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

[RAFster122s]

Bud, some nice photos. How have the mosquitoes been this year? We haven't had too many but the dry heat helps tons with that...  Phoenix waters stuff too much and the mosquitoes thrive there even in high heat because they have learned how to bury themselves deep in the lawn grass and they can survive the heat of the day, even 115-118f days and then come out to feast at night. Forget if it was FLA or TX, think TX that has a Zika outbreak or higher numbers of cases this year. That is definitely not a disease you want to get...it kills some who get it every year and it can put you through the wringer washer if you survive it .

Mosquitoes and humidity is why you won't find me trying to live in TX... Really dislike both... I'd rather have dry heat any day.

Had a tornado or some severe weather rip up various stuff all around Tucson between 6:30 and 7:30 tonight. More power poles bent up on Ina road near Thornydale, 1/2 mile up the road last week a straightline wind event brought down power lines and poles cause road closures for 4 days while they fixed that mess at Ina and Shannon.
Tons of trees down tonight, gas station down town lost their canopy over the pumps at Congress and I10. Prince Road AutoZone had a wall get ripped off and destroyed part of their inventory area for parts behind the counter. Some trees fell on cars and trucks all around town and I 10 access road had lots of limb and tree carnage around Prince and north towards Ruthrall Rd. Flooding which is typical but severe flash flood watches issues for 4-5 hour time lock ..
National Weather Service will investigate and report on it tomorrow. We do not normally get many tornadoes here, but this is a couple within a 2.5 week period. Had an EF1 in South Tucson before the 4th.
We don't have tornado warning sirens, that's how rare they are here ...
My phone was blowing up with warnings, watches, and alerts for 45 minutes from a few weather apps and National Weather Service alerts through Emergency Broadcast system on cell phone

Seek cover...well, I live in a tornado magnet, I rent a mobile home.

David

[willbird]

Saturday 7-13-2024 127 miles #45, took a ride over to Fort Wayne, IN and bought a pair of AlpinStar gloves :-).

Sunday 7-14-2024 110 miles #46 took a ride over to Grand Rapids, OH. There is a Railroad group that runs an excursion train on otherwise abandoned rail corridor, they have a wagon on rails pulled and pushed by an old railroad ...I dunno...vehicle for small work. For $5 they will take you out across the muddy Maumee on this iron bridge.











then North through Swanton, OH. This building was the home of Toledo, Metro Harley Davidson in the late 1970's.



and then back home.

[budman]

Hey David, no mosquitoes in the Hill Country.  Been here just shy of 3 years and haven't seen one.  Texas has about 4 or five different eco systems.  You'll really only find mosquitoes along the coast and in east Texas.  We do have a lot of other bugs in the HC, though.  It's grasshopper and katydid season right now.  I take a lot of grasshoppers to my shins at 80 mph on the Scout.  They pack a punch.  Earlier this summer it was these little gnat bugs everywhere.  The bike and helmet would be covered in them after a ride, but they've thinned out.  Regardless of what type of bugs, after every ride I have to wipe down the bike.  I think the worst was a couple of years ago, just a couple of months after I got the Scout.  Butterflies were coming up from Mexico and it was literally like someone had smeared butter all over the front of my bike.

There are also lots of spiders here...black widows.  We have scorpions too.  Thankfully no la cucarachas or fire ants here either, like back in Houston.  My landlord was telling me that about 10 years ago there was a fire ant infestation here and they almost took out the armadillo population.  They were killing the baby armadillos underground.  These bigger black ants that we have here took out the fire ants eventually.

The humidity is low, relative to Houston.  Not soaked in sweat every time I walk outside.

I think tornadoes are kind of rare out here, but the Hill Country does/has gotten some severe storms and flooding.  Mostly in the spring and fall.  I haven't seen anything overly severe since I've been here.  A lot of the rural roads have water crossings instead of bridges.  A lot of the creeks are "seasonal" creeks, so they don't build bridges over them.  I haven't been boxed in yet.  The thing I'm most concerned about is hail.  The HC has gotten large hail.  I don't have a covered parking at my house.  Don't want a messed up truck.  I've only experienced pea sized hail so far.

[Kelly E]

Today I got ride #8 in just barely, it was 52 miles. I had to go get new license tabs for the Concours before the next trip in 2 weeks. It's way too nice to drive the truck over there so I took the KZ 1000.

[lash]

98 km. Today for #67. Ice cream run after a day of thunderstorms. My friends Seca is finally running great. We are taking it and my red 750 to a bike show on Saturday, should be good weather.

