Topic: 26 Rides in 2026. Frank's New Years Resolution that we can all enjoy.

[jgger]

Sweet Greg! That shed just needs a little paint and no wind. What my eyes see written on those clouds is " this is a good time for a u-turn, or are you feelin' lucky punk"?

[PeWe]

Wow! A little bit Alaska feeling in those pics?
40*F = 4.44*C.
You had heated clothing?

I have ridden in even colder, 1-2*C but max 25+25 km. Stopped by a friend.
Had to test latest adjustment of the smoothbore carbs bike had then.

We are covered in snow like whipped cream over here so your photos look like very early spring

[jgger]

Well i too, like Greg, have moved into the big kid's playground with ride #1. We have been getting more than our share of wet stuff since just after Christmas. It has managed to f-up alot of good riding places too. So Tuesday the 6th i took a short hop over to Laguna Beach to see how the job that i did was progressing.

I got a late start because I was busy playing with my 2yo grand daughter,  she is so much fun and laughs at all my jokes. So anyhoo 1:45 I hit the road to Elsinore then Ortega hwy, clicked a couple pics of the lake and on to Laguna Beach. I was a bit worried about the road conditions on Ortega, but it wasn't too bad, better than I expected really.not much wet or mud/rocks but still a bit sketchy in some places. Temps were nice at 64°f/18°c when I left home and just 54°f/12°c at the top of the mountian on the way home. When I got to Laguna and the job site the guys were just about ready to leave, so I let myself have a self guided tour. The place is looking pretty good but the progress has slowed down since I re-retired . The builder had hoped to have the people in by Christmas of last year (2025), but at the rate he is moving it looks more like Christmas of this year. After checking the job i took a stroll down to the beach for some sunset pics, jumped on Eeyore and headed home. The whole episode took around 5 hours. Finally #1 is in the books i am going for the full26 this year. Here are some stats and pics.

Total distance.            112.6mi/181km
Start temp.                   64°f/18°c
Leaving Laguna.          66°f/19°c
Top of Ortega.              54°f/14°c
Back home.                   64°f/18°c still

 

[PeWe]

Beautiful photos, Jim!
Good ride weather with nice temperatures too 

[newday777]

Congrats Dennis, Terry, Greg and Jim for getting this year's rides going.

[dusterdude]

Sherriff,will my 3000 mile roundtrip ride to sturgis count toward this?

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Hell yeah mate! Take lots of pictures and post each leg of your adventure as 1 ride. (1day equals 1 ride) I wish I was going with you!

Come on over

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[BallAquatics]

Ride #2 01/08/2026, 52 miles just meandering around the back roads.  Had some parts to pick up at the Post Office for the SL100 project and the sun was shinning and Blue was begging to stretch his legs...



The roads were dry for a change and I even had sunshine for the first half of the ride. Temps in the low 50's, but the sun sure felt nice.



Rain over night with temps in the 50's early tomorrow, but then dropping back to normal for this time of year by evening.



Maybe #3 tomorrow, fingers crossed.   

[Terry in Australia]

Beautiful pics Greg, keep them coming!

[ofreen]

Sweet Greg! That shed just needs a little paint and no wind.

Thanks Jim, a fixer upper for sure.  Good job getting your ride in.

Wow! A little bit Alaska feeling in those pics?
40*F = 4.44*C.
You had heated clothing?

I did cheat a little a bit before the sun set and turned on the gloves I got last year. 

Ride #2 01/08/2026, 52 miles just meandering around the back roads.

Nice bike and pix.

Beautiful pics Greg, keep them coming!

Back at you Terry, and will do.  Your chainsaw story took me back to a boo-boo I made in the fall of 2017.  I fell a tree for a friend.  It was sort of impromptu so I didn't have any of my gear.  Got the top of my thigh pretty good.  Went through the skin and nicked the muscle.  I have a photo somewhere but I'll spare everybody.  However, if you visualize a jelly donut with a big bite out of it, you will get the idea.  Screwed up a good pair of jeans.  I have been running chainsaws since I was 13 years old and know better, but all I could do was shake my head and drive to the emergency room.  They turned me away there and sent me to the main hospital where they had to do internal stitches before they closed up the top.  They did a good job so the scar isn't that noticeable considering how much tissue was ripped out.

