Starrucca Viaduct, May 29, 2011

Gypsy Stats:

12 hr 47 min elapsed time

8 hrs riding time

378.1 miles

47.3 ave mph

48.0 ave mpg (Beemer based on gas receipts)

$4.03/gal ave for 92-93 octane

Beemer stats:

387.6 miles

47 ave mph

49 ave mpg

Tim: ’00 Triumph Sprint ST 955 Triple

Dave: ’99 Triumph Sprint ST 955 Triple (aka Smokin’ Red)

Lindsey: ’07 BWM R1200R

Rich: Yellow Buell

The day started with a heavy overcast and haze in the air, not enough to sweep droplets of moisture onto the visor, but enough to put a grey blur on the hills in the distance. Temperatures were in the mid to upper 60's so I dressed in low-summer garb, long sleeve base layer, suit with liners, summer gloves. I had parked the bike with 210 miles on the clock since the last gas stop. Given my experience in Oakland, MD, with 206 miles on, and not sure how far I would have to go to find a station open at 7:00 am on a Sunday, I decided to put about a quart of lawn mower gas in the tank before I headed out. A couple of years ago, the guy at the chainsaw store had convinced me that it was worth a couple of extra cents to use better quality gas in small engines; I had the Wawa premium in the lawn mower can, so no worries about the octane. As it was, I found the pumps on at RJ's Quick Stop (formerly Mike's garage) at the corner of 562 and Sunrise Lane and was soon filled up and ready to go.

Since it was a three day weekend and the opening of the summer season, the plan was to go long on Sunday. We had already seen the Tunkhannock Viaduct in Nicholson and the Roebling Aqueduct in Lackawaxan so we decided to have a look a the Starrucca Viaduct in Lanesboro. Rich showed up on Drippy, the Yellow Buell, with limited time and things to do on the day, so we settled on Nesquehoning Fire House for breakfast to give a reasonable short ride for him and a launch to the north for the rest of us.

Full of firehouse breakfast, we said goodby to Rich, who headed home, and made our way north.  North of the mountain, Rhododendron was at its peak.  Temperatures were rising into the low 70's and the sky remained overcast with occasional sunny breaks.    We rode north and east across the Pocono plateau eventually heading up Rt 115 towards Blakeslee.  Buck River Rd over to Rt 435 turned out to be a great run with twisties following the stream.   Rt 435 is a reasonably nice blue highway crossing the Poconos with long straight stretches through the scrubby softwood forests typical of the area.  Eventually it brought us to the east side of Scranton where we hopped on the Interstate to fly over the city.  Our route north out of Throop essentially followed the Lackawanna River, past Stillwater Lake, and eventually up Rt 171 to Lanesboro. 

The Starrucca Viaduct was built in 1848 to carry the Erie Railrood across the Starrucca Creek valley.  It is 1040 feet long, 100 feet high and is the oldest stone railroad bridge in use in the State of Pennsylvania today.  It is clearly industrial construction.  The quarried stone is not face dressed, still showing the drill holes from where the feather-and-wedges were used to split it into blocks.  There are large corbels at the bottom the arch to hold the falsework for the arch construction.

By this time,the sun had come out, the sky was blue with white clouds,  temperatures were climbing into the low 80's and we were stripped down to high-summer gear:  short base layer under suit with liners removed.  Time to head home down Rt 92 which just happens to pass through Nicholson, site of the Tunkhannock Viaduct visited last year, but more importantly, home of the Ice Cream Stand in the shadow of the viaduct.  At 3:00 we took a half hour break for ice cream and a drink.  Tim and Dave settled on Chocolate-Vanilla soft swirl but I held out for a scoop of butter pecan in a waffle cone - extrageniferous - with a cup of coffee.

Refreshed,we started for home. Leaving Nicholson, I checked the tire pressure with the on-board gauge and found the rear at 31 psi.  Uh,oh.  This was 35 and stable this morning.  I rode about 3 more miles, monitoring the pressure and saw it drop to 30.  Bummer.  Off into a Denny's parking lot, up on the center stand, and sure enough, there's a big old fencing staple in my new Michelin.

