. It's going to be a long 5 months without riding... ]]> Ottawa919 http://www.wristtwisters.com/forums/blogs/ottawa919/last-real-ride-of-the-year-332/ http://www.wristtwisters.com/forums/blogs/beefsalad/damnit-jim-im-excited-331/ Thu, 27 Oct 2011 07:48:57 GMT Going to be parting ways from the 9er for over a week, but I'll be hanging out with my cr250 for a couple of weekends, then dragging it back home with me. I look forward to the rides to come, hate the rides I'm going to miss here, and am most certainly nervous as hell about the whole thing. My Audi was totaled and my S-10 has 227k on it. It has certainly seen it's better days. It's going to have to carry me 800mi round trip. This trip sort of has to occur. I'm an independent contractor, and without a reliable car am shit out of luck for work from my primary contractor. This trip is to pick up my dog that my brother has been watching for me for the past few months and to pick up my dirt bike. It's going to be longer than originally anticipated, as I will have a little bit of work (paying at about 30% of what I normally get) while out at my brothers house. The deal with getting paid only 30% of what I normally make, is at least I will be getting paid. For the last week and a half I haven't had a damn thing to do besides apply for jobs, ride the 9er, eat, sleep, and shit. I'm not complaining but none of those pay the bills. So here I sit, ~4hrs from departure unable to sleep. Why? I know I'm forgetting something. I swear there is something here at my house I have been meaning to take to my brothers for the last year but keep forgetting. History will probably repeat itself. We will be out doing something and I'll exclaim DAMNIT JIM! My brother will look at me weird as hell (his name is not Jim, and he does not get the reference) and I will have to explain to him what a dumb ass I am. Such is life. I guess I should be used to it by now. Hopefully I'll post up some pictures, if not some video of us tearing it up. Either in the dunes or on some single track. ]]> beefsalad http://www.wristtwisters.com/forums/blogs/beefsalad/damnit-jim-im-excited-331/ http://www.wristtwisters.com/forums/blogs/sociallyawkwardpenguin/fender-eliminator-kit-installed-330/ Fri, 21 Oct 2011 01:09:00 GMT Within a week of bringing home my '07 919 I'd had enough of the stock rear fender. Bleh! I bought the Competition Werkes Fender Eliminator Kit and now the bike is starting to look like something I would ride. lol My only complaint is that the connectors that come with the kit are really cheap so I used my own. Otherwise it's a good looking addition (or reduction, as you could say) to a sharp bike.
Before

After
]]> SociallyAwkwardPenguin http://www.wristtwisters.com/forums/blogs/sociallyawkwardpenguin/fender-eliminator-kit-installed-330/ http://www.wristtwisters.com/forums/blogs/beefsalad/getting-reacquainted-329/ Wed, 19 Oct 2011 03:24:43 GMT After having spent nearly 4 months on the road in my cage, I could not wait to get back in the saddle. I new my baby was in the garage, full of gas... After having spent nearly 4 months on the road in my cage, I could not wait to get back in the saddle. I new my baby was in the garage, full of gas and sitting on the battery tender waiting for me upon my arrival. I no sooner than walked through the door and threw my gear on the ground, called my folks to let them know I had made it home, than I found myself in the garage doing my pre-flight check. Granted, I took a shortcut or two, I wasn't planning on a marathon ride. Oil level checked out fine, tank was full, tires responded with a solid thud when kicked, chain was within eyeball tolerances. Off I go for some food. Things were as I expected. I was excited as hell to be on her, but showed her the respect she deserved else she'd kill me in a heart beat. Just a quick trip to grab some food and back. Enough to appease me for a little while. Back to the house to unpack and prepare for my next trip. 300mi of "I HATE THIS DRIVE" for a days worth of work, back home for a few days, then the same dreaded trip for yet again only a days worth of work. Now I have some real time to focus on my baby. She's gotten the full once over. Tires are properly filled and balanced (there is a whole other story there.) The chain is tensioned properly, the bugs still where I left them months ago.

