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

[jgger]

Thanks Terry, I'm waiting for more predictable  wearher here so I can get some longer rides. Plus the wildflowers will be blooming pretty soon too.

With those temps you might have to convert your "rides with lunch" to breakfast runs in the wee hours of the day. Take it from a guy that has worked outside his whole life, the heat is much easier to handle when it heats up around you, as opposed to stepping out into the heat. Plus sunrises can be a pretty awsome thing to see.

[Kelly E]

Every time I think about riding either I have something to do or it starts snowing or raining.

[Terry in Australia]

Thanks Terry, I'm waiting for more predictable  wearher here so I can get some longer rides. Plus the wildflowers will be blooming pretty soon too.

With those temps you might have to convert your "rides with lunch" to breakfast runs in the wee hours of the day. Take it from a guy that has worked outside his whole life, the heat is much easier to handle when it heats up around you, as opposed to stepping out into the heat. Plus sunrises can be a pretty awsome thing to see.

Thanks Jim, once I’ve ironed out the issue with my DT250’s rough running, hopefully the weather will still be good enough to get some rides in before it gets cold again. I leave for work at 0515 3 days a week, so it should be fun scooting through the burbs in the dark and riding home at 2pm.

I’ll do a run to the beach after work one day and take some pics of the bay, which is quite pretty. Usually by this time of the year it’s getting cold overnight and warm during the day but it looks like summer came late this year and it’ll be warmer in the mornings, which isn’t a bad thing.

[jgger]

Looking forward to those Bay pics, especially if there are pretty girls involved, but not required. Good luck with that DT250, once it is going, they're pretty bullet proof machines.

As odd as your summer is over there, our winter has been a bit different here too. Not as many really cold ( for So Calif) days, but many rain days. One of my dream destinations, Death Valley, has had so much water this season some of the dry lakes aren't dry anymore. They have even been kayaking on one of them. Then the high winds came and actually moved the lake around 2 miles. After the wind quit the lake migrated back to its original location. We're talking about a lake that is 6 miles long and, I think, 2 or 3 miles wide! That event caused so much evaporation that they can't kayak on it anymore. Fascinating place. I'm really itching to get out there this spring.

[newday777]

Well my diabolical plan worked! MUAHAHAHA! After taking my wife out for both breakfast AND dinner on her birthday,  she tells me" you know it's supposed to rain tomorrow". " If you want I can take the grand daughter to school and you can ride"! So away we go for #10, just a short 71 miles and like budman, just nice to get out.

I took my local ride up Ortega Hwy ( like most of the time), but did a bit of exploring.  Just past the Lookout, there is a road that crosses the main road that has had my curiosity when I go by, I had to try it today. On one side it is North Main Divide, and the other is .............wait for it.........South Main Divide, duh! I took the south route. It was a nice gentle curving ridge road that goes to some hiking trail heads, an off highway vehicle area, some pretty elite homes ,and the jump off area for the hang gliders. I got a different view of Lake Elsinore and when things dry out more, this will require some more investigation.  At about 5 miles off the main road it turned into the kind of place you don't want to be on a 650 pound sport touring bike, took a pic, did a u-turn and headed back to the main road. Continued on Ortega to the rest area/trail head I usually stop at, sat around cloud gazing for a bit and headed home. The weather was an awsome mid 60's the whole ride.

71 miles and # 10 is history!

I think I've heard a few years ago that there's a way to get from the Deluz truck trail to the Ortega, maybe that South  Main Divide is it???

Edit.. that's a yes looking at my phone maps app, S Main Divide to a right on Los Alamos Truck Trail, which becomes Tenaja Truck Trail, which becomes Deluz Truck Trail into Deluz to Fallbrook. Could be an interesting dualsport ride. I've done the Deluz Truck Trail from Fallbrook to Temecula on my 83 Goldwing a few years back.

[jgger]

I think you're correct Stu. If you look in my ride 10 pics the one that says "Eeyore says  nope" is as far on South Division I dared to go. I was hoping that I could get at least as far as Santa Rosa Plato (sp) and pick up Clinton Keith.  Maybe when it's dryer, it's still pretty muddy up there.. de Luz is beautiful to ride, I got "lost" up there before on a ride. Clinton Keith and around to Rancho California Rd, one of my rides last year.

[lash]

Friday was #7 on the KLR, Saturday #8 on the wing, today it’s windy and snowing!

[jgger]

 :I nominate lash for Canadian Ambassador for this thread ! You are on fire. Nice job, even if it's a recycled picture.

[lash]

You’re right, same bike , different day! Forgot to take a current pic.

[jgger]

Just now getting around to posting. Ride 11 is complete.

I had 2 places I wanted to go and after that it was time to wander.  1st stop was my son's  in Riverside,  had some garden veggies to deliver, done. Plus he was hot and heavy into building a chicken coop for his kids 4 chickens. He didn't really want my help because he is a " I'll just watch it on YouTube " kinda guy, and I was a real carpenter for 45 years. So you gotta let them do it their way plus it gave me time to ride.