I was thinking this meant riding 100 miles home, two-up, to get the pickup truck and ramps but it turns out that not only did Dave spend his formative years in a tire shop patching tires, he carries a tubeless tire patch kit with him on the bike.  In less than 15 minutes, he had the staple out and two patches in the holes with 24 psi still left in the tire, enough to ride a slow mile down the road to the Sunoco station and the air pump.  OK, lesson for the day:  picking up a nail is not a major catastrophe; picking up a nail without a tire patch kit on board is.  I am definitely going to hit the back pages of the Aerostich catalog for one of these tonight.

We filled her up to 40 psi and resumed our trek.  At this point it was getting late and we needed to make tracks, so we jumped on the slab (I 81 in this case) at Pittston and tuned 'er up.  I have to say (in fact I think I said last time) that while I love the blue highway twisties, when it's time to get from A to B, the Interstate highway system is beautiful thing.  And at the end of the day, these bikes are fun to ride no matter which road you're on.  And they just eat up the traffic, of which there was not too much on a Memorial Day Sunday evening zooming across the Pocono plateau down into the Valley and Ridge Province.

We hopped off at Frackville and headed south on Rt 61 through Pottsville (with the obligatory nod to the Yuengling brewery), through the Schuylkill Gap at Port Clinton (tip of the visor to Hermy's Cycle), down Rt 662 through Moselem Springs, Fleetwood, and Oley, and on to home.

A Ride Around the Block

Saturday was clear blue sky and sunshine for the first weekend day in several weeks. You know what that means: mow the lawn! If you don't get to it today and we get more rain and who knows how many rained out weekends, you might as well call up Grimms to come over and bale it. The top of the grass dried in the sun and was cut-able but at some points I was running the mower thru standing water. Good thing the blade was in the highest setting or I would have left a wake. That took most of the working day, but we got it done in the end.

Sunday morning came up cloudy and grey with a forecast of possible showers by afternoon. We past the last frost date last weekend but so far have not had enough dry weather to dry out the ground so we could till. Yesterday did the trick and all but the lowest patch of garden was tillable. Tim was off pouring wine and Dave had other business today so no group ride in the morning. Out came the tiller. By 1:00 or so, the garden was tilled, peppers tomatoes potatoes and eggplant set out, and beans in the ground ready to sprout.

Except for a quick trip through the sort-of rain to the Masonic Temple in Birdsboro for breakfast last Sunday, I haven't been out on the bike since getting home from West Virginia three weeks ago - way too long. I decided to go out solo for a quick ride around the block before the rain started. The temperature was in the low 60's so I could lighten up on the gear, though I still wore the long sleeve base layer and the Gerbing jacket unplugged for its thinsulate.

The day was grey, grey, grey. Even the phlox was having trouble looking bright. I headed north towards Kutztown and quickly realized we had not had lunch. I remembered that the refreshment stand at the WK&S in Kempton featured Johnsonville Brats and served a pretty decent cup of coffee. A destination was born! But Rt 737, usually a great ride, was closed and the detour down Rt 222 and back old Rt 22 was pretty blah in the grey of the day. I got to the WK&S just in time to see the 2:00 train return from its excursion, but the refreshment stand was out of brats. To make matters worse, they had no coffee today. I had to make do with a kraut-dog with yellow mustard and a bottle of YooHoo. The grey of the day seemed to be just permeating everything.

Well, I know when it's time to head home and focus on something else. So I headed down Rt 143 through Lenhartsville, Virginville, and Moselem Springs and motivated on home.

Final tally to ride once around the block:
2 Hr 20 min elapsed time
1 Hr 52 min riding time
71 miles total distance
38 mph ave. speed.

Mt. Davis, April 29 - May 1, 2011

April 29, 2011
Gypsy Stats:
10 hr 19 min elapsed time
7 hr 34 min riding time
347 miles
45.9 MPH
Beemer Stats:
357 miles
48 MPH
44 MPG

April 30, 2011
Gypsy Stats:
8 hr 34 min elapsed time
5 hr 52 min riding time
351 miles
59.8 MPH
Beemer Stats:
357 miles
60 MPH
45 MPG

The plan was to take Friday off work, make a three day weekend of it and bag a couple of high points we should have hit long ago. I was a bit cramped for time, however, so I planned to ride out for a day and half then slab home on Saturday afternoon while Tim and Dave went on with the adventure.