My first adventure took me mostly north. I ended up at the Canyon Lake Dam, but didn't find the inspiration to get off of the bike and enjoy the lake. The sun was going down, and it's getting to be that time of year where the deer start getting stupid. I turned back and started towards town taking my usual routine. "The sun is over there, so I should need go that way." I'm always assuming the road continues in the direction it starts. I found myself at the corner of some "Farm to Market" road (it's a texas thing, look it up if you don't know) and an unmarked road. A BBQ joint was on one corner, and having not touched Texas barbeque in a while, I couldn't resist the urge to stop. The lady running the place was quite nice. She even let me sample some of the other meats that I did not order, without asking. I started to realize that the sun was dropping out of the sky quicker than I anticipated so I whip out the phone in search of "the path" home. Not necessarily the fastest, but I didn't want to get all twisted around and find myself at the base of the lake again. Low and behold, river road looks to be on the twisty side of things, and my phone puts me close to it. I consult with the lady in the BBQ stand and she confirms, I'm less than 150' into it, but into it regardless. 14 miles of "ohh lala" that I find out is more relaxing than balls of fun. You see river road criss crosses one of the largest tourist attractions in the area several times. During peak season, there are drunken assholes as far as the eye can see down the river. Mostly tourists, or at least people that are not truly locals. Very little respect for mother nature, even less respect for the people that live on the river, let alone each other. But, I digress. That little tirade was to inform as to why the speed limit is a maximum of 30mph for the entire 14mi. It drops to 20 at the river crossings. Alas, still one of my new favorite spots to ride! Why? Theres some scenery, enough signs to make me mad, but the ride is slow as can be without a single stop for the entire stretch. It twists and turns. At some points you forget that you are in a tourist trap, but in other places it slaps you in the face. Bah to the point Beef, TO THE POINT! I like it because, I find it to be a very relaxing ride! I can totally get lost on the way out there and find plenty of trouble to get myself into. But that's just it. Knowing the way the LEO are in this area, if they bust you doing what is "the most fun", you are going to jail and you are getting towed. Here, I play by the rules. I'm confident the locals appreciate it, even though I have yet to run into any type of LEO out there I'm sure they do as well.

I'm riding my bike for pretty much everything at this point. I can take the truck, but with 225k miles, a crappy stereo, and no airconditioning I would rather just take the bike. It works for just about everything besides grocery shopping, even that could be overcome. I'm slowly gaining my confidence back, as I get used to how it reacts to the different situations. She still runs like a top as I knew she would. The one thing I was worried about was the lack-luster performance of the front end. Before I left on my trip, I knew it was there, I felt it, and I bought the parts to hopefully correct it but I never got to it. Then I left. Well, I'm back and I'm feeling it again. I'm just having a hard time forcing myself to tear into it and do the work. I'm also due for a valve check. But...but... I missed my baby!

I guess it's coming to that time where I am going to have to force myself to cage around for a little while, assuming it takes me more than a day for these projects. I guess I could give her a bath too, she deserves it. She treats me better than any women I've had in my life, I should treat her with the same respect.

Yes, I'm still talking about my 919 here. ]]> beefsalad http://www.wristtwisters.com/forums/blogs/beefsalad/getting-reacquainted-329/ http://www.wristtwisters.com/forums/blogs/ottawa919/fall-walk-with-the-kids-327/ Mon, 10 Oct 2011 15:54:24 GMT There's a nice forest three blocks from our home. Every time I go there I realize that I don't take advantage of the peace and tranquility that it offers.

It really is a nice spot with lots of trees, a few small creek valleys and man made storm water reservoirs which attract a lot of ducks and geese.

I went for a walk with the kids there today. We are having record-breaking hot weather this weekend, so it was a great day for a walk.

The highlight for the kids was finding a cool toad and taking turns holding him. I say he was cool not only because he looked cool, but also because he didn't pee on any of us!

I think I want to get myself a real camera. I have my Blackberry camera and we have a cheap point-and-shoot, but I think I want something a little better. My wife is a photographer and she owns two professional SLR's and a standard SLR. I don't want anything that big. The new mini-Pen's from Olympus look great and have future growth potential with interchangeable lenses. I think they are probably small enough to fit in my riding jacket too (a definite requirement). Something for the Christmas list.