[lash]

Kind of short ride day today, 70 mi. for #68. Rain chased me home but I made it before getting wet. Construction at the Conestoga dam, not sure what they are doing. Kind of wish I had a boat!

[RAFster122s]

Lash, if you ever had a thought of bikes being costly, your mind would be expanded if you owned a boat...

[budman]

Lash, if you ever had a thought of bikes being costly, your mind would be expanded if you owned a boat...

Boat = Bust Out Another Thousand.

[Kevin D]

In recent times, there have been dams let go after big rains.
lash, was it an ark you were considering?

[budman]

Ride #32, 125 miles

Had to run into town this morning for a haircut, drop off a package at the Post Office, get a safety inspection on the Scout, and renew the registration at the tax office.  While at the courthouse I snapped a pick of the library, which was the old Fredericksburg courthouse, and also the old jail across the street.

I also had to pick up a few things at Home Depot and Lowes in Kerrville.  Took the long where there.  Stopped at the Old Bat Tunnel for a short break and some water on the way back, then headed home.

This is the last year for vehicle inspections in Texas.  The state government finally admitted it was just a big waste of time for everyone to take time out of their day just to get an inspection report.  There's also a lot of small towns where you can't get your vehicle inspected so you have to drive out of your way to get one once a year.  Currently we pay the inspector $7.00 and then when we renew the registration, we pay the state $7.50 for the inspection.  The stupid thing is that next year and subsequent years, we'll still be paying the state a $7.50 "replacement fee", for the privilege of not having to get our vehicles inspected.  I can't help but think there's probably a scheme for higher penalties if you're ticketed for say, a burned-out taillight.  There's always a catch.  I haven't talked with any mechanic shops to see how they'll be impacted by not offering inspections anymore.  I know for some it's a small cash injection towards the end of the month.  I know shops have to buy into the system and get certified, and all that.  Seems like it's more hassle than it's worth though.  They still have to pay an employee for a 10-15 minute inspection and only earn $7.00.  That averages about $35/hour income if that's all they do non-stop, minus what they pay the employee.  That's a lot less than the $100/hr plus for mechanic rates.  I think a lot of shops have offered the inspections probably as more of a courtesy and to get potential customers in the door.  Most often it's the quick oil change places I see doing inspections.  They often times try to get you for new wiper blades and stuff like that, so they can over charge you.

Made so many stops, twists and turns that I had to make two Google maps.

[lash]

Ride #69 today was down to Mississauga to Princess Auto, which is Canada’s Harbor Freight for a truck hitch ball mount. 222 km. on the wing.
Turned out it doesn’t fit!
Such a nice day I went out on the silver 750 with a buddy for coffee and another 92 mi.
I’m still terrible at remembering to take pictures!

[lash]

#70 with 97 km. Had to go to the John Deere dealer to pick up some parts. They have to charge an arm and a leg to build these mega stores. Oh, and have a profit of 10+ Billion dollars a last year. And lay off over 1000 employees in the US and move production to Mexico because they’re not making enough money!

[jgger]

Great job everyone.

It's been 2 weeks without a ride for me, so after a week in Kansas City then a week of catching up an chores at home, it was time for ANY ride. I will turn 72 next month so the state of California said they needed to see me at the DMV in person to renew my license. They say fill out the paperwork online and make an appointment and you can whizz right through,  we'll they are liars! It took 2 trips over 2 days but I finally got it done. After leaving the DMV on the 2nd day I needed to go out, but I was so pissed I was scared I would not be in any state of mind to be anywhere near a public street. My experience was a perfect example of why Terry calls them public serpents. Plus it has been triple digit temps with humidity at 65-75% or more.

Anyhoo I jumped an the bike the next evening  for a short but relaxing ride. I left about 7:15 pm and it had cooled to a frosty 91°f/33°c and took my standard short ride up Ortega Hwy. The sun had already gone down but it was still light when I got to the Lookout above Elsinore,  I snapped a couple of pics and proceeded to my rest area/ trail head I always go to. Had some coffee and watched it get dark then headed home. Nothing fancy, just 55 1/2 miles of wind in my face and a new man when I got home.

I have to admit that I'm starting to get jealous of lash for his ride count and wilbird too, plus budman for his distance rides. I guess I'll just have to do better to live up to my heroes accomplishments.

Oh well, some pics and stats.

   Left home temp.             91°f/33°c
   Mid trip temp.                  77°f/25°c
   Back home temp.            87°f/30°c
      AND HUMID THE WHOLE TIME!