Next stop was Chaparral Motorsports in San Bernardino.  Eeyore needs new shoes soon and they have a giant inventory.  If anyone needs tires check them out online, great prices too.! They had the rear I wanted but have to order the front, bummer. I'm going to try out some Kenda KM1's for just over $200 for the pair not mounted.i paid for the rear and walked around a bit........that place is amazing!

So the next order of business was to wonder around aimlessly,  that is my specialty! I decided to make a big loop. Took the 10 frwy out to Beaumont where the 10 and the 60 meet. Back on the 60 frwy through the Badlands and into Moreno Valley. I made a wrong turn  and had to get off and find a way around my mistake, and that added about 15 minutes to my trip home. It turns out that was a good thing.  On the darkest part of the road past Lake Mathews there was a fresh nasty accident, if I had not got lost I could have been part of it! GOD LOOKS AFTER ORPHANS AND IDIOTS, I was raised by my parents, but I'll take it!

Few pics, no food, here's the stats

     Start temp.            77°f/25°c
     Lowest temp.       55° f/13°c
     End temp.             60°f/15°c
     Total distance.    104 mi/167 kms

[Terry in Australia]

Well done Jim, I'll be interested in those Kenda's, I put new Pirelli GT Angel's on mine because the PO, who did huge mileage on the FJR1300 used to get over 15000 miles (mostly in s straight line, so both front and rear tyres were "square" like car tyres) from a set of tyres. I managed to pick up 3 tek screws within 2 weeks after installing them, which really pissed me off, but thanks to the wonders of water based "Slime" tyre sealant and my "Plug-it" kit that forces rubber plugs into the holes, the tyres lasted another 2 or three years and still looked fine when I sold the bike. (well, part traded it for another Triumph Rocket III, which almost caused Spotty and I into a murder suicide pact, but that's another story)

On Saturday morning, in 90(+) degree temps I rode the Dirty 250 over to the shop to get the Roadworthy Certificate, and it passed with flying colours. It was still missing and farting a bit, but it kept up with traffic. I rode over to Spotty's place to help him pick up a free bike (everyone loves a free bike, especially when it's not Chinese) that one of his work mates had given him. Sunday morning I woke up at 7am, with a plan to beat the heat by going for a ride early. I jumped on the DT at 8am (little kids next door so no bike starting before I know they're awake) and roared/burped/farted over to the storage unit as I had to take some pics of the DT for the Club registrar as part of the hoops I need to jump thru to get my club plate. (cheap registration)

YAMAHA DT250 pics, 10 March 2024 1 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

I decided against riding the Yam any further, so instead, dragged out old faithful, and did a fast 85 miles before the temps climbed into the 90's (and made it to 100.4 by late afternoon) before riding back to the storage place, putting the Sporty away and riding the DT250 home. Apart from the concern about wildlife (passed some fresh dead Kangaroos, Wallabies, Wombats and even a couple of foxes) that early in the morning, it was a great ride.

I rode thru Wallan (and narrowly avoided a police Alcohol/Drug/Roadworthy testing station that they'd set up in a local park) and rode on to Kilmore, Broadford, Wandong, and then home.

Sportster Sunday 10 March 2024 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

Sportster Sunday 10 March 2024 1 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

I had a great ride, and loved that the roads were so quiet due to the early time I left, and the heat, and I promised myself that I'd do it again today and take the Suzuki T500, but due to all the alcohol and drugs that I consumed last night, I forgot to set my alarm and actually slept in, and by the time I woke up, it was back in the high 80's, and almost cracked 100 again today. No biggie, I still got some valuable (I think) work done on the dirty 250 and hopefully the missing and farting has been sorted, but I won't get too cocky, just when I think I've sorted it, it starts to run like sheet again. Anyway, I'm just barely keeping up with Jim at 11 rides each, and I'm hoping for much nicer weather this week, it's been a four day heat wave, and unusual for this time of year. I'm really looking forwards to some (slightly) cooler weather.    

[jgger]

Good deal Terry, at least you are making use of your summer. Personally I can do 90's to low 100's, but it is dry here. If it's humid I'm done about mid 80's. It's getting cold that I fear, but I'm learning to manage that.

Once the weather becomes a bit more consistent as we get into spring I intend to do some local route 66 exploring. If there is anything between Santa Monica and Barstow you want me to look into for you, just let me know.

BTW how do you place your pictures in the middle of your stories? It makes it much more interesting.

[lash]

My problem is that once I get out and riding I never think to stop and take some pics. Don’t know if that is a good thing or a bad thing!

[newday777]

Next stop was Chaparral Motorsports in San Bernardino.  Eeyore needs new shoes soon and they have a giant inventory.  If anyone needs tires check them out online, great prices too.!

You are right Jim
Most of my tires have come from Chaparral be it picking them up from the store or the free 2 day shipping across the country.
Which reminds me that I need to order a new front sneaker for my Goldwing pronto.

[Terry in Australia]

My problem is that once I get out and riding I never think to stop and take some pics. Don’t know if that is a good thing or a bad thing!

