Even before we left the cool comfort of our Super 8 room in Morgantown, WV, we knew we were in for a hot day. The forecast was for record highs in much of Ohio and Michigan. We also knew that we may have to adjust our planned scenic route if we got too far into the day without traversing enough distance. So, we departed Morgantown with curvy roads on our agenda.
Continue reading Of curves, heat, and the final dash home
A good lesson in loitering
When Karen and I travel out to Mitch and Kathy’s, we usually leave after work on a Thursday and ride as far as we can that night. This leaves a manageable ride on Friday, resulting in an arrival time before dinner so we can have a full evening communing with friends that we see all to rarely. However, for the trip home, we have two full days (Sunday and the Memorial Day holiday on Monday) to travel so we generally indulge in a longer route that involves fewer miles on the superslab (that is, interstate) highways.
Continue reading A good lesson in loitering
Avoiding the 495
We had a fairly easy ride from north of PIttsburgh to the Chesapeake Bay area to attend Mitch and Kathy’s MAMMARY Run. (By the way, that’s Mid-Atlantic, Myersville, Maryland, Annual Run, Yup.) We made good time eastbound along the Pennsylvania Turnpike to the crazy interchange-community of Breezewood, PA.
Continue reading Avoiding the 495
When a boring ride is nice
Most would say that a boring motorcycle ride is, well, boring. However, when one is riding a familiar route, and last years day of traveling the same route was filled with wind, rain, and other nasty forms of weather, a nice uneventful ride can be quite enjoyable.
Continue reading When a boring ride is nice
First cruise of the year (finally)
After a spring filled with long-overdue Bike maintenance tasks, I proceeded to engage in a big house project: replacing the roof on my house. As a result, it’s almost June and I have yet to take either bike on more than a day trip.
Continue reading First cruise of the year (finally)
2011 New England Cruise Photos
A photo gallery and photo map from our ride out to New England in 2011.
Continue reading 2011 New England Cruise Photos
Improving weather at Bar Harbor
After the monsoon-like conditions of the previous day, we went to sleep relieved by the weather forecast that the rain would be gone in the morning. It was with some consternation then, that we awoke to find that a light rain was still falling. A quick check of the weather radar revealed that we could be dealing with a light rain for most, if not all, of the day’s trip out to Bar Harbor, Maine. Yuck.
Continue reading Improving weather at Bar Harbor
A wet ride to Maine
We knew from looking at the weather forecast that we were in for a damp ride from Cape Cod up to Bradbury Mountain State Park in Maine. We did not know, however, that we would nearly drown on the way.
Continue reading A wet ride to Maine
Lifestyle dichotomy on the Cape
After a great evening with Barb Freeman, we headed off down the back roads to Cape Cod. We crossed at the Bourne Bridge, noting the horrendous traffic in the opposite direction from all those weekenders heading back to the mainland. Yuck.
Now on the Cape, we headed up the coast of the canal until we reached the Sagamore bridge, where we found route 6A and headed down the coast of the bay.
Continue reading Lifestyle dichotomy on the Cape
You know you’re lucky when…
You hit reserve (remember, the Cruiser is an old-school Harley with a carburetor and a gas valve) with the next service plaza on the Thruway 19 miles away and you know you can get 20 miles on reserve.
So, we cruise along with no real worries until the engine starts to stall again. I know the bottom of the tanks are curved and trap usable gas, so I yank on the brakes to slosh some more gas down to the carburetor. A sign for the service plaza appears ahead. Hallelujah! But wait, the sign says the plaza is still one mile ahead. Arrrgh!
We repeat the sputter-brake-run sequence another 15 or so times and glide into the service plaza and directly to an available gas pump as the engine quietly stalls.
We were laughing our asses off.
Lucky. Very lucky.