Friday started out with a beautiful Pennsylvania spring morning full of bright sunshine and a cloudless blue sky. Heading out at 7:00 the temperature was in the mid 40's, rising to the low 50's by the gas stop at the Redner's Quick Shoppe at 7:30. The landscape was full of the bright yellow of wild mustard. Redbud and azaleas were at the peak of the season. Dogwoods were blooming and lilacs were opening, but neither were having a prime season this year.

I was wearing the usual outfit except with regular jeans in place of the flannel lined. Even at these relatively mild temps the Aerostich neck kerchief and heated jacket were welcome on the long haul.

We decided to slab it out of the normal Sunday morning range and hit I78 west to Harrisburg at a lively pace. We got off the highway up US 11 to Marysville and hit the Marysville Diner for a great breakfast (dang, that's a long stone arch railroad bridge). We would have headed up over the first ridge of the mountain, but the i-Pad showed the access along River Road which appeared to be some mighty wet wheelin' as the Susquehanna was up over its banks, so after breakfast we headed west thru Perry County and on.

Our circuitous route seemed to take us north to go south, constantly zigging to zag. But that's the best way to cross the Valley and Ridge Province on a motorcycle and we hit some really excellent roads. Rt 641 from Letterkenny Arsenal west was a particularly nice stretch of unencumbered twisties as it crossed the ridges. We tried to take a short cut down Locke Valley Road but soon found ourselves in the woods full of redbud with diminishing pavement and the ominous strains of banjo music coming from the underdeveloped real estate. A return to civilization and the blue highways (as opposed to the dotted grey back roads) soon had us on Rt 475, another really prime run, a definite come-backer.

This started as a beautiful spring day with the promise of warming weather but with clouds in the sky and rain spitting, we had to stop by an old covered bridge for shelter as we geared up for the wet. As we crossed Baldy Knob (Elev. 2906) on the Lincoln Highway it was cloudy and the temperature dropped to 45 degrees. I was glad for the heated jacket liner and electric hand grips.

Following Tim's excellent internet guided navigation, we managed to find Mt. Davis, the highest point in Pennsylvania. There is a State Park with an observation tower at the peak giving an excellent view of the surrounding countryside, including the wind farm on the opposite ridge. By this time is was definitely overcast and the temperature had dropped to 40 degrees. We were back in full winter gear mode with the electrics turned up.

We motored on to Oakland, MD where we put up for the night. Dinner was Mexican at the restaurant attached to the motel. A couple of Dos Equis and a plate of re-fried beans lead to an early turn in on a full stomach.

Next morning woke to bright sun and 37 degrees with ice on the bikes. We walked 100 yards up the road to Denny's for eggs and grits while the sun warmed things up. Back at the motel, all packed up and ready to go, I had trouble starting the Beemer!!!!! Hans, Klaus, What's up? This bike is supposed to be perfect! With the bike running rough we toddled 300 yards down the road to the local gas station where I put 4.75 gal in the 4.8 gal tank. Oh, I see. It doesn't run if you forget to put fuel in it. Good thing we hadn't tried to go another ten miles last night. So now we know the answer: 206 miles. Don't try to go any farther.

On to Hoye Crest, Md., again guided by Tim's internet directions. To reach Hoye Crest, the highest point in Maryland, you have drive into West Virginia, park along Rt 219, and walk up a mile long trail with 700 ft climb, crossing back into Maryland about 100 yards before reaching Hoye Crest. We managed the hike in our very comfortable BMW motorcycle boots, shedding layers as we went. We finally reached the crest, certain that we had hiked at least 2 miles and climbed 1000+ feet. Thrilled to find a small concrete obelisk we set down our jackets, took pictures of each other and congratulated ourselves on reaching our goal. As it turned out, the obelisk marked the Md/W VA boarder and the sign marking Hoye Crest was 100 yards further along and maybe 1 or 2 feet higher in elevation but we never saw it. Well, we hiked up that mountain and as far as I am concerned we are going to put a check mark in the "highest point in Maryland" box. I really don't think the extra 2 feet or the other plaque means much; we were close enough for a high point with no direct motorcycle access.