   Total distance                   55.5 mi/ 88kms

[BomberMann650]

50 miles, 3 construction zones, and a dead bird.

Poor thing didn't get outta the way in time.  Got smacked by the engine cage and bounced off my foot.

[budman]

Ride #33, 173 miles.

So, last night I heard some noise about 10:30 and I stick my head out the door and shine a flashlight around.  I spot a jack rabbit (hare) and he runs off.  I'm looking around and see a very small and very young lone lamb on the other side of the chain-link fence.  My landlord has a small herd (flock?) of Alaskan Dall sheep that roam freely.  I think I've posted a pic or two.  So I grab the tiny thing and put it my mud room with a box and a towel, thinking it will be safe from the coyotes, at least for the night.  This morning, I got up ready to ride and the little *&^%#$ crapped all over the place in the mud room.  I spot the herd over by my landlord's B&B rental and I grab the little *&^%#$ and take it over there, but the herd runs away.  I put it inside the fence at the B&B and try to call my landlord.  He's not answering, so I message his daughter and she said she'll let him know.  I clean up the mess and decide I'm not doing that again.

Glad to be on the bike, I headed for Brady, TX, knowing it's going to be a hot one today so I better keep it sub-200 miles.  On the highway to Mason I spot a motorcycle ahead of me by a few cars at a road construction zone.  We're at a construction stop light and he takes off before the light turns green.  I get to Mason and I see the guy again in front of the courthouse and he whips out in front of the truck I'm behind and then pulls into a gas station a couple of blocks ahead.  I carry on down the highway and stop at a picnic area on San Saba river just south of Brady.  I snap a couple of pics and head off to Brady.  I get to the courthouse and the town square and I spot the same guy again riding in the opposite direction.  He must have passed me while I was at the picnic area.  I'm thinking he looks like my barber and that might be his bike.  So I'm heading back south again, still in Brady and I stop to get some gas.  I get a text from my barber asking if I'm the guy he saw in Mason and Brady.  Haha!  Yep!  He's down the street at Walmart.  I zip down there and we have a little chat.  He just gave me a haircut on Wednesday.  We've talked about riding a lot, but never have.  He's got a nice HD Road King.  He goes up to the Walmart in Brady to buy sports card collectables and then resells them online.  He says they sell out quickly, but no one buys the cards at this Walmart, so he rides up there often.  He had to get back home to the fam, and I take off to get some BBQ in Llano. 

I stopped for a breather and some coffee, and enjoyed the quiet for a few minutes.  It was about noon when I got to Llano so the BBQ place was pretty busy.  Food was tasty as usual.  It's getting super expensive though.  I think it's gone up a couple of $$ since the last time I was there.  Still a treat.

Got home before the heat and took a nap.  I don't know if anyone has taken care of the little *&^%#$.  I might walk over to the B&B when it starts to cool off to see if it's still there.

It's supposed to rain all week so I'm not sure when I'll get out again.

[lash]

197 km on the gold750 for #71. We had planned on going to the 3 day bike festival just north of Durham, On today to check out bikes, take some pics and maybe have a hotdog, but when we pulled up to the gate they wanted $55 for the day to get in! I don’t think so!
Went home and cut some grass, then took the wife out on the Goldwing for dinner, another 90 km. Nice riding weather..

[jgger]

Live and learn on that lamb bud. That reminds me of the time my wife found a neighbor's goat running loose. She put it in our garage so the dogs wouldn't hurt it , I opened the door and the little sob was on my work bench knocking stuff down and fixing to start eating what he couldn't knock off. I HATE GOATS.

It's 100°+ and humid as a dish rag here, so riding is on hold. Also some bed wetter started a fire up Azusa canyon/ east fork. I might try to sneak a ride out to Julian tomorrow though.

Lash, did that 55 bucks include meals and bottomless drinks? That's crazy.

[lash]

I never asked. I’ll spend it on a steak dinner instead. I have lots of my own bikes I can look at!

[jgger]

Good call!

[budman]

Live and learn on that lamb bud. That reminds me of the time my wife found a neighbor's goat running loose. She put it in our garage so the dogs wouldn't hurt it , I opened the door and the little sob was on my work bench knocking stuff down and fixing to start eating what he couldn't knock off. I HATE GOATS.

I had a pet goat when I was a teenager.  He was pretty funny, but he stayed in a pen.  Just checked on the lamb.  Looks like someone let him out and his momma found him.  They weren't with the herd though.  Chatted with the neighbor.  They found a lone lamb a couple of days ago.  Same deal, but they managed to get it back to the herd.  There are about three or four lambs.

