Topic: 24 Rides in 2024, Frank's New Years resolution that we can all enjoy.

[Kelly E]

Another “last ride” today. Great brunch and then off to visit a buddy who is building a vintage Willy’s drag racer. Al is the real deal. This car began as a few chalk lines on the floor of his shop. Almost everything is fabricated in his garage. 60’s Hemi up front, on alcohol! Rads are used to cool it on the return run (one man team), hidden under the floor! Looking good, it will be out next Spring.

That's so cool.
When I was a kid I built a model that looked very similar to that.

[lash]

Another great weather day today with way less wind and +14c. Rode down to Toronto to pick up some Rc radio batteries. Ended up with 221 km. for ride #124. That was  my goal for this year so anymore is just a bonus!

[BenelliSEI]

Another great weather day today with way less wind and +14c. Rode down to Toronto to pick up some Rc radio batteries. Ended up with 221 km. for ride #124. That was  my goal for this year so anymore is just a bonus!

If you complained of “saddle sores”, I’d believe it! Well done!

[Kevin D]

Ride #35  121 miles

The fallen leaves are under control here at home and the forecast was for lots of sunshine and the mercury might bust into the lower 60s so I gave it a shot and rolled out this morning at 1130 and the temp at 55 and climbing. The temp made to 60, yes it was a little bit chilly but sunshine on my shoulder makes me happy (thanks John Denver). Arriving home at 330 I found my jacket liner and it will be zipped in if there is a next time out. I got my gauntlet gloves out for the last 25 miles. Tucked my shirt in at lunch, I will have my turtleneck on next time. My jacket has a double main zipper, underneath is a zipped wind flap that backs up the large toothed outside zipper, I made sure it was zipped today and all vents closed.  I’m sipping a cup of coffee as I type, and I had my cold weather lunch today: Wendy’s chili and a baked potato.
 I made my date with the 80mph EB Amtrak Wolverine and I scouted just a bit for a preferred photo site but when I returned to the preferred site it was claimed by others, oh well, I went across the tracks, now the CB was backlit, grrr….. and as the gates closed on Dexter-Chelsea road an F150 drove right into the foreground beyond his mandated stop, grrr. So I stepped around to the front of the CB and shot the train as it passed, going away. It wasn’t till I got home that I noticed the closed Chelsea Grain silos at the left, a bonus.
 There’s a couple miles of road that parallels the track. I have paced the train before but only for a hot minute. You can’t pace and take the photo, I don’t have a GoPro. It’s safer to take the photo and not boast about riding fast.
 
This being November, my CB is 54 years old now. It’s not rocket fast, but it’s no slouch either, and reliable, 47.9mpg today. I think it likes pumping the cooler, dense air, these days.

Lash congrats on your personal goal #124.
You’re all set for 124 rides in 2124, that’s a hundred years out!

Nearly forgot, I had an encounter with a bald eagle today on Pontiac Trail near Dixboro road. He was circling at the treetops, then started a glide between the trees straight down towards me but he pulled up and away before he got too close. Don’t think I have seen an eagle round here.

[lash]

Another great weather day today with way less wind and +14c. Rode down to Toronto to pick up some Rc radio batteries. Ended up with 221 km. for ride #124. That was  my goal for this year so anymore is just a bonus!

If you complained of “saddle sores”, I’d believe it! Well done!

Yea, it’s amazing the way things change in fifty years. My 750’s take about 5 minutes to change the air filter, the wing takes 5 hours. The seats on the 750 are pretty comfortable for a day, the wing is good for 1 1/2 hr. I’m going to change the seat this spring.

[BenelliSEI]

Very cool today, but lovely and sunny….. #35 and done?

[budman]

Ride #56, 85 miles.

Was hoping I would leave early and for more miles, but it was too cold this morning.  In the meantime I went to town and bought some groceries, waiting for the temps to ride.

I was looking on Google maps the other day for roads I haven't ridden yet and found a few prospects.  I worked one of them into my route today.  I discovered a cool old mill on this road that I didn't know was there until I rode up on it.  It was next to an active creek.   The mill was built in the mid 1800's.  There was Texas Centennial marker in place next to it, shown in a photo.  I just found out about these markers.  When Texas was 100 years old in 1936 a bunch of these markers and monuments went up around the state.  I stumbled onto a list of them on the internet.  Ya' learn something new every day.  Now I'll be on the lookout for these markers.  The mill produced flour and corn meal.  There's an active spring behind it that they dammed up, and the overflow drove the water wheel.   The spring is still flowing today.

Got back on the bike and headed to Llano.  Stopped at the park on the river to consume the lunch I brought with me and then rode home.

Beautiful day.  Tomorrow will be a bit warmer.  I'm going to try to head out early and get some more miles in.

[ofreen]

Temperature peaked for a bit at a blazing 53 degrees today, so I went for #18.  I was about 7 miles short of the target 100 miles I have for these rides, but I'll count it anyway.  The 200 and 300 mile rides offset it.

