February 26. 2012

 Gypsy Stats:
5 hrs 11 min elapsed time
2 hrs 36 min riding time
101.8 miles
39.1 mph

Beemer stats:
106.2 miles
40 mph
42 mpg

Paying $3.99 per gal for premium today

Another bright sunny February morning in Southeastern Pennsylvania!  It seems unbelievable to have six riding days in February but here we are snow-less, temps above 25, and clear roads.  It was low 30's heading out this morning.  Even in full winter gear with the power turned up to high, I am  feeling the cold and my finger tips are numb.  I think my tried-and-true thinsulate lined winter gloves may be giving up.  At form-up, I am happy to add the Frogg Togg jammies layer and Tim loaned me some better winter gloves both of which makes a huge difference.  Temps are up to mid 30's heading out to breakfast.

Breakfast is at Kulptown Fire Co.  Hello, America.  There are folks sitting at the bar, but the sign says "All Members must leave by 2:30.  Bartender must leave by 3:00" so we presume they are early arrivals getting a good foundation on Sunday rather than Saturday hold-overs.  The menu is pretty basic - eggs, toast (white or wheat only, no rye), SOS, pancakes or French toast, $2 Bloody Mary to get the day off to a good start.  Good news - the coffee cup is bottomless and the bill comes to under $5 apiece plus tip.

Everybody has stuff to do this afternoon, so its just a quick 100 miles around northern Chester County, then home by 12:30, or so.

The rear tire on the Beemer is now over 6000 miles and still showing tread!

February 19, 2012

Gypsy Stats:
5 hrs 3 min elapsed time
3 hrs 25 min riding time
119 miles
35 mph ave.

Beemer stats:
128.6 miles
38 mph
44 mpg

The sign on the garage door said "Can't Ride.  Got Flu" so Tim was definitely out.  Last week, the weather was iffy so we had 4 wheeled over to Birdsboro to the VFW for a breakfast that can only be described as a bit of America (see previous entries on the VFW) and a long chin wag.  This week, 3rd Sunday, with Tim down for the count Dave and Lindsey headed back to Birdsboro to the Masonic Temple for custom omelets, backy-wacky, and salt mackerel.  The sky was bright and sunny with temps of 26 degrees, so dress was full winter gear and plugged in.

We were discussing potential destinations and the talk turned to Mt. Minsi (the Pa side of Delaware Water Gap).  Google Maps shows a road,, labeled Appalachian Trial, running out to the peak and the satellite view shows at least two tracks, semi-developed, running out to a building, possibly a microwave station, at the peak.  So, we were thinking the Water Gap and Mt. Minsi might be a medium-day destination.  Well, that can go on the bucket list for now.  The talk of two wheel tracks lead to roads and tracks through the woods above Hamburg Reservoir and for no good reason a destination was born.

We wandered across the county to Reservoir Road and up to the gate by the water works, paused long enough to water a tree behind the dirt piles, then made out way up through Port Clinton  and Schuylkill Gap (tip of the visor to Hermy's) around and back over Hawk Mountain, down Pine Creek Valley, across Stoney Run Valley and home by 12:30

February 5, 2011

With this start, there is no reason not to hit every month at least once in 2012; the two toughest months are already covered.

The day was more about catching up on the news than about long a long ride.  It was a nice jaunt around the northeast corner of the county and over into southern Lehigh but the stats pretty well show that we spent the time mostly jawing:

7 hr 16 min elapsed time
2 hr 52 min riding time
119 miles
41.7 ave mph

That includes 3 hours of coffee drinking at the Kutztown fire house breakfast.  I think we may have overstayed our welcome as the little girls (dressed as fairies this time, not Brownies) kept trying to clear away our coffee cups.

I caught a shot as the bike rolled 20K on the way out this morning.  As you can see, it was brisk on the way to breakfast.  3 hours later it had warmed up some but we still used the heated gear.  The curves in the roads were surprisingly grit free, but what there was was often at the intersections, right where you need traction to stop or turn, so caution was the word of the day.

January 8, 2012 - First Ride of the Year

It certainly has been a mild winter.  With our full compliment of electric gear, it seems to be no problem to ride right through the season this year.  For our first non-holiday Sunday, Tim had other obligations but Dave and Lindsey made it over to the Birdsboro VFW for breakfast (always an experience) then a little loop around southern Chester County.

Gypsy Stats:
4 hr 44 min Elapsed time
2 hr 39 min riding time
108 miles
40.7 mph

OK, it was a short day, technique was rusty and the roads always threatened grit but it felt good to get out in January and blow some carbon out of the tubes.

