A short one with my sweetie

This weekend was a good one for riding.

First, I had the 'maiden voyage' of my chopper, "Lady Liberty", which was....memorable.

Secondly, my wife and I just finished a little 92 mile romp through northeast Indiana and northwest Ohio. It was an impromptu ride, we really hadn't planned a route or an amount of time. We just kinda got on and went, which most bikers will tell you is the best way to go.

But first, let's go to the maiden voyage from yesterday. Just remember, there's a reason that cars have fuel level indicators. Bikers are usually smart enough to know how much fuel they have. Usually.

Let me start by saying that as I finished up all the little tweaks and final adjustments, I would run the bike to check carbs and just make sure everything was okay. It was okay, I had a full tank.

Then I went around the neighborhood to check brakes and get some carbon out. And the pipes needed to breathe a little. Just a few times. 15 miles total, maybe. Maybe.

Then Jannette and I got on the 1975 Wonder Bike, newly christened "Lady Liberty". ANd we decided to head off to just south of Bluffton, Indiana to visit my pal Dorsey. A year or two ago, Dorsey picked up two old Honda 750's at a steal of a price and had been working on them just as I was on my 550Four. He is a fan of that classic bike as am I.

So we got within about 4 miles of the north side of Bluffton, and Liberty started sputtering and losing power. (Keep in mind that with a sissy bar and bench style seat don't give us a lot of room. And I'm just a bit bigger than I was before). I figured she had just finally given up after 36 years. I kinda thought, "well the seals just couldn't take it and more work is on the way to get this baby back to street worthy condition".

After a few tense minutes on the side of the road, we decided to turn and head for home, and see how close we could get before she just wouldn't go anymore.

On the south side of Ossian, we stopped at a gas station, just to fuel up and take a minute to think about how we would get Liberty home if she just gave up and puttered out. After pumping nearly 3.5 gallons of fuel, I quickly realized that the whole problem was just that she was getting low on fuel and with the new configuration of the fuel tank (it's tipped up in the front more than it used to be before it was chopped). So, after getting her full of fuel, we re-mounted and headed the rest of the way home.

So, we only got 42 miles or so on the maiden voyage, but while it wasn't the most comfortable ride, it was so fulfilling to finally have Lady Liberty back on the road. Albeit in new clothes and with some new equipment to make her feel young again (think of a 'boob job' but for a motorcycle).

Then on to today's ride. Nothing eventful, but 92 miles through New Haven, up through Grabill, Hicksville, Ohio, Edgerton, Ohio, Waterloo, Indiana and back home to Fort Wayne. Lots of Amish buggies (which always makes us smile and wave) and the weather wasn't too hot or cold. Just perfect. There's not much better of a feeling than having someone very special to enjoy the sights and sounds and miles with.

Tonight, I'll close my eyes and remember today's events (and yesterday's) and thank God again for all everything He's blessed me with.

2011's first 'big one' is done!

Each ride is certainly a mystery. Most experienced riders will agree with me on that point. This one was no different.

A reminder for you: Fort Wayne, Indiana to St. Paris, Ohio to Indian Valley, Virginia. And back, obviously. 946 miles or so.

I started out Thursday night for the quick 110 mile jaunt from the Fort to St. Paris, Ohio. I had a couple hours to get adjusted to riding Cheeto II (at some point she'll just be 'Cheeto' again, but probably after I sell the original Cheeto).

She rode like a dream, and I got the chance to adjust to having music blasting at me from the stereo instead of from ear buds and an Ipod. Love my Ipod, but there was something nice about being able to still clearly hear things around me, including the new 'bike noises' when accelerating or decelerating. Again, still getting used to the VTX.

Friday morning, Matt and I got underway a bit after 7am. I was a bit mesmerized by the Royal Wedding, so while I was rip-roaring and ready to go, I was glued to Kate & William's big day. Temps were a bit chilly, but not bad. Overcast skies stayed with us all the way to Oak Hill, West Virginia, where Matt & I picked up Scotty for the rest of the trip.

By about 2pm, we were hitting the tunnels near the Virginia border. Lo and behold, this big orange ball appeared in the sky just as we emerged from the tunnel and nearly blinded me. Finally the temps got up into the low 70's (okay, maybe high 60's) and the rest of the mountainous trip was beautiful. We arrived around 4pm and surveyed our job for the next day. While I was far more comfortable than I've ever been after riding 400 miles, I was still ready to stand on ground that wasn't rushing by.

Saturday was a non-riding day, of course. Which meant the weather was absolutely gorgeous. Sunshine, temps in the high 70's or low 80's and calm winds. Did I mention that we didn't ride? Yeah. That was just silly of us. On the other hand, we helped Matt's mom out and she was quite appreciative of all we did.

Now on to Sunday. What a crap shoot.

We knew the weather would be iffy. We'd been watching a storm system move across the Midwest right toward us. Now, this isn't nice but with Scotty heading back north to Pittsburgh, we all kinda figured this system would move there with him, and while I didn't wish it on him, I just hoped we'd all skirt through the rain without much ado.

Things started out fine. Overcast skies, but they clouds were still relatively high and not too dark. Remember the tunnels? Yeah, apparently they are portals to and from hell. Or at least to and from good weather to bad.

So we entered the tunnels full of hope that we'd remain somewhat dry. Even a brief light shower or two.

Not a chance.

We got light rain. Then heavier rain. Then misty rain. Then steady rain. And more rain. Enter Oak Hill, West Virginia, where Scotty peeled off for Pittsburgh.

Scotty later reported that he had rain the whole way home.

Now, I'm quite certain the previous owner of Cheeto II rarely rode in the rain. I can say that with some certainty because my 'marine grade' radio decided that after a particular deluge it lit up like a Christmas tree before I shut it down. On top of that, my beautiful Baron tachometer fogged up light a priest's glasses at a strip club. I do believe it's ruined. But that's the end of the damage. The rest is just grime and filth. But Matt's boy Shane is earning a $10 spot to clean that up for me.

Out of the 400 miles home on Sunday, we estimate we had 250 miles of rain. Just when we thought we were done with the rain (about 100 miles from St. Paris) we had the chance to dry out for about 50 miles before it's started heavy and steady again. So it was the last 50 miles that soaked us again.

But the end of the ride was still delightful. Matt and I opened up the Apple Pie (much more about this in a later post) and we 'partook'. Heck, I was done driving, and so was he. Plus I had Monday off.

Of course, it took until Tuesday night for my boots to dry out enough to re-condition and polish.

But all in all, this was a great first trip of the season, and one I know will prepare me a little better for future wet weather rides.