Topic: 23 Rides in 2023, Frank's New Years resolution that we can all enjoy.

[Terry in Australia]

That “Lil Buckeroo burger” sounds magnificent mate, I’m in Canberra today and as I didn’t need to start early went to a restaurant for breakfast for Eggs Benedict, skipped lunch so looking forward to wandering across the road to the German Club for dinner. Their Ginger beer was magnificent last time I was here, and tonight is Schnitzel nacht, apparently.

[RAFster122s]

Hope the Schnitzel was good Terry. Have you been abroad to other countries to have authentic food from any other nations. I was lucky enough to be on global programs when I was in telecommunications and got to visit Rome and Japan on the company's dime. Loved the food in both places. Was a great experience.  Of course American style of many foods from other countries  often is far from close to authentic. You cannot find very many good Mexican places in much of the Eastern US because they don't have many Hispanics running them. Hell, how else could the toxic crap Taco Bell be so popular? Nasty stuff in my opinion. Spoiled here as is California of have tons of authentic Mexican food places and they  are lots of great chefs and cooks that have tweaked a Mexican food just a bit to make it even better than the original.
The Central California Coastal Tri Tip steak and sandwiches a great example of a regional food that is mouthwatering delicious. Lots of various takes on the Santa Maria Tri Tip that are really good.
The sign of a good authentic Chinese place is one which is filled with students from University enjoying food much like home cooking and there's a place or two I have found in Tucson like that. One has a huge menu of dishes they can prepare and tons of seafood fish dishes I have never seen elsewhere. Their traditional dishes that Americans like, typically sweeter than authentic, are on the menu, but they are toned down in sweetness from most places. I think a bunch of common dishes found in American "Chinese" food places are European or American creations in total...

Sorry, I blather on...

Hope you enjoy the time in Canberra and it is a productive trip. Hope the weather there is better than back home... Safe travels home. When do you return to Melbourne?
David

[RAFster122s]

Kelly glad you are on mend and were able to get out for a ride again. Friend last week took a spill on his Harley in low speed turn around of the bike on a gravel road. Bike went down on his left ankle breaking it, requiring some hardware in the ankle and a short hospital stay. Mike is facing 6 weeks with no weight bearing on the ankle. I suggested he gets one of those kneeling scooters for the bad ankle so he could have better mobility and be able to comply with the Dr orders of no weight 9n the ankle for 6 weeks. It arrived a few days after he got back home from the hospital. He was still having a lot of throbbing pain when the leg was down when we talked a few days ago.
That will pass.
Mike is in his early to mid 70s.

Hope things healed up well and you are making progress on the son's bike and can get out for another ride soon.

David

[Kevin D]

Today Paul and I took the long way around to get lunch. It was my first ride since I broke my foot. He rode the 84' Interceptor 1000 and I finally got a nice long ride on the 77' KZ 1000LTD. We went to the Jamestown Bar and Grille, my new favorite place. After we rode back to the shop Paul rode the KZ 1000 home for the rest of the week. It's his first ride on it. He sent me a text when he got home, "that bike is fast".

I forgot to take pictures(nothing new) but the burgers are excellent. I order the Lil' Buckaroo Burger from the kids menu. It's a grilled 1/4lb pattie loaded with bacon, cheese, pickles, lettuce , tomato and comes with more fries than I can eat and a soda for $7.99.

Very good, Kelly. It’s always nice to get back on after a while. Get a good grip on the throttle and a couple healthy up shifts can make your day.

[Kelly E]

It was good to ride the KZ 1000 again. It was the first successful ride with no issues showing up. The new rear shocks were starting to loosen up a little bit. Since Paul weighs 100lbs more than me the new shocks should be all broken in by the time brings it back.

[Terry in Australia]

Be careful out there guys, I just saw on the news that actor Treat Williams was killed while riding his bike in Vermont, typical scenario of a car driver making a turn in the path of an oncoming bike.

I spent three months in Britain and Europe in 1974 David, my fathers favourite aunt died and left him a lot of money, so we did the first of many overseas trips. (I only did the one, but Dad, Mum and my little sis did a big overseas trip every couple of years and when my sis moved out to go to University Dad and Mum kept going, and did lots of US trips because another sister had moved to California to live. Dad’s last trip was when he was 80, but his health was failing so that was the end of their overseas vacations.