2011 Summary

Total miles ridden:  6106
Includes at least one day out in every month except January for 2011
Gallons of gas purchased:  133.55
$ spent on gas:  $520.54
Average mpg:  45.7
Average $ per gallon:   $3.90
Average fuel cost:  $0.085 per mile

Not enough miles!!!  Got in over 8000 in 2010 starting at the end of May when I bought the bike.  Also, we wound up cancelling too many of our overnight trips.  That dang work stuff just got in the way this year.

Tires:  Installed a pair of Conti Motion tires at 8880 miles at a cost of $168
Replaced the rear on 4/2/11 at 14180 miles and the front on 6/1/11 at 15743 miles with Michelin Pilot Road 1's at a cost of $200
The Contis lasted 5300 rear and 6800 front.  The Michelins currently have 5800 rear and 4200 front with tread on both.

If a pair of tires costs $200 and lasts on average 6000 miles, that works out to $0.033 per mile.  Not bad.  I used to figure $0.04 per mile for tires on the Suzuki but that included paying a dealer to install them.

8/12/2011 at 17731 miles installed a new Deka ETX-14 12 Ah battery for $48.  I am not sure I actually needed the new battery.  I think my starting problem that left me stranded that day is actually related to the side stand interlock switch, not a weak battery.  It still happens intermittently.  So far raising the side stand has always allowed me to start the bike.

If we just assume a new battery every three years and 6000 to 8000 miles per year, that works out to $0.002 to $0.0027 per mile, assuming we can continue to get inexpensive 2nds at the Deka plant in Lyons.

I am paying $156 per year for insurance which works out to $0.026 per mile.

The BMW required maintenance every 6000 miles, typically costing $400 which works out to $0.067 per mile.

OK, so gas, tires, maintenance, insurance, batteries add up to $0.214 per mile.  If the $10,000 bike can go 100K miles without major repairs, that's another $0.10 per mile, so call it $0.32 per mile plus gear plus entertainment tax if you're not careful.

December 22, 2011 - My Grandfather's House

It's three days before Christmas and surprisingly warm and sunny for the first day of winter and the shortest day of the year.  I don't think the bike has been out this month yet and today looks like it may be the last chance.  It's Thursday and the good people of the world are all working.  I have been looking for an opportunity for a solo ride to go on a quest and today is the day.

Rt 313 Across Bucks - Straight and Trafficky

When I was young, living in Easton then later the first few years at Martins Creek, my grandparents had a small stone house in the country outside of Penns Park in southern Bucks County.  I remember driving down to visit them there, have a fairly good recollection of the route and approximately where the house was, and have some reasonable memories of what the house and property looked like, but I have not been to Penns Park since they moved to Addison Street in Philadelphia in the early 60's.  My quest was to ride over to southern Bucks and see if I could find my Grandfather's house based on these memories from 50 years ago.


With some guidance from the map and my early memories, I knew our route was south on Rt 611 from Easton to Pipersville, then bearing left to follow Rt 413 south.  I had a fairly clear memory of bearing right at the Y junction with Rt 232 just north of Penns Park, then in my memory, a left turn onto the road that the house was on.

The obvious route to the area from our neck of the woods was Rt 313 out of Quakertown leading across south central Bucks.  I have to think that the surveyors got to this area before the farmers because the roads are all laid out on a straight grid.  Rt 313 runs straight as an arrow up and down hills with no consideration for topography whatsoever.  And, being the main highway from points A to points B in a fairly built up area, it tends to be trafficky - makes for less than ideal motorcycle riding overall.  However, today's journey is more about the quest and less about the ride.

The day was bright and sunny with temperatures mild enough for a comfortable ride in full winter gear with the electrics on half power.  Penns Park was where the map said it would be but at first I had trouble finding the house.  In my memory, I thought there was a left turn off Rt 232 onto the road where the house was.  The map indicated this would be Penns Park Rd, a good guess, but no luck as the house was not there between Penns Park and Wrightstown.  After several passes back and forth through Penns Park, I realized that the house was right there on 2nd Street Pike.  I had been by it several times, and just had not recognized it at first.  It was much smaller than I remembered and closer to the road, with the distance to the carriage house much less than in my memory.  Go figure.  Once I realized I was there, I stopped and walked around the property.  It is much as I remember it, pretty much unchanged in 50 years.  I think that the left turn I remembered which threw off my initial location was actually the turn into the driveway when coming from the north.  Once I saw the location relative to the village of Penns Park, I realized it jived with a very old memory I have of riding with my Grandfather down to the village to buy a newspaper.