Following this adventure we motored on to the Sheetz in Morgantown, WVA around noon, where we had to split up. After gas and a snack, I said goodby and jumped on I68 to slab home. Much as I prefer blue highway twisties, I have to admit that the Interstate Highway is a great way to get from A to B when you need to be somewhere else. Cranked up on the R1200 it's makes for a pretty smooth glide home in a hurry. For some reason, the visitor's center at the Sideling Hill road cut on I68 is closed, so it really is not possible to stop for a decent photo. I finished up running down the Pa Turnpike from Carlisle, then over the new Rt 322 to Reading and on home by 5:15.

Meanwhile, the other half finished up Saturday with a great ride:

You missed some good roads today. Went west on rt 7 toward New Martinsville turned back south/east on rt 20. Check out rt 20 expanded on the ipad. So many twists and turns. Then turned south on 19 to Clarksburg and blasted back west on rt 50. Turned north on rt 23 til we found rt 18 back south and east to Troy. Jogged onto 47 to get to 33 east to get to Weston. Then we grabbed your favorite rt 19 into Sutton. All said and done checked into our favorite hotel at 7:20 with 348 miles on the clock. Tires are not squared off and we expanded the chicken strips. We dined on salisbury steak and chopped sirloin. Couldn't tell the difference.
Intense riding with no time to look around but honed our high speed line through the corners.

Next day was not so smooth as steel cords started showing through the tread (or lack thereof) on Tim's rear tire in Greencastle, resulting in a two-up run home for a new tire and a very long day:

Made it back and forth from Greencastle by 11:30 P.M. Seats in the car
felt marvelous and there was no precip on the return trip. All told
Dave calculates it at about 650 miles of saddle distance. Long day,
but Dave didn't complain about the Pontiac Vibe's absense of heated
grips. Thanks to Dave who had a spare tire mounted up on a spare
Triumph wheel. When we arrived back in Greencastle it looked like a
NASCAR pit stop. Triumph rear wheel stand inserted, pipe removed, wheel
replaced and back on the ground in less than 20 minutes. Sure wished I
could have nursed it closer to Reading but.... I really owe Dave a debt
of gratitude for him making the trip back with me and serving as chief
on the pit crew. I have learned my lesson and will now get an extra set
of wheels that will be swapped in just for trips and a complete
accounting of total miles logged. This situation cured me.

Washington's Crossing

April 17, 2011

Gypsy stats:
9 hrs Elapsed Time
6 hrs 5 min riding time
229.4 miles
37.7 ave mph

Beemer stats:
235 miles
39 ave mph
45 ave mpg

Paid $3.99 a gallon for premium today. The price of fun and good living is going up!

Tim: ’96 BMW R1100RS
Dave: ’03 BWM F650GS
Lindsey: '07 BWM R1200R (Grin!)
Rich: ’00 Triumph Trophy 900 Triple (which was keeping its oil inside the crankcase)

The day dawned with bright sunlight under a mixed cover of scudding clouds. It rained like hell yesterday afternoon, so the streams are full nearly to overflowing with muddy brown water and the ground is covered with puddles. At 50 F, the air feels balmy and it promises to be a beautiful day for a ride. I thought with the temp above 45 I could fore go the flannel lined jeans, so I was wearing just the LD Comfort base layer with the riding suit pants. Thinking is was spring and warmer, I left off the fleece wind scarf and Goretex windproof jersey, also. As I was heading out, I realize that "balmy" is relative and at the last moment plugged in the electrics. I was glad I did. Heading across the Oley valley, the temperature dropped to 45. The wind was blowing the clouds around, and the bike, too. I don't think I have ever been blown around so much on a bike before. I felt like my head was going to pop off with the aerodynamic lift on the helmet. And at 45, the wind was cutting through where I had cut back on gear. I could feel a little chill in my legs and my chin got cold, not to mention the wind cutting through on the upper body. When I stopped for gas, I put on the fleece scarf and turned up the temp on the electric jacket and when I stopped at the form-up point, I took time to add back the Goretex jersey.

