Finally getting the bike out again. Winter sucks, but it does help to appreciate decent riding weather, or even mediocre riding weather. Nice sunset on the way home from work last week. Today I took the first ride just for the sake of riding. Spent the day running around the river, trying to find interesting dirt roads that were not still iced up. Wrights Ferry Bridge, Columbia end Islands downstream of the Holtwood Dam Oh yeah, got a new GPS on the bike. The Zumo 550 has served me well over the years, but it was starting to show its age, and was limited in routing things like the Trans-eastern Trail. The 590 seems like a pretty good upgrade. it has expanded routing abilities and you gotta love the screen size. Only complaint I currently have is the freakin' octopus of wires Garmin saw fit to permanently attach to the cradle. You can see the wires coiled up behind the GPS unit. Conowingo Dam Broad Creek
I am gonna be wandering west next week. Work related trip, but I will be in Nebraska for a month. I am taking the 990 with me, and hopefully I can squeeze in a few good rides. Including Nebraska, there are five states within easy day rides from Omaha - Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, South Dakota and Kansas. I already checked off Missouri last year on the way to the Rendezvous.
So, here I am in beautiful Omaha, NE. I am working at the Ft Calhoun Nuclear Station, helping out with their refueling outage. It was an opportunity to make a bit of overtime, and see another part of the country on the company dime. The trip out was uneventful. Only bothered to take one set of pictures (in West Virginia, where else). This was Tuesday morning. Yesterday was the first nice day since I got here, and I had the afternoon off. So, of course, I got the bike out and started to explore the area. Oh yeah, I can check Nebraska and Iowa off the "I Have Ridden in These States" list. Missouri River, US 30, Iowa/Nebraska line I stopped at the DeSoto wildlife refuge. I may have to go back there some morning after shift in the van. Riding a somewhat noisy bike does not exactly make for great wildlife viewing. I fully realize that one of the defining features of the Midwest is its flatness, but it is almost difficult to comprehend flatness like this. Hell, I have seen tables with more elevation change. The terrain does promote roads that are somewhat less than entertaining, especially when you get stuck on the slab for a bit. I start working night shift tonight, so I took advantage of having the morning off to meet with a few local riders. Hmm, I guess I should have tried to get all of them by their bikes. Flat land means trains, which is cool. My next night off is Monday. I will probably just do another local exploration ride, and save the multi-state ride for when I have two nights off together. That would be next weekend. til then, bu-bye
I had last Monday off, but was pretty wiped out from the past week, so I decided not to go for a ride.:huh I did, however, go down to the Missouri River waterfront to check it out. Found a couple of interesting things. First was the Bob Kerrey Bridge. Next was the Monument to Labor That was about all I did. Like I said, I was a bit tired after working the previous seven days, including night shift over the weekend.
Got in two days of riding, and did one of the things I came out here to do. Five more states checked off my list. NE, IA, KS, MN and SD done. Sunday was a ride to Kansas. I heard about a Jamaican restaurant in Manhattan and decided that would be as good a destination as any. So let's ride a bit. Now, for those who say there aren't any turns in Nebraska, I have here proof that you are wrong. In fact, if you look way off in the distance, you might even see evidence of more than one turn. Deal's Gap, eat your heart out. The most lasting impression that I will be taking with me is the openness of the land out here. Yep, I know about it, but knowing and experiencing are two different things, and every time I am in the Midwest, I am again impressed with the vast landscapes laid out before me. Of course, with the open landscape, comes the wind. No, I am NOT turning in this picture, just trying to ride in a straight line. I did not take any food shots, but here are a few of the Little Grill. The weather started clearing up on the return trip, and the sun peaked out a few times. And if the sun is out, you know I will try to get that sunset shot.
The ride yesterday was north, into Minnesota and then South Dakota. My destination was the Blue Mounds State Park. Remember what I said about the wind? Well, there was a high wind advisory issued yesterday. Steady winds of 35-40 mpg, with gusts up to 60. Yep, it was interesting, but not very conductive to on-the-fly photography. Let me tell you this, a day spent in cross winds like that can be as tiring as a day hitting the trails back home. Thankfully, I started getting the hang of it after a few hours, and could actually relax a bit instead of fighting the bike the whole time. You might be able to rollerskate here... ...certainly not here. <iframe width="480" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/skFWsc_-i14" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> What I saw of the park (not much of it) was rather pretty. and again, a reminder of what it means to be able to see to the horizon Ya know something? I never did see any blue mounds. Huh, I guess that I will have to go back again some day with a little more time to work with. One good thing about the wind...it gives you a chance to wear out both sides of your tires. Not too much worry about flat spotting the center like this. I don't know if I will get a chance to do another ride while I am out here. I might be heading back to PA sooner than I originally planned. I would not mind staying here longer and riding a bit more, but then again, it would be nice to get back to Julie sooner. Regardless, I will see y'all at the RDV in a few weeks. til then FYYFF
Sure... there's cheese and brats and...uh...oh yeah, Erik Buell Racing. Roy, I would have loved to visit you, but I have already ridden in Wisconsin, and it would be a bit too long for a day trip from Omaha.
So, last weekend, Julie and i went down south to play with our southern friends. Remember that XT225 I bought Julie for Yule? Well, she finally took her first ride on it. Sorry about the finger...still getting used to the new point and shoot. Julie pretty much kicked ass all day. The first road we did was Dennis Cove Road. It is a few miles of tight twisties, complete with a double switchback or two. Then we rode US 421, also known as the Snake and even got in about 20 miles of gravel/dirt. Julie was comfortable enough to even get up on the pegs a few times. By the end of the day, the only thing she was having difficulty with was stopping. She barely gets toes down on both sides. Guess that I will be doing some seat shaving this weekend, then take her out to get some PA dirt on her tires.
Sounds like and good ride - especially when you ride the Snake. [emoji106] Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Julie had a bit of an oops today. She was being stubborn trying to make it up a dirt road. She washed out the front end, then while trying to get moving again, she went down in a rather unique manner. Somehow her foot got caught between the rear wheel and the swingarm. Sorry, no pictures of that. Overall, she is fine, but she did fracture her tibia. The ironic thing is that we were just talking about getting her a pair of motocross style boots... No major worries though, the Elf will ride again. In fact, at first she wanted to just ride out on the back of my bike. When she could not put any weight on her leg, I nixed that idea and called 911. She is one tough cookie, regardless of what she may try to tell you. Oh yeah, she did also manage to break four spokes and bend a few others...with her foot. Hmm, she has one broken bone...the bike has four broken spokes...I guess she won.