]]> Ottawa919 http://www.wristtwisters.com/forums/blogs/ottawa919/fall-walk-with-the-kids-327/ http://www.wristtwisters.com/forums/blogs/ottawa919/early-morning-ride-326/ Sun, 09 Oct 2011 20:56:40 GMT It's Thanksgiving weekend up here in Canada. We get Monday off to celebrate. It's always a pretty busy weekend, so when my wife suggested that I go for a ride this morning I did!

I needed to be home by 10AM, so I got a real early start at sunrise. We are having summer weather this weekend which is a real nice treat. In fact the temperature today hit 27 (80) which breaks a 65 year record.

It was an amazing morning for a ride. There were almost no cars on the road, the air was comfortably crisp and calm and the rising sun was bright.

I chose a familiar route which covered some of the better back roads within an hour of home. Being somewhat alone out there I chose a comfortable, quick pace with moderately spirited speeds in the corners.

Being alone gave me the luxury to stop frequently to explore the side streets of some of the small towns that I would normally zip through. I also stopped at a few scenic spots for cell phone pictures, posted below.

3/4 of the way in I chose a particularly nice turn and took multiple passes at it, getting progressively quicker and smoother. I also took some nice sweeper sections at a good pace. When I got home I noticed that I managed to scrub off several more mm of my chicken strip, even though I had my body properly positioned on the inside of the bike to reduce lean and to save some tire.

During the ride I thought to myself that I need to make a point of doing more early morning, Sunday rides next year. It's a great time to ride!













]]> Ottawa919 http://www.wristtwisters.com/forums/blogs/ottawa919/early-morning-ride-326/ http://www.wristtwisters.com/forums/blogs/ottawa919/fall-epic-2011-part-2-325/ Fri, 07 Oct 2011 19:44:08 GMT *The Adventure Continues* Even though I was on these roads the month prior, I had forgotten how fun they are. Perhaps it was because I was riding a... The Adventure Continues
Even though I was on these roads the month prior, I had forgotten how fun they are. Perhaps it was because I was riding a little more "spirited" this time then I was when I was alone. The twists all the way up 28 and Shutt Rd to Palmer Rd were great, as were those on Palmer Rd and Quadville Rd.

A road just off of Shutt Rd...


I had been on Quadville Road twice previously and I never noticed these massive piles of stones that separated the farmer's fields. These pile were 2-3 times larger than any I had seen before and many of the stones were large boulders. This is harsh, rocky, Canadian Shield land and the hardship that the pioneers trying to clear these fields must have gone through is astonishing. Most of the fields in this particular area aren't farmed any more and might simply be cattle grazing land. I should have stopped for a picture.

We turned off of Old Opeongo Rd onto Letter Kenny Rd towards Rockingham. I only discovered these roads due to a detour off of Old Opeopngo Rd the last time I was here and I'm glad I did. You might see one car on these roads so you are isolated and it is amazing, hilly country there. There's also new pavement on Letter Kenny Rd which is a nice treat.

Heading up this way we had decided that we would just turn around and head to Eganville and find a way back home after we got the our destination. Do you think that's what we did? :whistling:

The Church
The destination of this leg of the adventure was an old church in Rockingham that I discovered during that detour a month ago. At the time I didn't spend more than a few minutes in awe looking up at it and its location. This time I wanted to check it out.

The church is cut out of the hillside forest on a very steep incline. There are no steps. I would imagine there were lot's of wipe outs and problems getting the elderly up to the services and down again!




There were no signs indicating no trespassing other than a sign restricting visiting to daytime hours. Cool! I climbed the steep hill to take a look.







I entered the church vestibule. To my astonishment there was a mere latch and pin on the door with a sign saying to re-latch when done visiting! There was also a donation box and a guest book in the vestibule.

I opened the doors and was met with a rush of musty, old wood air. All of the old wood pews, the organ and the alter were still in place. There is no electricity in the church, so all light came from the windows (and I assume lanterns/candels).





What an amazing eperience that added to an already amazing day.