Today, the house looks a little worse for wear.  It is for sale.  According to the listing, it is a short sale requiring 3rd party approval and has been on the market since last March.  The sale is strictly AS IS which makes me think the septic system is probably distressed with no room on the small lot for a new one.   Well, I am not in the market for a house in Bucks.  I just wanted the chance to renew this old memory from 50 years ago and see the house that played a big part as a special place in my early childhood.

November 20, 2011, Figure 8's Around Familiar Turf

Gypsy Stats:
6 hrs 36 min elapsed time
3 hrs 44 min riding time
152 miles
41.7 mph

Beemer Stats:
158 miles
42 mph
46 mpg



This day was about taking it easy and just wandering around familiar territory.  Breakfast was 2 hours of chat at the Bally firehouse in the middle of just over 150 miles of leisurely loops around eastern Berks, northern Montgomery, and western Bucks counties.  The weather has turned pretty much mid-autumn sunny and the leaves are gone.  Here's a collection of candid shots from the handlebar camera.  If the horizon looks tilted it means the bike was leaning through a curve.

Catching Up!

Well, 2011 was just a busy year work-wise and once I fell behind on the blog the activation barrier was too high to get back at it.  It has been almost three months since the NJ gig ended and what with holidays and all, I am just now getting back to this.  So here are some ride maps from the rest 2011 with minimal details.  Let's hope the 2012 season works out with more miles and time to blog about them.

June 26, 2011

Looks like breakfast at Nesquehoning Fire Company followed by the long route home.


Gypsy Stats:
7 hrs 31 minutes elapsed time
4 hrs 53 minutes riding time
193 miles
40 MPH

Beemer Stats:
199 miles
42 MPH
48 MPG

Gas log puts us at 50 MPG paying $3.85 for hi test


July 17, 2011

The record shows a ride to Lawn PA for breakfast.


Gypsy Stats:

6 hrs 36 min elapsed time
4 hrs 14 min riding time
155 miles
37 MPH





August, 2011 Rides to Work
8/5, 8/11, 8/12, and 8/24

Here's the map for the route to work, on the highway in the morning and on back roads coming home.

Going to work took 1 hr 30 min; 85 miles at an average speed of 56 MPH using the Interstates.

Coming home took an extra hour, going 88 miles at an average speed of 35 MPH on the back roads.

August 14, 2011

Looks like breakfast at Haag's in Shartelville.  The GPS shut itself off before getting home, so no over-all stats.  Breakfast was a 2 1/2 hour chin wag and we were basically home before 1:00 so the day was more about the eating and talking than about the riding.  I seem to remember it was pretty damp and the Haag's parking lot was pretty much devoid of bikes except for ours.




Sept 11, 2011

Breakfast at the Birdsboro VFW and a quick jog around the near end of the county.  On a Sunday morning at the VFW you can tell the early-arrivers from the late-stayers by where they are sitting:  the early-arrivers are at the breakfast tables; the late-stayers are still at the bar.  I believe this was the time I asked the waitress about the steak and eggs entry on the menu and she said she didn't know anything about because no one had ever ordered it before.

Only 100 miles and home by noon today.









October 9, 2011 - Going Long

The original plan was a multi-day trip to West Virginia this weekend, but that fell through so we decided to go long on Sunday.  We started with a quick run out the Turnpike for 9:00 breakfast at Faye's in Carlisle.  We then headed up over Waggoner's Gap into the familiar turf of West Perry County.

Perry County, squeezed between spines of the Valley and Ridge Province is quintessential motorcycle territory.  It is beautifully rural (they did finally get the first traffic signal in the county way down at the eastern end) with minimal traffic and twisty roads.

The historical high point of the day was stopping to see the old New Hanover steel overshot waterwheel preserved just west of Blain on route 17.  The low point was Tim hitting a patch of gravel in his line on a tight turn on Rt 103 and laying some pretty serious road rash on the Sprint.  I was going to say "luckily" he wasn't injured but of course it was not really just luck.  If he had not been riding ATGATT he might have had some serious road rash himself, or worse.  As it was, he picked himself up out of the ditch, picked the bike up from the middle of the road and after some makeshift repairs (broken foot peg temporarily replaced by passenger foot peg thanks to Dave the Wrench) we were back on the road and finished the day's ride.


At the end of the day, the Gypsy said 12 1/2 hours had elapsed, 8 3/4 hours in the saddle, logging 402 miles at an average speed of 46 mph.  The Beemer registered it as 410 miles at 47 mph with average gas mileage of 46 mpg.

The gas log reports 42.2 mpg averaging $3.69 a gallon for premium.





