Lake Erie Winery Run

What a great run, and an opportunity to meet new friends and swap stories. But it was questionable whether or not it would even happen! At 4:00am, I was awaken by tornado warnings, and a tornado watch remained in effect long after we left. As Henry rode about 1 mile to my house, a cloudburst occurred. It lasted only a few minutes, still soaking him to the skin. Then after we left, about 6 miles down the road, his bike needed to have a part tighten. So we stop and he tightens it in just about 5 mins. But then, as I try to start my bike, I get nothing...nothing at all. So we took the side off my bike to check fuses, then the seats to check the battery. Luckily, after 15-30 mins, we narrowed it down to a loose battery connection. So we headed off and still made it to Bucyrus just a couple mins late.


In the picture below, we all gathered in Bucyrus and posed for this pic. From the left it is Henry (a friend of mine), April and Brad, Theresa and Jeff (friends of DavidRN), DavidRN and Maura. Remember to click on the picture for a larger version!

We headed to the wineries, but made a pit stop in Castalia. 30 years ago or so, there was a Road Side attraction called Blue Hole. It was billed as a bottomless pit fed oxygen-less water that gave an illusion of infinite depth and water clarity. Now, that water is the source for a trout farm run by the state. Dozens, if not hundreds of fish are in the creek and stack to have people feed them bread or popcorn.

After we hit the wineries, Jeff came up with the idea of stopping at Big Boppers for a hardy lunch. Here are all the bikes, lined up in front of the restaurant. You can find the establishment at 7581 E Harbor Rd, Lakeside Marblehead just outside of Port Clinton.

What great food – from breakfasts of sausage gravy & biscuits, to lunch of award winning chili ("Real Chili should never have beans in it") or a fried walleye sandwich. And with a bunch of new friends to share it, what could be better?

But like all good rides, there is a time to start the return route. With DavidRN and team living east, they opted take a more direct route home. But with all the chili and beans that he had to eat, poor Maura was going to have a challenging ride home. Not one to let an opportunity pass by, he also opted to light up a stogie to add a little more aroma for that trip home. And, if things worked out just right, there might be enough heat to spark a methane blast!

So April and Brad, Henry, and I headed down Rt 53. We fought wind gusts all the way home. Had to have been upwards of 35mph or more! Felt like it was going to rip the helmet off my head, and leather jacket off my body. On the way, we ran across these Prop planes that we were told flew in the Pacific theater and the European theater in WWII. You can be the judge of that, I just thought they were cool! And with Kermit (my bike) alongside, you can see the size of these giants.

Day in Findlay

Took the afternoon off today, and went for my first "ride" of the year. Not the longest, but well over 100 miles anyway. Rode up to Findlay, and met a few friends at CoffeeAmici (http://www.coffeeamici.com/). It is a nice coffee house in downtown Findlay. It is very nice place, owners are bike owners. I get up there every chance I get.

I stopped over to a local restaurant. Got the worse beer, but the best quesadilla. It looked like a normal family restaurant. BUT I was the only guy there, and I saw one of the girls pull her top over her head showing just her bra! She was really cute too. Before she left, I ordered a beer for her and talked with her. She swore that it was an accident, but I am not sure - both she and the waitress were giggling about it!

After that, I had some free time, and rode over to a lake. Nice place to spend a few minutes walking around, thinking about things. I decided to lay down for a few minutes, just to close my eyes. Guess I fell asleep! It has been a tough week...

Rode back on a different road for about 1/3 of the way. It is amazing what you can find in rural Ohio. Anyway, got back home, and then took the kids out for some ice cream. Not a bad Saturday, if you ask me!!!

Lake Erie Run

Here is what I am thinking of for a Lake Erie run.

Thinking of meeting up at the Delaware Reservoir Dam on Rte 23 just north of Delaware, then hitting Bucyrus for the Mural. A couple wineries on the near the lake, stop at the beach at Lake Erie, hit an Irish pub for lunch, and then back. Round trip, around 250 miles. Plenty of stops, mixed riding (some highway, some backroads). Plan for a full day.