The Ride Home
We hit the road again and at the intersection of Letter Kenny and Rockingham we stopped and looked at awe at this massive hill the other direction on Letter Kenny. The road went down into a valley then up this amazingly steep hill. We decided to go to the top of the hill on the other side to take a picture looking back. Unfortunately, the picture does not come close to doing it justice.




I asked Maverick if he really thought it was a good idea to head to Eganville and risk a boring ride home. I suggested an option to completely back track to the base of Centennial Rd and go home through Calabogie. Once again, we chose to sustain the adventure!

Heading back seemed to take half the time of getting there for some reason.

It's funny how mental fatigue sets in. We were heading up 41 from Denbigh and I had a moment that I had no clue where I was other then that I knew that we were headed to Calabogie. I think it was along this stretch were I saw a couble of dogs spaced about 100' apart sitting on top of their dog houses, peaking over the tall grass between their yard and the road! Were they real? I'm sure they were because the head turned on one. I think they were Beegles or some other short leg dogs. How did they get up there?

Centennial Rd. was awesome and we pushed the envelop a little more there than anywhere prior. I blame it on the cold, as the temerpatures were dropping rapidly.

We stopped for coffee and some home made butter tarts and Munfords in Calabogie. It was close to 7PM and it was starting to get dark.



Unfortunately, I only had my mirrored visor with me since I thought we would have been home long ago. That made for an interesting ride home, especially through the awesome turns on 511. We also had to keep a look-out for deer. Maverick led so that I had better vision. What's with me getting stuck without my clear visor on these momentus rides (See previous trip reports)? I think that there's a lesson to be learned.

At 8:20 we finally got to where we started, more than 12 hours later. The amazing thing was that I had very little physical fatigue considering the length of the run. My eyes and head needed a rest, but that's about it. The 919 is one comfy machine and I had no problems with the seat on this ride. It helped that it was cool out.

Conclusion
Well, I think we redefined epic with this run. Amazing, amazing, amazing. I don't know how we will top it for next year. Maybe we need a two-day version! ]]> Ottawa919 http://www.wristtwisters.com/forums/blogs/ottawa919/fall-epic-2011-part-2-325/ http://www.wristtwisters.com/forums/blogs/ottawa919/fall-epic-2011-part-1-324/ Fri, 07 Oct 2011 17:42:46 GMT *Background* I started riding again last year after an absence from the street of 22 years. I felt that something was missing because back then I... Background
I started riding again last year after an absence from the street of 22 years. I felt that something was missing because back then I had a riding buddy who I used to talk bikes with all the time and ride with on a regular basis.

Last fall I joined a local forum and a thread came up where I described the Interceptor 500 that I used to ride back then. Some guy named Maverick asked if I happened to ride around with a guy on an RZ350 back then. I replied that I did and commended him on his memory.

That night I started to think about this exchange. I vaguely recalled that my RZ350 riding buddy, who I hadn't seen in 20 years, was a bit of a Top Gun fan. I thought he might have had "Maverick" on his helmet! Could this be him? I doubted it, because last we spoke he had enough of the street due to some falls and close calls. Still the thought lingered.

I woke up the next morning and logged on to see a scanned picture of my VF500 and my buddy's RZ350 in the thread with a note saying, "Hey Mike. I guess we need to have coffee and catch up"! I couldn't believe it.



We had coffee and caught up and began planning a fall ride. We headed out to the back road twisties and we rode together as if we had the week before, not over 20 years ago. I always knew where he was and he always knew where I was. There was never a question of what either of us were doing or were going to do. It was an outstanding ride. The next day we referred to it as being "epic".

Fast forward to the second annual Fall Epic which we rode Thursday October 6th.

The Route
We started out with a 380 km route on some really nice, twisty, back-country and cottage country roads. Google said it would be 8 hours, 45 minutes. I guess we went a little quicker than Google calculated because even with a few stops and lunch, we were a fair bit under that.

As described below, we ended up with a much more adventruous ride that ended up being 12 hours including stops and 790 km!!

Many of these roads were new us. Almost all the roads were paved and it decent shape. There were a few stretches of stone dust and many recent chip and tar stretches, but all together there wasn't much to complain about.

This route strung together most of the best roads in this part of Ontario.