I found a fawn about a month ago sleeping in the weeds right by the house.  Didn't mess with it though.  I know the momma's leave them to go eat.  They're all over the place right now.  I saw about a dozen the other morning.

[newday777]

#13 today was 220 miles to buy a very good condition Kerker 4into1 system. A friend has been wanting one for his 78 F2 he bought over the winter as the original system is rusted. He likes things pristine on his bikes. I told him that I wasn't 100% sure if this would work on his as it was on a K3 originally. It has the flanges to bolt it to the head like his F2 needs so hopefully he will get it fitted.
Today's ride started off at 82° at 10am, rose up to 87° at noon there in southern Massachusetts where the system was. I strapped the header onto the back seat of the goldwing, the muffler into the saddlebag.
Oh and on the way there traveling at 85 in the fast lane of the 128 slab, I had a high dollar lime green European sports car coming up behind flashing their yellow fog lights at me, I was following a line of cages ahead of me so I stayed where I was. All of a sudden there were @3-4 dozen variations of high dollar cars flying past in the right slow lane at probably a buck twenty until they came upon slow traffic ahead and started weaving through the traffic,  their wide open exhaust barking as they hit the paddle shifters to slow down as the exhaust braked. The fools were filming a race between themselves and a few minutes later sirens and flashing lights were behind me! I moved over and it followed me not them.....once I moved over a couple lanes it flew past and a pickup with a 16' articulating boom camera went by. I was pissed. They all put so many people in danger. And I'll bet the cops weren't really cops just movie set props to get people to move out of their way. No real cops when they are needed.....
Anyhow, the guy I bought the system from had recently bought back his K3 from the guy he sold it to, as it was frozen up and rusted from setting in his damp garage for 25 years. The guy had called him after it was restored asking for a bill of sale so he could sell it, Gary said "if you are selling it, how much as I want to buy it back".
I got a couple pictures of it. The paint is more gold than sunrise orange but looks OK.
On my way back I stopped by my friend's house that I'm buying a 73 K3 and a 78 F2 roller and another engine. We loaded them on his trailer and he's bringing them to my place tomorrow afternoon.  Then I stopped by my other friend's place and dropped off the Kerker so he can try fitting it to his F2.
A busy day. Got back home @ 6:30, back to 82°, after stopping by the local dairy to get a couple quarts of their blueberry ice cream for after dinner (I didn't stop for lunch!).

[Terry in Australia]

I'm so jealous of you guys right now, it's fcuking freezing here, peaked at 59 deg F today. Still, it was a better day than yesterday, so I drove over to the storage place and rolled the Triumph out for ride #25. Sadly the 8 year old battery is pretty much dead, and my POS jump starter box didn't want to play the game. Fcuk.

I haven't ridden the sporty for months but not surprisingly, it fired right up even with half a tank of stale fuel. I rode it to the gas station and filled it up ($10, bargain) and took off. I decided to do the reverse of one of my recent routes, but as I headed north the clouds were getting darker and darker, so I turned east and skirted around them as I had no wet weather gear (I forgot that it was in the saddle bag of the Triumph) and found a road that I may or may not have ever ridden before.

Sportster Sunday 21 July 2024 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

Great road, 20 miles or so of mostly smooth straight tar with no cars, and better still, no cops, so I gave the Sporty it's head, and saw the ton, before common sense prevailed and I slowed down again. Too cold to stop anywhere except to take a pic then go again. Probably did around 90 miles and had a ball. The heated vest and gloves kept my top half warm and while my legs were cold, it wasn't that horrible. Only another month or two of this weather, and I'll be complaining about the heat.

Sportster Sunday 21 July 2024 2 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr   

[PeWe]

Good looking ride x2, Terry! Bike and views.

Really 59F?
That is my wait for spring ride temp, +15C. Sunshine will improve.
If most of October here will enter that level, fine

[jgger]

Well done Terry. On the rain gear, you may be getting up to the age where you need to carry cue cards. I could use a little of that 59° stuff here, that's just slightly over half of our temps. I took a load of yard clean up trash to the dump yesterday and it was 101° f  and very humid. You know it is bad when you look up the weather prediction and the summary says the temp is 101° f and the real feel says " feels like HELL "

Glad that the heated gear is working out for you. The back probably doesn't hurt as much either, does it?

[lash]

#72 is 194 km. Had to go to Canadian Tire for some new connections to my trailer safety chains. You kind of see some irony or something in the Ev charging next to the buggy parking!