Here is a map of my current thoughts on the ride (click on image for larger view):

Here is a closeup map of the lake area for the ride (click on image for larger view):

Dang, foiled again

Planning for a great weekend ride....but thunderstorms are coming, cold temps. Just not what I want to ride in for the weekend. Arghhhhhh......

Artsy Ride

I took a couple hours today and got onto Kermit for a ride. Up route 33 to Indian Lake, and took a ride around the park and the lake itself, out onto islands, on peninsulas, and just next to the water. It was a cool ride, but for me it was perfect. Took several pictures of Kermit next to the water. For something different, I am posting some negatives of the shots. Artsy, eh? grin...

Oh. and remember those deep scratches I talked about in my previous post? It was grime of some sort that cleaned right up with a little alcohol!

Who scratched my bike?

Several months ago, I noticed a scratch on the fuel tank. I was upset that somebody scratched my beauty! Did it happen at a parking lot, did the kids do it? It is on the side of the tank where I could not have done it.

Then a couple weeks ago, I saw a huge (to me) gauge on the tank - a deeper scratch that went all the way to the metal. WHAT THE HECK! I started trying to figure out who was scratching my bike. A friend was over, and asked if it was possible that my buckle on my jacket did it? "Naw" I told him, "I don't ride bent over like that."

Then I went for a ride. I reached over for my helmet (I usually put it on the riding peg). I hesitated as I grabbed the helmet, with my belt buckle right where the scratch was. DANG! I have been a bad bad boy...I got some touch-up paint (base, color, clear coat) and will see what I can do to touch it up. Cannot be any worse than it is now!

Early Morning yearnings

I am up early this morning, taking my son to school. The sun is shining, the talking heads on the TV are dwelling on the beautiful today, and I hear motorcycle after motorcycle leave for work. In talking with a friend, he is antsy to start is bike trip out west.

My Kermit sits in the garage, wanting to get out and run...maybe it is time for 1/2 day vacation. We shall see.

Kermit Key

Just finished making my (first?) custom key for Kermit (the Nomad). Its a little frog with a key embedded. These are not the best pictures, but gives an idea. Maybe tomorrow, I will be able to take some better pics.

Ah...bike night...where are ya ? ! ?



So - do you think it goes with the License Plate? :-)

A Drifter for sale

In running around NW Ohio, I ran across this 2002 Drifter for sale. This is not mine, nor do I even know who it belongs too. But it looked like a nice bike with only 2200 miles on it. Phone number and price in picture below

Not a good day

While the weather was unbelievably great, it was not my time to ride. I struggled with my gear, and then struggled with the bike. Long story short, I pulled the bike back into the garage, got out of my gear, and went up North to do some fishing.

Tomorrow night, I will revisit the battery terminals and try to get everything ship shape for the next ride.

Sigh....All part of riding...

Easter Sunday

It was high 30's and low 40's, nice and sunny with low breeze. It was GREAT to get out on the bike - Finally!!! Only rode for about 50 miles, but spent quite a bit of time to get some pictures of the bike - and of course, back home for Easter dinner.

Its going to be a great riding summer...

FINALLY

Took the bike out for a quick run today. Spent most of it at a local parking lot getting reaquainted with quick avoidance turns, emergency braking, and all of the other defensive moves to minimize my risks out on the road. Then took a quick trip downtown, filled up the bike with gasoline, and rode back out of town.

Not a lot of time on the bike, but it got me out. It was just under 40 degrees...but sunny and nice.

Clocks forward, and a Sunny today

If you looked at the sky, it would be difficult to believe that we were in blizzard conditions yesterday. Its sunny, light breeze, and temperatures hit 40 degrees (F). I got out by 11:00am and cleared the driveway. It was actually rather pleasant accept for the amount of snow on the ground and the piles of snow deposited by the snow ploys at the base of the driveway.

I got the driveway clear, and by mid afternoon the sun melted what little was left by the snowblower. I got the bike out onto the driveway and into the sun and cleaned up the garage a little. Took a picture (ok, several pictures) of my bike.

I got a vanity plate for my Nomad. "Kermt" of course!