Except for the wind, the day was living up to its promise. This time of year, southeastern Pennsylvania is beautiful on a day with bright sunshine. The grass is greening, forsythia is just passing its peak (awesome this year), daffodils, hyacinths (also awesome this year), woods flowers are all in bloom in the front yards, the cherry trees (pink and white) are blooming, azaleas are just coming into full bloom, the willows are leafing out, the red maples are in bud and blooming... it just goes on and on.

Third Sunday means breakfast at the Masonic temple in Birdsboro. The old coot in the toque standing behind the counter really does offer to serve "eggy-weggy" and "backy- wacky". However, the custom omelets hit the spot, the potatoes come with or without (onions, that is), and, as mentioned before, it is the only place I know to get salt mackerel for breakfast. Today's special was sausage gravy on biscuits. All you can eat - $7, leave a $2 tip in the basket for the bus-girls.

Breakfast conversation left little direction to go: we may not be aligned on politics, but we are aligned on politicians, a subject to which we could not give voice at full volume in such polite company as the Masonic Temple breakfast room. I mentioned that the bike was squirrley: ever since we put the new rear tire on, I have been unhappy with the feel in turns. We moved on to destinations for the day. There was a regatta on the Schuylkill in Philadelphia at boat house row and a Norton rally at Washington's Crossing State Park. Lets see, Boats...Bikes, Boats...Bikes; Bikes win!!! (no shit, as we do not say in the polite company previous mentioned). Off we go, via Oley fairgrounds to see if there is an antique motorcycle show there which usually happens around this time of year (negative). We head east, towards the river, thinking to stop at Van Sant airport in Ottsville, always a bit of a happening, even if they may not be flying bi-planes today due to the wind. This was not to happen. It appears that the fight between the local residents and PennDot over the Headquarters Road bridge has escalated into an extended detour that makes it nearly impossible to even find Van Sant. By this time, we move on towards Washington's Crossing and the Nortons. "Towards" I say, rather than "to" because travel down the river on Rt 32 turns out to be somewhat problematical; one detour after another. The river is up, the canal is full of water, the cliff side to he right are pouring down wet-weather streams, and there are blockages on the River Road.

We deke around the circus in New Hope and finally make it to Washington's Crossing, passing numerous Nortons and Triumphs with a friendly wave heading the other way. The end of the Norton rally (appears to end at 1:00, so we were late) is the expected collection of old farts on old machines with the occasional hot-head on a modern-day screamer of some sort plus one or two HD heads with overly loud pipes and tinnitus (what?), not to mention a collection of interesting Beemers of various ages.

The kid selling food had run out of sauerkraut and hot dog rolls, but the Nathan's all beef frank cut in half on a hamburger roll with yellow mustard for a buck was primo. A cuppa joe went down pretty well at that point too.

Time to head home with the intention of being direct, but in addition to it being detour day, Tim' s internal compass was busted so we kept going north to go south and south to go west until we wound up in Coopersburg. Oh, well, it's all good helmet time. And remember that breakfast time complaint about squirrley performance? Seems to have faded by the end of the day. I guess I just didn't have the new tire scrubbed in yet. Here is a picture of the new tire, with tread.

March 20, 2011

Gypsy Stats:
150 Miles
6 hrs 30 min elapsed time
3 hr 51 min riding time
39 MPH ave speed

Tim: ’00 Triumph Sprint ST 955 Triple

Dave: ’99 Triumph Sprint ST 955 Triple (aka Smokin’ Red)

Lindsey: ’07 BWM R1200R (grin)

It was lining up to be a beautiful first-day-of-spring day, but the thermometer read just 28 first thing in the morning so full winter gear was in order. I put on the same as last week - LD Comfort long sleeve base layer, thinsulate and flannel lined jeans, new Aerostich wind proof pullover jersey, Gerbing electric jacket, and RevIt riding suit with liners. This time, I wore the jersey under the electric jacket and was much happier with the overall performance. It was more comfortable, I did not have to take the jersey off to take any of the jackets off, and I was warmer, which was important since the temperature was running a chilly 25 to 28 crossing the Oley valley in the bright morning sun. Once again, the new Aerostich fleece neck kerchief proved its worth; this is the best thing I have found for sealing the gap at the bottom of the full face helmet in cold weather and in just a couple of trials has found a permanent home in my tank bag. Here is a picture of the over-the-chin wearing style.