Some desert views -






Blacks Creek dam and reservoir -

[PeWe]

Nice rides guys. Beautiful pictures and interesting history.

Greg, 50 miles is enough for a ride in this thread As Terry wrote, more riders can be part of it. 100 miles +160km can be much for the joints.
It took a while for my seating area to withstand rides over 100miles when I got my bike out on the roads again.

I had thoughts of how I could manage to ride thru Europe all day long in the 80's.
Shocks and fork adjustment is one part.
I reinstalled my old Marzocchi AG Strada shocks from the 80's on my K2 this season. So comfortable compared too Ikon with non progressive springs.
My K6 has Ikon with progressive springs, almost as comfortable as the AG Strada with good handling.

Progressive fork springs with stock lenght 482mm should not have spacers. (Makes: Progressive and Wirth)
Even 3.6 mm thick washers ruin the handling.

[Terry in Australia]

Beautiful pics guys, and as it cools on your side of the pond/s, it's slowly warming up here in the land of Oz. Spotty and I took his Valkyrie over to the auction place yesterday to sell for him, I was going to take one of my Ducati's but discovered that my son wanted it, so I'll have to work out which bikes I want to let go of. We've pretty much finished the refurbishment of the KZ750, but it's running so well I can't bring myself to sell it until I've at least taken it for a decent ride, so I'll get some new Stinko's fitted, and jump through a few government hoops to get it on the road legally, and hopefully it'll feature in the next month or two's rides, whether it's late 2024, or early 2025.

Terry's KZ750 9 November 2024 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

Today my son came over to check out the Ducati (the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, he asked me to keep it hidden for the time being, as he didn't want to tell his fiancé that he's bought another bike......) and then I took the K0 for a ride. I left a little earlier than normal and while the sun was out, it wasn't as warm as my last two rides, and I probably should have worn a warmer jacket and gloves. Regardless, the bike was running great and the roads were dry, so I had a great ride.

K0 Sunday 10 November 2024 4 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

K0 Sunday 10 November 2024 3 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

I stopped on the way home for a light lunch of steamed dim sims (still born rats) and a Sarsaparilla at my Indian mate's shop, I haven't been there for awhile and he greeted me like a long lost brother.

K0 Sunday 10 November 2024 5 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr


All in all, ride #32 was another 100 miles of smiles. Spotty and I are off to another swap meet next Saturday, but hopefully I'll be able to sneak out for a ride on Sunday.

[newday777]

Terry
You took the desire for dim sims away.......
Good to hear you are getting warmer weather to make up for our's here north of Beantown, my 280 mile round trip yesterday in the minivan to get another to add to my winter project list had a high of 51°F, with a stiff wind out of Canada to put a bite in the air. It's 25° right now at 7am.

[BenelliSEI]

Stu….. that “F” looks very nice! Does it run?

[newday777]

Stu….. that “F” looks very nice! Does it run?

It does run with some difficulty starting and leaking carbs so a good cleaning is in order. It sounds tight for 32,000 miles. And it came with a new battery.

[BenelliSEI]

Stu….. that “F” looks very nice! Does it run?

It does run with some difficulty starting and leaking carbs so a good cleaning is in order. It sounds tight for 32,000 miles. And it came with a new battery.

Sweet!

[Kevin D]

Terry
You took the desire for dim sims away.......
Good to hear you are getting warmer weather to make up for our's here north of Beantown, my 280 mile round trip yesterday in the minivan to get another to add to my winter project list had a high of 51°F, with a stiff wind out of Canada to put a bite in the air. It's 25° right now at 7am.

Stu, what kind of minivan fits a CB 750F? I see the handlebars rolled back for clearance.

[newday777]

Terry
You took the desire for dim sims away.......
Good to hear you are getting warmer weather to make up for our's here north of Beantown, my 280 mile round trip yesterday in the minivan to get another to add to my winter project list had a high of 51°F, with a stiff wind out of Canada to put a bite in the air. It's 25° right now at 7am.

Stu, what kind of minivan fits a CB 750F? I see the handlebars rolled back for clearance.

Yes you have to drop the forks 2" and take the dash off. I dropped the headlight bolts too to get more clearance on the Chrysler Town and Country/Dodge Caravan vans.
Warning....It takes 2 people to safely put it in and to exit the bikes out. A full size van will be safer. I have almost lost it a couple times. Next time I will probably go with a trailer or a full size van.

[budman]

Ride #57, 210 miles.

Another beautiful day.  Started out a little chilly this morning.  Had to turn on the heat for a few minutes when I got up.  I was hoping to hit the road by 9:00, but I got a little sidetracked and left at 9:30.  It warmed up quickly and hit a high of 78 this afternoon.  I haven't had to wear a jacket yet this fall.  But I have been wearing three shirts and a vest.  These last two rides I haven't had to peel off any layers.