[Terry in Australia]

Beautiful pics Jim and Dennis, I would love to be out on my bike today but it’s 108 degrees F here again and in the 5 minutes I was outside having a cigarette all the ice cubes in my Irish Whiskey/Drambuie/Peanut butter whisky/Coke Zero cocktail melted, so I’m only going to be riding my comfy chair today.

Greg, that chainsaw story made me feel so lucky that my only injury was to my fake sense of bravado. Like you I’ve been using chainsaws for over 50 years and have never had a major incident, but that was due more to luck than caution. 40 years ago I cut down every tree in my inlaws backyard, drunk, with my father in law giving his full blessing/encouragement, but my mother in law, who’s always been like a second mother to me sent me home, she’d been out for the day and wasn’t pleased at all with my work, and it took a week before she’d give me back my chainsaw, only after I promised I’d never bring it back.

[BallAquatics]

#3 01/09/2026, 56.9 miles.  Poured down rain first thing this morning, but temps were again, way above normal. Was 60F when I left the house around 11am.



The wind was howling at 20mph out of the west with gusts hitting 30mpg, so I tried to stay on secluded back roads.  I was checking out some YouTube videos this morning and this guy, https://www.youtube.com/@lostatlastadv/videos, was talking about riding a route I know well. He called it the "Donnelsville Dragon", made me laugh, but it had been awhile since I'd been out that way so away we went.



The wind was blowing in a cold front and after about an hour the temps were down to 46F. Headed back towards home knowing it will probably be a bit before it's nice enough to get out again...

[BallAquatics]

Beautiful pics Jim and Dennis

Ride #2 01/08/2026, 52 miles just meandering around the back roads.

Nice bike and pix.

Thanks guys. We just got lucky with some nice weather for this time of the year and I though I'd better take advantage of it.

Since Frank isn't around to tell, I'll tell you guys. Thanks so much for keeping this thread alive!  With each passing year and my health problems, I've come to have a new appreciation for each and every ride I can get in.  Now that Mom isn't around anymore for me to look after, I'm bound and determined I'm going to get my 10,000 miles this year. I'm looking at taking the SL and doing the SOAL, (Southern Ohio Adventure Loop), and the GOAT, (Great Ohio Adventure Trail).  Lots of miles, very little traffic, and surrounded by nature. 

[ofreen]

Great pix of a couple of interesting sheds.  They look like something the second of the 3 little pigs might have built.

[Terry in Australia]

Well it's Friday, so I better post Monday's ride. After last week's 110 deg F heat wave, it was nice to get out on Monday for a ride in the high 70's. I wore my old mesh Triumph jacket (about 5 sizes too large, but at least I'm well covered) and it was nice just having a warm breeze flowing through. There were (and still are) several big fires north of where I live, so the air was a bit smoky, and as tragic as bush fires are, I started thinking about how much I'd love some barbecue. Anyway, I rode out through Wallan to Romsey, and stopped to take a pic after I ejected a bug that was crawling around inside my ear.

Chopper Sunday VMax Monday 12 January 2026 6 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

I then headed out through Lancefield, still heading north. I though about riding another 30 miles to Heathcote to get a pie at the bakery, but the smoke ahead was getting thicker, so I decided to chicken out, and turned right to ride through the valley of rocks between Lancefield and Pyalong.  Stopped again for a stretch and some more pics. You can see how smoky it was, and still another 20 miles or so south of the fires.

Chopper Sunday VMax Monday 12 January 2026 9b by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

I then turned right again and rode home via Kilmore and Wandong, before cruising the freeway at "Go straight to jail" speeds for the last 20 miles. I'd promised the wife that I'd get fish and chips for a late lunch, so I didn't stop for food. Regardless, it was a great 110 mile ride on a near perfect day.

[jgger]

Good on you, Terry. But you didn't put the ride number. They say the first thing to go is the eyesight............I can't remember the rest. I can just picture you hanging onto the bars with your feet flailing behind you as you do a dragster parachute impersonation with that oversized jacket, be careful!

70° after 110° feels like it could snow any minute, doesn't it?  Does the V-Max have an air temperature readout on the dash? Hopefully the fires are over soon and haven't ruined any of your riding areas.im going to try to get out on Saturday (which will be your Sunday) . It's the middle of January and things are already greening up.

[Terry in Australia]

Thanks Jim, that was ride #2. The weather has been great this week but I’ve been working on the chopper project so I haven’t been out since Monday, but I might go for ride #3 on the weekend as well. I just need to keep an eye on where the fires are, so I can stay well clear. The old Triumph mesh jacket probably does look like a parachute trailing behind me, but doesn’t seem to hurt the performance of the VMax, which is just awesome.