Well, it hit :-(

The predicted snowfall hit. A rare occurrence - both the blizzard AND the weathermen getting it right. We are in a snow emergency level 3 (one can get arrested if you are on the road), and Columbus and surrounding communities are virtually closed. On the news, they had a traffic camera on route 670 - a major road through downtown Columbus. Not a single vehicle, and completely snow covered. Route 70 (the major east/west route through central Ohio) is closed just west of Columbus. Airport has all flights canceled (there are 2 still on the board, but not for long!)

We have something around 14+" of snow, but that is not the big problem. What is making it bad is the high winds (sustained in the mid 20's MPH with strong gusts exceeding 35mph) that makes it impossible to keep any roads cleared. The visibility is near white-out. Drifts are upwards of three feet.

With the wind, we have areas that are basically blown clear. Check under the truck, and you can see the grass poking through the snow on the sidewalk close to the house. And then we have drifts that are 2 and 3 feet high! I have heard drifts of 6'. I have not blown the snow around at all - this is all nature.

Do you see the street out behind the truck? Neither do I! They had just plowed it an hour or so ago.

Check out across the street. The guy there got out his snowmobile and was running around the neighborhood starting around 11pm last night.

Took this shot late afternoon on Saturday. The snow had slowed down a little, and the dogs once again wanted to go out and frolic in the snow. The youngest one lasted about 5 minutes, but the Lab mix loved being out there. She is an indoors dog, but I have not seen any dog enjoy the cold and snow more than this one!

You may ask - what has this got to do with Motorcycle Riding? Well, I was hoping to get some saddle time, or at least be able to roll the bike back and get some good pictures. Well, that is not happening this weekend. But it is time to say a prayer of thanks for a nice, warm, dry home that still has power.

Will it ever end?

I have been waiting and waiting for the weather to break. But all we have been getting is snow, ice, sleet, snow, ice, sleet... and over and over. It is going on a month since I have finished the mods, but have not been able to get the Nomad out of the garage due to the bad weather.

This weekend, just to add insult to injury, we are now looking at 14" of snow and blizzard conditions. It's March - and time to get in a few 50 degree days to run the bike a little!!!

By the way, I broke down today and bought an IPod Shuffle. I have loved my full size IPod over the last year, but it is so big and hard to protect in bad weather. The IPod shuffle is very small (1" x 1.5" x .5"), and has a clip to hook on your clothes. Its not fancy, and no video. But for riding, just turn it on and go!

2008 Winter Projects are completed

Just finished the winter projects for this year. I installed some running lights on the back of the bike to increase visibility. Took two forms. There are some marker lights on the sides of the luggage rack. Beautiful, chrome LED running lights that are yellow/orange. In addition, I added some green accent lights (remember, the bike is green) that shine on the chrome of the backrest. In addition, I added some green LED accent lights in the engine compartment and also on the underside of the bike shining on the road (no, the bike is NOT leaking...that is supposed to be green light under the bike).



It's difficult to make out the bike, but here is a picture with just the accessory lights on. Its pitch dark, but you can make out the ground lights and chrome engine components. Remember to click on the picture for a full size image which will be a lot clearer.



In many states, it is illegal to run the accessory lights while driving, but are so cool for bike nights. They also do increase visibility at night. So I put the accessory LEDs on a switch so I could turn them on or off whenever I wanted. The switch is now in the switch pod.

I did a lot of small details on the handlebars. I replaced the cheapie "P" clamps I used last year, and got a couple Kuryakyn chrome P-Clamps for the volt meter and the switchpod. Provides a nice and solid mount. In addition, Chuckster cut me a polished aluminum plate for the switchpod, and it looks so much nicer than the piece I made last year. I also stripped out a lot of the wiring I did last year, and simplified it DRASTICALLY. I also wired the voltmeter (almost) directly to the battery. Where I had the wiring last year gave me false readings. And finally on the handlebar, I installed a RAM Mount for a Garmin 200W I got for Christmas.