I was also trying out another new piece of gear, my new BMW brand riding boots. Now I am not into marque branded riding apparel, but Tim and Dave both swear by the comfort, utility, and durability of these BMW brand boots and as my old leather engineer boots were getting a bit thin in sole I decided to spring the $237 for a pair of name brand high tops. First time out with these, I think I have to agree, they are a winner. They are very lightweight, extremely comfortable, and easy to get on and off. Tim and Dave claim they are waterproof also though I have not had the opportunity to test that yet. The picture shows a rider's-eye-view of the toe of the boot peaking out on the right side.

When I was ordering the boots on-line, that wiley internet marketing computer popped up a targeted ad for BMW brand socks. Marque branded socks. I mean really, that's a bit over the top. But they are specially ribbed to wick moisture away from your feet and impregnated with silver for life-long bactericidal action and feature a special shifter pad on the left sock only... OK, I confess, I fell for it. So, the BMW sock are very comfortable under the BMW boots. Only time will tell if they are really significantly more comfortable than regular old socks from Walmart.

For breakfast we headed up to the Lyons Fire House -family style seating but no buffet, strictly order from the menu featuring the famous Lyons Fire House Cheese Steak omelet. I went for pancakes and sausage and got more than I could eat.

After breakfast, temperatures had risen to the mid 30's, so we were plenty warm. For me ( a cold temperature wimp) my current riding gear set up is good for extended riding down to about 30 with something like a 6 degree safety margin. I can go down to about 24 with the jacket turned up all the way as long as it doesn't go on all day. By the time the temperature is up in the low 40's, I am backing the jacket off somewhat and am good for an all day ride. Anything lower than that will require a whole new approach to layering on the gear.

We headed east towards the river, winding up in Upper Black Eddy. I was starting to believe that someone had spiked Tim's Cheerios this morning; he was running hot, hot, hot on that Sprint. Turns out he just got the front forks rebuilt. I guess it made a difference in the handling because he was hard to keep up with this morning.

Stopping for a break at UBE, it was pretty clear that my new rear tire was at the end of its useful life. The tread is gone and there is a little bit of cord showing through. Enough to get home today, but not enough to go out again on this one and certainly not enough for a trip to West Virginia. You may recall that I am running the set of Conti Motions that we put them on when the odometer read 8880 miles last summer, now over 14,000 miles. I have been reasonably happy with the handling of these tires, especially in the rain, and at >5000 miles, this rear tire does not owe me anything, especially at the very reasonable price of $168 for the pair, delivered. And the front tire still has some tread on it. We will have to get the new Michelin put on before the next ride.

Well, stuff to do, so we can only go short today; a quick ride across the counties brings us to home in the early afternoon.

March 13, 2011

Gypsy Stats:
149 miles
7 hrs 12 min elapsed time
3 hr 52 min riding time
38.5 MPH ave.

Beemer Stats:
158 miles
43 MPH ave
44 MPG ave

Gas was $3.80/gal for 93 Octane, $3.50 for regular, at the Redners Quick Stop this morning.

Tim: ’96 BMW R1100RS
Dave: ’99 Triumph Sprint ST 955 Triple (aka Smokin’ Red)
Lindsey: '07 BWM R1200R (Grin!)

The morning got off to an early start having switched to daylight savings time in the middle of the night last night and losing an hour as a result. Simple clear, concise, easy to follow instruction to Tim on how to reset his clock last night ensured that we all gathered at the appointed hour of 8'ish EDT.

Heading out around 7:15, the sun was just climbing above the eastern horizon as a bright red ball. Temperatures were in the low 40's, where they remained all day.

I got two new pieces of gear which I was trying out for the first time. First, my new Aerostich fleece neck kerchief, shown below. This has a Velcro strip for fastening around the neck. The hypotenuse is 24" which makes it plenty roomy. It can be worn just around the neck or up over the chin and provides an effective wind seal at the bottom of the helmet. This proved to be a real winner. It comfortably protects the chin and lower cheeks from cold breezes coming under the chin bar of the helmet and unlike the balaclava, does not cause glasses to steam up. This gets a definite thumbs up and a permanent place in the tank bag.