I headed for Menard, taking a different route then I usually do when I'm riding that way.  It's been a couple of months I think since I had been through Junction so that's the way I took.  Stopped at the county park there on the river, had a few sips of coffee and snapped a couple of pics of the dam and bridge.  I took a new road (to me) north to Menard.  It was great.  Really nice views. Unfortunately, there weren't really any shoulders along the road to pullover and take some pics.

Got to Menard and filled up the tank.  I thought I might save a couple of dollars by getting some snacks at the local grocery store instead of a convenience store, but the prices were just as high.  There's a chain of these small grocery stores in the smaller towns.  You don't see this chain in the bigger cities.  I guess they don't buy as much from the suppliers, and I'm sure it cost more to truck it all into these smaller towns, accounting for the high prices.  I'm going to start checking out the dollar stores and see what they have.  The dollar stores are all over the place.

I decided to take a longer route home, riding through London again, and then found a quiet spot to pull over and eat lunch.  Headed home from there.

Lots of great views and perfect weather today.  I might be running into town tomorrow for ride #58.  The forecast looks great for the rest of the week.

[willbird]

11-9-2024, #83, 175 miles


11-10-2024, #84, 55 miles
Got the CB750K2 out for a run to keep it limber. Left at 4PM so it was towards the end of the day.

[budman]

Ride #58, 68 miles.

Just a quick run to town and the long way home.

The map says 64.3 miles, but I realized I forgot something a couple of miles in and had to turn around go get it.  The pic is just a few miles from my house, on the way back.

[budman]

Ride #59, 219 miles.

Woke up to a 40F morning.  Had to turn on the heat.  Had the AC running yesterday afternoon.

I had already planned to take the day off and go for a ride, but I waited around until 11:00 for it to warm up enough.  Got everything ready and took off for Lampasas.  I had planned on filling up there, but when I pulled over, I figured I could make it to Lometa, where I had planned to start heading south again.  I missed the turn to Lometa and didn't realize it until I hit the micro-town of Adamsville.  I pulled over and searched for the nearest gas station.  I had to ride north another 12 miles to the town of Evant to fill up.  Turned out to be a really nice ride back from Evant on a scenic farm road as I headed Lometa.  I'm going to head up that way for another ride someday.  I've been through Hamilton a few of times, which is the next town north of Evant, but that's about it.

I carried on through Bend, TX and stopped along the Colorado River for the only photo I took today.  Not sure what this place was but it appeared to have been excavated.  There was some junk machinery laying around.  I think the surface is flagstone, but I'm not sure.  Maybe they used this stuff for shingles around here in the old days.  Kind of looked like the right stuff.

I was planning on stopping at the river park in Llano again, but I decided to just fill up the tank again and head home.

It was a beautiful day, a bit cool, but still no jacket required.  Saw quite a few motorcycles out and about today.

Sunday is looking good for Ride #60.

[jgger]

Bud, that picture isn't junk machinery,  it looks like an Indian motorcycle...............I need to get out for a ride!

[budman]

Bud, that picture isn't junk machinery,  it looks like an Indian motorcycle...............I need to get out for a ride!

I tried to frame the photo so there was the least amount of junk.  There's some junk behind the trees on the right.

I was actually thinking today while I was riding that we hadn't seen Jim in a while.  It's time to get some miles in, dude.  You only have a month and a half left this year.

[jgger]

Bud, that picture isn't junk machinery,  it looks like an Indian motorcycle...............I need to get out for a ride!

I tried to frame the photo so there was the least amount of junk.  There's some junk behind the trees on the right.

I was actually thinking today while I was riding that we hadn't seen Jim in a while.  It's time to get some miles in, dude.  You only have a month and a half left this year.

I know! I went back to work just after my birthday in late August and have not even posted my last 2 rides from 8/24 & 8/25. Everything else has been less than 50 smiles. I will catch you guys up soon, I feel bad not posting, just haven't had the time. But reading everyone else's stories has kept me from going any insane-er than I ame already, so keep it up guys.

[lash]

Wanted to change the oil in the Goldwing today so I decided to go out for a ride to warm up the oil. Dreary, cloudy +7c but managed 134km. for #125. Got home and ended up on the couch for a nap! Oils cold again so I guess I’ll have to try again tomorrow…

[RAFster122s]

Went for ride yesterday to stop and get flu shot get some food and shop Costco's sale that ends tomorrow. Was 75-77 until dark then it quickly dropped and by 7pm it was 60 and ride home was 55-53f with few pockets in washes and dips near mountain much cooler. Was a cold ass ride home on an overloaded bike (volume, not weight) that crowded me and forced me to contort and stand on footpeg to get on. Didn't ride 50 miles, probably 40 all told.  Today we have high of 62 and tomorrow likely little cooler as slight chance of rain. Was 39f at 6am. Gonna have several days of temps struggling to reach mid 60s. It is late fall after all..we didn't ease into but took the plunge, just like spring went to high 90s and 100s in sudden fashion this past spring. I didn't pack for the cold ride home so I bought a nice green flannel shirt to add to the jacket liner at Costco for $10.