Here was the end route:

Prince of Wales Dr & Barnsdale Rd, Ottawa, ON K2C 3H2 to Prince of Wales Dr & Barnsdale Rd, Ottawa, ON K2C 3H2 - Google Maps

The Ride
We met at a gas station at 8AM to start the ride. It was the coldest morning to date, 2 degrees celcius (35f). I wore 5 layers below my jacket with liner and brought my tank bag to layer down as the day went on. I also wore my thick leather cold-weather gloves. Maverick had his heated vest, so he was laughing.

The traffic was very light to non-existent for the most part. However, there were an unusual number of LLE's around. One of them blipped me with his siren and lights as we passed head on. I wasn't going too quick, so I think he was just saying hello...

The roads were amazing. Lot's of good twisties, dips and risers, many in combination. There was minimal gravel spray on the roads which was also a nice treat. The back-road sites and scenery were amazing. The trees were changing colour and the sun was shining brightly.

We took a bathroom / photo break at Narrow's Lock, part of the Rideau Canal system. The one-lane road over the lock is called a swing bridge. It actually swings out of the way on a hinge so that boats can pass. We chatted with the lockmaster who turned out to be a rider. There's also an old guard post with rifle slots that now houses the washrooms.









Chaffey's Lock and Opinicon were really cool roads. Like all of this route, these are definitely worth a return visit or ten.

This is the time of year where these fuzzy, rust and black striped caterpillers are out in force. We were dodging the little fellas regularly. These guys roll up in a little puffy ball when disturbed, so if you see one like that you can always tell if a car is up ahead .

We stopped for lunch (although we ate off the breakfast menu) at Trios in Sydenham. Good food.




We also fueled up in Sydenham. As I was filling up a hornet landed in the hollow space around the fuel spout. I figured he would fly away or I would flick him away after fueling. Well, I couldn't find the bugger. I looked under the rim. Nothing. Just when I thought he must have flown away, I see his butt sticking out of the little overfilled drain hole. He was already in deep and was pulling himself in further! By the time I got a pin to shish kabob him, he was in all the way. Darn Hornets.

Sydenham is at the base of one of the best road's in the area, Bedford/Desert Lake Rd. I rode it for the first time a few weeks ago and thought to myself at the time that this is our "Dragon". So this was a good spot to break.
The road did not dissapoint. It was awesome.



As already noted, the scenery on these roads was great and there was a lot of variety in the terrain from forests to flields to lakes to ponds, etc. Here's a few examples. The point and shoot camera was off a bit, but you get the idea:





We got to a point on Crow Lake Road where I wanted to check out a little side road to see if it was paved. As I slowed to turn onto it I heard Maverick yelling his head off and shaking his head as he continued straight and pulled over. I thought maybe he almost ran into the back of me or locked up or something.

I rode over to him and he was quickly taking off his helmet and it became obvious what happened. He got stung by a hornet on the upper cheak. It might have been a bee or a wasp, I don't know the difference. I'll call it a hornet...for obvious reasons.



We got to Elphin in good time, around 3PM, I think. It was decision point because from here on in it was the return home and the roads would be tame compared to what we had done. We decided to add a run through Ompah, Matawatchan and then infamous Centennial Rd to Calabogie and home. Why not? It will only add another hour or two!

Hehehe....


I've always enjoyed the run from Elphin to the base of Centennial. There's rarely any cars, the scenery is good and there are lot's of great turns. Unfortunately, there are some bumpy parts and Matawachan is mostly compacted chip and tar, but you just adjust your speed accordingly.

We reached the bottom of Centennial and I looked at Maverick and said, "Winter's coming. Do we really want to head home now, or do we want to make this into more of an adventure and head up through Denbigh to Quadville and to an amazing old church in Rockingham?"

You know what we decided? See Part 2 ]]> Ottawa919 http://www.wristtwisters.com/forums/blogs/ottawa919/fall-epic-2011-part-1-324/ http://www.wristtwisters.com/forums/blogs/mahimahiman09/954rr-vs-gsx-r-750-156/ Mon, 29 Aug 2011 15:12:59 GMT I am interested in purchasing one of these two. I ride all rear around. I am interested in taking it to the track soon and the years to come. I... I am interested in purchasing one of these two. I ride all rear around. I am interested in taking it to the track soon and the years to come. I know the 750 is the "God" of track bikes but is there any reason to go for the Honda? Opinions and facts are welcomed.