Next, I was wearing my new Aerostich Goretex jersey windbreaker. This is a good looking and comfortable pull-over alleged to be windproof that I bought to fill out the choice of layers. This morning I layered up with LD Comfort long sleeve base layer, Tee shirt, Gerbing electric vest, new Goretex jersey, and Revit riding suite with liner - no Frogg Toggs over top. My thought was that the jersey would provide complete wind break over the electric jacket. It worked OK, I guess. I was warm enough in the low 40's weather, but I do not think I was as warm as when I used the Frogg Toggs as the ultimate wind break. Also, every time I got off the bike, I wound up having to take the jersey off so I could take the electric jacket off, which was a bit of a pain. This also subverts the "good looking for normal wear off the bike" feature of the jersey. So, it worked pretty well, but I am not completely sold on this set up. Maybe I have to work on the layering, try the jersey under the electrics. We'll see.

Breakfast this morning was Haag's Hotel in Shartleville, family seating all-you-can-eat buffet for $8.48 each. No shoo-fly pie today, but there was a big bowl of home made applesauce which hit the spot and was much healthier to boot. Usually there is a crowd of bikes in the lot but today we were the only ones there. By the time we got there the sky was a pretty solid overcast and the temperature was lurking around 42 with no sign of improving. Maybe there was another party somewhere else that we didn't get invited to or maybe it was just the weather keeping everybody home.

After breakfast we headed north and west, crossing the mountain on 501 up through Pine Grove, Ravine, and Mollystown, over the mountain towards Tremont to pick up Rt 125, always one of our favorite local rides. No surprise this time of year, the roads were full of winter grit especially at intersections and in turns, right where you need the most traction so caution was called for.

We did not go as far as Shamokin, but circled back east to Pottsville. After a coffee break at Dunkin Donuts in Pottsville, we slabbed on down 61 to Port Clinton, then wandered the back roads through Hamburg and Windsor Castle and on home by mid-afternoon.

March 6, 2011

It's raining in Southeastern PA today. The temperature is mild compared to what we have been having (low to mid 50's), but it really is not a good day for comfortable riding. So what to do? Four wheel over to Giegertown for a fire house breakfast and a couple hours of stories, lies, and plans for the coming year's rides.

You don't really have to have a destination in mind in order to go for a great ride, but it makes it easier to describe to others if you can say, "We went to X", so we decided to start keeping a bucket list of potential destination on the blog, just a place to capture ideas about where to ride to, from the close and mundane to the distant and whimsical. For a start, we've added a few state high points that we haven't touched yet and the four corners of the country (not necessarily in one continuous ride, just something to get to before the second coming). This list got me thinking about places we have already been, so I added another page to capture those, with a couple of starting entries. Blog pages are listed at the top of the blog below the main picture. Have a look.

On another note, young Will, at just over 2 1/2 years old, traded up to his first two wheeler yesterday, black like Granddad's new bike. This new bike thing must run in the family, though apparently with a generation skip. Along those lines, here is a picture of Will's great-great-Granddad (Granddad's Granddad) relaxing on the back of a Harley Davidson outside of Catskill, NY, in 1912.


Near as I can tell that's a very early J model Harley, complete with pedals. The family stories do not relate why G-G-Granddad was there, but history tells us that the first motorcycle race in America was run between Catskill, NY and NYC in 1912, so it is possible that he and his friend had traveled north to watch.









.


Here on the left is another picture of great-great-granddad and his friend at the corner on Spring Street in Catskill (G-G-G on the right) and a photo of Granddad with his old motorcycle (the Suzuki) at the same spot quite a few years later. I'm thinking maybe we should get Will back east next summer so he and Granddad can take a road trip up to Catskill for a 100 year family photo!

February 27, 2011

Gypsy Stats:
3 hr 13 min elapsed time
1 hr 53 min riding time
64.6 miles
34.3 Ave MPH

Beemer Stats:
68.7 miles
37 Ave MPH
45 Ave MPG

Dave: ’03 BWM F650GS
Lindsey: '07 BWM R1200R (Grin!)