You’re lucky mate, after about an hour I have to get off and walk around to give my back a rest, so always have time to take some pics. I took those outside the Broadford pub, usually by lunchtime it’s packed with cars and bikes so was strange to see it empty, but an ideal spot to take a pic before turning for home.

Thanks Jim, it’s finally cooled down today and I took the DT for a quick lap only wearing shorts and a T shirt, and it was actually cold. The bike appears to be running much better now, but I won’t get too over confident until I take it for a longer ride. My new front brake shoes have been sitting at the post office for over a week so I picked them up at lunchtime and will install them tomorrow. The old ones are probably the originals so it’ll be interesting to see if the new ones are better or worse now that we can’t buy asbestos shoes.

I have a Flickr account so load all my pics into Flickr then just copy and paste the URL. I’m in awe of your ability to handle the heat, anything over mid 80’s is too much for me, even with a ventilated jacket. I shouldn’t have to worry about too many more hot days as the weather will be cooling down on my side of the pond shortly.

[Gurp]

Next stop was Chaparral Motorsports in San Bernardino.  Eeyore needs new shoes soon and they have a giant inventory.  If anyone needs tires check them out online, great prices too.!

You are right Jim
Most of my tires have come from Chaparral be it picking them up from the store or the free 2 day shipping across the country.
Which reminds me that I need to order a new front sneaker for my Goldwing pronto.

That is my hometown SB Cali.
Haven't seen it since 95.
I have ordered tires from them online before though. Seemed like a good business to deal with.

[jgger]

Gurp, since you mentioned Berdo was your home town, any time I pass through your name pops up in my head now!

Terry, when I was working  building houses, often in the summer we could be out in 105 to 112 degree temps. You just learn to pace yourself and drink lots of water. I could easily go through 1 1/2 to 2 gallons in 8 hours. But boy do I HATE being cold!

[Terry in Australia]

I don’t mind cold weather riding Jim, but I draw the line if it’s raining. Back in the 70’s when wet weather gear for bikes was virtually nonexistent we used to buy horrible yellow plastic overpants that would always leak around the crotch area, and I wore a leather jacket that was at least 30 years old, which was about as waterproof as a teabag. The popular gloves back then were probably Chinese and lined with rabbit fur, so when they got soaked, you’d pull your hands out and they’d be covered in rabbit fur. I had an Arai full face helmet that allowed water to ingress from the top of the visor, and probably the only things that stayed reasonably dry were my feet, clad in my old Rossi motocross boots that I bought when I was 15, and still have, but haven’t worn in years.

Back then I only owned a bike, so rode it to work every day, and occasionally to visit my folks. My dad hated anything Japanese (the first time he saw my shiny new CB750 in 1978 he declared that “The only good thing to come out of Japan was a mushroom cloud”) but my grandfather (on Mum’s side) was an old biker and quite liked it.

As the years have passed, wet weather gear has improved considerably, but I still don’t like riding in the wet. Hopefully when the cold weather hits in another month or so, we’ll have plenty of dry days, or else the only thing I’ll be riding will be my comfy chair.

[BallAquatics]

Great rides guys!  We are tearin' it up this year.   

Beautiful day for ride #10.  67 °F with lots of sunshine.  Wore my summer gloves and was nice and warm on the bike.  Took the Turbo 100+ miles to nowhere.  Roads were clean and dry, bike was running great, and I was feeling good!  A lovely ride indeed.

Tomorrow is forecast to be even nicer!  I'm leaving my part-time job, soooooo I should have more time to spend on the bike this year!

Correction... this is ride #10 not #11

[lash]

It snowed this weekend but that was gone by today and the ice is off the lake. Beautiful day at +9C.
My gravel road is still too wet to get out the CB750 but that is ok. Ride #9 in the book!

[jgger]

Way to go Dennis. There are a few of us almost half way there In less than 2 1/2 months, this could be a banner year for sure! Once you are through working you will really be racking up the rides.

Ambassador lash good job braving the cold, 9°c makes me shiver just reading that. Beautiful picture and the  Goldwing looks like it's hungry for miles. Are you just about done with the snow up there yet?

Terry, being Southern California born and raised, I haven't had much experience riding in the rain. I did it twice in the late 60's early 70's without a lack of rain gear. That left an impression...............a bad impression at that!

[lash]

Workday Wednesday around 1pm. Doesn’t anybody work anymore!? Seriously, great day for a ride! Number #10 in the books. Did 320 km today so no work on the rescue bike, but looks like the weather is going down the toilet starting tomorrow afternoon so getting in the rides while I can.

[jgger]

Nicely done lash. You didn't get any grief parking with those Harleys,  did you. Around here less than half the Harley riders will return a wave to an od guy on a " jap bike", but they ARE special.

[lash]

No, they treat me pretty well, as long as I let them tell me all about their aftermarket loud pipes and the “full dress” stuff!

[BenelliSEI]

No, they treat me pretty well, as long as I let them tell me all about their aftermarket loud pipes and the “full dress” stuff!

It helps that the ‘Wing looks so good!