My lasting memories of Britain was horrible food, but nice people and beautiful architecture, Ireland was still a warzone with lots of fighting between the IRA and the British soldiers, but as wevwere Aussies with an Irish surname, that made us reasonably popular with the locals wherever we went. Europe was still rebuilding (especially Germany) after the near destruction of the major cities during WW2.

Amsterdam was my favourite city, full of American draft dodgers smoking weed and playing guitars, they were great guys and even though the Vietnam war wasn’t a big news item in Oz, I learned a lot about it through talking to these guys, who were just waiting for it to be over so they could go home. I joined the Army in 1977 and most of my fellow soldiers were Vietnam vets, many with PTSD, alcohol issues, collapsing marriages etc, so in hindsight I think the draft dodgers were probably the smart ones, as Vietnam was another war that was basically pointless.

I enjoyed the German club last night, had a delicious chicken schnitzel washed down with a pint of ginger beer, this place is now officially my favourite eating spot in Canberra. If I wasn’t flying home today I’d go back for more German cuisine tonight.

[Trevor from Warragul]

I enjoyed the German club last night

Did you mention the war? I mentioned it once, but I think I got away with it...   

[PeWe]

#6
A 170km ride on my K2 with visit at a local bike clubs weekly wednesday meeting with tasty burger.

The bike had got another set of stock carbs when the old started to behave badly. Increasing surging and general dirty carbs.

So time to assemble the clean looking as low mile set I bought cheap almost 3 years ago.
Then a quick swap, only main jets from the old set.

Sync stock carbs a pain to fit adaptor tubes plus settings changed when tighten the lock nuts. Had to redo some times and accept a little off.
Not fun to fit the plug screws in vacuum holes again...

Plus another regulator that was possible to adjust so it charge up to 14.5V with lights on. Good to have volt meter mounted at front for constant supervision.

Burger in bread and cheese, all add-ons are self served. Extra of everything

Started with a ride. Season is really beautiful now. Roads are surrounded by beautiful american flowers. Those intrusive flowers are pre-summer for us.
A nail into the winter coffin when gone

[Kevin D]

Ride 10    72 miles

Today was a tweener day, rain yesterday sunshine today rain tomorrow. It was a chilly 51f this morning so I made my departure in the early afternoon and it was still chilly but warming and the sunshine was nice. I counted 50 horses in the pastures along 7 mile road between Pontiac Trail and Whitmore Lake. I think it would be nice to own a horse and 1000 acres or more for riding, just to compare horse vs. Honda.but I’m pretty sure the Honda would prevail due to less maintenance and better cruising speed.
 All of the docks and boats are in at Whitmore Lake but there were only a very few out on the lake. It will be different on the weekend. I stopped for a photo in the Whitmore Lake UMC parking lot. The church is kinda small but they own several hundred feet of lake frontage at the main crossroads. Property isn’t dollars in the collection plate, but it doesn’t hurt either.
 I went on to M36 and Hamburg. It’s easy to go on from here and harder to turn back, but I did. The area is totally rural, there is only one traffic light, in front of the church, for the next 30 miles. Then back in suburbia with several lights each mile.

[Kevin D]

PeWe
Nice ride and meet.
I like this photo ….. mostly
Foreground - very tasty
Midground - I see your nice CB and many other nice bikes
Background - power station and transformers making me anxious there is all night work for me.
                     I can almost hear the transformer hum.
 
After 5 years away I should be over it….
Let me go look at some flowers, motorcycles, and empty roads. Is that lupine?

[PeWe]

Food and bike in one shot is the deal, right?

Yes, some buzzing around that transformer
Bikes the comes and goes so the background sound is good.

Latine name for the good season flower is Lupinus polyphyllus.
I like that type of invader

Kevin, your ride report is inspiring as usual.

[Alan F.]

Ride #1 for me was Tuesday through Thursday this week at the 100th Laconia, New Hampshire Bike Week. I rode up Tuesday morning with two gents from one of the Royal Enfield forums, met a third from upstate New York who arrived a day ahead of us. All totaled over 3 days 280 miles for me.

[Kevin D]

Food and bike in one shot is the deal, right?

Yes, some buzzing around that transformer
Bikes the comes and goes so the background sound is good.

Latine name for the good season flower is Lupinus polyphyllus.
I like that type of invader

Kevin, your ride report is inspiring as usual.