2002, honda 954rr, 7,800 miles,
2005, Suxuki Gsx-r 750, 9,800 miles,

Both are 4,500 ]]> mahimahiman09 http://www.wristtwisters.com/forums/blogs/mahimahiman09/954rr-vs-gsx-r-750-156/ http://www.wristtwisters.com/forums/blogs/ottawa919/road-trip-part-3-151/ Tue, 16 Aug 2011 01:40:10 GMT I realized that if I left Seaford early in the morning then I would have to contend with rush hour around Wilmington and Philly. To avoid this I... I realized that if I left Seaford early in the morning then I would have to contend with rush hour around Wilmington and Philly. To avoid this I decided to leave Sunday evening and try to get up around Allentown and stay in a hotel. This would leave a more relaxing day of riding Monday.

All started well as the Sunday rain had stopped and the weather was fairly clear. I had a light shower near Port of Wilmington and a few small drizzles after. No big deal. I had my rain pants on and later put on my rain jacket and tank bag cover.

I somehow messed up the route south of Philly. I had the GPS on, but somehow I missed an exit. By the time the GPS recalculated the route I was heading right into Philly! Now, I wanted to go off the beaten path a bit with the ride, so I took it in stride and boy, it was pretty cool to see the night skyline of downtown Philly and many of the sites. I was running up 76W I believe. There was one spot across water where there were a whole row of massive houses and each were completely lit up with white LED's. You couldn't see the houses really, just their well defined shapes with all the lights on every edge.

I finally found myself back on the 476 turnpike, but I was getting low on fuel and I had no idea when the next exit would be. Finally, one came up and I put in about 4.5 gallons. BTW - Does anyone else hate fiddling with pockets and change at toll booths? What a pain in the ass!

At 10PM I arrived at Quakertown, just south of Allentown and stayed there and got back on the road at 7:30AM today. As I was getting ready another hotel guest and I started talking about bikes. After several minutes I discovered that he was from Ottawa! He was on his way down south for some golf. What are the odds!

My plan was to get off the normal route up 81 once I got to Binghampton, NY and jump on 12 and head right for the Adirondacks. Of course, that would depend on the weather.

I only had a few minor showers for the first stretch. The route up to Binghamton was event free, aside from all of these "Wide Load" trucks hauling everything from houses to massive steel structures that looked like bridge spans. I would not like to be the guy driving sweeper for these hauls!

Once on 12 I was in new territory. There was small town after small town. Some of them had so many run down, closed businesses and buildings that they almost resembled ghost towns. Another striking thing was the horrible, run down state of so many homes. Clearly times are tough. I couldn't help but wonder what these towns and homes looked like 30 years ago when they were thriving.

It occurred to me that along this route there were possibly as many or more closed businesses then open, as many occupied buildings as empty and falling apart. There was a lot of evidence of broken dreams and failure. Why can't they remove the old business signage and the constant reminders of what was? I couldn't imagine what it must be like for the former owners or employees to see it every time they drive by.

It really was an interesting road. There was always something to look at, but man it was slow. I was doing a bit over the limit which was 55 for the most part, but it took forever to get to Utica.

I have waved at every rider on this trip. 99% of them were cruisers and everyone waved back, except on Harley-guy on 12. It put me off a bit, but 5 minutes later it was erased by a wave from another stranger, this one not on a bike, just an elderly gentlemen walking out to his mailbox from his farm house. Nice touch, sir. Thank you!

A few times along 12 some things looked slightly familiar. It dawned on me that I think I came south on 12 a few times to get to New Berlin to watch MX Nationals at Unidilla, many years ago.