I’m waiting on my club permit renewal for my K0 so I can take it for a ride, I should have sent the paperwork off a month ago, but when I found out that my insurance on all my vehicles had been cancelled due to a billing error made by my insurance company, I kind of lost the plot. More rides to come soon.

[Kevin D]

I will be left in the dust here if I don’t make my first post:
My CB was pushed to winter parking today, it won’t move until April 1.
The deep freeze is coming very soon with single digit temps.
I’m enjoying my car with heated seats and steering wheel

In the meantime you all are racking up some nice rides.
Dennis, you got the First Ride Posted this year and a couple more. Was the first ride on the Blue Boy?
I like the paint on the blue and the script on the tank.

Terry, you’re in the hot and smoke dodging season but still managed two rides well done mate.
The VMax is mighty fast. How much petrol does it hold? Are your rides 1 tank? What’s the range?
Too bad about the swamp cooler.

Greg, I see some green in your photos! Is it the rainy season or is that irrigated fields?

Jgger, good to see you and Eeyore posting your rides.

Per, at 60 degrees N you likely have the most snow, and Benelli you likely have the most gravity powered miles in the snow.

Alan, Kelly, newday777 so good to see everybody here.
I’m about to PM Bud, our blue badges are very nice.
Wish I was seeing the blue Scout loose in the Hill Country.
I will miss RAFster posts.

[BallAquatics]

I’m enjoying my car with heated seats and steering wheel

In the meantime you all are racking up some nice rides.
Dennis, you got the First Ride Posted this year and a couple more. Was the first ride on the Blue Boy?
I like the paint on the blue and the script on the tank....

Hi Kevin, good to see you here as well!  Much like you, our temps have plunged here, many nights in the teens or single digits. Perfect time for my 30 year old geothermal hvac to go on the fritz.

All my early rides are on ol Blue. It's that big windscreen that allows me to ride in cold weather. It's quite the story of Blue being painted '67 Chevelle Marina Blue...

I think you should use some of this winter down time to plan us a get-to-gather ride when the weather permits. Neither of us is getting any younger...

[Gurp]

Here's to making it this year! 3 projects to get ready to ride this year and hopefully a lot more rides!

[Terry in Australia]

Well I'm thinking about going for a ride today, so I thought I'd better post my last ride (#3) last Saturday, first. Another beautiful day, 30 degrees C, (86 deg F) which is pretty warm when you're wearing all the safety gear, but my old mesh Triumph "Parachute" jacket (of questionable value if I actually came off the bike) allowed a nice warm breeze to blow through, and with summer gloves and my visor up, it was very pleasant, indeed.

I rode out through Beveridge, Eden Park, Whittlesea, Wandong, and stopped at the bakery in Broadford, for a pie. I haven't been there for awhile, and last time I stopped, the bakery was closed down. I was worried that it had somehow gone out of business, but no, they gutted the old building and renovated it, and now it looks much nicer inside. I think they were in the throws of closing when I got there as a girl was mopping the floor around me as I ate my pie, and I wondered what they did with all the other delightful delicacies that were left over, hopefully they gave them away, and didn't just throw them out, because, judging by my steak and pepper pie, it would be a travesty to just throw them away, it was very nice. Maybe not quite as nice as Heathcote Bakery, but better than average.

Chopper VMax Saturday 17 January 2026 2 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

I rode on to Kilmore, then back across towards Wandong, got lazy and hit the freeway (I love testing the VMax's "VBoost" by wanging it up the entry ramp at warp speed and hitting the freeway at triple digits) then had a leisurely ride back home, with the warm breeze blowing through my jacket, and the occasional bug splattering my dark inner sun visor. I must remember to clean it before I go for ride #4. I didn't check my odometer, but I'm guessing it was around 100 miles or so all up, and a great way to spend a couple of hours.

Chopper VMax Saturday 17 January 2026 4 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

[Terry in Australia]

Ride #4. Yesterday I decided that I needed to do another pie run, so jumped on the VMax, and rode to Romsey, a tiny little place about 40 miles North West of my place. I'd only ever eaten in Romsey once before, when my BMW blew up last year. That was on a weekend, and the only place open was a chicken shop, so I was keen to see what the bakery was like yesterday. I parked the bike in the main street, as you can see, it wasn't busy.