PeWe, you have lots of good eats along your rides, and gorgeous countryside.
I head for the countryside and stay away from town if I can, too much sprawl with traffic and congestion, the Honda likes to breathe freely.

 I worked too hard for too long, happy to be retired from dirty dangerous difficult all nighters with customers out of power. I’m riding the Honda when I can.

There is a guy here from Vasteras. I watched him play for 20 years with grace and poise and now his retired number 5 hangs in the rafters with other greats. Recently I see that he is back as an executive. Nicklas Lidstrom

[PeWe]

Västerås my home town. He was one of a few really good players our local hockey team had in the first half of the 90's before  NHL.

Ride in cities is a pain. Different between 18-22 yo.

I prefer a longer route on smaller but still good country roads. I need to find alternative  restaurants with cheap good food along the roads
Difficult to find for less than $13US
Except the biker club's tasty Wednesday burgers

[RAFster122s]

Here the food places out in the open roads countryside are few and far between. Maybe I don't know where to look.

Congrats everyone on racking up the miles and rides. I've been having some health issues and haven't ridden this year despite having good riding weather.

[Kevin D]

Ride #1 for me was Tuesday through Thursday this week at the 100th Laconia, New Hampshire Bike Week. I rode up Tuesday morning with two gents from one of the Royal Enfield forums, met a third from upstate New York who arrived a day ahead of us. All totaled over 3 days 280 miles for me.

Alan, the wet is supposed to leave here today for a week or better, probably leaving you tomorrow. Sit tight for a bit and the sunshine will soon return.

[Alan F.]

Tuesday was cool and wet, rain gear on all day. Wednesday we headed out after 7am breakfast and rode north to the Kancamagus Highway https://kancamagushighway.com/ a must ride road. 34-1/2? miles of twists, turns and elevation changes. That was followed by some more epic back road riding including New Hampshire 302 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Route_302
 (which looks like a fine ride all by itself) took us most of the way back to our motel mid afternoon before the thunderstorms forecasted were supposed to have arrived.
And this morning the 3 of us split up after breakfast at 7am. These early starts seemed to work very well for us.

[Terry in Australia]

I enjoyed the German club last night

Did you mention the war? I mentioned it once, but I think I got away with it...   

Here's a pic of a piece of the original "Berlin Wall" outside the German Club, fascinating piece of history, I still remember seeing it being knocked down.

Berlin wall Canberra German Club 13 June 2023 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

On our first trip (well, my only trip) to Europe in 1974, my Dad "mentioned the war" a lot in Europe, not to be a smart arse, but to hear about it from his former enemies, and I was fascinated at how interested in talking about it, the German/Austrian people were. There were plenty of Germans and Austrians who weren't Nazi's, and didn't like Hitler, but they had to be very careful about what they said and to who, it was very easy to become "Disappeared" if one of your friends or neighbours reported you to the authorities at the time.

One old guy and his wife were sitting across from us on a train to Nuremberg, and they were telling us about how they were forced to go to the Nuremberg Rally in 1936. They were standing there with thousands of cheering, waving people who were treating Hitler and co, like they were rock stars, and someone beside the old guy (who was only a young guy then) shouted that "Hitler is a God!" and he said that from that time on, he knew that Germany was in big trouble.

But I digress, the food at the German club was authentic and excellent, and being Canberra, there were lots of German speaking people there, which is always a good sign that the food will be "Just like in the Fatherland........."    

[Kevin D]

Ride 11   100 miles

We had our nasty storms last night and the weatherman has told us that we are starting a streak of sunshine filled days and I’m OK with that. There was golf ball sized hail that roughed up the farms in the next county north and F1 twisters in the next county south, heavy rain and lots of lightning here but the power stayed on.
 So I set off with the confidence that the rain was gone and indeed it was, even if there were clouds left behind. I made my way to my daughters house for lunch. She lives a bit off of my route but not too far and there were six grandkids there, two daughters, a son-in-law, and a terrific bowl of chili that she made.

 There have been several motorcyclist fatalities here lately and I rode near one of the accident sites. On the highway US23 A Ninja rider lost control of his bike, reason unknown, struck the median, and was killed. Striking a median at highway speed is never going to be a good thing for a motorcyclist but these new medians are cables strung together. That might hold a car or truck back but it’s not going to be better for a rider. What were these highway engineers thinking?