Unfortunately, the showers came on strong at Utica. My boots were full of water in no time and my gloves were getting soaked. I was approaching my turn-off onto 28 into the Adirondacks and I needed to make a decision: No go for this trip. :sad:

I stayed on 12N and stopped in Lowville to eat. It cleared up a bit while I was there. When I came out to my bike I say a Sherrifs SUV in the lot. As I was gearing up, he drove over to me and said excuse me. I thought, oh oh, did I do something back on the road. Turns out that he liked my High-vis Tourmaster jacket and wanted to know where I got it. He wanted one for his police work that calls for ATV riding. Nice guy.

I got to see some parts of Watertown, NY that I never saw before. It never occurred to think about the old part of the town. I normally see what's along 81 and that's about it.

I jumped on 37, part of my normal route. This is always a nice road with interesting sites. The showers continued on and off all the way to the bridge to Canada. When I got to the bridge toll, I couldn't use my fingers properly to count out the coins. My hand was purple and wrinkled from the water log. I held out my handful of change and the young lad reluctantly picked out the change for me. My hand looked dead, lol.

As soon as I got over the bridge the weather was clear. I looked like it never even rained over here. I couldn't help but think that everyone was wondering why I was wearing rain gear. I finally arrived home at 5:15PM. Almost 10 hours on the road again, including about 1 hour of stops.

The return home from Seaford was 970km with my whacky route. All in, I did about 2,200km this trip over 4 days.

I think that the 919 is just fine for naked touring. I am used to no wind protection, so I don't know any better and I enjoy using the headwind to lean into and take some of the weight off my hands. The only real problem was the horrible rear shock. The bumps around home don't get to me that much, but the ones on the roads I took in this trip, ouch! I literally was saying, "ahh" and "ohhh" as my body got jarred over various bumps. Once that shock is straightened out, the bike will be just fine.

Me, on the other hand, I need more work. My forearms and triceps conditioning was poor and I felt it. Next time I have a trip I am going to train a bit for it.

Great first road trip all in all, despite the funeral circumstances and the rain. I wrote this blog to help me record the various memories and to share with WT members interested in such things. I will be fun to look back at this as it is probably the first of many.

Oh ya, the song I was singing for the way home: "You've Got a Fast Car". It just popped in my head... ]]> Ottawa919 http://www.wristtwisters.com/forums/blogs/ottawa919/road-trip-part-3-151/ http://www.wristtwisters.com/forums/blogs/ottawa919/road-trip-part-2-150/ Sun, 14 Aug 2011 12:06:18 GMT The trip down was 10 hours and 870 km. I made four stops: border crossing and the three noted in the first post for probably 1 hr 15 minutes total,... The trip down was 10 hours and 870 km. I made four stops: border crossing and the three noted in the first post for probably 1 hr 15 minutes total, maybe.

I forgot about my gas up in Lebanon where I had to pay in advance. I took a completely random guess and said $15. Well, it took $15 exactly. I couldn't squeeze in another nickel!

The ride from Silver Springs to Seaford was brutal! It should have been a two hour ride, but it took 3.5 hours!

I got rained on on the way to the Bay Bridge. I was following family and they didn't pull over so I could put on the rain gear. Then we gassed up just before the bridge and i put just my rain jacket on over my riding jacket because it cleared up a little

Then we hit insane traffic before the bridge tolls. It took about an hour to get to the booth. An hour of constant 10 yard stop and go's and it was really hot and muggy in my gear. The torture....

Once on the bridge the pace picked up. Then we hit more stop and go many more times.

About 10 minutes from our destination we hit a wall of rain, literally! I have never ridden in rain that hard. I dragged a toe to gauge the standing water and it was about 1-2 inches!!! The wind was blowing me around too. I was wondering if it might turn into a tornado or something. I have been down at the beach here for many hurricanes and tropical storms and this rain was stronger than I had seen.

When I checked over the bike later I noticed that several of my rattle can blackout treatments had lost some paint! It was fine at the church, but not there were patches off of the instrument housing, headlight mounts and rad side covers! Odd.

I'm working out routes for the ride home Monday. Rain is forecasted, but I still want to go off the beaten path and make the most of it.

I need to find a battery connector for the gps. I will swing by the HD shop around the corner and see if they have one. There are no other bike shops around. ]]> Ottawa919 http://www.wristtwisters.com/forums/blogs/ottawa919/road-trip-part-2-150/