VMax Wednesday 21 January 2026 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

The bakery is tiny, no seating inside, and no room for seating. No biggie, I was happy to sit in the sun on a park bench, and eat my pie.

VMax Wednesday 21 January 2026 2 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

VMax Wednesday 21 January 2026 3 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

It was a chicken and mushroom pie. Not my first choice usually, but I got there a bit late (as usual) and there wasn't much left. To be fair, it was very nice, like a chicken stew in a creamy sauce, encased in a pastry shell. Anyway, it was nice. I had a post lunch cigarette, then hopped back on the bike and rode on to Kilmore, then across to Wandong, then home via the freeway again, pissing off car drivers who sat in the overtaking lane but not overtaking anyone, by splitting between them at warp speed. Not particularly smart from my point of view, but hey, no-one's ever accused me of being smart.

I got home and because I'd emptied out the carport so I could paint my chopper frame, I'd crowded the driveway with bikes and general junk, so I couldn't just ride down the driveway and turn the bike around, I had to park the bike (pointing downhill) and as you'd expect, the bike fell off it's sidestand, and was still happily idling, whilst lying on it's side. Fcuk. I guess the adrenaline must have been flowing, because I picked up the 600 pound monster like it was a mini bike.

Anyway, I busted a footpeg and a mirror in the process, but luckily I had a spare mirror, and I ordered a pair of footpegs from Amazon for 18 bucks, so the bike won't be off the road for very long. It did piss me off though, I felt like I'd somehow disrespected the bike, so I apologised to it. (You guys all talk to your bikes and cars like I do, right? I mean, I'm not weird talking to my vehicles am I? I am on a lot of medication, but I've always talked to my cars and bikes, as well as my cats and dogs, and occasionally I even speak to my wife, when I can get a word in edgewise.....) Hopefully it won't spit me down the road out of spite on ride #5.

VMax Wednesday 21 January 2026 4 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

[jgger]

Too bad about the foot peg, at least you did it at home and didn't have to ride it that way. When I tipped mine over I was 25 miles from home and in the mountians.  I was able to use one of the rear pegs that kinda/sorta fit to get home.

Be careful with those Amazon pegs Terry. I have heard some horror stories about aftermarket pegs breaking while riding. I got mine from the boneyard for a very fair price.

Congrats on #4. I love that " downtown" picture at the bakery.  I'm going to have to kick it up to try to keep up with you this year, I just finished #2 (no, not that #2) 4 days ago. Gotta post it before it expires!

[PeWe]

Nice ride, Terry.
The food stop place looks really picturesque.

Bad luck with the bike. Things like that happen to all of us.
Be happy that  your leg or foot was not involved.
I parked my K6 at a gas station a few years ago.
Sat on bike, side stand out with my left foot and  I started to get off the bike that fell over me.
The gas station had a bump in asphalt where side stand was placed.
Really bumpy place. Left control cracked for clutch lever. Had to ride back home with no working clutch.

I had a new left side control at home.

[Terry in Australia]

Thanks guys, I’m going over to Spotty’s place today to put the choppers engine back together, and I might “borrow” a foot peg off my other VMax and when the Amazon ones arrive I’ll put them on the other VMax, because I’ll eventually sell it, and as Jim said, the OEM ones are much better quality. Occasionally I’ll stand up on the pegs to take the weight off my back or hips, but I wouldn’t dare do that with the aftermarket pegs that are on it, in case I snap one with my 220 pounds of dead weight.

I got the paperwork back for my K0’s annual permit so once my new printer/scanner arrives I’ll pay the $80 annual fee and be able to do some rides on it, which should be fun. I need to get some of my bikes insured again, my insurance was canceled last year because my insurance company was trying to debit an old, expired card, so I don’t have insurance on any of my bikes at the moment. I’m not worried about dropping one of my bikes and having to repair it, but if I hit someone’s car, I could be up for a lot of money for their repairs. Unlikely, but sh1t happens..

[BenelliSEI]

Terry…… Nice rides, good food and “shyt happens”. I figure any “accident” that occurs at rest is better than at speed……

I laughed about”talking to the machine”. Yesterday when I finished plowing with the  +45 year old FORD F350 I carefully backed it into the house garage. My wife comes out and says “who are you talking too?” A great piece of equipment needs an occasional compliment, don’t you think?