The wire simplification was due in large part to an accessory block I installed in the compartment on the left hand side, just under the seat. The tools remain in the same place, but I put the accessory block, relay (power is only supplied when the bike is turned on), and the alarm system in this area. Not pictured, i also installed a battery charger plug on the bike so that I could put on the trickle charger on the battery, but not have to remove the seats.

I also installed a Custom World International Driver's backrest. For the longer rides, and riding two up, my back would start hurting. This should help that out a LOT. I also added Kewl Metal Helmet locks at the end of the Isogrips. That will allow me to hang my helmet directly from the handlebars instead of the stock locks which are right over the exhaust pipes. Kawasaki...what were you thinking!!!



And finally, I got a Vanity Plate for my bike. I spent a lot of time thinking about this, but finally came to the decision below. Kermit would be so proud!!!

So that's it for this winter. There will be little trinkets here and there, and some retro-fitting things that I found that I did wrong. But all-in-all, the 2006 Nomad is becoming more and more unique and functional each year! So when does this snow and ice melt, and the salt is washed away? I am getting stir crazy waiting...

Finished rewiring!

No pictures, but I just finished rewiring accessories on the bike. Just finished adding an accessory wiring block which is "hot" only after I start the bike. I used the tail light to trigger the relay to power the block.

I also added marker lights in the back and green accent lights that shine on the chrome on the backseat rest - all intended to increase visibility at night. Those turn on when I start the engine.

I separated the airhorn from the driving lights. With the amount of current the airhorn uses, I wired it directly to the battery.

The driving lights are now wired to the accessory block with a switch in the switch pod. I thought about using a microswitch and hiding it somewhere, but I would rather feature it! The switch pod echoes the shape of the tach and voltmeter also on the handlebar. So it looks cool (in my opinion).

With the voltmeter on the handlebars, I also put it on the same direct circuit to the accessory block.

Then I added some accessory lights (green of course) to accent the chrome on the bike. I could have wired it into the accessory pannel, but instead decided to wire it into an "always on" circuit so that I could turn on the lights at bike nights or rallys without having to start the bike and have all the other lights going. This is also switched on the switch pod.

Finally, I also added a charge cord so that I could plug in the trickle charger without taking the seats off. There is a fuse on this cord too, but I forgot to add it in the diagram

Some Friends from VROC

Ran across some new pictures of some of the VROC members. I don't know why these have not been posted before, but thought you might enjoy them.

There were a couple of Scotty:


Toa filling up Fart's cage:


Lugnut getting out of the swimming pond:


Roseman at a Rally:


Cranky after "the spill:


Interlochen group picture:


Hope you enjoyed!!!

Cold, Wet, Snowy and bad traffic...It must be Cleveland

Went to the Cleveland Bike show for the 4th year in a row. The traffic was a good hour and a half or more to get in. I took a short cut, and saved a great deal of time, taking about one hour waiting in traffic to get into the parking lot

.

It was cold, wet/snowing as you can see by the picture of the Electronic Bulletin above and the picture of IX center to the right.

The show was good, but there seemed to be a lot fewer people there. I cannot explain the traffic backup except that their is simply not enough people taking the $8 to park at the center. That is where the traffic backup originated.

All the manufacturers were there, and I spent extra time at the Kawasaki booth checking out the new models, and the Honda site checking out the new Goldwings. Every year, I think about how nice it would be to have that 1800cc 6 cylinder engine, the big comfy seats, and all the gadgets. Then I go check them out, and they remind me more of a car then bike. I think I will pass again this year, and just enjoy the heck out of my Kermit (by the way, you did check out on the right hand side for the video of "It's not easy being green" by Leena Horne and Kermit, right?)

Checked out a lot of the accessories, but nothing really stood out. All pretty standard stuff, and mostly clothes Midway hawking. There were quite a few more three wheel vehicles on the floor this year. The lines between bikes and cars is blurring more each year! Here are some pics of a few that I thought were interesting. Remember, click on the pic to see a bigger version!

I guess, overall, it was still worth going. But next year, if I can make the Novi (Detroit) show, that's where I will head. A lot less traffic, less people, and almost the same number of vendors.