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.