Well, Tim reported that he had a head cold too ugly to put in a helmet, so just two of us this morning, both with other obligations on the day, so a very short ride today.

Leaving the house at 7:15, the sun was already up a thumb's width above the horizon with the temperature around 35, plenty cold enough to put on all of the gear and plug in, but not bone chilling like last week. A quick run up the Manatawney brought us to the Creekside Diner in Pleasantville, where the great state of Pennsyltucky is making a very big deal out of replacing the Rt 73 bridge over the Oysterdale Creek. After wrapping around a nice breakfast (ham and cheese quiche, strawberry pancakes) and too many cups of coffee, we went out to find the temperature up in the low 40's. Spring is definitely in the air. The willows are yellow, buds are starting to swell, crocuses are up (and blooming at our neighbor's across the road). We took a quick jaunt around the Blue Hills to Macungie and back on roads full of winter grit and the occasional killer pothole. Just 65 miles or so, but home by mid-morning in time to start worrying about taxes.

First Ride of the Season

February 20, 2011

Gypsy Stats:
160.2 Miles
7hr 42 min elapsed time
4 hr 13 min riding time
38 mph ave speed

Beemer Stats:
167.7 miles
41 mph ave speed
43 mpg ave

92 Octane is up to $3.49/ gal at the Sheetz

Tim: ’96 BMW R1100RS
Dave: ’03 BWM F650GS
Lindsey: '07 BWM R1200R (Grin!)

Last time out was a brief and frigid sojourn on boxer day. We got socked in with snow the end of December and it's been constant snow cover and icy lane since. Friday was sunny with temps approaching 70, Saturday was cooler but still well above freezing with howling winds all day, so the snow is mostly gone and the lane is finally passable on two wheels. Of course those winds were bringing in new weather, so the balmy temps of Friday have headed back to Florida where they came from. When I got up, the thermometer read 24, but by golly an ice free lane is an ice free lane and on the second punch of the starter button, the beemer was willing, so nothing to do but bundle up and give it a try.

Remembering the chill last time, I added a layer: same LD long sleeve base layer, tee shirt, Gerbing electrics, RevIt suit with liner and Frogg Togg jammies top but with an added sweat shit under the electric jacket. I put the balaclava on under the helmet to keep my cheeks and chin warm. I had to ride without my glasses because they kept steaming up with the balaclava on. I swear, today I will finally order that Aerostich chin scarf.

Heading out across the Oley valley at 7:15, the sun was just up, throwing long sharp shadows to the west, the air was clear, and the sky was bright blue. Temperatures held at 24-25 on the 20 mile ride over to Reading, but with the jacket and hand warmers on high and the added gear, I was warm. Except for my toes. I suited up in garage standing in stocking feet on the cold concrete floor. My boots were retrieved from the back seat of the truck where they had spent the night getting thoroughly chilled. The combination of cold toes going into cold boots than going immediately out to ride in the cold just did not work. My poor toes just never got a chance to recover. Next time, I think I will be sure to keep the boot inside over night.

We formed up, our own little BMW club again, and headed out for breakfast: third Sunday so we're back at the Masonic Temple in Birdsboro for custom omlets, salt mackeral, and today's special, blueberry pancakes, all you can eat for $7. After breakfast and a long catch-up and discussion of where this year's motorcycling might take us, we headed out to see how the roads were, west across the county through Adamstown, over into Lancaster and Lebenon counties, then north over the mountain through Swatera gap to Pine Grove, east to Deer Lake, and back homeward on south 61 through Schulkyl Gap and Port Clinton, with a passing nod to Hermy's. Temperatures stayed in the low to mid 30's most of the day, finally rising to just break 40 on the final leg of the ride. The roads were covered with winter grit, espeically at intersections and in the turns, right where you need the most traction, so prudence dictated moderation. Besides, my riding skills were defintiely suffering from winter doldrums. Some of those lines through the curves were pretty ugly. Good thing we were taking it easy.

The lilac buds are swelling, the willows are all showing yellow, we are over the hump of winter, and the riding season is upon us. This 160 miles marks the first ride of the new season.