October 16, 2011

Quick run into Boyertown to have a look at a Yamaha side car rig for sale (not to us after evaluation) then breakfast at the Masonic Temple in Birdboro.  Just a short run today up into Schuylkill County.  126 miles at 40 mph and home by 1:00 on a very pretty early autumn day in south eastern Pennsylvania.













November 6, 2011

The mission this morning was to see something different by getting off with an early jump to the west, so we formed up at the Lowes parking lot at 724 and 222 at 7:00 am and slabbed down to York for silver car diner breakfast.  This placed us west of the Susquehanna for a medium long day loop around the Gettysburg area including a run through Michaux State Forrest and a pass through the GB Battlefield Monument near the end of the day.



I took the old digital camera, mounted it on a RAM mount on the handlebars, wired it into the battery of the bike (with suitable reducer to 3 V) and set it to stay on continuously so I could take photos from the bike with a push of a button while riding.  This day was the first try for the set up.  It is subject to vibration and, of course, you can't aim the camera while concentrating on riding, but it took a few photos of what the country looks like this time of year.

The Gypsy says we went 295 miles riding 7 hrs and 6 min for an average speed of 41.5 mph.  The gas log puts us at 45.5 mpg with an average price of $3.72 per gallon for premium.

A great mid-autumn medium long day.

BMW MOA Rally, July, 2011

July 22-23, 2011
BMW MOA International Rally
Bloomsburg Fairgrounds, PA

GYPSY Stats:
Day 1, Friday 7/22
3 hr 53 min (9 hr 14 min, Lindsey) Road Time
2 hr 17 min (6 hr 22 min, Lindsey) Rolling Time
90.6 (263, Lindsey) miles
39.7 (41.3, Lindsey) ave. mph

Day 2, Saturday 7/23
4 hrs 54 min Road Time
3 hrs 17 min Rolling Time
142.5 Miles
43.5 ave. mph

BMW Stats:
Day 1
271 miles
42 ave. mph
50 ave. mpg

Day 2
147 miles
43 ave. mph
49 ave. mpg

Pump Stats:
50.1 mpg for the R1200R
$4.00/gal average for 93 octane this weekend



Well the big annual BMW rally was right in our backyard this year, so we figured we had to go and check it out - first time for all of us.  We geared up with bags full and camping gear strapped on top in typical hedgehog fashion and set off early, forming up at 7:00 on Friday morning instead of our usual 8:00, due to the anticipated heat.  Even with a relatively leisurely and circuitous ride, we were at the Bloomsburg Diner by 9:00 where the parking lot was full of bikes, the staff was overworked, and the eggs Benedict were excellent (not to mention relatively cheap at $5.95).  With full bellies, it was a quick jaunt to the fairgrounds where we were quickly registered. The theme of the day was H, O, T, Hot, with triple digit temps threatening by mid-morning.  By 10:30 we were wandering around looking for a camping spot with some shade.

We found a spot with some shade out on the perimeter and started setting up when I quickly discovered that I had forgotten to pack my tent poles.  I decided that the punishment for being so stupid was to spend the better part of the day going home to get them, though Tim pointed out that spending the day riding the motorcycle did not really qualify as punishment.  In any event, while Tim and Dave set up their tents (with poles remembered), helped the German WWII re-enactors next door set up their tent, and toured the vendor exhibits, I returned home for tent poles and a stop at the store for dinner.  This explains the difference in distance and riding time stats, above.

This day was easily the hottest weather I have ever ridden in.  The thermometer was above 97 the entire ride and was up to 102-103 for a good portion of it.  The grass was brown and the corn sharply spiked with drought the whole way.   I was wearing the mesh riding suit over the LD short underwear with nothing else.  I found it critical to keep drinking water and watch out for dehydration the whole time.  Before the return trip, I soaked the LD shirt in water.  I find the short sleeve shirt will hold about 3/4 liter of water in the outer fabric and still feel dry on the inner layer.  This was a great help with evaporative cooling on the return trip for at least the first hour.  Even so, by the end of the day I was pretty well salt encrusted and dehydrated.

I got back to the rally around 4:00, set up my tent, wandered to the midway for a bottle of water and a large fresh lemonade, and went looking to Tim and Dave.  Turns out they were sitting and chatting with our neighbors, the German re-enactors, at the back of the lot where their big tent cast some shade, absent in our small patch by this time of day with the southwestern exposure.