I stopped on my way back to assist a rider with his dead Yamaha R1. He said it was his first ride this year, he put the battery on charge for a short bit and after set out for a very short ride when the bike quit at Ridge road and North Territorial. He told me the solenoid would click but not spin the engine. He was fiddling with the power commander as I approached. I got my jumper cables out and jumped the R1 to the Honda and we got his engine to spin but it did not fire. The rider is sure it’s his dead battery and his grandpas pickup was on its way and so was I.
 In Plymouth, I beat the train to the first crossing and went on a few blocks ahead. I knew the train would come around the wye and there is a speed restriction of 5 or 10 mph and I got the Honda in position and waited a bit for the train to round the bend. The CSX locomotive 201 is a little raggedy but the Honda is shiny.

[Terry in Australia]

Great rides guys, the weather here is fine, but cold and really windy, so I almost had to force myself to drive over to the storage place to decide which bike I'd ride today for ride #21. I'd bought a new speedo cable for my sportster, only to discover that it had a different fitting on the wheel end of the new cable, so thought I'd just swap out the inner cable as they're the same length, but it looks like the inner cable was too long at the speedo end, so I reinstalled the old inner, and the speedo worked! For the first couple of miles, then stopped again.

Oh well, it was cold and windy, so I just kept on moving on down the road. I filled it up, took almost 8 litres, but as it's only a 12 litre tank, I don't like to go too far when it's that low. I rode on to Kilmore and my Indian (or Pakistani) mate at the chicken/kebab shop served me up with a dish of hot chips (fries) smothered in gravy. They were delicious, and hot, which was great as I was freezing. I took off again and turned off for Wandong, and rode home thru the windy backroads. Great ride, only did 60-odd miles, but was nice all the same.

Sportster Saturday 17 June 2023 2 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

I came home and as I was still wearing my wet weather gear, washed the old daily driver Subaru, for maybe the first or second time this year. I've got to strip Hussein's C90 engine tomorrow so he can vapor blast the top and bottom cases. I had a pr1ck of a time getting the AC rotor off but today it popped right off, so in the morning I need to go buy a new plastic tub to put all his engine guts in as I take them out, bag and tag them, for the inevitable re-assembly. Thank God the factory manual has lots of pictures........ Ride #22 next weekend, maybe.

Sportster Saturday 17 June 2023 5 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

 

[RAFster122s]

Hope you are thawed out now Terry... A ride on a cold day is sometimes refreshing.

[Terry in Australia]

Thanks David, the wind was the biggest issue yesterday, I had a really strong headwind all the way to Kilmore, but of course the ride home was much more pleasant. I think I'll take the Triumph next ride as it put out a lot of heat around my lower legs, so while a little uncomfortable in summer, it's much appreciated in winter.

Cold and sunny again today so if I didn't have to pull the C90 bottom end apart I'd probably go for another ride, but this needs to get done as Hussein has vapor blasted all of my Kawasaki H1 engine parts in exchange for my disassembling/reassembling of his little Honda engine. I'd better reassemble the top end of Dion's 750 engine too, as he's doing all the paintwork for the H1. It'll be nice to get back to my own projects, so I better get my finger out........

[BomberMann650]

Went through a whole tank of gas and $82 on a poker run today.
Hosted by a crew i met up in Silverton Colorado.  They were a bit mind-blown when i showed up.
The money raised goes to the local youth shelter.

Dont have any pictures so here's a song instead.

[Terry in Australia]

Great song Cowman, first time I heard it was when I was smoking weed with some American draft dodgers in Amsterdam in 1974. It has as much meaning now considering what’s going on in Ukraine as it had in Vietnam. No one can better the Stone’s version but that was a good effort.

[budman]

Ride #21, 101 miles.

Nice to see the other ride posts.

All last week was hot and hazy.  We are catching a blend of smoke from agricultural burning in Mexico blended with humidity.  The afternoon heat is starting to get brutal, but the mornings are still nice...and so it was this morning.  I rode down to Kerrville early this morning for some breakfast tacos.  Tasty as usual.  I just beat the morning rush.  I walked in and right up to counter to place my order.  When I left the line was almost out the door.  Afterwards I filled up the tank and made a quick run into Walmart for an item.  I really don't like that place, but can't help myself sometimes.  From there I took the long way home.

I only took these two photos.  The route was all familiar roads.  I need to get some photos of the vineyards.  They are all over the place.

Only two more 'til 23.