One point of this trip was to work on what to pack, what not to pack, and where to put it all for long distance motorcycle camping.  My goal is to be able to travel across country in a variety of conditions - heat, cold, rain - while camping most nights.  In my one saddle bag, I was carrying my electric jacket , suit liners, windproof jersey, and long LD base layer (all not used this trip!).  This gave me demonstrated comfortable temperature range for riding of about 40 to 100+ degrees (whoops, I was not carrying the winter gloves or long pants, but there was room for them; they are necessary below about 60).  LD claims that by using the water soaking trick replenished hourly, with the long sleeve shirt to increase cooling capacity, one can extend the riding range in a mesh suit up to about 115 for desert crossings.  I have not tried that yet, but I had all the gear needed with me.  For extreme rain, I had the both the Frogg Toggs suit and the Triumph one piece waterproof.  This needs to be pared down to one set of either better sized Frogg Togg or Goretex over-pants and jacket.  I am leaning towards Goretex if price is not an issue and towards Frogg Toggs if it is, especially with the new Frogg Togg jacket design we saw at the rally.  That will free up about 1/3 of a side bag for additional gear.  I still need to work on the right pair of pants, also.  I am inclined to try a pair of microfiber khakis with zip off lower legs so they can look as dressy as I need to be while hedgehogging, be a pair of shorts around camp, or be the extra layer over the base layer in the cold.  That piece still needs work.

Another point of this trip was to try out some of the new motorcycle camping gear close to home.  The new cot from Aerostich is a definite winner.  It packs up smaller than a Therma-rest pad and fits in the side bag, sets up or tears down in minutes, and is the most comfortable camp bed I have ever used, bar none.  It is expensive but worth it.  The home made longitudinal compression wrap for the sleeping bag also worked well.  This is just a piece of heavy cloth or canvas with three straps sewn to it.  It wraps around the sleeping bag in its normal stuff bag, then compresses the diameter down by nearly 50%.  The sleeping bag and tent then fit together in a single waterproof bag.  I am planning to make more cylindrical compression wraps for other items like the electric jacket and suit liners which take up too much volume when not in use, maybe also for the tent and fly.

The new folding aluminum table from Aerostich was also a winner.  We had no facilities at all at our camping spot. This table provided plenty of room for cooking dinner using two one-burner stoves.  It packs up so it just fits in a medium water-proof bag with the Kermit chair.  I bought an inexpensive one-burner propane stove in place of the unleaded gasoline model.  It really is a lot easier and cleaner to use.  I am working on how to pack it efficiently in the tail bag.  The Wolfman tail bag holds the camp kitchen.  Yes, a complete kitchen for one, stretchable to three (each carried his own eating utensils and Dave brings the second propane stove), fits in there with a little room to spare - another winner.  Also, I bungeed the gear on for the trip up but bought some Rok Straps at the rally for the trip back - another great improvement.

We did camp cooking as it started to cool down a bit towards sundown: chicken and rice one-pot, always a favorite.  I forgot to pack the larger pot (don't know where my head was at 5:00 am when I was packing for this trip) and so had to make two smaller pots.  In the cool (relatively) of the evening we toured the rally, checking out food vendors options and BMWs of every type and vintage.  We finally went to bed after it cooled down some and slept the sleep of the innocent until early Saturday morning. 

Next morning we jumped into the rally life style with both feet:  free coffee on the midway watching the motorcycle "parade", breakfast at a vendor tent, scoping out the tire change equipment, touring the vintage bike exhibit, seeing all the vendors, etc.  At the LD booth, Mario, inventor and founder of LD Comfort wear, gave us the pitch personally.  Tim and Dave both bought a pair; Tim wore his on the ride home and was an instant convert (duh, I been tellin' ya for a year).  There was a 1923 (first year) BMW beautifully restored.  Controls included three thumb levers, two on the right (throttle and mixture) and one on the left (spark advance).  Now that took some riding skill.  I can just imagine the old timers who mastered it complaining about these new-fangled modern bikes with electronic fuel and ignition management, "Why you don't need to know how to do anything to ride one of those!".  Next thing you know they'll make 'em so you don't even have to know how to shift the dang gears.

At noon our German neighbors put on a live fire demonstration of WWII vintage weapons.  At that point we felt like we had pretty much seen what the rally had to offer, so we packed up and headed for home.  We took the long route, of course, riding the Pennsylvania twisties, some of which had just been tarred and chipped to our distress.  Home in time for dinner on Saturday with an extra day off on Sunday to catch up on the blog!

 All-in-all it was an interesting weekend and we got to see what the rally scene is all about.  But we were glad is was right in our backyard this year and probably will not make to the next one in Missouri next year, if you catch my drift.  We don't seem to be cut out for large scale events, taking  hedgehogging to be a more personal issue.